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REMARKS BY SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CENTER FOR THE INTREPID
January 29, 2007
Thank you. I am honored to participate in the dedication of this extraordinary center and two new Fisher Houses, and I want to add my sincere gratitude to the well deserved praise for the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, the Fisher family, and all those who have given generously so Americans who have sacrificed so much for our sake will have the care they deserve and the comfort of their families as they recover from their wounds and rebuild their lives.
To the servicemen and women for whom this center was built, and their families, I know it is not possible for even the most grateful nation to compensate you in kind for the measure of devotion you have, at great personal sacrifice, given our country. We have incurred a debt to you that -- no matter how sincerely and generously we honor our obligations to you – we can never repay in full. We can offer you only the small tribute of our humility. You are the best Americans, and our best efforts to honor our debts to you will fall far short of what you have given and what you deserve. What you have done for us, we can never do for you. But we are mindful of that distinction, and humbled by it. And our appreciation for your service demands us all to do what we can, in less trying and less costly circumstances, to help keep this nation a place and an idea worthy of the hardships, danger and sacrifices you have born so valiantly for us.
When a nation goes to war, a million tragedies ensue. None are more painful than the loss and injury of a country’s finest patriots. It is terrible thing, war, but not the worst thing. You know that, you who have endured the heartache and deprivations of war so that the worst thing would not befall us, so that
In the last few weeks some of your brothers-in-arms have learned their tour in
It is a privilege beyond measure to live in a country served by you. God bless and protect you.
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