It's a pleasure to be here on this beautiful afternoon…for this special occasion... in beautiful Simpsonville …along side this hallowed memorial.   

Today we are gathered here to honor our distinguished veterans… to pay respect to those here with us today… and most importantly… those who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we might have the right to gather freely… at this time… for this purpose…. 

We're here to remember our veterans one and all.  Those who served courageously in the Revolutionary war, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War and others... 

Veterans who served fearlessly; many trading their blood for our freedom, so that we might not have to do the same... 

And veterans who served proudly, so that our children and grandchildren could come to know a country synonymous with the same freedoms and liberties as those for which it was forged... 

There is no doubt that all of us in South Carolina owe our veterans a debt of gratitude-- they have fulfilled their duty-- now we must in turn fulfill ours... 

And though most of us are not soldiers… and though many of us will never serve… our duty is nevertheless very real and very pressing...

 For those men and women who fell beneath a starry standard did not fall so that we might allow their memory to fade with time... 

No, indeed… it is incumbent upon the rest of us to honor their sacrifice… to repay our vast debt to them in the only currency in which we can… that of remembrance... 

After 225 years of freedom, we as Americans owe it to generations past to spend a few quiet moments of our busy lives in reflection and thanks... 

Without this celebration their legacy … their memories… their quiet sacrifices could have been softly lost to the whispers of time…   

Thankfully, this committee did not let that happen.  

And neither should the rest of us.  

We must remember on days like this one, lest we forget.  And because of people like you, more and more South Carolinians are doing just that.  

All across South Carolina today, families will gather to say grace over dinner, and thank God above for the brave men and women who in the darkest hours, rose to meet the call to arms, only to fall on distant shores in foreign lands, never to rise again...