Secretary McDonough

As we approach Veterans Day, I ask that everyone watching or listening today renew their commitment to serving Veterans and serving them well. Because that is our most sacred responsibility as Americans, on this Veterans Day and every day.

Thank you for your courageous service and your devotion to Veterans in the years since. You’ve been “In Service to America” in so many ways for so many years.

Each year in November, America pauses to remember and recognize you—the brave men and women who fought our nation’s wars and defended us during periods of restless peace.

At VA and in this administration, we see you. We hear you. We will do everything in our power to support you. And we thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for all that you do—for our country and the Veterans you love.

Tonight, we honor the legacy of a different generation of heroes—the Greatest Generation, defenders of freedom and democracy for the whole of nations. And we remember the enormous cost of the freedom we enjoy today, born of their sacrifices.

Thank you, James [Sanders], for that kind introduction, and thank you all for being here.

We are now providing more care and more benefits to more Veterans than at any time in our history. So we're not trying to get back to the old normal. We're going to continue to do better for Vets. We're going to continue to be better for Vets. And we're going to do that by driving toward our four fundamental principles shaping our vision for the future: Advocacy, Access, Outcomes, and Excellence.

This organization—and this country—are lucky to have you fighting for our nation’s Vets.

Karen [Long], thanks for that kind introduction and, everyone, for that warm welcome. I’ll be brief. You want me to be brief, so we can hit the links. But I also know that the longer I talk, the longer I avoid hooking my drive on that first tee shot. It’s an incredible hook. Sometimes it boomerangs around. People could get hurt.

Like all worthwhile endeavors, opening this cancer center is the result of hard work and cooperation by many people. So to the activation team that worked tirelessly on this facility—engineers, planners, cancer program staff, safety, housekeeping, quality assurance, interior design staff, and many others—thank you all for bringing us to this day.

Because of the pandemic, we couldn’t come together for the Wheelchair Games last year, and this year will be the first time we’ve ever had some participants on site in New York City and others participating from their homes across the country. We are all adapting!

99 years is an incredible accomplishment, and after this past year, there’s so much for us to discuss. But I want to begin by saying thank you, to all of you—for your service to the nation, and for your devotion to Veterans throughout the years. For executing on your mission of “empowering Veterans to lead high-quality lives with respect and dignity.”