奥巴马每日发言On Improving Veterans’ Health Care(2009-4-9)

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REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON IMPROVING VETERANS’ HEALTH CARE

Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Room 450

11:54 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, John, for your outstanding service, and your friendship is greatly appreciated.  I want to thank my two outstanding Secretaries who are behind me -- Bob Gates, who is doing just an extraordinary job over at the Pentagon, and General Shinseki, now Secretary Shinseki, who has served our country with extraordinary valor 2.

I also want to acknowledge all the wounded warriors 3 and veterans and all those who care for them who are here today.  You make us very, very proud.

To the VSO and MSO leaders who work hard on behalf of those who serve this nation, thank you for your advocacy and your hard work.  As I look out in the audience, especially seeing these folks in their uniforms, I am reminded of the fact that we have the best fighting force in world history, and the reason we do is because of all of you.  And so I'm very grateful for what you've done to protect and serve this country.

It is good to be back.  We've had a productive week working to advance America's interests around the world.  We worked to renew our alliances to enhance our common security.  We collaborated 4 with other nations to take steps towards rebuilding the global economy, which will revitalize our own.

And before coming home, I stopped to visit with our men and women who are serving bravely in Iraq.  First and foremost, I wanted to say "thank you" to them on behalf of a grateful nation.  They've faced extraordinary challenges, and they have performed brilliantly in every mission that's been given to them.  They have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country, and that is a great gift.

You know, we often talk about ideals like sacrifice and honor and duty.  But these men and women, like the men and women who are here, embody 5 it.  They have made sacrifices many of us cannot begin to imagine.

We're talking about men like Specialist Jake Altman and Sergeant 6 Nathan Dewitt, two of the soldiers who I had the honor to meet when I was in Baghdad.  In 2007, as Specialist Altman was clearing mines so that other soldiers might travel in safety, he lost his hand when an IED struck his vehicle.  And at Walter Reed, he asked to relearn the skills necessary to perform his duties with a prosthetic so that he could rejoin his old battalion 7.  Sergeant Dewitt was severely 8 injured in an attack last September, but he refused to let his injuries stop him from giving first aid to his wounded comrades.  Today, they're both back alongside their fellow soldiers in their old units.

And we're talking about women like Tammy Duckworth, who I think is here -- Tammy, where are you?  There you are -- a great friend who lost her legs when a rocket struck the Black Hawk 9 helicopter she was piloting over Iraq.  And when she returned home, she continued to serve her country heading the Department of Veterans Affairs in Illinois, and she serves her country still as my nominee 10 for Assistant Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

We're talking about heroes like all the service members and veterans of the United States Armed Forces, including the veterans who've joined us here today -- many who gave up much yet signed up to give more; many with their own battles still to come; all with their own stories to tell.

For their service and sacrifice, warm words of thanks from a grateful nation are more than warranted, but they aren't nearly enough.  We also owe our veterans the care they were promised and the benefits that they have earned.  We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America.  It's a commitment that begins at enlistment 12, and it must never end.