[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17684]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          ENCOURAGE AMERICANS TO LISTEN TO OUR COMBAT VETERANS

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                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 16, 2011

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I have recently introduced a resolution that 
encourages every American to spend Veterans Day as a national day of 
listening to the experiences and stories of our nation's combat 
veterans, H. Res. 456.
  With more than 1.7 million veterans who have served tours of duty in 
the most recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a whole new 
generation of heroes has returned home from war and started the 
transition from military life to civilian life. These veterans have 
joined the ranks of the nearly 22 million military veterans in the 
United States.
  These honorable men and women who have served in our armed forces 
have experienced unique and sometimes incomprehensible things while 
serving our country and as they have returned home. We owe them an 
immense debt of gratitude--and we can express our appreciation by 
asking about and listening to their experiences.
  My resolution, H. Res. 456, calls upon all Americans to observe 
Veterans Day by offering to listen with respect and without judgment to 
the stories of combat veterans from all conflicts. Veterans often feel 
less isolated and suffer less when they are offered the chance to have 
ordinary, civilian citizens simply listen to them recount their 
experiences serving their country.
  I invite my colleagues to join with me and encourage all citizens to 
honor the service of our nation's veterans this Veterans Day by 
listening to them share the stories of their military service.

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