As we all know, Senator Bob Dole has passed.  GBRA Board member John Merguerian had a personal relationship with him and attended his funeral in Topeka, Kansas.  John had asked Senator Dole if he would say a few words to the Club on Veterans Day via Zoom meeting.  Senator Dole declined due to ill health but sent a lovely note expressing powerful patriotic sentiments.

I want to welcome all the veterans being honored by the Glendale Burbank Republican Club on this Veterans Day.

Veterans truly embody the finest characteristics our nation has to offer – selflessness, service and sacrifice.  To all the veterans attending today – I salute you from afar.  Though your wartime experiences were all different, one thing binds you together – each one of you cared enough about America to proudly wear our nation’s uniform and protect our freedom.  We owe a debt of gratitude to each one of you.  You may or may not have been recognized for your tremendous sacrifices back then, but today is your celebration.

And so from a fellow veteran, Happy Veterans Day.  Thank you for your service to America – each one of you is a hero in every sense of the word.  Thank you and may God bless America.

Bob Dole

These gracious words were shared at the GBRA Veterans Day event and again at the 80th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor event co-sponsored by the GBRA.  John is himself an Army Iraq war vet where he served two tours, he shared a few photos taken at Senator Dole’s funeral below.

In every age society, culture, civilization owes its continued existence to men who stand up and become warriors defending their families, their countries and their God.  America is fortunate that she still has men willing to risk, and often lose, their lives in her defense, passing the torch of freedom to the next warriors in line.