Ron honors Oregon's veterans
Ron thanked Oregonians who have served in the military and their families this Veterans Day weekend for their sacrifice.
He highlighted the year-round need for America to honor an ironclad commitment to providing veterans the care they have earned. One of the key issues the senator spotlighted is the alarming rate of veterans suicide.
At roundtables the Friday before Veterans Day in Portland and Eugene with veterans and their advocates, Ron focused on troubling national estimates of 20 veterans a day committing suicide. That challenge is especially acute in Oregon and the West.
“Behind those statistics is a painful story for veterans and their loved ones,” he said at the Portland roundtable with Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici. “I am focused on making sure veterans walking emotional and economic tightropes don’t fall.”
On Veterans Day, Ron walked in Albany’s nationally renowned Veterans Day parade, celebrating veterans’ achievements with their many admirers along the parade route.
“I don’t think there’s a better Veterans Day parade in America than the one in Albany,” he said. “The veterans went the extra mile for us, and it’s clear that Albany goes the extra mile for veterans.”
Later the afternoon of Veterans Day, Ron met with veterans living in the new Home for Heroes transitional housing in Salem. He also spoke at an Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs ceremony at the World War II memorial on the Capitol grounds in Salem.
Ron spoke proudly at the memorial of his father’s World War II service writing propaganda pamphlets to drop on the Nazis. Peter Wyden served in the U.S. Army after emigrating to the United States with his family when they left Germany fleeing the Nazis.
The senator concluded his Veterans Day remarks by noting how Oregonians remember veterans every day – an ethos he said must be nationwide.
“This Veterans Day, we ought to sum up our mission with one sentence: the best way we can honor veterans today and every day is to ensure they receive the care and benefits they have earned,” he said.
