On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, the guns of WWI fell silent after four bloody years of combat. At the time, the war was referred to as the War to End All Wars. It truly had involved much of the world, and inflicted casualties on a scale rarely seen before. Unfortunately, as we all know, WWI was not the war to end all wars, and our country has been engaged numerous times since.
In each of these conflicts, brave men and women raised their right hands to serve, and to defend the hard fought freedoms that our forebears secured for us during the American Revolutionary War. Today we honor and thank those courageous women and men who are still with us. And I would add a special thank you to our Vietnam Veterans. Our country did not do right by you when you returned. It is the quiet professionalism with which you endured that shameful period in our history, and your solemn commitment to never let that happen again, that has ensured that we have welcomed home our post-9/11 Veterans the way we should have welcomed you home.
Each of us should find a Veteran today, and thank them for their service and sacrifice. Some are still serving, some have left the service, and many are severely injured. Homes For Our Troops is continuing our mission to build a specially adapted home for each post-9/11 Veteran severely injured in the Afghanistan or Iraq theaters of war. So far, with the tremendous support of our donors, fundraisers, supporters, and corporate partners, we have been able to do that for over 400 Veterans in 45 states. We shall not stop until we have built a home for each of these great Americans who have been severely injured defending us. It is the least we can do.
Bill Ivey
Executive Director
Homes For Our Troops