Honoring Our Veterans

Last week we celebrated one of the most important days of the year – Veterans Day.

As Fort Bragg's Congressman, making sure our veterans, as well as our troops and their families, get the support they deserve is among my top priorities. This is especially critical for our community, as our region has the fastest growing veteran population in the country.

On Wednesday, I joined veterans and other members of our community at the Atrium Ballpark in Kannapolis for a ceremony to honor all those who have served our country. This year, the Cannon Ballers baseball team organized a "Field of Honor" to display 500 American flags at the ballpark, each one carrying the name of a veteran. During the ceremony, all 500 names were read aloud - a moving tribute and reminder that freedom has never been free. It has been paid for by millions of men and women who have worn our nation's uniform.

We owe them our full support and I'm proud of all we have accomplished for our veterans.

We passed the VA MISSION Act to get veterans the health care they deserve at the VA or their own doctor. We passed the largest VA budget in history and the largest expansion of the GI Bill in a decade. This year, I secured legislation to make sure veterans exposed to toxic burn pits in the Middle East have more access to the VA. These are all positive steps forward, but I know there is more to do.

That's why now I'm focused on additional measures like getting veteran caregivers the support they need through my Care for the Veteran Caregiver Act. This bipartisan bill extends stipends for caregivers and streamlines eligibility requirements for the VA's caregiver program for our most severely injured veterans.

Rest assured, I will never stop fighting for our veterans or their families. That includes veterans like Harrisburg resident King Kenny. Kenny was a member of the 30^th Infantry Division comprised in part of soldiers from the North Carolina National Guard. Among their accomplishments, in August 1944, the division of 13,000 soldiers held off an advance of 80,000 of the toughest of the tough German troops in Mortain, France. While then-General Dwight Eisenhower intended for their actions to be recognized with a Presidential Unit Citation, the request went unfulfilled.

When I was first elected to office, former 8^th District Congressman Larry Kissell, who has now become a friend of mine, told me about the fight for this citation. I promised Larry, who also has a real heart for our veterans, I would continue his fight. For 8 years, I continued to push for this recognition across numerous Army secretaries, Defense secretaries, a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and two presidential administrations. We even had King Kenny speak directly to President Trump about it.

Well, President Trump listened and issued a Presidential Unit Citation to the 30^th Infantry Division. Nearly 75 years after their heroic actions, the soldiers of the 30^th finally got the recognition they deserved.

I was proud to attend the ceremony, and I made sure my friend Larry Kissell was there with me. You see, his father was one of those courageous men of the 30^th who fought in WWII.

This Veterans Day, I was reminded of their sacrifices and the sacrifices of all of our veterans. Each day, they deserve our appreciation and thanks from every American. I especially want my five-year-old son and all future generations to know the cost of freedom and understand that veterans are our heroes. We should always make sure they get the recognition, respect and support they deserve, especially when it comes to health care.

As I often share, if you are a veteran or know someone who needs assistance, contact the 24-hour Veterans Crisis Line at 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1, text 838255 or chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat.

Make sure you thank a veteran, not just on Veterans Day, but all throughout the year. I'll continue to fight for them, just as I'll continue to fight for you.