President Trump Commemorates Veterans Day 2026

[1:20:39] by Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins, Army National [1:20:48] Military Cemeteries and Office of the Army Cemeteries Executive Director Karen Durham [1:20:55] Aguilera, Major General Antoinette R. Ghent, Commanding General, Joint Task Force National [1:21:02] Capital Region, and the United States Army Military District of Washington, and the Army [1:21:09] and Navy Union, United States of America National Commander Norman T. Henninger, Jr., President [1:31:55] of the United States, Room of the Unknown Soldier, to place the REAP. [1:31:59] My distinct privilege to introduce the Veterans Day Committee was formed by presidential order [1:44:36] in 1954 to plan this annual observance and support other Veterans Day observances throughout [1:44:43] the nation. [1:44:45] Please hold your applause until I introduce each special guest. [1:44:51] If you're able, please stand when your name is called. [1:44:58] Gary A. McClure, Non-Commissioned Officers Association of the United States of America. [1:45:07] Frank J. Peters, The American Legion. [1:45:14] Francis Lowe, Military Order of the Purple Heart. [1:45:20] Russ Miller, Marine Corps League. [1:45:26] Michael H. Hoyer, Military Chaplains Association of the United States of America. [1:45:35] Robert Thomas, Paralyzed Veterans of America. [1:45:41] Donald Marx, Legion of Valor of the United States of America. [1:45:47] Marlon Ruiz, Military Order of the World Wars. [1:45:56] Carter, Trio, The Enlisted Association. [1:46:02] Nicholas Dockery, Congressional Medal of Honor Society of the United States of America. [1:46:09] John Donovan, Disabled American Veterans. [1:46:15] Jim O'Brien, Military Officers Association of America. [1:46:22] Christopher Mendoza-Trung, Commissioned Officers Association of the United States Public Health Service. [1:46:31] Michael A. Reed, Air Force Sergeants Association. [1:46:35] Michael Stets, Polish Legion of American Veterans of the United States of America. [1:46:42] Harold Treber, Korean War Veterans Association of the United States of America. [1:46:50] David Rodriguez, American GI Forum of the United States. [1:46:57] Michael Rano, Catholic War Veteran. [1:47:02] Wade Davis, Blinded Veterans Association. [1:47:09] Salina Kanowitz, Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. [1:47:16] Thomas Burke, Vietnam Veterans of America. [1:47:21] Corey Geisler, Veterans of the Foreign Wars of the United States. [1:47:28] Sharon Martin, Fleet Reserve Association. [1:47:33] Sandy Voorhees, Amvets. [1:47:38] The associate and emeritus members of the committee are also with us today. [1:47:44] Associate and emeritus members, please stand. [1:47:47] Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in recognizing our Veterans Day National Committee leadership with your applause. [1:47:53] For the arrived distinguished guests, the President of the United States, accompanied by the Vice President, the host of today's ceremony, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and today's ceremony co-host, the National Commander of Army and Navy Union, United States of America. [1:53:21] Distinguished guests, please remain standing for the procession of our nation's colors and those of our Veterans Service Organizations. [1:54:08] As we march on the colors, the United States Coast Guard Band will play the National Emblem March. [1:54:15] Please place your right hand over your heart or render a hand salute. [1:54:20] Executive Director for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. [1:59:51] Let us pray. [1:59:57] Almighty God, creator and sustainer of us all, we gather today on these sacred hills of Arlington, as we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. [2:00:10] U.S. Veterans who have passed away and are now people. [2:00:16] There are generations of brave men and women who answer the call of duty to serve and defend our great nation and to preserve our liberties which we hold dear. [2:00:26] This Veterans Day we gather to express deep gratitude for unselfish service, steadfast courage, and enduring sacrifice to defend our land and to protect our Constitution. [2:00:39] Dear Lord, we bestow favor upon the millions of Veterans in every state who donned the uniform of the U.S. Armed Forces. [2:00:51] We humbly thank you, God, for using them as a shield of protection, despite the hardships that they may have endured during times of conflict, war, and peace. [2:01:03] We are surrounded by many rows of white headstones, which are a stark reminder that each headstone represents a life lived and a story told in the fabric of U.S. history. [2:01:15] We remember our deceased veterans and honor living veterans who walked away from the battlefield with invisible wounds of war. [2:01:24] We beseech you to grant spiritual healing to those struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder and moral injury. [2:01:31] As people of faith, we touch and agree for total restoration of the body, soul, and spirit. [2:01:39] We ask for a special blessing for the families who share the burden of military service when they were separated because of deployment. [2:01:48] Comfort those bereaved families and shower them with peace and joy. [2:01:53] May your amazing grace, goodness, and mercy consume them. [2:01:58] In God we ask that I may our gratitude be demonstrated by actions of love, compassion, and service to each other. [2:02:06] Help us, O God, to be one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. [2:02:13] We pray all of these things in the name of our God, who is holy. Amen. [2:02:22] Please be seated. [2:02:23] I am honored to introduce the 2026 National Veterans Day Observance co-host organization, the Army and Navy Union of the United States of America. [2:02:44] The Army and Navy Union USA is America's oldest active veterans organization, founded in 1886 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and incorporated in Hamilton County, Ohio, March 31, 1888. [2:03:00] Its fundamental objective is to continue national defense and national security, promote, foster, encourage, and perpetuate eternal comradeship among those who have seen honorable service or are presently serving honorably in the United States Armed Forces and to continue the high ideals of patriotism, loyalty, justice, and service to the country, educating all others in these principles. [2:03:28] Representing Army and Navy Union USA is National Commander Norman T. Henninger, Jr. [2:03:36] Mr. Henninger is a Vietnam-era veteran of the United States Navy. [2:03:40] He is a two-term National Commander, originally serving from 1988 to 1989, and has been involved with Veterans Day National Committee on and off for 37 years. [2:03:52] Please join me in welcoming the National Commander of the Army and Navy Union USA and co-host of today's ceremony, [2:03:59] Mr. Norman Henninger, Jr., who will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and deliverance. [2:04:04] Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. [2:04:07] On behalf of the Army and Navy Union, United States of America Incorporated, the National Veterans Day Committee, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, we welcome you to the 73rd National Veterans Day celebration here at Arlington National Cemetery. [2:04:30] As we celebrate this Veterans Day, let us reflect on the meaning and purpose of Veterans Day. [2:04:38] It is important that we separate Veterans Day from Memorial Day, which was to honor those who defeated their lives in the defense of our country. [2:04:48] Veterans Day celebrates all who have served in the service of our nation, living or deceased, to protect the freedoms we as Americans enjoy today. [2:05:00] Veterans Day is originally known as Armistice Day. [2:05:07] President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed on November 11, 1919, the first Armistice Day, marking the anniversary of the secession of hostilities in World War I, which occurred at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. [2:05:26] June 1, 1954, Congress changed the name to Veterans Day, a day to honor American Veterans of all wars. [2:05:40] In 1954, Veterans Day proclamation by President Whiteley-Eisenhower called for the formation of the Veterans Day National Committee, chaired by the Administrator of the Veterans Administration, which later became the Department of Veterans Affairs. [2:06:02] To oversee the national planning and organizing of Veterans Day observance, the chair then called together leaders of the National Veterans Organization and asked them to serve on this committee. [2:06:17] Veterans Day are a time of reflection. [2:06:28] For all Americans, it may bring back memories of service or loved ones who have served. [2:06:36] For future generations, it is an opportunity to gain experience from our history and prepare for our future. [2:06:44] This Veterans Day, let us dedicate our lives to assisting Veterans and their families in the times of need or in distress, and to assist in the peril of such Veterans whenever called upon to do so. [2:07:00] When we see a veteran, extend your hand, thank them for their service. [2:07:10] They will appreciate it, and it might just make you feel better also. [2:07:14] To introduce the host of today's ceremony, our chair of the Veterans Day National Committee and the secretary of Veterans Affairs, Douglas A. Collins. [2:07:33] Mr. Secretary Harry? [2:07:34] Please be seated. [2:07:47] Please be seated. [2:07:50] Well, welcome, everyone, to Veterans Day for all our veterans here serving today. [2:07:54] I am a little partial, of course, for my 25-plus years almost in the Air Force, but also my Army brethren, my Navy brethren, Coast Guard, and Space Force. [2:08:05] But I have a special shout-out. [2:08:06] I will be a little bit quieter for some of the audience who may know who I forgot, so this is going to be your opportunity. [2:08:12] If somebody had a birthday yesterday, if you don't have a friend in the house, who's going to work? [2:08:19] There we go. [2:08:20] It is great to be here. [2:08:22] Mr. President, Vice President, thank you all for taking this day, and this is a day that is special. [2:08:29] I want to remind you of a country that over 390 years ago understood what it meant to defend what we have. [2:08:37] 390 years ago, our National Guard really stepped forward and said, you know, we came to this country expecting to find liberty and freedom in the pursuit of what we want and freedom to have a pursuit of happiness. [2:08:49] It was not guaranteed to us, it was a pursuit. [2:08:52] And they understood that the only way we could have a pursuit is to actually fight for that pursuit. [2:08:59] 390 years went by 251 years ago. [2:09:04] We started as a country with our Navy and our Air Force, our Navy and our Army and our Marines, adding on as we went. [2:09:11] And over the years, what would happen, just as they did 309 years ago, they would leave the farms, they would leave the shops, they would leave their homes, they would leave their families to go do for this country what this country could give to them. [2:09:25] And that is the way to live and a way to pursue life and happiness. [2:09:30] And so throughout the ages, we woke up on mornings like December 7, 85 years ago, when everyone was just getting up for Sunday morning thinking it was going to be a normal day and then we were attacked cowardly at Pearl Harbor. [2:09:45] We follow through the years of war in Vietnam, we go through the Gulf War and then we come into a day in September much like this, in which we were attacked again. [2:09:55] What is the same throughout history is that every time that this country needed someone, someone stood up. [2:10:03] That someone is a veteran. [2:10:04] That someone has a face and a name. [2:10:07] That someone is the reason you are here today. [2:10:10] It is the reason you can assemble peacefully. [2:10:12] It is the reason you can vote. [2:10:14] It is the reason that you can have freedom of press and freedom of speech. [2:10:17] It is the reason that you have the life that you live. [2:10:22] So veterans today understand one thing. [2:10:25] This country does not forget. [2:10:28] This president does not forget. [2:10:31] This administration remembers that the purpose of the VA is to take care of veterans. [2:10:38] And that is all we do at the VA is put veterans first every day. [2:10:44] And in the past years, we've made it easier to get your conversation, easier to go to the hospital. [2:10:56] We've opened 47 new facilities since 2025. [2:11:01] And we've also made it easier to actually follow the law. [2:11:04] I know that's a strange concept for some in this city. [2:11:06] But the Mission Act said that our veterans could go into the community for care. [2:11:10] As you signed into law, sir, and we've had a 26% increase in veterans not only getting direct care, but community care just in the last two years. [2:11:25] So veterans, this is a day for celebration. [2:11:27] If you have raised your right hand, you have done something that approximately 96% of this country never has done. [2:11:34] You raised your right hand and said, I'm willing to go. [2:11:37] I'm willing to serve. [2:11:38] I'm willing to be there. [2:11:40] Or as my friend and colleague in the Department of War says, here I am. [2:11:44] Send me. [2:11:45] You are the best of America. [2:11:49] You are what makes us the envy of the world and also what the rest of the world fears. [2:11:56] Because when veterans come down, the world knows if they're American coming, then help is on the way. [2:12:03] There's one last thing that I admit every time because there's press here, there's others who have seen this, and I've seen this start cropping up. [2:12:09] And I have to say it all the time that I'm tired in a country where I see we're giving veterans this, we're giving veterans that, and haven't we given them enough? [2:12:21] I have one thing to say to this country and those naysayers. [2:12:25] We do not give our veterans anything. [2:12:27] They have earned everything that they have got. [2:12:30] Forgive you. [2:12:43] And now it is my great honor and pleasure to introduce the Vice President of the United States and his fellow veteran, Mr. J.D. Vance. [2:12:50] Well, thank you, Doug, and thanks to all of you for your service. [2:13:01] And let me just be another voice that says to all of our nation's veterans, to their families, to their friends, to their children, to everybody who has served the United States of America in uniform, but also to the people who made it possible for them to serve the United States in uniform, this is your day. [2:13:20] Happy Veterans Day, my fellow veterans, we're proud of you, and we're never going to stop fighting for you. [2:13:32] So 22 years before Abraham Lincoln was president, he observed that it was our veterans who were at the memorial to generations past, to the wars that they fought, and to the freedoms that they earned. [2:13:46] And at his time, he was talking about the generation of Revolutionary War veterans who had served their country honorably, and they were passing away. [2:13:56] And he likened it to a massive, beautiful forest where every day we would lose one or another giant, beautiful oak tree. [2:14:05] Think about what those veterans represented before we had these beautiful monuments, before we had stone temples built to honor those who served. [2:14:14] The first memorial to our nation's freedoms and the wars that made them possible were our veterans. [2:14:21] You saw them in the friends that you served with. You saw them in the people who lost limbs. [2:14:26] You saw them in the headstones that represented a life that served the United States of America. [2:14:32] We are, of course, proud of this amazing city and this beautiful capital of ours. [2:14:37] We're proud of all these incredible monuments. [2:14:39] But we know that the most important monuments to our generations who served in the military are our most important monuments are you. [2:14:50] It is the people who have the courage and the willpower and the fight to put on the uniform of the United States of America and say, [2:14:58] don't send my neighbor, send me. That is the greatest monument to America. It's you all. It's the fact you served. [2:15:06] But just as in Lincoln's time, some of those monuments were disappearing. [2:15:16] One of the amazing responsibilities and the humbling responsibilities as a veteran is that we have to pick up the torch when one generation sets it down. [2:15:27] Now, when I first started doing work with the generations of veterans in Vietnam, one of the things they told me, one of the most important things they took to heart is that they did not want to leave the next generation of veterans behind. [2:15:44] Anybody who has talked to a veteran of Vietnam knows that they were fighting not just for their benefits, not just so that the country honored the promises that were made to the generation of Vietnam. [2:15:56] They were also fighting so that the generations that fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, so that the government honored those promises as well. [2:16:04] Because one of the most important things our veterans do is not just fight for their country, they fight for their fellow veterans. [2:16:13] And let me say, as one veteran to the next, we are picking up that torch every single day. [2:16:18] We will never leave our veterans behind, ladies and gentlemen. That is my most sacred promise to every person here today. [2:16:32] But just as in Lincoln's time, he was witnessing that amazing Revolutionary War generation lose an oak tree every single day. [2:16:41] So in our time, we are watching fewer and fewer World War II veterans who still remember what it was like to serve in one of our nation's greatest and most historic triumphs in 251 years of proud history. [2:16:58] And so I want to give a special shout out to three World War II generation veterans who are here with us today. [2:17:07] And I ask that they be recognized, and that is Dave Yoho, Clifford Richardson, and Julian Smith. [2:17:13] Thank you for your service. Thank you for fighting. [2:17:16] Ladies and gentlemen, my fellow veterans, this is your day, of course, and I want you to celebrate. [2:17:48] I want you to have a good time, and my family are a great tradition because veterans ate free at Golden Corral was to go to Golden Corral. [2:17:57] Whatever your tradition is, I want you to enjoy this day, but I also want you to take some special commitment, [2:18:11] just as the generations of World War II veterans and the generation of Vietnam veterans fought for my generation of veterans. [2:18:21] It is now our time to pick up the torch and to fight for the next generation of veterans. [2:18:28] So yes, ladies and gentlemen, let's celebrate our veterans. [2:18:32] But I want every single veteran here, every single veteran in our country to remember that our job is to fight for the next generation of veterans, [2:18:42] and that's exactly what we're going to do. [2:18:45] And because of that, I am proud to introduce a man who has fought for veterans every single step of his life in public service. [2:19:03] A man who has expanded health care benefits for our veterans, and who demands that his administration honor its commitments to the veterans who served our country in uniform. [2:19:16] He is our commander-in-chief, but most importantly today, he is a fighter for the nation's veterans, and I am proud to fight right alongside him. [2:19:26] Mr. President Donald J. Trump, the 45th and 47th president of the United States. [2:19:49] I want to just thank you, Vice President. You did a fantastic job. I appreciate you very much. [2:19:55] We come today to these Howell Browns. They are indeed very special. [2:20:01] Rolling Hills and all the names of our great heroes etched in stone to honor 250 years of service, [2:20:08] valor, and sacrifice unsurpassed in all of the ages. On Veterans Day, we reaffirm our undying gratitude to every patriot who has answered the call of duty. [2:20:21] We pay tribute to all of those who have won the wars and have worn the uniform, who have faced the enemy, who have beaten the enemy at every turn, [2:20:32] who have warned the burdens of fate and destiny to stand as our protection in battle, or indeed our protection in battle. [2:20:43] And we thank Almighty God for the noble warriors of the United States military who have always stepped forward so that America might always stay free. [2:20:55] To every veteran here at Arlington and across the nation, today we render you the highest salute. [2:21:03] We offer you our deepest respect and love, and we pledge you our utmost loyalty and devotion. [2:21:10] Please join me in thanking every American veteran of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast Guard, and the United States Marine Corps. [2:21:21] We want to thank you very much. [2:21:23] As we salute our veterans, let us also express our profound love and appreciation for our military families, past and present. [2:21:42] They are amazing. Thank you very much. [2:21:44] And they are among the very best of our nation. [2:21:56] We are honored to be joined as well by the First Lady of the United States. [2:22:01] Thank you very much. [2:22:03] The Secretary of War, Pete Hanksack. [2:22:15] He loves you and he protects you. [2:22:29] He's all about you. [2:22:31] Secretary of Veterans Affairs with a 92% approval rating of the job he's doing. [2:22:37] That's pretty good. [2:22:38] Maybe we'll get it up to 100% Doug Collins. [2:22:41] Thank you, Doug. What a good one. [2:22:50] 50 points higher than his predecessor, I must say. [2:22:52] It's a big gift. [2:22:53] Many members of my Cabinet, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of State, General Dan Cain, who's fantastic. [2:23:00] Thank you very much. [2:23:01] The representatives of our amazing veterans service organizations and the countless members of the United States Armed Forces who are with us today. [2:23:17] Thank you all. [2:23:18] We really respect and appreciate you. [2:23:20] Thank you all. [2:23:21] To an inherited free nation is among the rarest blessings that any people in history have ever known. [2:23:32] To defend that freedom is among the hardest and highest obligations, one of the most difficult tasks imaginable. [2:23:40] Across every generation, American liberty is preserved by legions of selfless patriots, who have raised their right hands and sworn an oath, [2:23:51] of flesh and blood, for a cause whose full cost could not be measured and advanced. [2:23:58] There was no way it was doable, they thought. [2:24:02] And every year they stood, watched, they held a line, they pulled a charge bravely into the fray that few people would have wanted to do or could have done. [2:24:15] It's something that lies between order and chaos, freedom and material, civilization and progress and good and evil, exact opposite ends in the spectrum. [2:24:29] Time and time again, for 250 years, the American war has returned victorious. [2:24:35] Our Republicans triumphed, and today our country is stronger than it has ever been before. [2:24:42] A nation without heroes is like a sky without stars or a heaven without ages. [2:24:51] But in America, we've never known that darkness because we have the men, women of America's own forces, our guiding lights, our greatest heroes and our guardian angels. [2:25:04] At 19 years old, Jack Myers kissed his young bride and newborn son goodbye and went to serve as a gunner in the 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion in World War II. [2:25:21] Brave people we all. [2:25:23] In the frostbitten winter of 1944, Corporal Myers found himself in the largest battle in American history, the Battle of the Bulge. [2:25:33] He and his unit fought in one of the most intense crucibles of the history of war to turn the enemy's final advance into an unbelievable and somewhat unexpected defeat. [2:25:57] We thought it would have to go on much longer than that was an incredible moment in military history. [2:26:05] Months later, Jack's battalion was among the first to liberate the Dachau concentration camp coming face to face with the evil he missed his life to destroy. [2:26:17] Today, Jack is a great-great-grandfather and is here to receive our nation's gratitude at 103 years old. [2:26:27] Jack. [2:27:04] Corporal Jack Myers, we are honored by your presence today. [2:27:07] It's really something. [2:27:08] You see how we all respect you. [2:27:11] We respect you so much. [2:27:12] Thank you. [2:27:13] Thank you for being here. [2:27:14] U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Morse served as one of the famous dust-off medevac pilots in Vietnam. [2:27:25] Boy, could they fly. [2:27:27] Flying an incredible 1874 combat mission and evacuating 2,782 badly wounded soldiers. [2:27:39] On a single day of December 1968, he twice exposed his helicopter to close range, machine guns, and sniper fire to rescue five Americans from hell. [2:27:52] Then Douglas flew back into danger to rescue eight more Americans. [2:27:56] His bullets ripped through his helicopter, hitting his leg, his hand, his helmet, and sending shrapnel into his eye that blinded him. [2:28:07] Douglas was knocked backwards, and the helicopter began to dive. [2:28:11] But despite it all, he grabbed the flight stick, recovered the aircraft, and returned. [2:28:16] The eight men in safety nobody thought it was possible. [2:28:21] For his actions, Douglas received our military second highest honor, the Distinguished Service Cross. [2:28:27] Over three decades, he also received two Distinguished Flying Crosses, a bronze star, and 33 air medals. [2:28:35] And he is really a hero. He happens to be with us today. Please, Colonel. [2:28:41] Thank you very much, Colonel. What an honor. [2:29:08] Americans must always remember that our way of life is not the natural condition of mankind. [2:29:17] Everything we've achieved, everything that we are, everything that we hope to become is built on the courage of those willing to endure and unimaginable and to some just unbearable. [2:29:30] To stand strong when all else gives way. To stand stronger than anybody that's ever stood before. [2:29:37] And I would never allow anyone to hurt our country. We're not going to allow anyone to hurt or damage our country with bad, foolish, hollowed-like energy. [2:29:50] I'm not going to let that happen. And everyone knows what I mean. [2:29:56] In 2010 Greenberg, Ryan Hergson was leading his team through a Taliban-held village in Afghanistan at 3 in the morning when he was stepped on by enemy. [2:30:12] I mean, he was — the enemy was all over. He made the mistake — a mistake that people understood when they were in the battles of jungles. [2:30:21] He stepped on enemy explosives, a lot of them. The blast ripped through his lower body, and he looked down to see his shattered bones protruding from his absolutely mangled leg and arm. [2:30:38] Certain that he would die, Ryan's only thought as he was airlifted away was the men he was leaving behind. He couldn't stand the thought of it. He endured 27 surgeries and two cardiac arrests. [2:30:53] But the doctors saved both his life and his leg. They told him his combat career was over, but Ryan was not done. [2:31:02] Eighteen months later, he returned to Afghanistan as his team cleared another village of barrage of terrorist gunfire, pinned down two of his men with the enemy closing in. [2:31:15] They said they didn't have a chance. Ryan was ordered to him. [2:31:18] Stand down. Don't go. Under any circumstances, do not go. [2:31:23] But he had not come all the way just to leave his comrades in danger behind. [2:31:29] He charged forward spy orders. You should listen to those orders. [2:31:36] But he charged forward into the fire of the same leg. [2:31:44] It was hit again in the valiant race to rescue the dying men from the clutches of the Taliban evil group. [2:31:51] For his courage, he was awarded the Silver Star. [2:31:54] Sergeant First Class Ryan Hendrickson, who saved a lot of people that day. [2:32:00] Thank you very much, even though you dismayed orders when you don't like. [2:32:06] Thank goodness you did. [2:32:08] Brian, please stand up. Thank you. [2:32:10] Brave people. [2:32:32] Whenever I visit our troops anywhere, and I do it as often as possible, but anywhere in the world, I see that same fierce determination burning in their eyes and that same love of country beating in their hearts. [2:32:46] I'm pleased to report that the spirit of our armed forces is higher than ever before and that we have the best recruitment numbers in the history of our country. [2:32:56] There's never been recruitment anywhere near that. [2:33:01] General King, thank you. [2:33:08] Pete, thank you. [2:33:09] Great spirit. [2:33:11] Great spirit. [2:33:12] A tremendous spirit. [2:33:13] Two years ago, we had churches. [2:33:15] Now we have waiting lists of people that want to get into the United States military, which is stronger and more powerful today than ever before. [2:33:26] We built it during my first administration. [2:33:30] Used it a little bit. [2:33:31] Now in Venezuela, we want the war in 48 minutes. [2:33:37] And in one of the most stunning displays of military dominance and power the world has ever seen. [2:33:42] Nobody has ever seen anything like it. [2:33:45] This Veterans Day, I also want to say a very special thanks to every service member currently working to ensure that the world's number one state sponsor of terror, the Islamic Republic of Iran, will never have a nuclear weapon. [2:34:03] Here's the answer better to remind us why that mission really matters. [2:34:22] As a young man, Dale Gardner, enlisted in the Marines after the Iran hostage crisis, soon deployed to Beirut on a mission of peace. [2:34:31] But on the morning of October 23rd, 1983, Iranian-backed Hezbollah, terrorists fall, by the way, terrorists fall, detonated a truck packed with explosives at the Marine barracks with hundreds of Americans inside. [2:34:52] Dale's first memory is waking up in a hospital bed and his catastrophic head injuries and wounds, a collapsed lung, a broken back, torn up legs, ruptured ears, [2:35:02] and horrific burns across his entire body and all over his face. [2:35:09] He was the sole survivor of the men around him. [2:35:14] And he joins us here to remember the 241 American service members murdered in the Beirut barracks bombing, the deadliest day for the Marine Corps since Iwo Jima. [2:35:28] Dale, please stand up. [2:35:31] Thank you. [2:35:32] What's going on here? [2:35:57] Thank you very much. [2:35:59] That was a terrible time. [2:36:01] America did not start a war with Iran. [2:36:06] Iran has been waiting for America since 1979. [2:36:10] It should have been taken care of a long time ago. [2:36:12] Under this administration, under this administration, and it was about time, somebody fought back. [2:36:25] All of us fought back. [2:36:26] We fought back. [2:36:27] We fought back. [2:36:28] And we seriously fought back. [2:36:29] And we won. [2:36:30] It's a question. [2:36:31] We want to end it. [2:36:33] We want to make sure we have a total victory, not a 93 percent victory. [2:36:37] It's going to be total. [2:36:38] And to take them 25 years to rebuild back what we have destroyed, and hopefully we won't have to destroy any more of that country. [2:36:45] Got a lot of work to do to put it back. [2:36:48] U.S. involvement in the Korean War lasted four years, and we lost 36,500 great people. [2:36:58] The Vietnam War lasted 21 years, and we lost 16,000 people. [2:37:08] Iraq went on for eight years, and we lost more than 4,400 people. [2:37:14] Afghanistan was almost 20 years, and we lost 2,500 service members, and got very little from any of these wars. [2:37:26] In our case, we had Venezuela where we're taking out billions and billions of dollars of oil and all sorts of other things. [2:37:37] Be hundreds of billions very soon. [2:37:40] Nobody's ever seen anything like it, and we paid for the cost of the war many, many times over already. [2:37:49] Nobody's ever even envisioned that. [2:37:52] To the victor, belong to spoils, they used to say. [2:37:55] But you can say it again with us under this leadership. [2:38:00] In Iran, where we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon to be two bombers, they took them out. [2:38:07] We began operations against Iran seven months ago, of which only a few weeks were active, hard fighting. [2:38:17] We lost 18 beautiful souls. [2:38:21] But when this conflict is over, and it will be soon, the entire world will be a much safer and better place, [2:38:27] more peaceful place, and a place without the kind of danger that we have to suffer. [2:38:34] Because the bravery and skill of our amazing American warriors has absolutely been incredible. [2:38:45] So in the case of Venezuela, we have millions of barrels of oil coming out on a weekly basis, [2:38:53] and billions and billions of dollars. [2:38:57] And China left when I called them. [2:39:01] You gotta leave. [2:39:02] And Russia left when I called them. [2:39:04] They were all nibbling at the edges. [2:39:07] You gotta leave. [2:39:08] They left. [2:39:09] But we didn't leave. [2:39:12] But when the battle ends our commitment to those who serve us, [2:39:18] only just beginnings, only just beginnings. [2:39:21] It's gonna go on forever. [2:39:22] Things that you would never even think about. [2:39:24] We have to be strong. [2:39:26] We have to be brave. [2:39:27] We have to be respected like we are. [2:39:29] And we've never been any more respected. [2:39:31] I would say we're right now more respected than this country has ever been before. [2:39:36] If you go back two years ago, it wasn't pretty. [2:39:39] The world was laughing at us. [2:39:41] But that's all I am very proud to have done more to approve care for American veterans [2:39:49] and any president in modern history to ensure our veterans get the treatment they have earned. [2:39:56] I passed the VA choice and the VA accountability for the most important things ever passed. [2:40:04] Nobody thought they could be passed. [2:40:06] But we got it done in less than two years. [2:40:09] Two years, we have cut the VA claims backlog by 71 percent. [2:40:14] I signed the VA Home Loan Reform Act so that no veteran loses their home to foreclosure. [2:40:20] The banks are not happy about that. [2:40:23] But we are happy and the veterans are happy. [2:40:26] To secure housing for nearly 100,000 homeless veterans who were not properly taken care of in the last administration. [2:40:40] They're committed to any of the veterans' homelessness. [2:40:48] I mean, you had it. [2:40:49] It was a plague. [2:40:50] A horrible plague. [2:40:51] We're working very hard on it. [2:40:53] And we're getting the numbers down by percentages that nobody thought were even possible to think about. [2:40:59] We're doing a real job. [2:41:00] And Doug Collins has been fantastic, I will tell you. [2:41:05] America's veterans have always fulfilled their duty to us and why the President of the United States. [2:41:11] We will always fulfill our duty to them. [2:41:15] From the Patriots First stand at Lexington Green and the Concord Bridge, [2:41:21] to the blood-soaked battlefields that saved our nation from the treacherous trenches of Europe, [2:41:27] to the deepest waters of the Pacific and the farthest reaches of the world, [2:41:32] our veterans have answered every call, met every threat first, every foe, [2:41:37] and borne every bird to war so that our children might know every single blessing of peace and love. [2:41:46] And soon we're going to dedicate a magnificent, triumphal heart to our veterans. [2:41:52] And that's in honor of our great veterans and our great militaries. [2:41:56] They've been waiting for it for 200 years. [2:41:59] Each day at Arlington Cemetery, sometimes as often as 30 times a day, [2:42:05] a bugler plays the sound of taps over a new grave of an American veteran. [2:42:13] In those 24 notes, there is sadness, there is pain, but there is always pride. [2:42:18] Pride in our nation, pride in our flag. [2:42:21] And there is never any doubt, no doubt, that our heroes served a noble cause, [2:42:28] no doubt that they gave themselves a righteous mission, [2:42:33] no doubt that they had victories and won, just won, won, won, won. [2:42:38] That's what they want to do. That's what they know how to do. [2:42:40] That's what they know how to do. That's all they know how to do. [2:42:42] The freedoms they preserved and the legacy that they secured, [2:42:47] that have outlived them in so many cases, [2:42:50] that they're looking down on us right now. [2:42:52] And with God's help, we will do things that we've never been able to do before. [2:42:59] Our country is becoming a far greater country than it's ever been before. [2:43:04] So today, as one people, we say to every American veteran, [2:43:10] the sacrifice you have made, we will never forget the oath that you have kept, [2:43:16] we will never take for granted. [2:43:18] The values you fought for, we will never, ever forsake. [2:43:25] The flag you held high, we will never let it fall. [2:43:30] And the nation you served, we will never, ever let it fail. [2:43:35] I just want to thank everybody for being here. [2:43:38] You're an amazing group of people. [2:43:40] Heroes all, the families, the soldiers, the warriors. [2:43:44] You're heroes all. It's an honor to be your president. [2:43:47] This is really an amazing time in our country's history. [2:43:51] We're doing things that nobody ever thought possible. [2:43:55] And you guys will have some minor setbacks in hand very nicely. [2:43:59] But our country has never done like it's done right now, like it's doing right now. [2:44:03] May God bless America's great veterans. [2:44:06] May God bless our military. [2:44:08] And may God bless the United States of America. [2:44:11] Thank you very much, everybody. [2:44:13] Distinguished guests, please stand if you are able and join the United States Coast Guard Band [2:44:47] and the Air Force Singing Sergeants in singing God Bless America. [2:44:53] And remain standing as we retire the colors. [2:44:56] Please place your right hand over your heart or render a hand salute. [2:45:00] Thank you for joining us today to celebrate and honor.