Senator Golden Honored Veterans at Breakfast and Awards Ceremony

Brooklyn- State Senator Marty Golden, a member of the State Senate Committee on Homeland Security, Military and Veteran Affairs, honored local veterans at a breakfast and awards ceremony ceremony in celebration of the country’s recognition of Veteran’s Day. Senator Golden’s remarks follow.

Good morning.

Thank you for all being here this morning as we gather to mark our community’s celebration of Veterans Day 2010.

Today, under the greatest flag, of the greatest Nation on Earth, we remember the Veterans who have gone before us, and we thank and salute the Veterans that are here with us today. 

We say thank you to all Veterans for their service to our Nation.  

For their bravery, for their courage, for their sacrifice.

Thank you to the Marines, and to the Army, and to the Navy, and to the Air Force, and to the Coast Guard.  To the brave men and women who have answered our Nation’s call to service in the name of all of us, thank you for what you have accomplished and what you have done for the citizens of America and for the citizens of the World.

For it is through your sacrifice and courage, that of our Veterans here today and those all across Brooklyn, our City and our State, that the American military has been able to fight against communism, Nazism, and terrorism.  

 It is because of your love of our Nation that we are able to remain the greatest democracy ever created on the face of this earth.

And it because you have never steered from your commitment to the red, white and blue, and the stars and stripes are for you forever, that we continue to be respected as the world’s superpower.

As we sit here today, ladies and gentleman, we must not fail to remember those who have so bravely put on the uniform and followed in your footsteps towards a life of service and active duty with our military.

Without them, and without you, your fate would be challenged.   

Our future, and the future of our children and our grandchildren, would be unknown.

The dream of the American people just may have faded away. 

But we are a people of faith and resolve.  We love, honor and respect both our God and our Country, and so we will not allow that to happen.

We will continue to fight against threats both at home and abroad.  We will continue to build upon the success of us, the people of the United States, who together formed “one Nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

And so again, I remind you and thank you. I remind you that without the service of our Veterans, all what America has accomplished would have never happened. 

The advances in technology that have been made here in our United States would have never been incorporated into the world. 

Discoveries of vaccinations, and cures for medical conditions, would have never been found for the entire world to know about.  

The freedom to practice one’s religion may have never been for so many.

Some of the most important inventions in the history of mankind would have never been designed.

Heroes of race, gender, religion, sports, or entertainment may have never inspired the World. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we pause and remember the ultimate sacrifices made by so many.  

And at the same time, we pray for those who are in combat zones right now, fighting to defend these United States of America, and ask for them to return home safely.

And this morning, we must be ever so thankful that we are in the presence of American heroes.

We are here today with American soldiers.  Those who fought the battles. Those who protected us from the horror that is war. Those who defended us and have made it possible for us to live the life of freedom that we hold so dear to our hearts. 

May God Bless our Veterans, those living and those who have passed.

May God watch over all of you and May God Bless the United States of America.