"As we celebrate Veterans Day and honor those who have bravely served in our nation’s armed forces, my hope is that people will not just appreciate the holiday as a day off from work or a day of remembrance," state Sen. Craig Wilcox of McHenry writes.

While saluting service is appropriate and important, proper care is a permanent commitment backed by legislation, oversight and investment.

I was standing there because there was a D-Day, June 6, 1944, when all around me was bloody chaos.