Sunday, November 11, 2012

Veterans Day

This day we remember our nation’s veterans and the sacrifices they offered for our freedoms.  Veterans Day is especially poignant for me and my family.  After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, my uncles--all second generation Japanese Americans--volunteered to serve our nation in WWII.  They were among the first to volunteer at the draft office on the morning of December 8th, 1941.  One of them, my uncle Roy, never made it home from the war.  My wife’s father and uncles also served valiantly in WWII.  Three of her uncles paid the ultimate sacrifice in that conflict.  How blessed we are to be the children and grandchildren of that generation of Americans who were willing to give so much for the freedoms we continue to enjoy today.  

Today is also a day to remember and appreciate the men and women who are currently serving in the armed forces, both at home and abroad.  May we keep them and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers.  I was pleased that Utahns so overwhelmingly showed their support for Constitutional Amendment B, allowing deployed soldiers to be exempt from property taxes.  We need to do everything we can to support our men and women in the military; this was a much-needed, common-sense measure.  

I hope that we as Utahns and Americans will pause for a moment today to appreciate our freedoms and those who paid the price for us to have them.  Let us honor their sacrifices by living lives of giving and lifting and serving others, and building a better future for our posterity.

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