Dear Veteran,

Welcome home.

I don't know you and you don't know me, yet we are connected.  You saved my life without even knowing it. There isn’t an expressive enough word to describe how much you mean to me. You sacrificed your own life for a cause that helped millions. Whether you were forced into the Army or made that choice, you stayed and you fought for people you didn't even know, people that weren't even born yet. Men, women, gay, straight, black, white, it didn't matter to you. If you didn't receive the recognition you deserve, then I am sorry, but hopefully after reading this letter you will feel appreciated. If you think that people have forgotten about you, then you're wrong, because I haven’t.

If you didn’t fight, my life wouldn’t be the same and I would not have freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, or the freedom to select my lifestyle. I strongly believe in the saying “Your actions have consequences.” I believe that in all aspects of what you do. You took action for your country and yes there were consequences, but not all consequences are bad.  A consequence is a result. The result of you fighting for our country is that I don't have to. I can work a normal job and not have to worry about the government and I can live in a country where it is okay to make mistakes and learn from them. I will be able to reap the benefits of the positive consequences of your service such as feeling safe and being able to have a wife and children who also can be free to make decisions about what they want to do. I hope you realize how much you impacted my life.  You are a hero in my book, yet I don't even know you.

People may not realize how much you truly sacrificed and perhaps you don’t either, which is unfortunate.  I don't think that you realize how much you sacrificed because you may not have received enough recognition and gratitude from others when you returned home. So I'm doing it now. Thank you, Veteran, for your service to this country, to the people of this country, and to yourself. I hope that you do not regret joining the military because you did more in your life than many others. You gave hope to a belief that democracy can work if you fight for it.