{"id":132051,"date":"2021-11-12T00:58:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T08:58:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=132051"},"modified":"2021-11-12T00:58:35","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T08:58:35","slug":"president-biden-at-the-national-veterans-day-observance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=132051","title":{"rendered":"President Biden at the National Veterans Day Observance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Arlington, Virginia&#8230;Thank you.  Thank you, thank you.  Thank you, Mr. Secretary.  Folks, being President of the United States, you are afforded many opportunities to try to express your love, commitment, and admiration for the American people.  And I must say to you that the single greatest honor I\u2019ve been afforded as President is to stand before so many of you, those Medal of Honor winners out there, and talk about Veterans Day and veterans. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6AePU0BUhT0\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-125117-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-125117-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11727\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-125053-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-125053-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11728\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-125027-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-125027-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11729\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-124848-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-124848-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11730\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-124828-AM.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailytide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-124828-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11731\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I want to welcome all the Cabinet members and honored guests joining us today, including the father of our Secretary of State, who served in the Army Air Corps during World War Two, Ambassador Donald Blinken, whose birthday is today.  Happy Birthday.  (Applause.)  Thank you for your service to our country. <\/p>\n<p>And I just want to tell you, I know you\u2019re a little younger than I am, but, you know, I\u2019ve adopted the attitude of the great Negro \u2014 at the time, pitcher in the Negro Leagues \u2014 went on to become a great pitcher in the pros \u2014 in the Major League Baseball after Jackie Robinson.  His name was Satchel Paige. <\/p>\n<p>And Satchel Paige, on his 47th birthday, pitched a win against Chicago.  (Laughs.)  And all the press went in and said, \u201cSatch, it\u2019s amazing \u2014 47 years old.  No one\u2019s ever, ever pitched a win at age 47.  How do you feel about being 47?\u201d  He said, \u201cBoys, that\u2019s not how I look at it.\u201d  They said, \u201cHow do you look at it, Satch?\u201d  He said, \u201cI look at it this way: How old would you be if you didn\u2019t know how old you were?\u201d <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m 50 years old and the ambassador is 47. <\/p>\n<p>But all kidding aside, Mr. Ambassador, thank you for your service during World War Two, as well as your service as an ambassador.  And thank you for raising such a fine man, Tony Blinken, our Secretary of State.<\/p>\n<p>To all our veterans, past and present, we thank you, we honor you, and we remember always what you\u2019ve done for us. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019d like to recognize one of our national heroes who is here today: Medal of Honor recipient, Mr. Brian Thacker.  During the Vietnam War, then-First Lieutenant Thacker put the safety of his fellow troops above his own, providing cover fire against an attacking enemy, and even calling in artillery fire on his own position so our forces had a better chance to withdraw.<\/p>\n<p>Wounded, unable to leave the area, he evaded capture for eight days until finally federal \u2014 friendly forces retook the position.  Yours is a remarkable story; it will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ll also never forget the stories of American leaders and icons we\u2019ve lost recently who shaped our nation in ways that are hard to measure.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve lost, like many of you, three good friends in the last month:<\/p>\n<p>General Colin Powell, a child of immigrants, who grew up to be the joint \u2014 Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of State.  A man who was a friend but who earned the universal respect of the Americans and people for his leadership in uniform and out. <\/p>\n<p>And a guy who became good friends in many times I was in and out of Iraq as a Vice President and a senator \u2014 General Ray Odierno, who I met multiple times in Iraq, and who did so much to help get us to where we are today and who always put the troops and its veterans first.  It was an honor to have my son, Major Biden, serve under his command at the time. <\/p>\n<p>And my friend and colleague \u2014 who was mentioned already \u2014 the United States Senator, Max Cleland, who, as a triple amputee, knew the cost of war as well as anyone could ever know it and went on to champion the dignity and care of America\u2019s wounded veterans throughout his life. <\/p>\n<p>We lost all three of these incredible veterans in the last several weeks, and our hearts go out to their families.<\/p>\n<p>These are stories that inspire generation after generation of Americans to step forward to defend our nation.<\/p>\n<p>And, today, we pay homage to the unrelenting bravery and dedication that distinguish all those who have earned the title of \u201cAmerican veteran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an honor that not only a small percentage of Americans can claim, and one that marks those who are able to claim it as brothers and sisters.  It\u2019s a badge of courage that unites across all ages, regardless of background \u2014 because to be a veteran is to have endured and survived challenges most Americans will never know.<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019ve come through the trials and testing, braved dangers and deprivations, faced down the tragic realities of war and death. <\/p>\n<p>And you\u2019ve done it for us.  You\u2019ve done it for America \u2014 to defend and serve American values, to protect our country and our Constitution against all enemies, and to lay a stronger, more secure foundation on which future generations can continue to build a more perfect union. <\/p>\n<p>Each of our veterans is a link in a proud chain of patriots that has stood in the defense of our country from Bunker Hill to Belleau Woods, Gettysburg to Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir to the Kunar Valley.<\/p>\n<p>Each \u2014 each understood the price of freedom, and each shouldered that burden on our behalf.<\/p>\n<p>Our veterans represent the best of America.  You are the very spine of America, not just the backbone.  You\u2019re the spine of this country.  And all of us \u2014 all of us \u2014 owe you.<\/p>\n<p>And so, on Veterans Day and every day, we honor that great debt and recommit ourselves to keeping our sacred obligation as a nation to honor what you\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n<p>We have many obligations to our children, to our elderly, to those truly in need.  But I\u2019ve gotten in trouble way back when I was a young senator for saying we only have one truly sacred obligation.  We have many obligations but one truly sacred obligation: to properly prepare those and equip those who we send into harm\u2019s way and care for them and their families while they\u2019re both deployed and when they return home.  This is a lifetime sacred commitment.  It never expires.<\/p>\n<p>And for me and for Jill and for the entire Biden family: It\u2019s personal. <\/p>\n<p>When Beau was deployed to Iraq, after spending six months in Kosovo as an Assistant U.S. Attorney trying to help \u2014 he was trying to set up a criminal justice system, I got a call from him one day.  He said, \u201cDad, what are you doing Friday?\u201d  And I said, \u201cWhat do you need, hon?  I\u2019m \u2014 what do you need?\u201d  He said, \u201cI\u2019d like you to pin my bars on.\u201d  I said, \u201cWhat in the heck have you done?\u201d  He said, \u201cSomeone\u2019s got to finish these wars, dad.\u201d  True story. <\/p>\n<p>Jill and I learned what it meant to pray every day for the safe return of someone you love.  So many of you have done that.<\/p>\n<p>Our grandkids learned what it meant to have their dad overseas in a warzone instead of back at home, for a year, tucking them into bed and reading that story every night.  Thousands of Americans \u2014 tens of thousands have had that experience. <\/p>\n<p>As the English poet John Milton wrote, \u201cThey also serve who only stand and wait.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>So, to all the mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, spouses \u2014 all those who stand alongside our veterans \u2014 and their families, caregivers, survivors: You are the solid steel spine that bears up under every burden, the courageous heart that rises to every challenge. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve asked so much of you for so long, and our nation is grateful.<\/p>\n<p>For two decades, the lives of our service members and their families and veterans have been shaped by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>Since 9\/11, hundreds of thousands of Americans have served.  So many are still serving today in harm\u2019s way, and we cannot forget them.<\/p>\n<p>The American people are forever grateful and in awe of what you\u2019ve accomplished.<\/p>\n<p>But in fulfilling their mission, so many veterans and their families and caregivers have been through hell.  Some facing deployments after deployment, spending months and years away from their families, missing birthdays, the anniversaries, and collections [celebrations].<\/p>\n<p>I remember one of the last times I flew into Iraq, in the so-called \u201cSilver Bullet.\u201d  I remember walking up to the cockpit.  And the crewmasters along with the pilots were up there, and I said, \u201cHow many of you is this your first tour?\u201d  No one raised their hand.  There were five people.  \u201cSecond tour?\u201d  No one raised their hand.  \u201cThird tour?\u201d  Two raised their hand.  \u201cFourth tour?\u201d  Two raised their hand.  \u201cFifth?\u201d  One raised their hand.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, on Veterans Day we have to always remember that there\u2019s nothing low-risk or low-cost about war for the women and men who fight it.<\/p>\n<p>I carry with me, in my pocket, every single day \u2014 I have my staff check with the Defense Department \u2014 on the back of my schedule I have U.S. daily troops in Afghanistan, killed and wounded; U.S. daily troops in Iraq, killed and wounded.<\/p>\n<p>52,323 [53,323] \u2014 not \u201croughly 53,000\u201d \u2014 every one of these individuals has a family, has a unit at home.  53,323 American servicemen and women wounded in the conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan; 7,074 gave their lives \u2014 the last full measure of their devotion.<\/p>\n<p>Untold thousands more returned home \u2014 as our Secretary can tell you \u2014 with unseen psychological wounds of war, the enduring grief borne by our Gold Star families.<\/p>\n<p>These are the costs of war that they\u2019ll carry \u2014 we\u2019ll carry as a nation for decades to come.<\/p>\n<p>And to all veterans, service members, their families, caregivers, survivors: I want you to know that our administration is going to meet the sacred obligation that we owe you.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to work with Congress \u2014 Republicans and Democrats together \u2014 to make sure our veterans receive the world-class benefits that they\u2019ve earned, and meet the sacred \u2014 the specific care \u2014 specific needs that they each individually need.<\/p>\n<p>That means expanding presumptive conditions for toxic exposure and particulate matter, including Agent Orange and burn pits.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to keep pushing on this front to be more nimble and responsive.  We\u2019re reviewing all the data and evidence to determine additional presumptive conditions that make sure our veterans don\u2019t have to wait to get the care they need.<\/p>\n<p>It also means prioritizing mental health care that is necessary to treat the invisible wounds that so many of our veterans carry, including pursuing our newly released comprehensive public health strategy to reduce military and veteran suicides.<\/p>\n<p>I want to say clearly to all our veterans: If you\u2019re struggling \u2014 you\u2019re so used to never asking for anything.  If you\u2019re struggling, reach out.  Call the Veterans Crisis Line.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re having trouble thinking about things, it\u2019s no different than if you had a wound in your arm. <\/p>\n<p>And mak- \u2014 it\u2019s also making sure that the growing population of women and LGBTQ+ veterans receive appropriate services and support.<\/p>\n<p>And as we continue our efforts to defeat the pandemic and build back better, it means keeping the needs of veterans front and center.<\/p>\n<p>The American Rescue Plan included $17 billion to support VA\u2019s COVID-19 response, to get vaccination \u2014 vaccine shots in arms as fast as possible, and to fund programs that provide rapid retraining assistance for veterans who may have lost their jobs in the pandemic, housing assistance, debt forgiveness, and to invest in improving VA facilities and the living conditions of vulnerable veterans.<\/p>\n<p>Through Jill\u2019s work of Joining Forces, we\u2019re also working to support our veterans and military families, survivors, and caregivers so they can have what they need to thrive.  They deserve it.<\/p>\n<p>As Secretary McDonough noted, this Veterans Day also marks the centennial of one of our most hallowed American monuments:<\/p>\n<p>the Tomb of the Unknowns.<\/p>\n<p>A hundred years ago today, an American soldier of the first World War \u2014 as the tomb says, \u201cknown but to God,\u201d end of quote \u2014 completed the voyage from an unidentified battlefield in France, over the rough Atlantic seas, here to Arlington National Cemetery.<\/p>\n<p>He lay in state under the Capitol Rotunda for two days on the same plinth that held the body of Lincoln, as 90,000 Americans came to pay respects.<\/p>\n<p>On the final leg of his journey, he was escorted from the Capitol by the President of the United States, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, members of Congress, General Pershing, and the Chiefs of Staff \u2014 Medal of Honor recipients all walking, as the Washington Post said, processing \u201cwithout parallel\u201d to give honor due to American service mem- \u2014 American service members \u2014 not just the anonymous soul today entombed in gleaming marble, but the generations of Americans who dared all, risked all, gave all for the cause of freedom.<\/p>\n<p>To commemorate, in the wounds of the member \u2014 in the words of a member of Congress who proposed the legislation creating the memorial, an American warrior who, quote \u2014 and this is the quote \u2014 who \u201ctypifies\u2026the soul of America.\u201d  You veterans are the soul of America.  America\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s why our veterans have always fought, always been willing to put themselves on the line.  That the first unknown lies now with his brethren \u2014 unnamed warriors from later wars.<\/p>\n<p>Fellow patriots who picked up the mantle of honor and made it their burden.<\/p>\n<p>And today, 100 years later, we keep a sacred watch over their graves.  Generations of elite sentinels have taken the post, pledging their \u201ceternal vigilance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We lay wreaths.  We renew our oaths.  We stand in solemn awe of such fidelity.  Because for us to keep faith with American veterans, we must never forget exactly what was given to us, what each of them was willing to put on the line for us.<\/p>\n<p>And we must never forget that it is the mighty arm of the American warrior \u2014 never bending, never breaking, never yielding \u2014 generation after generation that secured for us the blessings of a nation that still stands today as the beacon of<\/p>\n<p>liberty, democracy, and justice around the world.<\/p>\n<p>May God bless you all.  God bless all American veterans and those who proudly earned that title.  And may God protect our troops.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arlington, Virginia&#8230;Thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Folks, being President of the United States, you are afforded many opportunities to try to express your love, commitment, and admiration for the American people. And I must say to you that the single greatest honor I\u2019ve been afforded as President is to stand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":132052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-life-style","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-11122021-124848-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132051"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132053,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132051\/revisions\/132053"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/132052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}