I’ve been a soldier for over 21 years, and currently serve as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve. I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside countless great Americans, all of us willing to lay down our lives for the country we love. The best way for us to honor our veterans, not just on #VeteransDay, but every day, is to make sure that our men and women in uniform are only sent into harms’ way as a last resort when all diplomatic measures have been exhausted, and actually take care of them and their families, if and when they return home. This is a speech I gave many years ago at Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific — these words still ring true today.