THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2017
NATIONAL VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES MONTH, 2017
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
During National
Veterans and Military Families Month, we honor the significant contributions
made by American service members, their families, and their loved ones. We set aside this month surrounding Veterans
Day to hold observances around the country to honor and thank those whose
service and sacrifice represent the very best of America. We renew our Nation's commitment to support
veterans and military families. They deserve
it.
Our veterans are
our heroes. Our Armed Forces have
preserved the security and freedom that allow us to flourish as a Nation. They have braved bitter winters, treacherous
jungles, barren deserts, and stormy waters to defend our Nation. They have left their families to face danger
and uncertainty, and they have endured the wounds of war, all to protect our
Nation's interests and ideals established during the Founding.
Our military
families endure many hardships along with those who defend our Nation. They are separated from their loved ones for
months on end and frequently relocated across the country and around the
world. They often live far from their
extended families, and they know what it is like to celebrate holidays and
milestones with an empty seat at the table.
Many military spouses face the task of making ends meet while their
loved ones are away and of securing new employment with each change in duty
station. Children of service members
often grow up living a nomadic life -- periodically calling a new place "home"
and adjusting to different schools, trying out for new sports teams, and making
new friends. In these lives of frequent
change and transition, however, our incredible military families not only
survive, they thrive.
It is our
patriotic duty to honor veterans and military families. As part of our efforts to answer President
Lincoln's charge to care for those who have "borne the battle," I
have asked the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to lead the Nation in a
month of observances across the country to honor our veterans.
As veterans and
military families attend these events, they will see the reforms and
improvements that we have made at the VA.
Over the last 9 months, we have made important changes that enable
better service for our veterans. We have
increased accountability and enhanced protections for whistleblowers. We have improved transparency, customer
service, and continuity of care. We are
working every day to ensure a future of high quality care and timely access to
the benefits veterans have earned through their devoted service to a grateful
Nation.
This month, in
which Americans traditionally pause to give thanks for our blessings, it is
fitting that we come together to honor with gratitude our extraordinary
veterans and military families and their service to our country. May God continue to bless our Armed Forces
and those families that love and support them.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution
and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2017 as National
Veterans and Military Families Month. I
encourage all communities, all sectors of society, and all Americans to
acknowledge and honor the service, sacrifices, and contributions of veterans
and military families for what they have done and for what they do every day to
support our great Nation.
IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of November, in the year of
our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and forty-second.
DONALD J. TRUMP
