Professional Soldiers ® - Presidents speech on The Gi Bill

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080300978.html

Quote:

I was a proud cosponsor of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill as senator. I'm committed to working with Secretary Shinseki to see that it is successfully implemented as president.

And we do this not just to meet our moral obligation to those who've sacrificed greatly on our behalf and on behalf of the country. We do it because these men and women must now be prepared to lead our nation in the peaceful pursuit of economic leadership in the 21st century.

This generation of servicemen and -women has already earned a place of honor in American history. Each of them signed up to serve, many after they knew that they would be sent into harm's way.

Over the last eight years, they have endured tour after tour of duty in dangerous and distant places. They've experienced grueling combat, from the streets of Fallujah to the harsh terrain of Helmand province.

They've adapted to complex insurgencies, protected local populations and trained foreign security forces.

So by any measure, they are the authors of one of the most extraordinary chapters of military service in the history of our nation. And I don't make that statement lightly, for we know that anyone who puts on the uniform joins an unbroken line of selfless patriots that stretches back to Lexington and Concord.

The freedom and prosperity that we enjoy would not exist without the service of generations of Americans who were willing to bear the heaviest and most dangerous burden.