Thank you, Maine Veterans

November 8, 2024

This Monday, November 11th, marks an important day in Maine and around the nation: Veterans Day.

Hello. This is Governor Janet Mills, and thank you for listening.

Our state can proudly say that we are home to one of the highest number of veterans per capita of any state in the country. Well, when you consider Maine's long and proud history of military service, that should come as no surprise. From the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, to World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Maine people have always defended our nation and its ideals, and our state has always shouldered its responsibility to protect our country.

In fact, during the Civil War, our state contributed a higher proportion of our citizens to the Union Army than any other state in the nation. That proud history is reflected in the fact that our great Veterans Medical Center, Togus, was the very first veterans facility created by the United States government to house Union veterans after the Civil War.

That proud history of military service is also at the heart of my family. My father served in the Pacific during World War II, surviving the biggest battle of naval history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Two uncles of mine also served in World War II, also in the Pacific. And my brother served several tours of duty in Vietnam. As the daughter, niece, and sister of veterans, I'm always thinking about what more we can do to support those who wore the uniform and their families.

This Veterans Day, I encourage all Maine people to thank a servicemember and to honor the rights and freedoms those servicemembers have fought for - many rights which are also so fragile and too often taken for granted. Like the right to disagree, and to express an opinion, whether anyone listens or not. The right to personal privacy in one's home, and in the fundamental decisions of life. And the right to ask for help from the government from time to time, and the right to be free from governmental intrusion.

Maine veterans teach us, all of us, to cherish our rights and to remember those who gave their lives for these freedoms. They teach us to remember that our sons and daughters today stand ready to defend those very rights in postings across the globe. They teach us the strong sense of responsibility that comes from hard work and hard times. They teach us honor. They teach us dignity. They teach us service.

In the wake of an election with strong and differing opinions and feelings this past week, let us spend this Veterans Day reflecting on the values that we share, and remembering the people who have defended those values here at home and abroad. May we remember that we are one state and one people, and we are bound together by far more than a single election or one political party's wins or losses. We share a history, a broader community, and a deep and abiding love for this place that we're so fortunate to call home.

To all Maine veterans and their families: I thank you for your service and for your sacrifice.

To all those who have served, and to those who continue to serve our country so well: our hearts are with you this Veterans Day 2024.

This is Governor Janet Mills and thank you for listening.