My wife and I were on vacation in Canada recently with my brother and sister-in-law. At dinner one night, the waitress noticed that my brother and I both had on shirts that said “United States Marine Corps.” She made a comment that struck both of us: “We don’t honor our veterans in Canada like they do in America.”

I remember a time when that wasn’t true. Hopefully it was just an aberration, but Vietnam was a dark stain in our history. Veterans were not only underappreciated but vilified. I’ve said this before, but if Vietnam was a wake-up call to America, it was worth it. Since Desert Storm, we as a nation have stood behind our men and women in uniform.

Not long ago, I attended a banquet in Chattanooga as a guest of my Patriot Post publisher (and good friend), Mark Alexander. The banquet was a fundraiser for a nonprofit called Honoring the Sacrifice Foundation (HSF). The speaker was Johnny “Joey” Jones, a medically retired combat Marine who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan. Some of you may know him from Fox News.

HSF was started by Sgt. Andrew Smith, who lost both of his legs soon after arriving in Afghanistan. The support from the Chattanooga community was overwhelming, even raising funds to build Andrew a handicap-accessible home. But the Smiths met many other critically wounded veterans who did not have the same support from their families and communities. Thus, HSF was born, meeting needs other organizations weren’t.

America is blessed because we are a generous people. Think about organizations like the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, the Wounded Warrior Project, the Gary Sinise Foundation, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and others. In my travels, I have been blessed to meet Patriots who have started nonprofits, usually faith-based, to help our veterans. Is this a great country or what?!

When I moved to Chattanooga 31 years ago, I had no idea about the patriotic spirit in our community. Chattanooga is the birthplace of the Medal of Honor — the first Medals given in 1863 to Andrews’ Raiders were right here in this city. The sites of the Battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, and Missionary Ridge are visited by hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.

Years ago, Mark introduced my wife and I to the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. It was named after Chattanooga resident Charles Coolidge, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in WWII. After retiring from Teen Challenge — and again, because of my friend Mark — I was executive director of the Heritage Center for a season as it prepared to create a much more immersive and interactive Medal of Honor experience. The support of our community was amazing. I now have the privilege of serving on the advisory board.

Thousands come every year to visit the birthplace of the Medal of Honor. I have met over a dozen living recipients of the Medal. It’s not “won”; it’s awarded for bravery above and beyond the call of duty. Hopefully you’ve read some of the profiles of MOH recipients and other warriors published weekly in The Patriot Post.

Since it was first awarded, there have been 3,528 recipients of the Medal; only 61 are still alive. Of those I have met, all of them are exceptionally humble. Each one says he wears the Medal to honor the memory of those he served with and those who did not come home.

So, yes, I am honored to live in the greatest, freest country in the world because of our veterans.

Something to think about.
Semper Fidelis