Veteran: A person who served in the active military, naval, or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable

Veteran: Someone who knows the ultimate sacrifice

Veteran: A former member of the Armed Forces

Veteran: A person who gave up time with their family to serve our country

Veteran: Someone who knows the true meaning of freedom

Veteran: An old soldier of long service

Veteran: Someone we owe our ultimate thanks

Dear Veteran,

We thank you. Thank you for your humble attitude and your willingness to put yourself aside. Thank you for spending day and night in a constant state of high pressure and fear of the unknown. Your desire to protect our country and defend what you believe is admirable. Thank you for risking your life as an ultimate sacrifice for mankind. You took time away from your family to ensure that we have freedom. Thank you for understanding our freedoms and for not letting them slip through our fingertips. You served for years, and whether it be one or many, we appreciate it. Those years, you will never get back, but you chose to give them up for the sacrifice of freedom. You were put to the ultimate test, and while the test was hard, you used all of your strength, agility, skills, and knowledge to accomplish so many hard tasks. Thank you.

Thank you for being a blessing. You blessed your family, your friends, and everyone who can now live without fear. You are our comfort every day, and for that, we are grateful. Thank you for being a role model. You are someone that your children, family, friends, and even strangers look up to. As we go throughout life, the bravery you possessed is needed in all of us in some way. You are a fine example of what we should all strive to be. Thank you.

Thank you for witnessing the unimaginable. You spent moments of your life somewhere many of us will never experience. You know firsthand the trials, while we only imagine what it would be like. You lived day and night fighting for your life so that we could have our life. You had the end in mind, while we cannot even imagine the beginning. Thank you.

Thank you for having a dream of what America could become: the land of the free because of the brave. You were the brave; you were braver than most. Thank you for your total dedication to America. You helped establish our country as one of the best. You helped us earn our freedoms and our rights. Because of you, we are who we are today, as a country and as a people group. We proudly stand as Americans because you had a dream in mind. Thank you.

For you, we are grateful, proud, and honored. Because of you, we are rejoiced, stunned, and overwhelmed. With you, we are united, patriotic, and free.

With all of our hearts,

We thank you.