One afternoon last month I found myself sitting in the gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives watching the proceedings on the floor.  Next to me sat Jerry Mundy, one of the Bangor Troop Greeters featured in the movie “The Way We Get By.”  (Click here to watch the trailer.)As Jerry and I whispered about who was saying what on the floor below us, I thought of how fortunate I am to be a Member of Congress—and how, if it were not for people like Jerry, I wouldn’t be sitting there.

Today, on Veterans Day, we pause and reflect on the sacrifices our veterans have made to protect our country and preserve the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted.  Our system of government—of which we are justifiably proud—requires a strong and secure defense and depends on the protection that our Armed Services provide. 

The men and women who have worn our country’s uniform to safeguard our way of life define the term “service”—and Jerry is a perfect example of that.

Jerry first served our country when he volunteered for the Marines during the Korean War era.  Today, decades later, Jerry continues to serve, showing up at the Bangor Airport at all hours of the day and night, greeting today’s troops as they come and go from the Middle East.

Earlier this year, on a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, I met countless men and women in uniform who had been welcomed by the troop greeters in Bangor and were grateful for a cup of coffee, the loan of a cell phone and a warm and welcoming face.   “You should be very proud of what those volunteers are doing,” one soldier told me.

Indeed, we are very proud.  Not just of the Bangor Troop Greeters, but of the strong military tradition we have throughout our state and of all the men and women from Maine who have served and who continue to serve. 

But we have to recognize that there have been significant changes in the years since Jerry first put on a uniform over 50 years ago.

For one thing the military is no longer made up almost entirely of young men just out of high school.  Today’s troops are often men and women in their 30s or 40s, many with families of their own.  In Iraq, for example, I had lunch with a woman who, along with her husband, was serving in the Army.  They had left three young children behind, in the care of her parents.

And earlier this year, at a troop send off in Bangor, Lt. Colonel Diana Dunn sat in the front row, her two teenage children next to her, as she got ready to ship out to Afghanistan as a combat battalion commander.

As the makeup of our Armed Forces changes, so must the way we take care of those who serve and have served.  One of the reasons I chose to sit on the House Armed Services Committee was to make sure that today’s service members--and tomorrow’s veterans--are taken care of.  That means better pay, bonuses for those who have been retained through stop loss orders and expanded family leave for service members---all provisions contained in the Defense Authorization Bill I watched President Obama sign at the White House last week.

We must also deliver on the promises made to those who have served.  That means delivering the health care and benefits our veterans are entitled to.   This year I cosponsored a bill to provide advanced, predictable funding of the Veterans Administration, a bill signed into law by the President just a few weeks ago.  But there is still much more we can do, such as streamlining the VA claims system and bolstering its health care system so it can adequately serve the people who served us so unselfishly is important.

We should all take a moment to pause and remember veterans’ sacrifices—not just today, but every day.  Because the freedom we enjoy today will still be there tomorrow, thanks to our veterans.