January 26, 2007 - Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen — I am honored to be here today to recognize the men and women of the United States military. They share a dedication to the defense of freedom and the same spirit that, for generations, has defined America as the home of the brave. They are the valiant soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen of our nation's Armed Forces. They are, our American veterans.
John Quincy Adams said, "You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."
Freedom. For much of the world, freedom is a luxury, the privilege of a few. For Americans, however, our many freedoms are so much a part of the fabric of our lives that many of us take them for granted and the value and cost of preserving those freedoms are often overlooked.
Freedom to participate in our own governance, to worship as we please, to disagree with those in power, to appear as equals before the law — the list of our freedoms is long.
We all know the value of freedom and we look to the men and women who wear the nation's uniform to protect and defend it. It is important to remember that of the twenty-six million American veterans living across the world today, three million are permanently disabled from injuries suffered in our nation's defense.
For their sake, it is precisely this value and cost we seek to honor and uphold in our proposed design for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to recognize the sacrifices that our country's disabled veterans have made on behalf of us all. I was deeply moved to have been asked to participate in the building of this absolutely necessary Memorial.
I am honored to serve as the Disabled Veterans' Life Memorial Foundation's National Spokesperson and can only hope that my participation will help draw attention to the cause and ensure its successful fruition as the nation's first and only such tribute built specifically to remember these courageous men and women.
There are many of our brave wounded warriors here today — let's give them a warm round of applause for their service and their sacrifice on behalf of a grateful nation.
And our special thanks and my personal gratitude to Gordon Mansfield, Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs for all you are doing to support the Memorial and for joining us today. They tell me you point out the Memorial site during every trip to Capitol Hill ~ I look forward to being there with you on the day of its dedication.
We also welcome two members of Congress - Mark Kirk, who is my hometown congressman from Highland Park, Illinois and Dennis Moore from Kansas — who are leading the effort to secure passage of Commemorative Coin legislation in the House of Representatives that will have an important and lasting impact on the Memorial. Thank you both for being here.
And finally, Christian Bagge, a young man who joined President Bush for a run at the White House after they met at Walter Reed during his rehabilitation. Christian will give voice to all disabled veterans when he shares his thoughts on building the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial.
I would like to take a moment to explain how I got actively involved with supporting our veterans and their issues. Over the years, people have asked me if it had something to do with a certain film I acted in a while back but it actually predates my work as Lt. Dan Taylor, the disabled Viet Nam veteran in Forrest Gump.
My grand father served in WW1, my father served in the Navy and my uncle was a navigator on a B 17 bomber during WW2, flying, and surviving, 30 missions over Europe. Military service runs on both my wife's and my side of the family.
In 1980, I had the privilege of seeing a group of Viet Nam veterans perform a play they had written that was based on their experiences during the war. It was an incredibly moving piece of theatre and it made me think back to what I had been doing when I was 19 years old.
While others were fighting in the jungles of Viet Nam, I was not really paying much attention. Although, as a freshman in high school, I remember attending an anti war rally on campus, but, without actually knowing what was going on. It was really just to get out of class.
The war was a distant war, something that was happening over there. Even though it was broadcast every night on the evening news it didn't seem to affect me. Crazy things were happening here at home and I just went on being a kid living in a free country and enjoying the benefits of it.
But when I saw this play, a play performed by the men who had fought in and survived that war, a tremendous feeling of guilt and sadness came over me.
I thought back to what I was doing when I was their age and how unaware I was of what these young men were going through so far away from home and how ungrateful our nation was when they returned.
A fine piece of theatre can truly rattle your senses and awaken the soul and I knew, sitting stunned and silent in the empty theatre afterwards, that I wanted to do something to help make more people aware of the experiences of our Viet Nam heroes. They deserved our gratitude and they never got it.
My wife Moira's two brothers both served in Vietnam — one, a helicopter pilot, and the other an Infantry officer. The officer, Boyd Harris, a West Point graduate, served two tours, first as a lieutenant, and went back as a captain.
The military was his career and I was able to have many long discussions with him about his two tours in Vietnam, which was also great preparation for my work on the play.
A few years later I was fortunate to be able to produce and direct the play at Steppenwolf theatre in Chicago. Sadly, Boyd died of cancer as rehearsals began. He died a lieutenant colonel at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. His death made me even more determined to honor these heroes with a great production.
During the course of our work on the play my cast and I spent much time with local Viet Nam veterans who were struggling with the effects of post traumatic stress disorder.
We spent hours and hours at the VA listening to some of these veterans pour their tragic experiences on to the floor for us to see. So vividly they talked about it. Not at first, but eventually they trusted us and knew that we would try our best to honor them with our performance.
So they helped us to understand their pain and the play became a sort of healing device for them. Each night the audience would be filled with dozens of veterans, many of them coming back night after night to relive their experiences through the actors and participate in the very emotional post show discussions. It was extremely powerful and I will never forget it.
The time spent with these veterans, along with my wife's two brothers and a brother in law who is also a Viet Nam veteran, left a lasting impression on me and I have stayed involved with veterans ever since.
Ten years after directing the play I was lucky to land the role of LT. Dan in Forrest Gump. Having spent so much time with Viet Nam veterans I knew I was well prepared for the role and, as Lt Dan might say, it almost felt like it was "my destiny" to play it. These moments are rare for an actor.
So many good things came from that film but I will never forget getting a call from the Disabled American Veterans offering to honor me for my portrayal at their national convention. I will never forget the emotions I felt when I received the award, standing in front of thousands of these veterans. Winning an Oscar could not have meant more.
From that moment on I have stayed in touch with members of the DAV, helped to raise money, done PSA's and even gone back to their national conventions to play with my band, The LT. Dan Band.
In fact, if you get a chance, please come to the Washington Auto Show at the Convention Center tomorrow night at 6pm. The Lt Dan Band will be live on stage, with proceeds going to benefit the Fisher Houses.
After September 11, once our service members began to deploy, I knew I had to do something to support them and their families. Having known so many Viet Nam veterans, and remembering all too well how they were received when they returned from war, I wanted to do my part to make sure that that never happens again.
One of the many hard lessons learned from our involvement in Viet Nam is how NOT to treat our service members. They serve freely and they should be shown appreciation and respect always.
Their sacrifices are many and they need our support.
In the last 3 1/2 years I have been on over 20 USO tours with and without my band and have visited our wounded in the hospitals several times. Each time I visit our wounded I am struck by their humility, their courage and determination, their acceptance and their dedication to our country and their fellow warriors.
Lending a hand to these brave men and women is truly one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. I know that they do not have to do this work and I am grateful that we have people like them who want to volunteer to defend this great nation in military service. They don't ask for much. Knowing they are not forgotten and that their sacrifice is appreciated can make a world of difference. And as these veterans face a life for which no one can prepare, so must their families and friends.
And so you can see why, when the Foundation asked me to sign on to their mission — I was happy to accept.
This Memorial, to honor all our disabled veterans from all wars, will pay special tribute to those who have given so much of themselves and to the families who love and care for them. Their heroic devotion is a source of strength for those striving to heal. Freedom is so precious and those who protect it and sacrifice for it deserve our highest praise and thanks.
For the first time in our nation's history, we will build a tribute to some of America's most courageous heroes — our disabled veterans. The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial will celebrate these men and women who may be broken in body — but never in spirit.
The Disabled Veterans' Life Memorial Foundation was created in 1998 through the combined efforts of philanthropist Lois Pope, Foundation chairman; Arthur Wilson, National Adjutant of the Disabled American Veterans; and the late Jesse Brown, former Secretary of Veteran Affairs.
Formed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, the Foundation's sole objective is to raise the estimated $65 million in private funds needed to design, build and permanently maintain the Memorial.
The Memorial will command an impressive location adjacent to the National Mall and within full view of the Capitol Building. The Memorial's proximity to the Capitol will serve as a constant reminder to America's representatives of the true cost of conflict.
The National Capitol Planning Commission recognized this when it noted that the Memorial will serve as reminder to legislators of the human costs of their decisions concerning military action as well as the need for health and rehabilitation of those injured in defense of our country.
The Memorial's powerful, meditative design was conceived by Michael Vergason Landscape Architects. Michael is here with us today. Thank you for a thoughtful and beautiful Memorial design.
The design concept was approved in 2004 by the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission.
The focal point of the Memorial will be a star-shaped reflecting pool, its surface broken only by a single eternal flame. I have heard Captain Leslie Smith — a retired disabled veteran from the Bosnia conflict — often talk of the star representing the five services branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.
Dedicated to both the living and the deceased—a setting of unity or solitude—the Memorial will hold a special place in the hearts of all Americans, and will serve as a never-ending reminder to all of the cost of human conflict.
Transcending conflicts, service branches and generations, the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial will express America's lasting gratitude to the men and women whose lives were forever changed in service to our country and in the cause of freedom.
I am honored to speak on behalf of the Foundation's efforts to get this Memorial built. These disabled veterans live with the scars of their wars everyday. Paying tribute to their sacrifices is long over due. Thank you.
It is now my pleasure to introduce Christian Bagge. Christian was a member of the Oregon National Guard when his convoy was attached near Kirkuk. The soldiers' mission was to check a road for explosives that might have been planted overnight when a bomb exploded. Christian lost both his legs. He is no longer a member of the Oregon National Guard but has joined the active Army and is stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio where he lives with his wife Melissa. Christian was promoted to staff sergeant and was awarded the Purple Heart.
