Friends,
On Memorial Day, Americans join in paying solemn tribute to all who have given their lives in service to our country. It is a day marked by ceremonies, parades and traditions. We fly the flag at half-staff from dawn until noon. We stop for a national moment of remembrance wherever we are at 3 p.m. local time.
And while we honor our fallen soldiers, we also realize that their sacrifice represents a debt that we can never fully repay.
At a send-off earlier this year for 700 Connecticut National Guard troops deploying to Afghanistan, I was struck by the profound challenge of expressing one's thanks to these brave soldiers. Can adequate thanks really be given to a 20 year old who is willing to risk his life, or to the families of those who serve in harm's way? Perhaps not truly adequately. But try we must - and not just with words, but also with our actions.
For too long, too many of our returning veterans have suffered from disgraceful neglect and inadequate care. In Congress, we've taken several good first steps to strengthen support for our veterans. Our new GI Bill provides access to a 4-year college education for soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. We've improved V.A. funding and expanded healthcare services for women veterans. We've increased financial aid for nearly 2 million disabled veterans. And we now offer incentives for employers to hire veterans who are unemployed.
Americans across the country are helping provide material and moral support for our servicemen and women and their families through programs like Adopt-a-Platoon, Adopt-a-Unit and Adopt-a-Soldier. Communities are coming together to form Covenants of Care to deliver care packages to our troops and support services to their families. Locally, the Greenwich Community Covenant has been organizing support for units in Connecticut's Army National Guard. And just last week, citizens and civic groups in Weston launched a new Community Covenant in that town.
This Memorial Day, let us all come together to honor the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in service to our country. Let us also pledge to do whatever we can to thank and support our veterans, the brave servicemen and women now in uniform, and their families here at home. Not just this day, but every day.Jim
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