Tahoma National Cemetery Memorial Service

May 26, 2008

*As Written*

Good Afternoon, and thank you, Jim (Sims), for the kind introduction.

I�m honored to be here today...

�Here with all of you who have taken the time to remember our veterans on this (beautiful?) spring day.

I especially want to welcome the families of fallen veterans � and to remember the sacrifices our veterans and families have made down through the many years and decades.

Here at this beautiful cemetery, families have buried more than 20,000 veterans and their spouses since 1997.

These are veterans who served their nation in wars and conflicts in the last century, and who served in the first years of this century in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We honor all of them, and we honor their families and all who support them today.

Not long ago, somebody asked me to name the hardest thing I�ve encountered in my nearly 3� years as Governor. I didn�t even have to think before answering.

The most difficult, painful thing has been the many funeral services my husband, Mike, and I have attended to honor the brave Washingtonians who have fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When you read in the paper or hear on TV that a Washington serviceman or woman was killed or injured, it definitely hurts. It�s even more personal when you�re up close with the pain and loss of the families and friends left behind.

Mike, a Vietnam combat vet, and I have been honored to communicate our thanks and respect to these families on behalf of all Washingtonians.

And I have to tell you, it has only strengthened our resolve to honor this nation�s veterans -- be it through new programs to help them ease back into society with counseling, education and training or by helping to relieve the stresses of spouses while husband�s and wives are at war.

While we honor the dead, we must take care of the living � And we�re doing a lot more for our military and veterans.

In fact, there have never been more programs and legislation to help our veterans than we have right now. I�ve signed 47 pieces of legislation to help veterans � the most in state history.

And I want to thank the many, dedicated advocates for veterans who have helped us every step of the way. We couldn�t have done it without you.

I can assure you that when the 81st Brigade begins its second tour in Iraq this fall, we will be here to help the families back home as we pray for the safe return of our servicemen and women.

I don�t know if some of you heard, but John Lee, my director of Veterans Affairs, recently received what�s called the �Diamond Award� from the Federal Veterans Administration � only the second time this award has been given to somebody outside the federal system.

John received the award because of the remarkable array of services and help we�re giving veterans. Let me share some of it today.

We realized early that our brave troops need more help to transition back home after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. So to make that happen, we are partnering with Fort Lewis and McChord through what is called the Warrior Transition Battalion.

State employees with Veterans Affairs and Employment Security are embedded in the battalion to provide services such as coordination with other states for VA claims work, and counseling before the service member is discharged. We will expand this program to the Navy this year.

I�m proud to say we were the first in the nation, and now one of just five states, to offer help to returning troops and their families for post-traumatic stress disorder.

We are spending $2.5 million a year to help men and women and their families get through PTSD, and we�re not duplicating the federal VA. We�re focusing our resources in more rural areas, where the VA has little presence. Right now, we have a caseload of 1,700.

My husband, Mike, and John Lee are moving forward on our �Helmets to Hardhats� initiative. We are connecting with trade unions to make sure the door is open for returning veterans for the hundreds of skilled family wage trade jobs that are out there.

We also recently helped create a way for you and me to help veterans and their families directly.

The Veterans Family Fund allows people to buy a CD in a participating bank, and half the interest goes to a fund to help returning veterans and their families. There is no overhead. Every dime of that money then goes to veterans and families in need.

We are also acting as quickly as we can to fix a problem that now blocks service members from easily transferring their military skills to civilian work because of licensing issues.

A good example of that would be a battlefield medic who definitely knows how to save lives but who can�t be licensed to save lives at home because of unnecessary obstacles.

And of course, we established what we call the Veterans Innovations Program two years ago, along with $2 million to fund it.

We provide immediate cash of up to $1,000 to returning National Guard veterans who need it, as well as substantial help to find living wage employment. To date, we have helped more than 400 veterans and their families.

I�m also proud to say that Eastern Washington is about to get its first state veterans� cemetery. We will break ground at the 80-acre facility at Medical Lake on Memorial Day 2009. The new cemetery will fill a significant gap. An estimated 140,000 veterans and their families live in Eastern Washington.

Most Washingtonians don�t get the privilege of serving veterans at the level that I and my partners in the Legislature, Congress, and veterans� groups enjoy.

But Washingtonians can still serve veterans. We can remember them today -- and every single day -- as we drive on I-5 past Fort Lewis and McChord, or see the many other military facilities and monuments all over Washington.

We can tell our children and grandchildren about the doughboys of World War I, the GI�s and Jar Heads of World War II, the sailors and Air Force pilots of Vietnam � and our servicemen and women who serve today.

We can make it a point to never forget what our veterans have done for our state and country, and will continue to do.

On this Memorial Day I want to say -- Thank you veterans, and thank you to the family members and friends of veterans for supporting them.