Veterans Day Remarks
November 11th, 2009
Following are remarks by Senator Jay Paul Gumm as he gave the keynote address at the annual Veterans Day ceremony at Durant Intermediate School in Durant, Oklahoma on November 11, 2009.
SENATOR GUMM: Good morning. It is a great honor to be with you as we pause to honor the men and women whose sacrifices and courage secured the freedom that is the birthright of every American.
It was 91 years ago today – in a small railway car in a French forest – when the Allied Powers and Germany signed an armistice that ended one of the bloodiest wars the world had ever endured.
By the time the guns fell silent, World War I had raged for more than four years, and more than 8 million soldiers had given their lives. But on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the war ended – and peace began to return to Europe.
President Woodrow Wilson declared that November 11th should be remembered as Armistice Day – to honor the brave sacrifices of the American soldiers who defended democracy. Today, we call it Veterans Day – a day to celebrate, thank and honor every man and woman who served in our Armed Forces.
At our State Capitol, three large murals serve as a memorial to those who died in the First World War. Two of those murals – with the names of every Oklahoman who died in that terrible war – make up the entire wall in rooms where committees meet to make critical decisions about our state’s future.
I often find myself looking up at the murals, straining to read the names of so many who gave so much for you and me. In many ways, those brave Oklahoma soldiers are watching over us, ensuring that the state they sacrificed to protect is still free.
Edmund Burke wrote that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Throughout our history, Americans have refused to allow evil to triumph.
Whether it was in Europe or Japan, Korea or Vietnam, Kuwait or Somalia, Iraq or Afghanistan – America’s Veterans defended us all from the darkness that destroys freedom. While there is evil all around this world, it will never triumph so long as heroes are willing to put on the uniform of America’s Armed Forces.
Our Veterans are our sons and daughters, our fathers and mothers, they are our family and they are our friends. They leave home to do the Lord’s work – and they lead lives of quiet dignity when they return to our communities.
Today we – students, educators, and a deeply grateful community – gather to send a clear message to all of you heroes: Thank you for your courage, thank you for your sacrifice, and thank you for standing up when our nation needed you most.
May God bless each of you, and may God bless the United States of America.
Senator Jay Paul Gumm
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