126 Important Quotes About Veterans and Veterans Day

In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.

In the aftermath, we are because they were.

Damn the wars but bless the soldier.

To honor our national promise to our veterans, we must continue to improve services for our men and women in uniform today and provide long overdue benefits for the veterans and military retirees who have already served.

The brave men and women, who serve their country and as a result, live constantly with the war inside them, exist in a world of chaos. But the turmoil they experience isn't who they are; the PTSD invades their minds and bodies.

You don't get a purple heart for being mentally shot.

We've found when soldiers help other soldiers, or military members of any service, it helps them, too.

I am not a hero but the brave men who died deserved this honor.

We who have seen war, will never stop seeing it. In the silence of the night, we will always hear the screams. So this is our story, for we were soldiers once, and young.

We who have seen war will never stop seeing it.

Those who do not appreciate the soldiers and instead pompously talk about peace, should try to live a single day without the soldiers.

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.

Our veterans accepted the responsibility to defend America and uphold our values when duty called.

Respecting our veterans includes providing them the ways and means they so desperately need to reintegrate into our lives and serve us again as productive members of our civilian community.

Honoring the sacrifices many have made for our country in the name of freedom and democracy is the very foundation of Veterans Day.

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.

On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.

God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.

Those of us who have never been in the military don't understand what it is like to serve in the military.

I think how veterans are treated in our country is an abomination. We don't have the draft any more, which is why so many soldiers come from working-class -- rather than middle- or high-income families. Those wealthier families aren't affected, so they're not agitating for change.

We have to make sure the Hell the veterans come home from is not the Hell they come back to.

Congress should stop treating veterans like they're asking for a hand out when it comes to the benefits they were promised, and they should realize that, were it not for these veterans, there would be nothing to hand out.

It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.

It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.

Any soldier worth his salt should be antiwar. And still there are things worth fighting for.

I'm pretty upfront about my love and admiration for the military. One of the perks of making movies is that you get to sort of follow your own passions, and I believe quite passionately that we don't pay enough attention and respect to our veterans. Not just our wounded veterans, but all veterans.

Courage in danger is half the battle.

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.

Have you ever stopped to ponder the amount of blood spilt, the volume of tears shed, the degree of pain and anguish endured, the number of noble men and women lost in battle so that we as individuals might have a say in governing our country?  Honor the lives sacrificed for your freedoms. Vote.

America's veterans embody the ideals upon which America was founded more than 229 years ago.

Twenty-five million veterans are living among us today. These men and women selflessly set aside their civilian lives to put on the uniform and serve us.

The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage.

Veterans report that service dogs help break their isolation. People will often avert their eyes when they see a wounded veteran. But when the veteran has a dog, the same people will come up and say, 'Hi' to pet the dog and then strike up a conversation.

The valor and courage of our young women and men in the armed services are a shining example to all of the world, and we owe them and their families our deepest respect.

If our goal is to provide health care to our veterans, why does it need to be in the bricks and mortar of bureaucracy of the VA? Why can't you give them an insurance card and let them go to a health care provider of their choice?

What wounded veteran's don't need is sympathy. They need to be treated like the men they are: equals, heroes, and people who still have tremendous value for society.

We owe our World War II veterans -- and all our veterans -- a debt we can never fully repay.

When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?

What do we have for veterans? Government-run health care. I understand that. Congressmen and senators... they get five choices of government-run health care. Why should a congressman and senator get anything more than a regular citizen does? Why are they privileged and the rest of us aren't?

Caring for veterans shouldn't be a partisan issue. It should an American one.

From the world wars of Europe to the jungles of the Far East, from the deserts of the Middle East to the African continent, and even here in our own hemisphere, our veterans have made the world a better place and America the great country we are today.

You've been told that you're broken, that you're damaged goods and should be labeled victims. I don't buy it. The truth, instead, is that you are the only folks with the skills, determination, and values to ensure American dominance in this chaotic world.

The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.

Despite all the dysfunction in Washington, I believe that when it comes to helping veterans and keeping our fundamental promises as a country, we can come together and do the right thing.

One of the key issues all veterans face is making the transition to a civilian career, and for veterans who need extra medical attention, this can be even more difficult.

America's Veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world.

America's veterans deserve the very best health care because they've earned it.

In World War One, they called it shell shock. Second time around, they called it battle fatigue. After 'Nam, it was post-traumatic stress disorder.

Tragically, the effort to make America and the world safer and to defend freedom around the world is not without an enormous cost to this Nation in terms primarily of lost lives and those who bear the scars and the wounds of war, and their families who must bear these losses.

For many of the brave men and women who have fought on the front lines, returning home means trying to navigate a complicated and bureaucratic Veterans Administration benefits system.

While we can't begin to repay the debt we owe our veterans for their brave service, we can certainly take steps to ease the physical, psychological and financial hardships they may be experiencing.

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.

When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting.

They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!

I cannot, or will not, take the freedoms this country offers for granted. But these freedoms have come with a price so many times. The sacrifices made by our veterans are reminders to us of this.

I want people to take the initiative to find veterans that need help, veterans that are suffering and in need of assistance reintegrating from combat back into society, into normal family lives and jobs. We need to take a real 'boots on the ground' approach to helping veterans in need.

Veterans are driven by the same frustrations that the public has with what is happening in Washington... the fiscal irresponsibility and the financial crisis that our country is facing.

A lot of times, you're interacting with people for whom you're one of the very few veterans that they've met or had a lot of interactions with, and there's a temptation for you to feel like you can pontificate about what the experience was or what it meant, and that leads to a lot of nonsense.

Caring for our veterans is the duty of a grateful nation.

Veterans are a symbol of what makes our nation great, and we must never forget all they have done to ensure our freedom.

My advice is for veterans to seek out mentors, people who are doing what you want to do. You have to decide what you want and have a goal. Don't worry about how you're going to do it. Just trust that you'll get there.

Either war is obsolete, or men are.

America's trying to do the best for its veterans.

The precondition to freedom is security.

The sacrifices made by veterans and their willingness to fight in defense of our nation merit our deep respect and praise -- and to the best in benefits and medical care.

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

Every star in the universe represents a soul of a soldier who gave his life for the life you live today.

Better than honor and glory, and History's iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men.

To sacrifice anything is of great honor. To sacrifice everything is of God.

The atrocities of war are only overshadowed by the heroism of their dead.

In the battlefield men grapple each other and die;
The horses of the vanquished utter lamentable cries to heaven,
While ravens and kites peck at human entrails,
Carry them up in their flight, and hang them on the branches of dead trees.

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask: Mother, what was war?

A soldier is he whose blood makes the glory of the general.

But fame is theirs -- and future days
On pillar'd brass shall tell their praise;
Shall tell -- when cold neglect is dead -
These for their country fought and bled.

May fireworks fill your heart and independence be your way of life.

The thing about veterans, they know how to challenge the establishment. They're not afraid to take on the people in control. They're not afraid to put people over politics or over their political party.

One thing that bothers me is the way that people use veterans and troops almost as a shield. They say that's the reason they stand and that veterans deserve to be honored and respected during the anthem. But where is that outrage in taking better care of veterans?

Veterans should not lose the benefits they've earned through their service due to circumstances out of their control.

The selflessness and service of the veterans I have met and served with are the living embodiment of what America and American values mean to me.

By 1989, the total number of Vietnam veterans who had died in violent accidents or by suicide after the war exceeded the total number of American soldiers who died during the war.

To The Veterans of the United States of America
Thank you, for the cost you paid for our freedom, thank you for the freedom to live in safety and pursue happiness, for freedom of speech (thus my book), and for all the freedoms that we daily take for granted.

My dad once told me that his biggest challenge after returning from Vietnam had been coming to terms with his own callousness. He'd made a deal with the war and traded his humanity for a ticket home.

For the veteran, thank you for bravely doing what you're called to do so we can safely do what we're free to do.

Veterans have the skills employers want -- discipline, motivation, leadership, and the ability to work on a team. They have made the U.S. military the most effective and respected in the world.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes.

We, and all others who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.

Are they dead that yet speak louder than we can speak, and a more universal language? Are they dead that yet act? Are they dead that yet move upon society and inspire the people with nobler motives and more heroic patriotism?

Freedom is never free.

The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

In valor there is hope.

One way to remember who you are is to remember who your heroes are.

The sanctity of our battlefields, monuments, and veterans institutions is of utmost importance to preserve military history and pay respect to those who fought.

Because all of us believe and understand in the fabric of the common bond of why we call ourselves American is to care for the men and women who wear the uniform; and when they take off the uniform, we care for them when they are veterans.

Soldiers generally win battles; generals get credit for them.

But this Veterans Day, I believe we should do more than sing the praises of the bravery and patriotism that our veterans have embodied in the past. We should take this opportunity to re-evaluate how we are treating our veterans in the present.

Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.

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.

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.

Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor food; I offer only hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart, and not merely with his lips, follow me.

Perfect Valor is to do, without a witness, all that we could do before the whole world.

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.

Old soldiers never die; they just fade away.

Duty, Honor, Country. Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

I go where the sound of thunder is.

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.

We make war that we may live in peace.

There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.