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By: Congressman David Rouzer

Every year, on the last Monday in May, our nation pauses to pay tribute to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Memorial Day is a day to honor and memorialize our fallen heroes for their courageous fight for freedom, liberty and security. It is also a time to thank our veterans who have served as well as our men and women in uniform who are currently serving.

On this day, in particular, let us also remember and lift up the families of every soldier, sailor, airmen and Marine who did not make it back home. We will never forget their service, selflessness and sacrifice. Nor should we ever forget the sacrifices of their families.

Ronald Reagan once said, “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, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” No truer words have been spoken.

As citizens of this great country, it is our moral obligation to ensure that the legacy of these heroes survives. It’s every generation’s calling to pass on and preserve the principles that made America great, and it is the sacrifice of our country’s very best that makes this even possible.

Whether you are attending a Memorial Day remembrance service, laying wreaths on the graves of our fallen, or gathering with friends and family, please take a moment to pause to honor and remember those who lost their lives in the name of freedom as well as those who are currently fighting to protect us. It is because of them that our nation remains the freest and most prosperous nation in the world.

We are all very grateful for the steadfast dedication of our servicemembers. As your representative in Congress, I will continue to advocate for increased funding for our military. We must ensure that they have the resources necessary to combat the many threats we face. In fact, just this month, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2017, which increased the authorized funding levels for the military to better equip all of our men and women in uniform.

This bill is vital to maintaining and strengthening our installations and operations at Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Seymour Johnson and more. We owe this to the servicemembers, their families, and the country so that we can defeat ISIS and keep our homeland safe.

Additionally, I recently introduced a bill to protect combat-injured veterans from being deprived of their full severance. It is estimated that, due to an accounting error by the Department of Defense, more than 14,000 veterans were wrongfully taxed on their severance packages amounting to an estimated $78 million in lost benefits. My bill instructs the Department of Defense to reimburse those who were taxed so that they receive every penny of their severance package that was unlawfully withheld. These veterans deserve no less for their service to our nation.

If you are a veteran or know of a veteran that has questions about their benefits or has issues with a federal agency, please call my Wilmington office at 910-395-0202. A member of my staff will be more than happy to assist you.

To every veteran across this great land, we thank you. We are forever in your debt.

May God always bless you, our troops, and the families of our fallen, and may we always make America worthy of His blessings.