Remember our heroes on Memorial Day

As you watch the parades and commemorating speeches this Memorial Day, remember why you are there, remember with honor those who have died in our country's defense. For whether a war is popular or unpopular, the sacrifice is the same for the more than one million men and women who died in service of this nation in the wars and conflicts since 1775. It is imperative that we remember the true meaning of this momentous day. Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, is a day to honor the many men and women who have proudly served our country and sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Our nation's first president once said "The willingness with which our younger people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." It is with this belief, this American sentiment, that men and women continue to enlist in the armed forces and proudly serve our country, knowing the dangers that lie ahead, but nevertheless fulfilling their patriotic duties. It is with this same sentiment that we as civilians must honor and respect the lives that have been lost protecting us, and we must also protect those who have safely returned to us.

I am proud and honored to have been appointed to serve on the Special Committee to Study the Effects of War on Returning Veterans. The Commission has been tasked with studying the mental health effects of war on those who return from active duty. Throughout our history, servicemen

and women who have bravely

served our country have returned to daily life suffering from mental and emotional consequences due to the trauma of war. It is our patriotic duty to welcome our soldier's home by providing them with the highest quality of benefits that they need and deserve, including mental health services. These men and women left their families, left the homes they grew up in, missed the births of their children and their youngest son's first day of school, and they were not there when their daughters got married or their fathers passed away. They were overseas, defending our freedoms so that we will never have to miss these events in our own lives. They take care of us and we must band together to return this favor.

In my position as the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, I am well aware of the financial constraints of today's economy and in an ideal world, the federal government would take care of all of the veterans, but they do not. The Veterans Administration budget is under-funded. Long after their home coming, many veterans suffer terrible physical and mental trauma that only professional care can help mitigate.

I visited the opening of the women's housing section at the Chelsea Soldiers' Home and met a female veteran of the Vietnam War. She looked me in the eyes and said "for the first time since I returned from Vietnam 40 years ago, I feel at home." I was so touched by this sentiment and have never been more proud to be from a state that cares so greatly for its veterans. We are lucky that these wonderful men and women returned home safely and we owe them the respect and dignity of a comfortable life.

Unfortunately, many of these men and women lost their comrades on the battlefield and it is for that reason that we wave our American flags, lay flowers on gravestones and most importantly, provide support for the families of our fallen heroes. The empty seat at the dinner table, the smaller gathering on Thanksgiving, and the voice of a loved one heard only as a distant memory in one's mind are constant reminders that they are gone. Robert Ingersoll once said, "They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead."

God bless our soldiers in combat and pray for their safety. Never forget those who did not return to us and honor them appropriately, for today is their day to live again in the hearts of all Americans.