Chet Edwards National Radio Address Nov

Chet Edwards—National Radio Address—Nov. 14, 2004

Good morning. I’m Congressman Chet Edwards from Texas. This past Thursday on Veterans Day, I was proud to join with millions of Americans in honoring the selfless service and sacrifice of those who have worn our nation’s uniform.

As the son of a World War II veteran, and as the father of two young sons, J.T., 8, and Garrison, 7, I am deeply grateful to every veteran for making the world a safer place for my children’s generation.

As the representative of over 42,000 Army soldiers at Ft. Hood, Texas, I have seen first-hand the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women and their families.

There are no make up days for parents who missed the birth of their children, or first steps or high school graduation, because their nation called them to duty.

There is no price that can be placed on a Gold Star mother’s loss of her son or daughter in combat.

When I visit our VA hospitals, I am also reminded that the personal cost of war does not end with the signing of a cease fire agreement.

I am always humbled and inspired by the courage of those who have given so much in service to our nation.

Last Thanksgiving my wife, Lea Ann and our two sons went to Walter Reed Army hospital just outside of Washington, D.C. to thank our soldiers wounded in Iraq.

The first soldier we met was only 20-years-old and had been out of high school less than two years. He had lost a leg in combat and his mother was by his side. I’ll never forget what he said to me: “Sir, I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. I am proud to have served my country and I would be proud to do it again.”

I couldn’t help but wonder, how does our nation ever repay the debt of gratitude we owe that brave, young soldier who showed me what true patriotism is all about?

Then, just a few months ago at Ft. Hood, I met a 29-year-old widow with a baby in her arms, a newborn child who will never gaze into the eyes of her father, because he gave his life in Iraq. When the child’s mother asked me a question, it wasn’t about her future. She asked me if there was anything she could do to help other military widows cope with the recent loss of their loved ones.

How, I wondered, can we ever adequately express our thanks to such a caring, selfless young widow?

When Francis Scott Key saw the American flag still flying over Ft.McHenry “by dawn’s early light” on September 14th of 1814, he was moved to write that our star-spangled banner was still waving “over the land of the free and the home of the brave.” He understood that we are the land of the free, because we are the home of the brave.

Nearly two centuries later I have seen that bravery in the the hearts of that 20-year-old soldier and young widow, who represent what our veterans and their families are all about—ordinary people making extraordinary sacrifices for our country.

The truth is you and I know we can never fully repay our debt of gratitude to the millions of servicemen and women and veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much for the American family.

It is good that we have a special day, November 11th, to honor our veterans with speeches and parades all across America. Our veterans deserve a special day of recognition, but we should also honor our veterans every day, with our words and our deeds.

By visiting a veteran in a VA hospital or stopping a veteran in a store or on the sidewalks of our neighborhoods to say, “thank you”, we can let them know their service to country is not forgotten.

In our nation’s capital, the Administration and Congress must do more to support our servicemen and women and veterans.

I am proud that Democrats have spoken out and fought for improved military pay and housing, and death benefits for widows of military retirees.

We took the lead in defending hazardous duty pay for the families of our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and today we are fighting for improvements in VA health care.

We should and will put partisanship aside when it comes to supporting our troops, their families and our veterans. At the same time, we believe it is wrong, during a time of war, when Benedict Arnold corporations can rent $10,000 a year post office boxes in Bermuda to get out of paying their fair share of taxes, yet quality of life programs for our military families have been cut by $500 million below two years ago, before the Iraqi war began. We believe it is wrong that this year’s VA health care budget does not even keep up with health care inflation, even though 28,000 Iraqi war veterans have needed VA health care services. The Veterans Administration deserves credit for providing quality care for millions of our veterans, but the VA and the veterans it serves deserve more resources to ensure quality, timely care for all our veterans.

We Democrats will continue to speak out that a country that can afford tax breaks for people making over $1 million a year can afford to reduce the six-month waiting lists of veterans who deserve VA health care.