Every Veterans Day, we pause to recognize the men and women who have served in our nation’s armed forces. We attend ceremonies, display our flags, thank veterans for their service and remember those who never made it home.

These traditions matter. But I believe Veterans Day should also challenge us to look beyond a single day of recognition and consider what military service truly means, what it has cost, and what responsibility we share in honoring those sacrifices.

As an Army veteran and the Pierce County Veterans Service Officer, I have the privilege of working with veterans and their families every day. I hear their stories, witness their struggles, and see firsthand the lasting effects of military service. I am continually reminded that behind every uniform is a person with a family, a history and a story worth hearing. 

More than 2,000 veterans call Pierce County home. They are your neighbors, friends, family members, teachers, public service personnel, business owners, community leaders, and volunteers. They are men and women who once raised their right hands, took an oath to defend our country and accepted a responsibility greater than themselves.

Some served in combat. Others served during peacetime. Some returned home with visible injuries, while others continue to carry wounds that cannot be seen. Some served for a few years, while others dedicated decades of their lives to the military. Their experiences are different, but they share something important: they were willing to serve.

After eight years in the Army, I continued a 20-year career in public service in corrections before becoming the Pierce County Veterans Service Officer. Through my involvement with the American Legion, my service on the Honor Guard, and my time working alongside veterans from World War II through the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, I have learned that the lessons of service and sacrifice often extend far beyond the years spent in uniform.

I have met veterans whose service spanned generations. I have heard stories of families separated by war, children who grew up without a parent, and service members who waited decades for answers about loved ones listed as missing in action. These are not simply stories from history books. They are stories belonging to people in our own communities.

That is something worth remembering.

The freedoms we enjoy today were not simply handed to us. They have been defended and preserved through generations of service and sacrifice. The right to speak freely, pursue an education, practice our beliefs, participate in our democracy, and choose our own paths in life rests on principles that generations of Americans have been willing to defend.

For some, that defense came at the cost of years away from family and friends. For others, it meant enduring physical injuries, carrying the invisible wounds of war, or missing the milestones that most of us take for granted. And for far too many, it meant making the ultimate sacrifice.

Those sacrifices belong to more than the service members themselves. Military families serve, too. Spouses carry the responsibilities of home while loved ones are deployed. Children grow up with a parent thousands of miles away. Parents wait for phone calls and safe returns. Families endure uncertainty, separation, and sometimes the unimaginable loss of someone they love.

When we talk about freedom, we must remember the people behind it.

One of the most meaningful lessons I have learned came from a Vietnam veteran who became one of my closest friends. We often talked about our military experiences and how uncomfortable it could feel when someone thanked us for our service. Many veterans simply respond, “Thank you,” because we don’t always know what else to say.

My friend had a different response.

Whenever someone thanked him for his service, he looked them in the eye and said, “You were worth it.”

Four simple words. Yet they carry an extraordinary message.

He was reminding people that the sacrifices made by service members were never about personal recognition, medals, or praise. They were about protecting something bigger than themselves. They were about the people back home, the families they loved, and the generations who would follow them.

They were about you.

As we recognize our veterans this November, I hope we will take those words to heart. When we thank a veteran, we should also consider what those words mean. We should recognize the hardships and sacrifices they and their families endured. But I also believe those four words leave us with a responsibility.

Are we becoming the kind of people worth fighting for?

This is not a question about being perfect. It is about the kind of lives we choose to live and the contributions we make to our families, our communities, and our country.

We can honor veterans by being responsible citizens, helping our neighbors, volunteering our time, supporting those who are struggling, learning our nation’s history, and treating others with dignity and respect. We can honor them by exercising the freedoms they helped preserve and recognizing that those freedoms come with responsibilities of our own.

Not everyone will choose military service, and that is perfectly okay. Our communities and our country need people willing to serve in countless ways. Teachers, firefighters, health care workers, public servants, volunteers, and everyday citizens all have opportunities to make a difference.

Service begins when we recognize that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

For the young people in our community, some of you may one day choose to wear the uniform. You may become the next generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, guardians, or Coast Guardsmen. If you do, you will carry forward a tradition of service that generations before you have upheld.

My hope is that when your time comes, you will see a country and a community whose people understand the sacrifices you make and are committed to making those sacrifices meaningful.

I hope you will be able to look at the next generation and say, just as my friend did,

“You were worth it.”

That responsibility belongs to all of us. We cannot repay every sacrifice, undo every loss, or fully understand every experience of military service. But we can honor those who came before us by how we live, how we serve, and how we care for one another.

Veterans Day is an opportunity to remember our veterans, thank them for their service, and recognize the families who stood beside them. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the freedoms we enjoy and the people whose sacrifices helped make them possible.

Here in Pierce County, we are fortunate to have so many veterans whose stories are woven into the history of our communities. Take the time to get to know them. Ask about their service. Listen to their experiences. You may discover that some of the most remarkable history you will ever hear belongs to someone who lives just down the road.

This Veterans Day, let us do more than offer words of gratitude. Let us honor veterans not only by remembering their service, but by living lives that justify their sacrifice.
Be the person who steps up when someone needs help. Be the person who keeps their word. Be the person who gives back to the community. Be the person who understands that freedom is not something to be taken for granted, but something each generation has a responsibility to preserve.
Because when America's sons and daughters answer the call to serve, they deserve to know the freedoms they defend, the people they protect, and the future they help secure are worth the sacrifice.
Remember their service. Honor their sacrifice. And ask yourself a simple question:
Am I becoming the kind of person worth fighting for?
If each of us can answer that question with our actions, we will honor our veterans far better than words alone ever could.
BE WORTH IT!