Bidens Host Veterans, Troops, Families at Naval Observatory

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2009 - Today's military is the "best-equipped, best trained, best educated, and the most competent military in the history of mankind," Vice President Joe Biden told 240 servicemembers and veterans at his home at the U.S. Naval Observatory today.

Vice President Joe Biden, at podium, and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, left, hosted a luncheon for nearly 250 veterans, active duty servicemen and women and their families at the Vice President's residence in Washington as part of November 11, 2009 Veterans Day activities. They were joined by Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, left. VA photo by Robert Turtil (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Biden and his wife, Jill, hosted a Veterans Day luncheon for the servicemembers and veterans and their families at the official vice president's home in northwest Washington, D.C.

"Welcome to your home," Biden told the crowd gathered in a tent for picnic food outside of the main residence on a rainy Veterans Day here. "We're honored to occupy it, but we want to share it. I'm truly grateful to the service all of you have rendered and humbled by your sacrifice."

In his three decades in the U.S. Senate, Biden noted, he met many people. "If I had to list ten of the most impressive men and women I've known in my career, six were wearing a uniform at the time," he said.

Biden said he's made 30 trips to combat zones in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. "Everywhere I've gone, I've marveled at how incredible our fighting forces are... they're dedication, they're courage," he said. "I've seen the fire of patriotism in their eyes."

"I see the most tested among us – citizens who didn't fear the future, but helped shape the future," he said.

Everyone wants to know how the American military turns out such great servicemembers, Biden said. "Well, first they come from a good gene pool – the American gene pool. Then, you train them, you give them the lead," he said. "It's the only military in the world that I'm aware of where you give a 19-year-old kid responsibility over multimillion-dollar equipment and let him or her make their own decisions. It's remarkable."

Biden noted that his wife and First Lady Michelle Obama have taken on the cause of military families as a top priority for the Obama administration. In fact, he said, even before he became Barack Obama's vice presidential pick, his wife told him, "'More has to be done, Joe'" for military families.

Jill Biden noted that she and Mrs. Obama have been visiting U.S. military bases "to listen and to learn from their experiences.

"At each visit, I am overwhelmed by the courage of our men and women in uniform," she said. "The dignity and sense of patriotism that military families just like yours exhibit every day is an inspiration."

The administration is working to improve access to child care, improved housing for military families and quality care and treatment for wounded warriors, Mrs. Biden said, while she and Mrs. Obama have started a campaign to encourage all Americans "to show their thanks through simple acts of support."
When the Bidens' son, Beau, recently returned from service in Iraq, Mrs. Biden said, he was touched by how many people met him at the airport in New Hampshire in a sign of support.

"As a military mom, I know how a simple act of kindness can make a difference," Biden said. "One thing Beau said when he arrived home was 'I can't tell you how much it meant to be greeted by hundreds of people who said 'thank you for your service.'

"On Veterans Day and every day, it is our sacred duty to honor those who sacrifice so much," she said.

The vice president estimated it will take more than $67 billion to give lifelong care for the 15,000 servicemembers severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he said it is a cost that is, and must continue to be, a top priority for any administration, and one veterans groups must "stay vigilant" about.

"There is only one truly sacred obligation and it is in giving all those we send all they need and care for them and their families when they come home and the families of those who don't come home," he said. "It is more important than education, health care, the FBI -- anything else in our federal budget."

Veterans Affairs Secretary Ret. Army Gen. Eric Shinseki opened the luncheon by saying it is fitting that Veterans Day is so close to Thanksgiving, "because Veterans Day is an act of Thanksgiving."

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Leon Caffie, a reservist from Gainesville, Fla., was among those who attended the luncheon. Drafted in 1970 and scheduled to retire in January, Caffie said it was important for him to reflect on Veterans Day this year because it is his last in uniform.

"This has been a part of my life for 39 years," Caffie said. A Vietnam and Iraq war veteran, he said it was important to him for leaders to honor servicemembers.

"When I returned from Vietnam as a young American soldier who felt like I'd done my duty to protect our democracy and our way of life, we expected bands and crowds and citizenry, and that didn't happen," he said.

When he returned from Iraq in 2003, Caffie said, he received that long-awaited recognition. And, he said, today's servicemembers are greatly deserving. "I've commanded 170 Army Reserve enlisted soldiers stationed around world, and I'm amazed at what they do when they are asked to perform. They are the silent heroes. They do everything we ask them to do. The young men and women today are full of enthusiasm and want to do whatever you ask of them."

Another soldier, Capt. Stephen Betts, said he was honored to be selected to attend the luncheon. This year is the second that Betts, severely wounded in Afghanistan in April 2008, has faced as a wounded warrior.

"Veterans Day means so much now, now that so many people have gone and been wounded," he said. "The fact that the vice president took the time out of his day to do things like this means a lot."

Betts, an embedded technical trainer recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, said he is trying to return to duty.

First Lady Urges Vets to Join Volunteer Campaign

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2009 - First Lady Michelle Obama today urged all Americans, including military veterans, to put their skills to use in volunteer service to assist U.S. communities and citizens in need.

"One of the greatest privileges that I have as First Lady is the chance to meet with veterans and to meet with servicemembers and their families all across America," Obama said at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium during the announcement of ServiceNation's Mission Serve volunteer-initiative program.

ServiceNation is a national campaign that encourages service and volunteerism as a means to help address homelessness, unemployment, under education, crime, mental illness and other societal problems.

America's servicemembers, veterans and their families inspire a "sense of awe – true awe," Obama said, through their service and sacrifice to the nation.

And America's veterans, she said, can channel their energy, skills, experience and commitment into the performance of volunteer service.

"What they've learned standing watch over the homeland and fighting wars abroad is precisely what we need to meet our biggest challenges here at home," Obama said. "And that's whether it's turning around a failing school or managing a big-city homeless shelter – we need that energy; whether it's running a rural health clinic or rescuing a community struck by a natural disaster – our veterans have what it takes for success."

For example, as part of Mission Serve's 35 public-private partnership initiatives, Obama said, wounded warriors are mentoring young people and combating gang violence.

And, "veterans are building homes in New Orleans, and working to reduce the dropout rate in Boston and Philadelphia, and helping their fellow veterans reintegrate into communities all across America," the First Lady said.

Supporting servicemembers as they go off to war "requires an active citizenship," Obama said.

"The freedoms they fight for are ones that every single one of us enjoys," she pointed out.

"So it's up to every single one of us to honor their service with service of our own," Obama said. "It's up to us to recognize our veterans not just for all they've done for this country – but for all they will continue to do for this country.

"That's what Mission Serve is all about," she said.

Dr. Jill Biden, spouse of Vice President Joe Biden, and Alma J. Powell, chair of America's Promise Alliance and spouse of former Secretary of State and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff retired Army Gen. Colin Powell, accompanied Obama at the ceremony.

Dr. Biden and Mrs. Powell, Obama said, take great interest in programs that assist servicemembers, veterans and their families. The Bidens' son, Beau, an Army captain, recently returned home from a year of duty in Iraq.

The concerns of servicemembers, veterans and their families "are our top priority," Biden said. "And, we are working hard to expand access to child care, to improve housing conditions and to provide quality care and treatment for our wounded warriors."

Meanwhile, Biden said, everything that citizens can do to support and recognize the nation's servicemembers and veterans can make a real difference.

"On Veterans Day and every other day it's our sacred duty to honor the service of those who sacrifice for our country – and we can all play a role," Biden said.

"I hope that all of us will pause today and think about how we can join in this call for service," she added. "I know what an impact it will have."

Biden thanked ServiceNation and its partners "for giving Americans concrete ways to participate" in programs that help servicemembers, veterans and their families.

Mrs. Powell received ServiceNation's inaugural Award for Excellence in Military and Civilian Service at the ceremony.

She said that she shares the award "with many military families and countless Americans who step forward every day to help make life better for those around them."

Prior to the ceremony, Mrs. Powell said, volunteers at George Washington University's Marvin Center wrote letters to servicemembers and their families and assembled care packages for troops.

"Efforts like this, and the larger effort behind the ServiceNation civilian-military initiative, are essential, vital to the well-being of our American community," she said.

It takes all citizens "to build a stronger America," Mrs. Powell said, involving partnerships between civilians and military members, schools and communities, and public and private sectors.

Nation's Capital Hosts Throngs for Veterans Day Memorials

By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 11, 2009 - The nation's capital today hosted throngs of people paying tribute to men and women who currently or previously wore the uniform of the U. S. military.

At the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall here, where more than 58,000 names of fallen troops are etched into the granite partitions, attendees of a veteran's day ceremony placed flowers, wreaths and other mementos by the names of loved ones.

Standing a few feet from the carved granite wall was Daniel Hernandez of Galveston, Texas, who fought in Vietnam 40 years ago.

"I know a lot of people on this wall," said Hernandez, a former Army specialist in the 1st Cavalry Division.

As a chaplain's assistant during the war, one of young Hernandez's duties was to help with memorial services for troops killed in action – from junior enlisted servicemembers to the most senior ranking in his chain of command, including Gen. George Casey, the father of the current Army Chief of Staff.

"There's joy because I'm here, the joy of being here with fellow soldiers who served," he said of the day's event. "And there's of course the heavy heart of sadness for those that we lost and those that we'll never see again."

Designed by architect Maya Lin and built in 1982, the memorial consists of two black walls sunken into the ground, with a rolling mound of earth behind it sloping toward a heavily trafficked street.

On the one hand, the design serves a practical purpose of separating the visitor from the noise and the traffic of Constitution Avenue and the noise of the city. But according to architects familiar with the designer's vision, the wall also was intended to appear as a rift in the earth.

The memorial was one landmark that retired Army Master Sgt. Archie Ellinger said he wanted to visit before it was too late.

"For many years I haven't been able to come up here," said Ellinger, who made the trip from Kentucky. "I'm getting old, and I wanted to come up here and honor those veterans. Before I die, I wanted to do it that one time."

Ellinger, who served as an aviator assigned to the 227th aviation battalion of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam, also was in town for a reunion with his battle buddies in nearby Crystal City, Va. But thoughts of those unable to make the reunion were not far from his mind.

"There's many of them," he said, referring to names on the wall that belonged to his fellow servicemembers, "probably about a dozen or so."

Walking the grounds today was a cross-section of military society, from Vietnam veterans wearing leather jackets with POW/MIA patches sewn on, to Gold Star Mothers – women whose servicemember sons or daughters died in war. Soldiers from Fort Hood, Texas, where this week tragedy struck when a gunman fatally shot 13 people and wounded 38 others on base, also were recognized in the course of the memorial event.

One surprise guest speaker was Ken Salazar, the secretary of the Department of Interior, who later participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the foot of the wall. Salazer, addressing an audience gathered at the wall, expressed gratitude to U.S. servicemembers.

"Thank you to all of you who are here making sure we never forget those who have made sure we are free in America, and the sacrifices they have made," Salazar said.

Observing the activity near the wall was Diane Carlson Evans, founder and president of the Vietnam Women's Memorial – erected 16 years ago as an homage to the nurse corps comprised of female servicemembers who deployed to Vietnam.

As she watched veterans pay tribute to the names of their fallen troops, Evans, who served as an Army nurse during the war, discussed the enduring bond wounded troops have with their medical caretakers even long-after their recovery is complete.

Many years after her service in Vietnam, in an odd twist of fate, Evans ended up in the same town – River Fall, Wis. – as one of the wounded troops she treated during the war.

"We were neighbors for about five years and he didn't know I was in Vietnam and I didn't know I had been to Vietnam," she recalled. The neighbors realized their connection during a conversation about the memorial wall when it was being built some 27 years ago.

"He was wounded in March 1969 and went to 71st evacuation hospital and I was his nurse," she said. "He remembered he had a red-headed nurse from Minnesota and her name was Carlson.

"And I said, 'Well, my name was Carlson, I'm from Minnesota and I have red hair,'" Evans said, referring to her maiden name. "And we have kept up a friendship ever since."

Across the Potomac River, a memorial stands with the express purpose of recognizing contribution of women like Evans. At the foot of the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., where President Barack Obama honored the nation's fallen today, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial today hosted it's a separate veteran's day event.

Addressing the audience gathered inside the memorial was a panel of female servicemembers representing of each branch, including Lt. Hannah L. Bealon of the U.S. Coast Guard.

In her remarks, Bealon said she was inspired by two of her uncles who served in the Vietnam War and wanted to follow their footsteps into service. But upon hearing her decision, one of Bealon's uncles discouraged her from joining because she was a woman – he suggested instead that she marry a servicemember and reap the benefits.

"It did not matter; I knew I wanted to serve," she said. "Their life experiences and their long-time friends inspire me to serve my country and to have great respect for Veteran's Day."

"To my beloved veterans: Thank you for your service, devotion duty, and sacrifices. You will not be forgotten," she continued. "For I am your legacy and my children will be your future."