Many families and loved ones find themselves with the opportunity to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives to protect our nation.

Veterans of past wars have an especially difficult time around this holiday because memories are rekindled of battle and loss. Some relive the pain of traumas from long ago and of friends that were lost along the way. “The veterans we serve today have survived the battles – battles they fought to preserve our freedom,” said Dr. Thomas Edes, the chief of Home and Community-Based Care for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. “But now, over 1,500 of these veterans die every day. It is our privilege and our responsibility to be there for them, to offer comfort, support and care as they face their final days.“Together with pride and urgency, we steadfastly pursue our VA mission in hospice and palliative care – to honor veterans’ preferences for care at the end of life,” he said. According to Anthony J. Principi, secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Of all Americans who pass away this year, more than one-quarter will be veterans of our nation’s armed services. In this year alone, more of them will die than during all the four years of the Second World War.”In an excerpt from the Department of Veterans Affairs Palliative Care Network’s Web site, Principi writes, “Our country’s veterans shoulder a proud heritage of service and sacrifice in both war and peace … at home and abroad. America’s covenant with them – from her most elderly veteran of the War to End All Wars … to her youngest hero of the war on terrorism – is drawn from President Abraham Lincoln’s noble Civil War promise ‘to care for him who shall have borne the battle. …’”The power of Lincoln’s pledge rests with the VA and hospices around the nation – to do the very best possible for those who once did their very best for us. To provide them the respect and recognition they deserve through end-of-life care. Take the opportunity to remember our veterans while they are still with us. Celebrate life today by volunteering with your local hospice. Support the care of those who fought for our freedom.