Española, N.M. — Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall will join veterans, service members, and their families in a ceremony honoring New Mexico’s veterans and deceased heroes at the Veterans’ Memorial Wall in Española. At the ceremony, Udall will deliver remarks celebrating the brave veterans who have served our country and honoring them for defending the Constitution and our values and freedoms.
In Sunday's Albuquerque Journal, Udall penned an op-ed on his office's work to conduct oral history interviews with veterans from all of New Mexico's 33 counties through the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project. Read Udall's op-ed HERE.
Udall issued the following statement in observance of Veterans Day:
“On Veterans Day, we have the opportunity to reflect on what we owe to the veterans and military families who have served and sacrificed for our country. Our democracy, our freedoms, and the principles of equality that we strive to realize are not freely given to us. They have to be defended. Across New Mexico, veterans have answered this call with courage to protect our deeply-held values. And they continue to serve our communities, our state, and our nation out of uniform.
“From the Navajo Code Talkers to the veterans of Bataan to the service members who deploy today, New Mexicans have distinguished themselves in our military and inspired us with their heroism and their devotion to the Constitution and the American principles that they swore to defend.
“We can never fully repay what we owe to those who have put their lives on the line for us all, but today we must recommit to serving them as well as they have served us, and ensuring they receive the support and services they have earned. We must support veterans transitioning to the civilian world who bring qualities and experience that are of immense value, inside and outside the military.
“I will not stop working to make sure that veterans across New Mexico have access to quality medical care for visible and invisible wounds, have the resources they need to continue contributing to our communities with meaningful work or renewed service, and feel the appreciation of a grateful state and nation.”