I would say to you, without intending insult to fellow veterans, that at bottom line there is no difference in veteran status, regardless of air, land or sea service, and regardless of when and under what circumstances such service occurred and was rendered. When it comes to being a veteran, you either are, or you aren't. When the right hand is raised and one becomes part of the defense mechanism, then the right of individual choice of military fate becomes subordinate to the needs of the Nation, with the following of orders as paramount. In the early days, members of the military explored and charted, opened up rivers and cleaned the harbors, built bridges and roads, helped establish rail lines, served as frontier line anchoring points, brought the law to the lawless, did and do so much in such areas as sanitation, health care, dentistry, protection of the environment, aviation, important upgrades in science, technology, communication, space, and with the GI Bill, the overall educational level of our nation. Participation in military service is a way for every man and woman to pay the debt each owes for the privilege of living in freedom.
Participation is a way to grow, individually, while protecting homes and beliefs.
And by the way, Ms. Balk, every veteran shares in this proud record of accomplishment and achievement and contribution. Well, if I could I would ask my great-grandfather, John Moore, who, with one of his sons, died while in service with the American Army in 1778. In the days of the American Revolution, only a third of the population supported the war. Another third were actively on the side of the British and the rest didn't much care, one way or the other. Back then there was a kind of Congress as well who served by sitting on their backsides, engaged in debates having about as much sense as some of the recent commentary out of Washington over Kosovo.