Mayor  Mark Begich remarks
Veterans’ Day Concert
Nov. 11, 2003; AnchoragePerforming ArtsCenter

Thanks, Rick (Rydell), for your introduction and MC’ing this event.

And thank you, Ric Davidge, for organizing this event. We appreciate your service to your community and nation, and for reminding us to cherish those who serve while they are still with us. 

A hearty welcome to all the veterans who have served their country so courageously over the years. And welcome and thanks to the men and women still serving in our nation’s military.  We are proud of each of you.

Several times a year, Americans are called upon to reflect on our nation’s greatness. From Independence Day to Memorial Day, we rejoice in love of country, we celebrate the value of public service, and we honor your sacrifice.

The event we celebrate tonight - Veteran’s Day - has its beginnings in the armistice signed ending what we now know as World War I. It was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11^th month of 1918, ending hostilities in Europe.

Between 1917 and 1919, more than 4 million Americans served their nation in what was called the “war to end all wars.” As is the case in all wars, World War I resulted in tragic losses. 126,000 American soldiers lost their lives in the trenches of France and Germany.  Another 234,000 were wounded and 4,500 disappeared or were taken prisoners of war.

As in all wars, World War I produced heroes. A tall, young, red-headed sergeant from Pall Mall, Tennessee, named Alvin C. York was a reluctant solider because of his faith.

But on October 18, 1918, Sergeant York became a national hero. That’s the day he single-handedly killed at least nine enemy soldiers and, with the assistance of eight other American comrades, captured 132 others.

In those times, America was a young power, just emerging on the world stage.  But when President Wilson articulated the need to ensure that democracy would survive in Europe, our nation answered the call.

Close to a century later, we are still a nation that desires peace. But we are a nation willing to sacrifice what is necessary to preserve the democratic values and freedoms we cherish.  And tonight, we still have heroes among us.

PFC Miller, let me be the first of many here tonight to thank you for your service to your country.  Your courage and your bravery inspire us.

In Anchorage, we know about service.  We take special pride in our ties to the armed forces.

Alaska proudly claims more than 70,000 men and women who wore the uniform of our country’s military – one of the highest percentages in the nation.  Anchorage is home to 30,000 of these men and women.

Our purpose here tonight is to celebrate the service and sacrifice of our veterans, and cherish those veterans still among us while we have the opportunity, especially those we now know as “the Greatest Generation.”

In the years since the two world wars, this nation has never shirked its duty.  So we also pay tribute to those who served in the Korean War, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and both conflicts in Iraq.  

Let us celebrate the men and women who help make our country the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Thank you, and may God bless America and our great city.

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