Those words are so incredibly weak to me.  Truthfully, there are no words that can express my own personal gratitude to our servicemen and women – past, present, and future – for serving this country.  Or more appropriately, for serving the people of this country.

There are many people today that would talk bad about you, about the service, about war and conflict.  They will call you names, disgrace you, dishonor you, and shun you.  I pray for these people, that perhaps one day they will see and understand the sacrifices you have made for them to have the right to act that way.  They may act despicable, dishonorable, and disgusting; but because of men and women like you, they have that right.

Please understand, though.  I speak only for myself on this point, but I hope and believe that there are many others across this country that believe the way I do.  I am grateful to each and every single one of you for putting on the uniform – white, blue, green, brown, black, camo.

Some of you may have been drafted into service; some of you may have volunteered after tragic events; some of you may have followed a family tradition; and others may have done it simply as a way to gain an education.  Some of you have seen conflict; some of you have served only in peace-time.  None of that matters to me. You have chosen a path in life that many of us could not, or chose not to follow.  We are each unique individuals, and you all have made a very special and in my most humble opinion, honorable choice.

Please understand that when I say Thank You for serving/Thank you for all you’ve done, I mean that with the deepest, most sincere, and with the highest amount of respect for you.