With Veterans Day come familiar refrains of \u201cthank you for your service,\u201d \u201csupport the troops,\u201d \u201chonor those who served,\u201d and more at picnics, stadiums, and event halls across the country. As veterans, we appreciate these sentiments and the spirit of patriotism in which they\u2019re given, but we wouldn\u2019t be the first to note that too often our country does not follow through on those words of support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This year could be different. Congress has a rare chance to deliver, at least in part, on Americans\u2019 pledges of support for veterans and servicemembers. Led by Representatives Jason Crow and Mike Gallagher, we have been working for years now on the final step necessary to build a memorial to American servicemembers who lost their lives in the Global War on Terrorism on the National Mall. We\u2019re at the 5-yard line: we\u2019ve passed the bill, the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Location Act<\/a>, through the House and we\u2019re incredibly close to getting it through the Senate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For families of fallen servicemembers and our fellow veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, it\u2019s critically important we get this done, and done now. The Global War on Terrorism Memorial would offer a place to heal and reflect for the 2.7 million Americans who have served since 9\/11, and the multitudes of Americans whose loved ones \u2014 7,000 of them \u2014 made the ultimate sacrifice over the past 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\t