RFI Executive Vice President Eric Patterson authored an article this week for WORLD on the importance of remembering and honoring America’s veterans. Patterson writes:

[T]here are unknown soldiers in our midst even now. Alas, our unknown soldiers live among us. They are our unknown veterans.

It seems as if much of America has simply forgotten about our veterans. Those veterans are unknown to many elites in Washington, moguls in New York, celebrities in Hollywood, and “influencers” in cyberspace.

He goes on to cite the late Gen. Colin Powell, who argued that “the vital role of our veterans cannot be overlooked,” and that veterans testify to our values as they “proudly carr[y] the torch of liberty for all to see.” Patterson continues in quoting Powell:

[I]n times of darkness and danger, as well as in times of peace and prosperity, through untold courage and sacrifice, America’s veterans have secured the liberty which the founding fathers sought to establish here in the new world.

Patterson emphasizes that we can best honor our veterans by ensuring that they and their families have every resource owed them for their service to our nation. Second, he calls for investing heavily in how we train their bodies, minds, and spirits so that they are properly prepared and cared for. Lastly, we must make a point to listen to them. What a difference it would make, Patterson argues, for our country to weave their stories into our national narrative, and focus more of our national discourse on “real-life heroes than on outrage.”

He urges us to revere these heroes — who display “the cardinal virtues of citizenship, which include self-sacrifice, love of country, and care for one’s fellow man” — as our nation rightly used to do.

Read the full article: “Veterans Day 2021: Remembrance, honor, and the preservation of liberty.”