A nation that expresses its gratitude to veterans shouldn’t do so only one day a year, Julia Thompson said Saturday.
Veterans Day is about gratitude, Thompson said, “but not the kind that fades after a handshake or a parade. It’s about a lasting recognition that the freedoms we live with daily are built on the backs of quiet, determined service.”
Thompson, a combat medic with the Kansas Army National Guard, delivered the keynote address at Saturday’s Veterans Day ceremony in front of a crowd of about 40 in downtown Iola.
Thompson, whose own deployment to Iraq in 2024 was cut short due to injury, reflected on her own service abroad.
“When I was in Iraq, I remember thinking often about what I missed,” she said, “whether it was birthdays, graduations, weddings or holidays.
“I also thought about why I was there. I wasn’t there for the glory. Of course, none of us were.
“We were there for each other,” she said. “For our unit, the mission and ultimately, the ideals that defined us as Americans.”
Coming home was a blessing, Thompson said, but it was also complicated.
Some veterans come home with physical scars. Others carry scars you can’t see.
“For some, they don’t come home at all,” Thompson said.
She quoted President John Kennedy: “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
“That’s what service to our nation truly is,” she continued, “not a single act, but a way of life. It’s found in the training grounds, in distant deserts and the lonely hours of watch. It’s found in the hearts of our families who endure the sleepless nights, and in our communities that welcome us back sometimes with joy, and sometimes with silence.”
She also acknowledged some of the most difficult battles are fought, not abroad, but at home, “in the transition from the battlefield to the living room.”
She also paid tribute to the families of those who served.
“You served, too,” she said. “To the spouses who shoulder everything when their partner is deployed, to the parents who wait by the phone, day and night, to the children who learn the meaning of sacrifice far too young.
“You are the quiet strength behind our service,” she said. “Your courage is often unrecognized, but it’s never unimportant.”
