Veterans Day Quotes 2015: 27 Sayings That Highlight The Bravery Of The US Military

Veterans Day has been celebrated in the United States Nov. 11 ever since President Woodrow Wilson declared it Armistice Day in 1919. The holiday, which falls on Wednesday this year, was created to honor the brave and proud citizens that have served or are serving in a branch of the U.S. military. To help recognize American veterans, some inspirational quotes have been shared below, courtesy of American Profile, About.com and Brainy Quote.

1. “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” --Elmer Davis

2. “I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.” --Gary Hart

3. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” --John F. Kennedy

4. “Well, look at what people are doing for returned veterans now. The wounded warriors. They're working hard to make the wounded veterans feel that they are loved and welcomed home, unlike Vietnam. It was not a very kind, gentle world then. I think we are kinder and gentler.” --Barbara Bush

5. “How important it is for us to recognize our heroes and she-roes!” --Maya Angelou

6. “While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms.” --Randy Neugebauer

7. “Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.” --Ronald Reagan

8. “In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” --Mark Twain

9. “While we can never truly repay the debt we owe our heroes, the least we should do for our brave veterans is to ensure that the government takes a proactive approach to delivering the services and benefits they have earned, so they can access the care they need and so richly deserve.” –Kristen Gillibrand

10. “On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.”--Dan Lipinski

11. “The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment.” --Judd Gregg

12. “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” --Patrick Henry

13. “Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.” --Abraham Lincoln

14. "Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul." --Michel de Montaigne

15. "It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the organizer, who gave us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag." --Father Dennis Edward O’Brien, USMC

16. "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." --George Washington

17. “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.”--G.K. Chesterton

18. “Perfect valor is to behave, without witness, as one would act were all the world watching.” --Francois de la Rochefoucauld

19. “I believe it is the nature of people to be heroes, given the chance.” --James A. Autry

20. "The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it." -- Thucydides

21. “We can't equate spending on veterans with spending on defense. Our strength is not just in the size of our defense budget, but in the size of our hearts, in the size of our gratitude for their sacrifice. And that's not just measured in words or gestures.” --Jennifer Granholm

22. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” --Jeff Miller

23. “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” --Billy Graham

24. “Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.” --Dwight D. Eisenhower

25. “America's Veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world.” --John Doolittle

26. “Never give in --never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.” --Winston Churchill

27. “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” 
--Joseph Campbell

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