By Capt Joseph R. John, Memorial Day, May 30, 2016

Combat Veterans fight and die to protect their fellow comrades in arms, and fight for their right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.  Courageous Combat Veterans sacrifice the time they are away from their families, often are involved in operations that negatively affect their health, and all too often they forfeit their lives to protect and defend their fellow man and ensure the freedoms accorded to their fellow Americans by the US Constitution.  Today, America has fewer Combat Veterans serving in Congress than in any other time in US History.  We continue to recruit them to run Congress, and encourage Americans to elect them to Congress. 

On Memorial Day, and “every day”, we honor Combat Veterans who have given their last full measure of devotion in the defense of the Republic, we also honor all Veterans who at one point in their life wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America” for an amount “up to and including their lives”, and we are  grateful for the service of members of the US Armed Forces who are protecting and defending the Republic. 

Many living and deceased Veterans have been honored with plaques dedicated in their memory at the largest National Veterans Memorial west of the Mississippi, the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, in La Jolla, California.  A video about the National Veterans Memorial on Mt. Soledad can be viewed by clicking on the below listed link; it includes comments by Jessica (John) Gercke: 

Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial

Memorial Day….Honoring the loss of 1,283,055 Fallen American Patriots during the below listed Conflicts and Wars: 

Revolutionary War                           25,000 American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to give Americans their Freedoms & Independence

Civil War(Union/Confederates)      620,000 American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to protect & defend America’s Freedoms 

WW I –                                             116,516 American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to protect & defend America’s Freedoms 

WW II –                                           420,000 American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to protect & defend America’s Freedoms

Korean War—                                  36,516 American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to protect & defend America’s Freedoms

Vietnam War—                                58,209 American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to protect & defend America’s Freedoms

Iraq War--                                          4,488  American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to protect & defend America’s Freedoms

Afghanistan War(as of 9/2015)         2,326  American Combat Patriots were lost in battles to protect & defend America’s Freedoms (20,083 wounded in Afghanistan)  

         Fallen American Patriots   1,283,055

      Members of the US Armed Forces believe it is their duty to their country to protect and defend the US Constitution, to obey US Federal Laws, to respect & honor the Flag of the United States, and to defend the nation from all enemies-----foreign and “domestic.”

  

Preview YouTube video Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial  Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial