To Our Veterans: You Have Earned More Than Our Thanks

Guest Opinion by Perry Hooper Jr.

Before we thank a veteran for serving our country, we ought to pause and consider what that service required. Someone left a family, surrendered control over where they would live and accepted the possibility that defending America could cost them everything. While the rest of us went about our lives, they stood watch, trained for dangers we would never face and carried responsibilities most of us will never fully understand. This Veterans Day, I want every man and woman who has worn our nation’s uniform to know that your service matters, your sacrifices are remembered and the country you defended owes you a debt that words alone can never repay.

In this year of America’s 250th anniversary, we have much to celebrate, but we should be clear about who made that celebration possible. Our founding principles have endured because generations of Americans were willing to defend them. From the soldiers who fought for independence to those who served through world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan and Iraq, Americans have answered when their country called. Others maintained the readiness that helped prevent wars, guarded installations, cared for the wounded and supplied the people on the front lines. Every honorable contribution deserves our respect, whether it came under enemy fire or through years of demanding service far from public attention.

Here in Alabama, veterans are woven into the life of our communities. They are our neighbors, fellow church members, business owners, teachers and public servants. We see them at the grocery store or sitting beside us at a ballgame, often without knowing where they served or what they endured. Some wear a cap identifying their branch or unit, while others rarely speak about their time in uniform. We should never mistake that quiet manner for an absence of sacrifice. Many have spent a lifetime carrying memories they share with very few people, and they deserve the opportunity to tell their stories when they are ready and the respect of being heard.

I especially want to recognize our Vietnam veterans, too many of whom returned to a country that failed to give them the welcome they had earned. Disagreement with a war never justified contempt for the Americans sent to fight it. They deserved gratitude when they came home, and they deserve it today. To those who waited years to hear it, welcome home, and thank you for serving your country.

Behind our veterans stand families whose sacrifices also deserve recognition. Military spouses kept households together through deployments, uncertainty and long separations. Children celebrated birthdays with a parent thousands of miles away, while mothers and fathers prayed for a telephone call assuring them that their son or daughter was safe and secure.

Also a grateful nation should recognize that coming home is sometimes the beginning of another difficult journey, one that requires patience, understanding and dependable support.

That is why our gratitude must extend beyond a ceremony or a handshake. Veterans deserve timely medical care, effective mental health treatment and a fair opportunity to build fulfilling lives after service. A veteran seeking help should encounter people determined to solve a problem, with a system that respects both the urgency of the need and the dignity of the person. We also have responsibilities in our own communities, whether that means hiring a veteran, helping a military family or making time for someone who has grown isolated. The words “thank you for your service” carry greater meaning when our actions give veterans a reason to believe them.

Veterans Day also gives us an opportunity to teach our children what service means. Take them to a ceremony, introduce them to a veteran and help them understand the person behind the uniform. Let them learn that courage includes doing a difficult job faithfully, keeping a promise to others and accepting responsibility when walking away would be easier. Those lessons will strengthen our country long after the flags from this year’s observance have been put away.

To every American veteran, thank you for the years you gave, the burdens you carried and the people you protected. You served a nation whose citizens can worship freely, speak their minds and choose their leaders, and we honor you by taking those freedoms and our responsibilities seriously. May God bless you and your families, comfort those still struggling with the wounds of service and help the rest of us become more worthy of what you have given. You have earned our gratitude, our respect and our commitment to stand beside you, just as you stood for us.

Perry O. Hooper Jr. is a longtime Alabama Republican figure, former Alabama Legislator and Montgomery businessman. He served as Co-Chair of “Alabama Trump Victory” in 2016, and served as an at-large delegate to the Republican National Convention. He is a noted civic leader in Montgomery with deep family roots in Alabama’s legal and political history.

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