Vice President Mike Pence has a challenge for those who have not served in the U.S. military.
In a Fox News op-ed on Wednesday for Veterans Day, the vice president wrote, “To my fellow Americans who did not serve in uniform, I have a challenge for you today.”
He continued to urge those Americans to find a veteran — “whether he or she came home in the last week or in the last century” — and to “extend your hand and say those words that veterans never ask to hear but they deserve to hear every day. Find a veteran today and say: ‘Thank you for your service.’ Because they deserve to hear it every day.”
Pence also noted that nearly 50 million men and women have served in the U.S. military and that there are still roughly 20 million veterans.
“Our veterans really don’t consider themselves heroes — most of them reject the very thought of it. My dad, a combat veteran from the Korean War, used to say with humility that the heroes were the guys who didn’t make it home,” Pence wrote, adding, “But on Veterans Day, it’s our day to set the record straight.”
“Every veteran of the armed forces of the United States is a hero to the American people. On this day, it’s our duty to tell the story of what they did for us, what they did for our country, and all that they’ve done to ensure the survival and the success of liberty.”
Pence concluded his op-ed, “God bless our veterans and their families.”
The vice president is expected to visit Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia with President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and his wife, the second lady, Karen Pence.