Hank observes Memorial Day at Conyers Post 77

CONYERS, GA -- Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) observed 2012 Memorial Day on Monday, May 28 at Conyers American Legion Post 77 in Rockdale County, where he presented flags to Blue Star mothers whose children are currently serving in Afghanistan.

For the occasion, Hank noted the debt we owe all our veterans.

[MORE PHOTOS] He gave the following remarks:

"Good morning, it’s great to be here this morning to honor our Veterans.

I want to thank Commander Zeste Debro and the entire American Legion Post 77 family for having me here today.

It’s special for me and my wife Mereda to be here today on such an important occasion.

Not a day goes by in my office without one of our constituent representatives speaking with a veteran who is dealing with a housing, health, job or compensation issue.

To everyone here, please know that it is an honor to serve you – you have served us so well – and now it’s our time to serve you.

There’s not much in Congress we do that’s more important than serving our veterans. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee since 2007, every day I’m inspired to work on behalf of all our military personnel and veterans.

Ensuring that quality services are being delivered to each of you is one of my greatest missions as a public servant.

I thank each of you for your service and can assure you that as long as I am in The Congress, your needs will remain a priority for me and my staff.

It’s one of the reasons I sponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that passed last week to bring greater awareness to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The last decade of the wars has taken a toll on our service men and women, who have been stretched to the breaking point.

Our soldiers should never be afraid to ask for help. More must be done to educate our troops, veterans, families and communities about this illness and the resources available to help them heal from these invisible wounds of war.

So, I look forward to hearing the guest speaker today – Vietnam Veteran Pete Mecca. Pete, I’ve read some of your columns in the Rockdale Citizen and Newton Citizen.

Thank you again. Your service is noble and in the best traditions of our nation. Putting service before self, you have made our country strong. You make us all proud.

On Memorial Day, we remember all of the men and women who gave their ‘last full measure of devotion’ to the security of our nation, the defense of our values, and the freedom of families at home and on distant shores."

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