Anybody who knows me knows that I have a special place in my heart for the men and women in our military. I think of them as being the greatest, bravest individuals our country has seen. These are the men and women who don't run away from fear, they run toward it. They are heroes. While we sleep soundly in our beds at night, these are the men and women who stand watch for us; ready to protect us from any danger that comes our way.

I believe that it is only appropriate to show how thankful I am for our veterans this Veterans Day. These individuals protect our freedoms and everything we hold dear. Without them, everything we know would be no more. We would not be the great nation we are today.

There's a quote that I read and instantly fell in love with it. It reads: "A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to and including their life.'" - Author Unknown. This quote really stuck out to me, because that is exactly what a veteran is. The check that our veterans wrote did not come without cost, and many of those checks were cashed. Since our military's history, there have been many men and women who have selflessly laid down their lives for this nation. In his 1981 inaugural address, President Ronald Reagan said:

Beyond those monuments [in Washington D.C.] to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery, with its row upon row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom. Each one of those markers is a monument to the kind of hero I spoke of earlier. Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam. -- Ronald Reagan

Freedom is not free. It comes with a great cost. A cost that so many have been willing to pay into. My great grandfather, my grandfather, my uncle, my cousin, my brother, and many others that I know have all been willing to pay the ultimate price of freedom. They've agreed to stand in the gap, and be the force that stops the enemy. I'm beyond blessed for these men and for so many like them.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for being willing to leave your family behind so that I can stay safely with mine. Thank you for being willing to lay down your life for our nation. Thank you for being the ones who stand ready to fight whatever comes our way.

To all former and current Soldiers, Sailor, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen, thank you.