Contact: By: Congressman Mike Castle

Washington | May 31, 2010 - As Memorial Day ceremonies kick off throughout Delaware, we honor the many heroes of our great nation for their past and present commitment, courage, sacrifice, and dedication. As a nation, we are forever indebted to these brave men and women, as well as their families and those who work to support and protect them, both domestically and abroad. In putting on the uniform day in and day out, the men and women of the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy put everything on the line in order to protect the many freedoms, rights and liberties we hold dear.

Delawareans are intimately familiar with the sacrifices that our servicemen and women make on a daily basis. Our state is home to one of the country’s largest Air Force bases as well as numerous active National Guard installments that have seen combat around the globe, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, Delaware boasts a population of military personnel well above the national average, a distinction for which our state should be extremely proud.

Additionally, with approximately 80,000 veterans living in Delaware, it is extremely important that we provide our service members with the benefits and assistance they have earned. For this reason, I have voted for, and will continue to honor our veterans with my support of, legislative efforts in Congress to support benefits, ensure medical care, and expand veterans’ access to education.

As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, I worked with Congressman Rubén Hinojosa to include Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success in the recent reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to help establish veteran student support centers on college campuses to better coordinate academic counseling, financial aid, veterans’ benefits, student health and career advising to meet the needs of veterans. I have also authored legislation to honor African-American recipients of the Medal of Honor. This week, Congress passed legislation to honor and support veterans and members of the Armed Forces.

For all of us, it is important to learn how Delawareans in our community are working to strengthen our military’s ability to adequately defend our nation, while strengthening Delaware’s economy. In January, I joined with University of Delaware employees and military personnel for the announcement that the University of Delaware and the U.S. Army would form a research partnership focused on antenna technology and composite materials. Just this month, I witnessed a demonstration of technology being developed by ANP Technologies in Newark that enables soldiers in the field to test water, ground and suspicious powder samples for biological warfare agents.

In addition to celebrating our nation’s heroes and honoring those who have worn the uniform this Memorial Day, we must thank those who have been integral to the success of our nation’s heroes, from military families to veteran health care professionals; without these people it would be impossible to know the freedom that we enjoy as Americans. Please take the time to thank a veteran or service member this Memorial Day.