A Day of Honor

Veterans Day: November 11, 2009

As we celebrate this Veterans Day to honor our country’s heroes and pay respect to their service and sacrifice, it’s difficult not to get caught up with the emotions and controversy surrounding the recent massacre at Fort Hood Army base in TX. What happened was indeed a tragedy and the families and loved ones of those killed or injured will have many challenging days ahead. My heartfelt condolences go out to all of them.

On this day, we need to remind ourselves those soldiers on the battlefront today and those who served in the past are real men and women with families, dreams, and aspirations. They are about commitment, integrity, courage and sacrifice and I am a firm believer that it takes character and discipline to uphold these patriotic values.

So, as Americans, how can we pay tribute to our veterans and to those currently serving on this special day? We do it by committing ourselves to service in our everyday lives and creating an environment in our country that embraces the values and principles that our soldiers fight to protect. We should:

• Honor our responsibilities as parents, employees and business owners.
• Live with integrity at home and at work.
• Lend a wing and help those who are suffering in this tough economy.
• Respect our environment, give to charity and volunteer in our communities.

In essence, we need to set the example and live our lives with honor and integrity so that our veterans and troops abroad can truly say, “America is worth fighting for!“