Gov. Gregoire honors veterans, offers thanks to deployed soldiers .

November 11, 2008

AS WRITTEN

Good morning, and thank you for the kind introduction

I had the privilege of attending this wonderful event last year to honor our military veterans, and it�s my and Mike�s great honor to do so again this year.

Auburn is my childhood home, and I�m very proud of this city for putting on one of the largest Veterans Day parades west of the Mississippi � since the year I graduated from high school a very, very long time ago.

I�ve truly learned in my four years as Governor just how important Veterans Day is to the thousands of military veterans and their families.

It�s a day we pause from our busy lives to remember the sacrifices our veterans have made, and continue to make, for our great country.

I know this year�s event singles out veterans of the Vietnam War for special recognition. I�m especially touched by this.

As many of you probably know by now, Mike was an Army artillery officer in Vietnam. He returned from his tour of duty to a country that had very mixed feelings about the Vietnam War. And I saw up close how hard that could be on Mike and his fellow veterans.

In fact, Mike�s experience as a soldier is a big part of who he is, and who we are as a couple. I think the same can be said for all the other families of veterans in Washington.

Fifty-eight thousand American servicemen and women lost their lives in Vietnam, where our veterans served honorably -- a legacy we must never forget.

And for me, and frankly for the State of Washington, Mike�s experience has been very useful.

He has helped me and so many others understand the needs of veterans, and it�s one reason we have been able to win an historic level of legislation and programs to help our veterans. The Vietnam War veterans remind us always to respect and honor those who serve our country.

I want to close my reminding all of us that we are waging two wars in far off countries � Iraq and Afghanistan.

Not that we need to be reminded.

Some of you probably know that Congress amended the Flag Code last year to allow governors to lower flags in the event of a death of a member of the military in their states.

Since then, I have ordered flags at all state agency facilities to be lowered 15 times for our soldiers, marines and sailors who gave their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So I won�t forget, and I�m sure -- neither will you. And let us all remember to pray every day for the safe return of those now on the fields of battle.

And let us not forget the sacrifices of our veterans from earlier wars -- World War I and II�Korea and Vietnam�and other conflicts.

We honor our veterans today � but let us honor them 365 days of the year year.

Thank you for extending me the honor of being with you today, and�

God Bless You

God Bless the Great State of Washington

And God Bless America.