Johnson Makes Statement about Veterans Day

MARIETTA – Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Marietta) issued the following statement in honor of Veterans Day, November 11, 2013:

This Veterans Day, we as Americans remember the selfless service and many sacrifices made by our brave warriors. These great men and women, many of which quickly reject the title of “hero,” are in fact deserving of such. The United States of America simply wouldn’t exist as the country it does today if it weren’t for those who have served throughout our nation’s proud history to defend our freedoms and liberties, and those at home and across the globe that serve with honor today.

As a veteran with over 26 years in the United States Air Force, honoring, and making sure our veterans receive the care and benefits they have earned is one of my top priorities. I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that our veterans have both an efficient, and effective, Veterans Administration to serve them. That is a message I delivered last week when I met with top administrators at the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Regional Office. Our heroes deserve better than a claim and appeal system that is mired in red-tape and backlogs as far as the eye can see. That is unacceptable, and it dishonors those who have done so much for us.

Today, I also renew my call to have the President Franklin Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer inscribed at the World War II Memorial (H.R. 2175). Roosevelt’s prayer, later entitled “Let our Hearts be Stout”, which he prayed before the entire nation the morning of D-Day, June 6, 1944, brought comfort to military families here at home, and encouraged our brave warfighters in harms way overseas that they were fighting for something larger than justthemselves – they were fighting for the United States of America and freedom for all.

I hope that on this Veterans Day, Ohioans and all Americans take a minute to honor the veterans in their lives; it could be a mother, grandfather, friend, co-worker, or neighbor. Their sacrifice for America is the reason we enjoy the freedoms we do today.