Veterans Day Inspirational Quotes:

We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.

- Ronald Reagan

source: V-Day Ceremony Address at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, delivered 11 November 1988, Washington D.C.

topic: Sacrifice, Our Veterans, Giving, Veterans Day Inspirational, Gallantry

The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.

- George Washington

topic: Military, War, People, Memorial Day Soldiers, Military Memorial

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.

- Elmer Davis

topic: Veterans Day, Courage, Memories, India Independence Day, Independence Day

We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.

- Jimmy Carter

topic: Peace, Children, War, Make Peace Not War, Just War

You'd have to go a long way to find someone who was more proud and grateful for what our veterans have done for all of us.

- Jim Davis

topic: Veterans Day, Grateful, Our Veterans, Veterans Day Inspirational, Veterans Day Poems

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

- John F. Kennedy

source: Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961

topic: Inspirational, Memorial Day, Freedom, Inaugural Speech, Independence And Freedom

But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for, Is their monument to-day, and for aye.

- Thomas Dunn English

source: Thomas Dunn English (1885). “The Boy's Book of Battle-lyrics: A Collection of Verses Illustrating Some Notable Events in the History of the United States of America, from the Colonial Period to the Outbreak of the Sectional War”

topic: Country, 4th Of July, Monument, Memorial Day Messages, Memorial Day Poems

Better than honor and glory, and History's iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men.

- Richard Watson Gilder

source: Richard Watson Gilder (1900). “Five Books of Song”

topic: Veterans Day, Men, Iron, Memorial Day Poems, Memorial Day Remembrance

Our veterans accepted the responsibility to defend America and uphold our values when duty called.

- Bill Shuster

topic: Veterans Day, Responsibility, Our Veterans, Christian Veterans Day, Veteran Memorial

The willingness of America's veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.

- Jeff Miller

topic: Thanksgiving, Country, Veterans Day, Memorial Day Messages, Memorial Day Poems

Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.

- Michel de Montaigne

topic: Memorial Day, Courage, Veterans Day, Memorial Day Thank You, War Veteran

In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

- Mark Twain

topic: Thank You, Memorial Day, Courage, Independence Day Patriotic, Inspirational Patriotic

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.

- Cynthia Ozick

source: Jamake Highwater (1997). “The Mythology of Transgression: Homosexuality as Metaphor”, Oxford University Press, USA

topic: Thank You, Thanksgiving, Thankful, Spiritual Gratitude, Inspirational Gratitude

Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.

- Winston Churchill

source: Speech at Harrow School, Harrow, England, 29 Oct. 1941

topic: Life, Inspiring, Graduation, Just Give Up, Just Stay Strong

Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.

- Sun Tzu

source: Sun Tzu “Sun Tzu: The Art of War (Illustrated)”, Charles River Editors

topic: Thank You, Veterans Day, Art, War Strategy, War Veteran

Never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

- Winston Churchill

topic: Courage, Yield, Giving, Special Forces, Overwhelming Force

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.

- Nathan Hale

source: Before being executed as a spy by the British, 22 September 1776, in Henry Phelps Johnston 'Nathan Hale, 1776' (1914) ch. 7.

topic: Inspirational, Life, Country, Independence Day Patriotic, American Revolution

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you.

- Dick Cheney

source: "Painkiller Deathstreak" by Nicholson Baker, www.newyorker.com. August 9, 2010.

topic: Taken, 4th Of July, Patriotic, Independence And Freedom, Independence Day

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.

- Gilbert K. Chesterton

source: Gilbert K. Chesterton (2013). “The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton”, p.69, Simon and Schuster

topic: Courage, Veterans Day, Strong, Strong Desire, Be Courageous

America's Veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world.

- John Doolittle

topic: Country, Veterans Day, America, Patriotic Veteran, Christian Veterans Day

Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

topic: Life, Change, Wise, Military History, Military Leader

Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

- Billy Graham

topic: Motivational, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Inspirational Courage, Memorial Day Heroes

Twenty-five million veterans are living among us today. These men and women selflessly set aside their civilian lives to put on the uniform and serve us.

- Steve Buyer

topic: Veterans Day, Men, Selfless, Veterans Day Inspirational, Veterans Day Poems

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

- Maya Angelou

topic: Veterans Day, Women, Hero, Fireman, Women Equality

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

- Ronald Reagan

source: Ronald Reagan (1983). “A Time for Choosing: The Speeches of Ronald Reagan, 1961-1982”, Gateway Books

topic: Strength, Peace, Children, Independence And Freedom, Inspirational Freedom

The most persistent sound which reverberates through man's history is the beating of war drums.

- Arthur Koestler

topic: Military, War, Men, Soldiers At War, War Veteran

Lord, bid war's trumpet cease; Fold the whole earth in peace.

- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

topic: Veterans Day, Peace, War, Military Veteran, Support Our Troops

Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause.

- Abraham Lincoln

topic: Country, Veterans Day, Brother, Military Soldier, Military Veteran

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

- Patrick Henry

topic: Inspirational, Courage, Veterans Day, Soldiers At War, Forged

While we can never truly repay the debt we owe our heroes, the least we should do for our brave veterans is to ensure that the government takes a proactive approach to delivering the services and benefits they have earned, so they can access the care they need and so richly deserve.

- Kirsten Gillibrand

topic: Veterans Day, Hero, Government, Veterans Bravery, Veterans Day Inspirational

You've been told that you're broken, that you're damaged goods and should be labeled victims. I don't buy it. The truth, instead, is that you are the only folks with the skills, determination, and values to ensure American dominance in this chaotic world.

- James Mattis

topic: Veterans Day, Determination, Skills, Veterans Day Inspirational, Veterans Day Thank You

Anyone who has ever looked into the glazed eyes of a soldier dying on the battlefield will think hard before starting a war.

- Otto von Bismarck

topic: Veterans Day, Military, War, Veterans Day Inspirational, Veterans Day Thank You

We are not retreating - we are advancing in another direction.

- Douglas MacArthur

topic: Veterans Day, Witty, Military, Military Veteran, War Veteran

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.

- Joseph Campbell

topic: Inspiring, Courage, Veterans Day, Something Bigger Than Yourself, Inspirational Military

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

- John F. Kennedy

topic: Inspirational, Thank You, Thanksgiving, I Am Thankful, Inspirational Gratitude

On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.

- Dan Lipinski

topic: Veterans Day, Our Veterans, Promise, Live Free, Wounded Veterans

It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

- Zell Miller

source: 2004 Republican National Convention Address, delivered 1 September 2004, Madison Square Garden, New York

topic: Veterans Day, Military, Army, Joining The Army, Joining The Military

When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?

- George Canning

source: George Canning (1826). “Poetical Works ...: Comprising the Whole of the Satires, Odes, Songs, and Other Poems”, p.26

topic: Thankful, Gratitude, Sleep, Thankful Heart, Veteran Appreciation

To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.

- Woodrow Wilson

topic: Country, Gratitude, Pride, Christian Veterans Day, Veteran's Day

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask: "Mother, what was war?"

- Eve Merriam

topic: Mother, Dream, Peace, Acts Of Violence, War Veteran

Honoring the sacrifices many have made for our country in the name of freedom and democracy is the very foundation of Veterans Day.

- Charles Rangel

source: "Fighting for Those Who Fight for Us" by Charles Rangel, www.huffingtonpost.com. November 8, 2013.

topic: Country, Veterans Day, Sacrifice, Veteran's Day, Veterans And Freedom

My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place - police, firefighters and members of our armed forces.

- Sidney Sheldon

topic: Thank You, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day Thank You, Protect And Serve

Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.

- Abraham Lincoln

topic: Veterans Day, Liberty, Civil Rights, Christian Veterans Day, Constitution Of The United States

The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment.

- Judd Gregg

topic: Country, Veterans Day, Military, Inspirational Military, Wounded Veterans

Without heroes, we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go.

- Bernard Malamud

source: Bernard Malamud (2003). “The Natural: A Novel”, p.148, Macmillan

topic: Inspirational, Inspiring, Veterans Day, Memorial Day Heroes, War Veteran

In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

topic: Veterans Day, Hands, Order, Veterans Day Inspirational, Common Purpose

I want you to know, that you deserve the best. You're beautiful.

- Lil Wayne

source: Song: How To Love Spanish, Album: Tha Carter IV, 2011

topic: Beautiful, Uplifting, Veterans Day, You Re Beautiful, Veterans Day Inspirational