The military is very close to me because it turned my life around. Joining the military helped me get on the right path. I still believe it can help others, too. That is why I stand with the majority of Americans who say to all our service members and their families -- and indeed all the veterans who have served this great country and the cause of freedom -- that we salute you. We support you. And we will continue to pray for you.

Just this past week, we heard Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warn the West with his test missile, leaders from Taliban-teetering Pakistan battling more civil unrest, continued debate about where to place the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and speeches from President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney justifying their warfare and blame game in this terrorist-peppered post-9/11 era, etc. The world is far from a safe place.

And while our politicians pontificate over their positions and purposes, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, their families and our present service members continue even now to make real sacrifices. As Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf once humbly concluded: "It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle."

If ever there were a time we should be grateful for our service members, it would be now. Memorial Day and Veterans Day should not be bottled up into two days a year. Our patriotic commemorations and military gratefulness should extend to every day of the year.

That is why, whether you're abroad or stateside, I encourage everyone to put into practice something I did in Iraq and try to do every time I see a military person in uniform anywhere. I stop him or her, look in his or her eyes, shake his or her hand, and say, "Thank you for your service." As Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall said in "The Armed Forces Officer," "Also remember that in any man's dark hour, a pat on the back and an earnest handclasp may work a small miracle."