Thank you all very, very much for being here at R Scottsdale Veterans Day
memorial Commemoration for 2008. It's really wonderful that you're able to
be here with us. Before we begin our formal ceremony, would you everyone
please take a moment and just one more time. Thank the 100 8th Army
National Guard band.
Mm hmm. Yeah,
that's warrant Officer Gonzalez in the front. That who was waving at you
there. Um, they are so ever faithful and such a wonderful addition to our
celebration every year. Um, in a obviously it really makes a terrific
difference in our program, so we appreciate it greatly. We're gonna begin.
I'm Merryman ross, the mayor. By the way, Scottsdale Welcome. We'll begin.
We'll
begin today's ceremony with the presentation and posting of our nation's
colors. We have members of Veterans of Foreign Wars, 35 13. An american
legion post 40 for who will post the colors for us following the
presentation of the colors, the 108th army band will lead us in the
national anthem. That will be followed by the
pledge of allegiance by our Chiefs Police Chief, Alan, Rod Bill and Fire
Chief Willie Macdonald. Uh, and by the way, I learned something new just
recently that last year congress passed some new legislation making it
official that it is appropriate for veterans of the U. S. Military Service
, even those in active duty uh, to use the hand salute during the national
anthem and veterans just in case you hadn't heard that. This is one more
opportunity really for you to identify yourselves among those who have
served our nation. If you would like to do that, please rise if you can
for the posting of the colors.
Lord.
Mhm. I don't get it.
Mhm.
Yeah. Oh,
holders best colors. Mhm.
Hello bears post
six
jesu who?
People with money?
What's so wrong?
Better.
Great.
Join me in the play. We'll have to leave
the United States. A very public
one Nation under God indivisible with Liberty.
Mm hmm.
Hi, Barry dismissed.
All right. Both
won't work.
Mm hmm.
Mhm.
You may be seated.
Thank you again to american legion post. And they're veterans of foreign
wars who also are here every year, always here supporting us. I want to
quickly before I forget. And I'll give a couple. Thank you's at the end,
but I think it's we need to acknowledge right now to uh we have some
students here with us. If you're wondering who they are. Many of them are
with the service learning students program here in Scottsdale helping with
our event. And we also have our police explorers who you may have seen,
helping us park our cars here today and also a lot of young people and
teens in our audience. Uh, so veterans really this is uh, this is a
message for you that these folks understand the importance of being here
and uh acknowledging uh the commitment and the gift that you've given to
our nation and the respect and love you've shown for America. So that's
why they're here. So thank you veterans for that. And thank you students.
Okay, I want to make some introductions now real quickly before we get
started. It's important for us to do that too. Um I'd like to introduce my
fellow council members that are here today. Looks like most of them over
to my right. Um we have Vice Mayor robert Littlefield, councilman Jim Lane
, councilman, I don't see Councilman Ron McCullough, Maybe he is somewhere
here. Um, councilman Tony nelson, Councilwoman Betty drake,
Thank you all for being here. Please.
You. We also have Senator Jim wearing from District seven
Senator
John Cavanagh in District eight.
And I don't believe some of the other senators and legislators were able
to be here with us. But I'll let you know if I if I left anyone out of
that. I also wanna acknowledge to the knights of columbus the father,
Father, Michael J. McGivney Assembly 25 24 who are always here for us
every year. Also, almost all of them are veterans. And I know I believe
there's many of them are here with us today. So welcome gentlemen for
being here too, while
we're at it while we're at it, those of you who can stand or maybe even
raise your hand if you are a veteran of our armed forces, no matter how
long ago or currently, could you please stand or raise your hand.
Mhm.
We're here for you. So thank you very much for spending time with us here.
Um You've probably heard this before if you've been to this program
several years in a row. But I This program is also very close to my heart
because I come from a family of veterans uh including my mom who was a
United States marine. And I understand we celebrated that birthday
yesterday November 10. Um And so I'm very very proud of the contribution
that my ancestors and my recent relatives and my my close family have made
to the nation to and so I'm really proud to be here representing them. In
fact my mom,
my mom was at the University of Minnesota when World War two was going on
and she had four brothers and I think at least three of them were in the
war and her fiance died at Pearl Harbor and my mom, as you can imagine was
pretty upset about that. So she left the university and took a series of
tests and got a scholarship, did really well and became United States
Marine in World War Two. And what a wonderful example for all women and
well for all of us. And so she was really my role model for all these
years and until she passed away several years ago at a young age. So in
honor of my mom, I'm here too. So thank you very much. I just want to
remind everyone of the significance. You know why this is so so important
that we teach our youth About our history and about sacrifice and about
why we're all able to be here today and do what we're doing right here
have total freedom. It's because of what you all did. Uh, there are more
than 23.4 million living veterans in our nation And nearly three quarters
of those have served during a war or at least called something called an
official time of conflict. And 48 million Americans have served since our
nation was founded in 1776,
million of us and nearly one million have died in combat or in combat
related events.
Okay, we're going to begin with what a wonderful way to begin. Speaking of
young people and students, we're gonna begin with one of our students from
Saguaro High School who is a member of our service learning program. Her
name's Chloe Cutler. She's a sophomore at Saguaro High School. Uh, excuse
me, She's a junior at Saguaro High School. And this program, Service
learning, If you're not familiar with it, What a terrific program that I
wish was in every high school throughout our nation. But the students work
in collaboration with their own colleagues and their classmates and their
teachers and the community and other schools and businesses and they, they
combine, um, their academic time in high school with service to the
community. Really giving back, really understanding the needs of the
community and I have seen first hand over the years, the terrific impact
they've made just here in Scottsdale. It's just a wonderful, wonderful
program that I wish all Children had had the opportunity to be a part of.
So we're gonna get to hear from Chloe and the title of her talk is how do
you serve? So please give a warm welcome to Chloe Cutler.
Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your
country For the past 40 years. These words have defined the meeting place
of altruism and Americana. On this day we honor the courageous veterans
who risked their lives for this country through the generations. Today we
express gratitude for their service, not only to the american cause, but
to its civilians who needed their protection. You all have offered your
service through the worst of times and have been a shining example of
patriotism during the best of times. The service learning program in which
I am currently enrolled at Saguaro holds a variation on the Mantra spoken
40 years ago. We hold true to ask not what your community can do for you,
Ask what you can do for your community. Through volunteering at events
held throughout the greater phoenix area. My peers and I hope to exemplify
how service can make an indelible mark on the lives of others since
becoming a service learning student. My life has changed in a way that I
had never expected it to. Prior to this school here, I would spend nearly
every saturday morning as a typical lethargic teenager sleeping late,
eating junk food and watching tv. Now, however, nearly every weekend of my
life, I am volunteering at an elementary school raising money for an
autism walk or attending events like youth down hall to learn more about
the background of this wonderful program. This class truly is more than
just a class. It holds a requirement of benevolence and responsibility
that supersedes anything that I have ever been asked to do before. This
program has taught me patience that while working with Children, I must be
softer and kinder by raising money for those afflicted with disease and
those less fortunate it is manifested the perils of the world and how they
can be abated and eventually stopped by banding together those who care
though, I would never attempt to speak for any of you for I could never
empathize with your experiences. I am sure that your service in the
military has taught you invaluable lessons that you never had the
expectation of learning our methods of service. Each have an element of
surprise, but what we take away from it, good or bad has affected us
forever. The uniform that I wear as a service learning student is simple
jeans, closed toed shoes and my volunteer shirt though, it is much less
involved than the garb worn by all of you who have served in the military
. I feel an attachment to my uniform which can be likened to the
attachment that you may feel for yours now. I am not particularly drawn to
the sneakers or the worn in pair of jeans I have chosen that day, but to
the shirt in an unmissable shade of kelly green, branded with the word
volunteer in bold white letters. This shirt allows for me to get into the
mindset of service and try my best at every event to live up to the title
of volunteer that rests on my back. I have gone to events before when my
shirt had been in the wash and have then then been forced to choose
another shirt option on route to an inventor. The philanthropic spirit
that had been with me on other occasions was absent from me and I felt as
though I was doing a disservice to the patrons of the event as I was not
clearly recognizable as someone who was there to provide help. Just as all
of you would not feel fit to serve in your everyday clothes. I do not feel
fit to serve unless I wear my service learning shirt, displaying for
others that I am there to lend a hand.
I want to thank all of you for your courage and virtue and want you to
know that you serve as an inspiration to all service learning students as
well as american citizens. The life lessons and the trials that you have
taken away from your line of duty. Just shows that no matter how you serve
, you have forever been changed.
Okay. Yeah.
Isn't that terrific. That's great. So tell everybody about the service
learning program. Chloe, thank you. Close.
Okay, we have another very distinguished speaker with us here today and
you might not know it because she's actually sitting in the front row then
up on the stage here. She's very shy for there in the front row. Um, it's
such an honor for me to introduce our governor Janet napolitano, which I
said is down here in the front rope once you start coming up governor and
I,
the governor was originally elected in 2002 and re elected in 2006. Uh she
is Arizona's third female governor, but the first one to be uh, win a
reelection in november oh five Time magazine named her one of the five
best governors in the United States. She also served as chair of the
National Governors Association in oh six oh seven. and in February 06
Napolitano was named by the By the White House project as one of the eight
Of eight, you probably remember that a group of eight female public
officials who could possibly run or be elected president in '08. So we
missed that time, but I just because because it's kind of one of those
little cute kind of stories about life
under uh, the governor has always been a strong advocate for education and
immigration reform and health services for all our citizens. Um, she, she
authored the legislation for voluntary full day kindergarten and got that
through the legislature. She opened the state, the nation's first state
counterterrorism center here in Arizona, uh, signed legislation for
prescription drug cards for seniors and obviously you probably remember to
signing into law, um, some legislation for property income tax cuts. So
those are just a couple of things she's done and we're especially pleased
she could be with us here today to spare share with us her thoughts and
veterans Day. Thanks. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to all the veterans
there. This has been quite a day. I started out earlier today, we had a
service at the Veterans home in phoenix. And uh, the 108 band was there as
well. Thank you very much playing some similar music. Thank you very much.
Uh, I always like to finish up, I spent some time there I go there a
couple of times a year and I play poker with the veterans that are at the
home and I'm pleased to say that I have now contributed to the veterans of
America today. Thank you very much. I then went to a bridal store uh, in
uh, south central phoenix on Washington where today they gave 41 bridal
gowns free, two women who are engaged to young men who are serving in Iraq.
So that isn't that a great thing. I
got to be there with the young women as they literally hope they had a
store filled with 600 bridal gowns and they just told the young women go
pick the dress you want And uh, let us help you get ready for that very
special day. And now I get to come to Scottsdale and celebrate with you.
So, uh, to me, this is what Arizona is all about. And it reminds us, the
mayor said there were 23 million, some odd Veterans living right now in
the United States. Well, we have 620,000 right here in Arizona. We have
one of the largest percentages of veterans of any state. And that is
something Arizona can and should be proud of. Don't you agree? Yeah.
Now when I first heard about this event, they told me it was gonna be at
the railroad park and I thought that was a little odd For veterans event
and then I learned why it is here today. Uh, in 1947, Americans filled 700
boxcars with food, fuel and clothing and sent a friendship train. That's
what it was called to France and Italy as they continue to struggle in the
aftermath of World War Two. Now, two years later France sent a mayor c
train uh, to deliver a boxcar of gifts to each state and to the District
of Columbia. Uh, and the box car behind me is the boxcar that was so
delivered. Uh, and I think that's great because it really does symbolize
an important and enduring way that discovering our veterans is nothing new
for Arizona. We have been with our veterans for very many decades and we
continue that great tradition and we also remember that honoring veterans
is not just a one day activity in our state. For example, over the last
several months we've had veterans round tables in phoenix and Tucson and
sierra vista in Yuma uh, and uh, invited faith based organizations,
community organizations to work with active duty Military Reserve Guard
veterans groups throughout the state in terms of how do we better wrap our
arms around the veterans and make sure that our veterans are getting every
service that they deserve and that their families are being recognized as
well because it's the veterans who served and the families who actually
served alongside. We now have in Arizona, a veteran's benefits counselor
within a one hour drive of virtually every veteran who is now living in
Arizona and I don't know of any other state that can meet that standard.
We've started a military family relief fund. We provide tuition benefits
to the sons and daughters of our veterans and on and on and on. And we're
always looking for more to do because we have a very, very simple goal and
that is that Arizona Is should be and should continue to be the best state
in the country for a veteran to live number one. So
as we stand by the mercy wagon mercy of course meaning french for thank
you. We all joined together from different walks of life, different age
groups, different places in our lives. But we all joined together on this
one day to say a profound thank you to those who have served to the
families of those who have served and to those who are serving even this
day. Thank you so much. Mm hmm.
Yeah,
mm hmm. Thank you governor for being with us today and made it very
special. We have another very special guest. We have so many special
guests here with us today. Um, and that is U. S. Representative Harry
Mitchell that you may see right right behind me here on the stage
as most of you probably know Harry. Congressman Mitchell was first elected
on November 7, 2006 to Congress and just recently a few days ago was re
elected. He is represents our fifth district which is us, that's us right
here and uh congratulations Harry and a chance to tell you that yet. Um,
congressman Mitchell, I'm sorry, I keep calling him harry, I've known him
so long way back in the last millennium and I forget sometimes he is a
member of the house veterans Affairs Committee and through that committee
he introduced his first piece of legislation called the dignity for
wounded warriors act and that is designed to improve medical care and
conditions for all members of the armed services who are recovering from
any types of injuries. Um, Congressman Mitchell is a native Arizona and a
former schoolteacher, a strong advocate for Arizona families and has a
terrific family of his own. He brings to Congress his commitment to fiscal
responsibility, um, securing our borders, taking care of our veterans stem
cell research among many other interests and concerns of his And Harry
Excuse Me. Congressman Mitchell previously served as the mayor of Tempe.
You may recall, I think 16 years, correct. Um, and after that, after his
10 years mayor, he was elected to the Arizona state Senate. So he has, has
a long record of service to our community also. So please give a warm
welcome. Take congressman. Listen,
thank you very much and good afternoon. It's a tremendous pleasure and
honor to be with all of you here today with this beautiful afternoon and
one of my very favorite spots in Scottsdale. You know, I, I do have a very
close connection with this because my father was a railroad engineer. So
it's always great to come back here and, and uh, kind of reminisce here.
But I also want to thank you for inviting me here and above all. I want to
thank all the veterans who are here today for your service to our great
nation. I would also like to acknowledge all the family members of
veterans for the immense sacrifices that you have made. And we're talking
about mothers and fathers and husbands and Children. There's no way that
we can repay you for what you have given. We can only say thank you as
some of you know, I have taken a special interest in veterans issues since
I've been to Congress two years ago. Um the governor mentioned there are
over 625,000 veterans in Arizona and in the 5th congressional districts
there are over 60,000 veterans and I serve on the Veterans Affairs
Committee and I chair the subcommittee on oversight investigations. And
this has given me an opportunity to work on some of the most rewarding and
impactful issues of my entire public career. And it has been a long career.
As mary mentioned, I'm honored to have had the role in efforts to improve
the lives of veterans and ease the transition from military service to
civilian life. Things like the new and improved 21st century gi bill and
an unprecedented funding increase for the V. A. In fact is the largest
increase in the 77 year history of the V. A. And the reason we did that
was so that the V. A. Could tackle is huge backlog of appointments that
has really grown to unacceptable levels. There's a lot more work to do and
I plan to continue these efforts on your behalf over the next two years.
While I'm up here. I would also like to give a special thanks to a man
who I think really epitomizes what it means to serve with honor. I would
just like to wish a happy and fulfilling retirement to Major General.
David ran to check our longtime resident General, Arizona National Guard
Who has given this nation 43 years of distinguished service,
congratulations general.
And once again, thank all of you for your service.
Yeah,
Leads right into the major general. We were speaking beforehand and you
just don't, to be honest, you don't look old enough to have served
anywhere for 43 years. But again, yeah, we were talking beforehand about
the fact that this will be his last time coming to this event in this
position. But we may have you back anyway. You're welcome to come and
you're welcome to speak also. Um, but as you know, he's been coming to
this event for several years and asold