Veterans

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge spent Veterans Day with the real-life heroes of HBO's "Band of Brothers" series:

Freedom was an ideal that we took for granted, and heroes were individuals we found in our sports arenas. And yet, September 11th was a stark reminder that freedom is an ideal we must be vigilant to preserve, an ideal worth fighting for, and that the men and women who have served the cause of freedom are America's surest heroes.

Those heroes include Dick Winters, who led the assault that made the landing at Utah Beach possible. They include the men of his company, some here today, who parachuted behind enemy lines and fought valiantly across France and Holland to defeat Hitler's armies. They include the men who fell behind, the men who paid the ultimate price so that our freedom, our way of life, our country, would endure.

One of the hallmarks of the "Band of Brothers" was each soldier’s dedication to one another, each soldier’s willingness to put the unit above the individual, a fellow soldier above self. There are lessons to draw from such character and commitment...an enormous height of strength and resolve and fellowship that can teach as well as inspire.

John Kerry served in Vietnam; Tom Ridge did as well. Bush and Cheney didn't. But the Democrats don't really appreciate America's military. And I think Major Winters and the others from Easy Company knew that--and so supported the President.