Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar issued the following statement for Veterans Day, 2012:

“Veterans Day is a time to come together to honor the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country, including more than 400,000 veterans here in Minnesota.

“Today I am reminded of brave veterans like Marco Solt, who lost both of his legs in Afghanistan but still has an amazing spirit. I visited Marco at Walter Reed earlier this year, and when he returned home to Minnesota, his family, friends and community came together to raise money for his recovery. It made me proud to see such an outpouring of support for our service members.

“I also think of Mike Kirkpatrick, a Bloomington veteran who was wounded while serving as a Hospital Corpsman in Vietnam in 1968 – over 40 years ago. Mr. Kirkpatrick continued to treat other wounded soldiers even after he was injured, but never received the Purple Heart for his actions. I worked with Mr. Kirkpatrick and a group of veterans who served with him to ensure that he finally received the honor he deserved.

“Our veterans also deserve good jobs when they come home. That’s why I worked to pass legislation last month that would help veterans use the skills they learn in our armed forces to get good civilian jobs.

“Minnesota is a state that wraps its arms around our veterans. We can never truly repay the debt we owe them. The best we can do is honor them with our actions. I join all Minnesotans today in thanking our veterans for their selfless sacrifice for our nation. May we never forget their courage, honor, and commitment to protecting the freedoms we so cherish.” 

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