I would like to dedicate these words to all men and women currently serving abroad in the U.S. military. There has been a lot of discussion lately about your condition in Iraq and elsewhere, but few direct attempts to reach you.

Let me first tell you a few things about myself. I will probably never serve in the military. I have perfectly flat feet and a mild heart condition, so I don’t think they even want me. Based on that fact, I will not even begin to pretend that I know what you are experiencing whether you are in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Haiti or South Korea.

I am one of the millions of Americans who will never come anywhere near a battlefield or any kind of war. It is precisely for that reason that I feel it is my duty to thank you.

I could call you brave. I could call you patriotic. I could call you selfless. I could praise you with a thousand other words, but I think I would be most proud to simply call you my brothers and sisters.

Many of you are from my generation, and it seems that our generation now has the war that will define it. Every other generation of this past century had their defining combat, and apparently this is ours. My hope is that someday we will fight a true war to end all wars, but history has shown us the world has intentions different than the hopeful ideals of the young and innocent.

We enjoy incredible freedoms in this country. We are even free from being forced to serve in the military. That duty is carried on by you, our volunteers. You have voluntarily agreed to defend this country and its interests at any cost, even your lives. Few such overused words as “brave” or “patriotic” can encompass the debt is owed to you. Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that when I think of your sacrifices, I can think of them for minutes and conjure no words.

I will be honest with you. I did not agree with going to war in Iraq. I strongly questioned the reasons we were told it was necessary to go to war. Those very same reasons are now being questioned, but now you are there. You are there, and you are fighting.

Now that your lives are at stake, now that so many of our brothers and sisters have died, I feel we must do what we can to make the greatest good of our situation. We must put our resources into protecting you and ensuring the safety of the citizens of Iraq.

We cannot abandon you or the Iraqi people. Doing so would leave the country in a worse state than we found it in the hands of Saddam, and at the cost of so many lives.

Please know that those of us back home who protest this war have never, and will never, protest against you. They are practicing the ultimate freedom, the freedom to dissent and disagree with their leaders.

Don’t let pundits try to convince you that those who are against the war are against you. That is simply not true. The beauty of the country that you pledged to defend is that we can love this country and still disagree with the actions it takes.

I disagreed with going to war because I believe only the noblest of causes should require the noblest of sacrifices.

I want you to know there will always be a home for you in America.

I want you to know that no matter the horrors you see, the hardships you face or the battles you fight, there will always be a place of peace and freedom back home for you.

Whatever chaos rages in the world, the land of the free will remain free thanks to people like you. Despite what you face now, remember there is a special place in the world that is free.

Free from dropping bombs, free from death squads, free from militants and free from complete tyranny. We anxiously wait for you to return and enjoy the freedoms of home.

I have just one favor to ask of you, from those of you who already give everything. When you come back home to America, never let us forget what you have done.

Never let us grow complacent. Never let us become comfortable sending people like you away on our political errands. Never let politicians use your deaths to point fingers of blame that should rightfully be pointing everywhere.

Never let us refer to you as numbers.