Today, we honor our Veterans of all wars

Today, we honor the bravery and sacrifices of veterans of all wars

Today, we celebrate Veterans Day to honor the bravery and sacrifices of all veterans in this United States. Veteran's Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally a legal holiday to mark the end of World War I. However, in 1954 after fighting in both World war II and the Korean War, it was amended to Veterans Day and from then on November 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

I do hope there will be no more wars to fight after Afghanistan and Iraq. War is hell. War is senseless. There are no winners in a war. However, that does not mean that when someone deliberately knock down the door to you home and express clear intent to destroy your culture and way of life, you invite them in and negotiate. If you do that, chances are they will have the last word, not you.

When our neighbor's home is attacked - should we stand together to face the bad guy who declares he does not like what our neighbor stands for? Should we conclude he has a "beef" with our neighbor and therefore it is not our problem. Or should we rationalize that our neighbor asked for it anyways by being corky and arrogant. Yes, this incident occurred in our backyard, but it is not our problem. Let's just close an eye, turn away and say, it is not our problem.

We could also rationalize the bad guy has no bad intention on us, his objective is that particular neighbor. We shall just stand by, play the wait and see game and convince ourselves that all will be well once he is done with that neighbor. He will leave us alone.

I am reminded of a very poignant poem I read at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. The poem was written by a German Protestant pastor named Martin Niemoller who spoke out against Hitler during WWII and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in a concentration camp.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out - - Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out - - Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out - - Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me.

The words are haunting as it reminds me of the consequence of inaction on important issues in life - just because bad acts against others does not affect us does not mean it will not come at us one day. 9/11 happened a week after we left DC. We could easily have been on one of the planes that took off from DC and crashed had we left a week later - that is why this poem still haunts me today and why I feel strongly about the need to face the terror threat against the civilized world head on. Inaction would leave no one to speak on our behalf and no one to fight by our side when terror knocks on our front door.

So, today we honor the bravery and courage of all the men and women who fought and defended this United States. Today, we honor David who is a Vietnam Vet and also husband of a friend. He is a wonderful, soft spoken man who loves his bright, red Corvette but his greatest love is his wife.

We deeply appreciate the sacrifices they and their families make and have to endure while they are in the battlefield and when they return to this United States. Some return battle damaged physically, some psychologically but they returned.

I am also deeply touched by the various private organizations whose aims are to take care of the returning veterans and their families by following their progress on re-adapting to life back in this United States. I will name two excellent organizations here - The Wounded Warrior Project and Operation Gratitude. The Wounded Warrior Project takes care of the wounded upon their return while Operation Gratitude prepares and sends care packages to soldiers with personal notes to the service men and women.

There is yet another organization that I would like to recognize today - Operation Iraqi Children (OIC). It is a grass-roots program that reaches out to Iraqi children by delivering to them school supply kits, toys, Arabic language books, shoes, blankets, backpacks and sports equipment. All of which are ultimately distributed to the children by our troops. Although OIC's focus is on Iraq, they have recently extended their reach-out to children in Afghanistan and Djibouti. A heartfelt thanks goes to all the volunteers of these organizations.

On this day, I would like to thank the United Kingdom for standing by us. I am also reminded of a TV program which I saw while I was in London. It documents life of returning British soldiers who were injured and the efforts to help them re-adjust to civilian life again. It was heartwarming to see the soldiers having a ball skiing on pristine snow-covered slopes, somewhere. I think it was the French Alps. Some lost both legs, some lost one leg. Sometimes, they stumble and fall. They would just pick themselves up and try again. It was exhilarating for them. They could still ski. While I was sad to see their physical condition, I was lifted by their spirit - their determination not to allow the wounds of war wound their spirit as well.