Political Quotes

“Tomorrow we celebrate Armed Forces Day. Communities across my State, from Van Wert to St. Clairsville, from Sandusky to Ironton, will pause to honor the service and sacrifice of the men and women in all branches of the military service as they and we celebrate Armed Forces Day. I have held close to 100 roundtables around my State where, in many of them, I had the opportunity to speak with dozens of these honorable man and women. Those conversations reinforced my profound respect for their unstinting bravery, their unshakable sense of duty, and their unwavering commitment to our national security. Not long ago, at Walter Reed I visited two Ohio marines recovering from wounds suffered in Iraq. I asked each of them what was the first thing they thought about when they realized they were wounded. Both marines, independently of one another, said: 'Can I stay in the Marines.' That simple statement speaks volumes about our men and women in uniform. Armed Forces Day is an opportunity to honor our troops, an opportunity to honor the sacrifices they and, equally importantly, their families have made to protect our Nation, and an opportunity to honor the promises our Nation has made to repay their services and sacrifices. That is so important. We are stewards of those promises. We have a responsibility to work every day, against opposition sometimes, to ensure that our Armed Forces receive the wages and benefits and services they have earned.”