As we approach Veterans Day, words echo, including those of Ronald Reagan, for whom I once worked and who revered the sacrifices of veterans and their families. On November 11, 1985, he gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery.
He placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and later spoke. “…As I stepped back…I said a small prayer…It occurred to me that each of my predecessors has had a similar moment, and I wondered if our prayers weren’t very much the same, if not identical.“
“We celebrate Veterans Day on the anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I, the armistice that began on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month…”
“The timing of this holiday is quite deliberate in terms of historical fact, but somehow it always seems quite fitting to me that this day comes deep in autumn when the colors are muted and the days seem to invite contemplation.
“We are gathered at the National Cemetery, which provides a final resting place for the heroes who have defended our country since the Civil War…”
“Some time back, I received in the name of our country the bodies of four marines who had died while on active duty. I said then that there is a special sadness that accompanies the death of a serviceman, for we’re never quite good enough to them – not really; we can’t be, because what they gave us is beyond our powers to repay…”
Looking around the cemetery that day, Reagan continued. “…We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray-haired. But most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives – the one they were living and the one they would have lived.
“When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us. And all we can do is remember…”
“… So, the living have a responsibility to remember the conditions that led to the wars in which our heroes died. Perhaps we can start by remembering this: that all of those who died for us and our country were, in one way or another, victims of a peace process that failed…”
“The surest way to keep a peace … is to stay strong. Weakness, after all, is a temptation – it tempts the pugnacious to assert themselves – but strength is a declaration that cannot be misunderstood. Strength is a condition that declares actions have consequences…”
“Peace fails when we forget what we stand for. It fails when we forget that our Republic is based on firm principles, principles that have real meaning, that with them, we are the last, best hope of man on Earth; without them, we’re little more than the crust of a continent.”
“Peace also fails when we forget to bring to the bargaining table God’s first intellectual gift to man: common sense. Common sense gives us a realistic knowledge of human beings and how they think, how they live in the world, what motivates them… the difference between right and wrong.”
“We endanger the peace and confuse all issues when we obscure the truth; when we refuse to name an act for what it is; when we refuse to see the obvious and seek safety in the Almighty. Peace is only maintained and won by those who have clear eyes and brave minds.”
“Peace is imperiled when we forget to try for agreements and settlements and treaties …when we forget that God gave us talents to use in securing the ends He desires…”
“Each new day carries within it the potential for breakthroughs …Each new day bursts with possibilities. And so, hope is realistic and despair a pointless little sin. And peace fails when we forget to pray to the source of all peace and life, and happiness.”
“I think sometimes of General Matthew Ridgeway, who, the night before D-day, tossed sleepless on his cot and talked to the Lord and listened for the promise that God made to Joshua: ‘I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.’”
“…Today, as never before, we must pray for God’s help in broadening and deepening the peace we enjoy. Let us pray for freedom and justice and a more stable world…”
As Veterans Day commemorates living veterans, it was created after a terrible war that cost millions of lives. Reagan’s words ring as true today as 40 years ago. President Trump lives them, wants peace through strength, truth, not untruth, and asks God’s help. We owe our veterans – living and dead –everything. May we honor them and thank them with our own life’s work.
Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!
Read full article here