Veterans Day

I solemnly swear that I will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge all duties and legal orders and the Uniform Code of Military Justice, so help me God! ~Oath of Allegiance.

But fame is theirs – and future days
On pillar’d brass shall tell their praise;
Shall tell – when cold neglect is dead-
“These for their country fought and bled.”
~Philip Freneau

Lord, bid war’s trumpet cease; Fold the whole earth in peace.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for,
Is their monument to-day, and for aye.
~Thomas Dunn English

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. ~Author unknown, sometimes attributed to M. Grundler

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers. ~José Narosky

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave. ~Elmer Davis

Freedom is never free. ~Author Unknown

I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot. ~Gary Hart

When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? ~George Canning

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul. ~Michel de Montaigne

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, “Mother, what was war?” ~Eve Merriam

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them. ~Chinese Proverb

The most persistent sound which reverberates through men’s history is the beating of war drums. ~Arthur Koestler, Janus: A Summing Up

The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. ~Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die. ~G.K. Chesterton

How far that little candle throws his beams!
So shines a good deed in a naughty world.
~William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, much later adapted to “So shines a good deed in a weary world” by David Seltzer for the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot. ~Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935

Thank you to all the men and women who have served, and are currently serving in our Armed Forces.