U.S. Senator Rob Portman
Last month, I was honored to visit our brave troops in Afghanistan,
giving me a chance to get a firsthand look at the challenges they are
facing, and to thank them on behalf of all Ohioans for their service to
our country. I took a bunch of Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds
baseball caps that were a big hit. Even though they are thousands of
miles away, our troops are staying up with their families and friends
and what’s going on back home.
The men and women I saw are on the frontlines of the War on Terror and
doing a terrific job. In fact, it was just several days after my visit
to Afghanistan that an elite group of our military found and killed
Osama bin Laden, the terrorist mastermind behind the deaths of
thousands of Americans and other innocent people.
A sense of pride and national unity was evident among all Americans in
the days following the announcement of that successful operation. We
witnessed that pride and unity nearly ten years ago after the attacks
of 9/11 and before that in Desert Storm during the liberation of
Kuwait. Americans have always united for a common good and will
continue to do so in the future.
We may live in politically polarizing times, but we also live in an
America protected by the same blanket of security woven by the
countless sacrifices and acts of heroism that have guaranteed our
freedoms decade after decade. Sometimes those sacrifices happen in
quiet, unnoticed acts of bravery. Other times they happen with more
fanfare and publicity.
In either case, those who serve now, or those who served in the past,
did not dedicate their lives to the cause of a divided nation. They
fought and sometimes died because of their belief in the values for
which America has long stood – freedom and democracy and an America
that is one nation, under God, indivisible.
The freedoms we enjoy today exist because of the blood and sacrifice of
the brave men and women who, through more than two centuries of
American history, have proudly worn the uniform of our country.
Each time we peacefully gather to worship in the faith of our choice,
we do so because Americans have risked their lives to defend our
freedom of worship and assembly.
Every time we cast a vote in an election, that opportunity is afforded
us by heroic members of our Armed Forces who sometimes made the
ultimate sacrifice to guarantee freedom and democracy back home.
When we criticize our government leaders or raise our voices in protest
or complaint, we are exercising our freedom of speech under the giant
shadow cast by those of courage and commitment who repeatedly fought
back the forces of tyranny and oppression.
Americans come together in times of national crisis, tragedy or
triumph. But it should not require an event as horrific as the attacks
of 9/11 or as consequential as finally ridding the world of the
terrorist leader bin Laden to unite us as Americans.
However ordinary or routine the daily exercise of our precious freedoms
may seem, we should never fail to remember their cost. Whether it’s
because our troops have brought justice to the murderer of three
thousand innocent Americans, or because they have, through their
vigilance, simply kept America safe for another peaceful day, our daily
appreciation should bind all Americans in a shared sense of purpose.
I wish you and your family all the best this Memorial Day. Like many
Ohioans, I am looking forward to a backyard barbecue with friends and
family. I will also be at a Memorial Day parade in Brecksville, outside
Cleveland, and a veterans' memorial in Columbus. This weekend, we all
stand together to honor the memory of those whose service and sacrifice
have preserved our freedoms from generation to generation.
All Best,
Rob Portman
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