Jimmy Panetta: “``Let us strive to bind up our Nation's wounds, to care for him who have borne the battle, his widow, and his orphan.''…”

“``Let us strive to bind up our Nation's wounds, to care for him who have borne the battle, his widow, and his orphan.'' Those words were declared by President Abraham Lincoln at his second inaugural address where he set out our Nation's obligation to our veterans. On the eve of Veterans Day, I rise to honor our heroes, the men and women who served our Nation, and remind us of our responsibility to those, our veterans. Now, in my district, on the central coast of California, nearly 30,000 veterans live in that area, an area imbued with military history, from the former Fort Ord to the many military installations that are on Active Duty now, to the men and women who have served in our community and kept the security of our country safe. It has been those servicemembers and their families who have not only served, but stayed in our community, who have fulfilled that obligation by serving those who served us. Now we have a healthcare clinic, the VA-DOD General Gurley health clinic; we have the Central Coast Veterans Cemetery; we have the Veterans Transition Center; and we have a Veterans Treatment Court. On this Veterans Day, we not only want to thank our veterans for their service, but we recommit ourselves to serving those who served us. ____________________”