It was a moment in the State of the Union that stirred powerful emotions among not only those in attendance, but people watching across the nation. President Barack Obama ended his speech by honoring the service of Army Ranger Cory Remsburg, who received a standing ovation from the entire chamber -- and rightfully so. Remsburg is a hero, one who has seen war zones more than many as he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan 10 times. It was during his tenth deployment that he was critically injured -- and almost lost his life. He deserves the standing ovation he received and much more.
In fact, as Ben Swann points out in a recent video, it is the much more part that Congress should be ashamed. Our nation, our government, does not treat our veterans the way it should.
"Someone should have told those members of Congress just to sit back down," Swann said, "because 10 times Cory was deployed to Iraq for a war based on weapons of mass destruction that did not exist. He served in Afghanistan, where the U.S. has claimed the war is won and over, and yet we're planning to stay with 10-20,000 soldiers for the next 10 years."
"But, what Republicans and Democrats chose to do was simply stand and clap rather than do the one thing -- the ONE thing -- that truly honors Cory: bringing home men and women from that theater of war where their bodies are being broken, their lives taken, and for what?"
Here are a couple of facts quoted in the video:
- Today, more than at any other point in U.S. history, more active duty military members are dying because of suicide than combat.
"Actions speak louder than words," Swann exclaimed.
Our veterans deserve better than just to be paraded around for political reasons or used for political talking points that serve only to fuel the hyper-partisanship in Washington.