Military Resources
Veteran quotes are the perfect way to thank a veteran and convey a message when you’re not quite sure what to say on Veterans Day.
To the average civilian, this act of gratitude might not seem important. But to our service members, it means everything. I think most veterans would affirm this directly.
You may even want to include a motivational military quote or unique military gift with one of these quotes below.
Or you can teach your kids to thank a veteran and include a quote with it too.
This list is carefully curated by a military family gathering quotes over the years from active duty service members, retired veterans and other military families.
Veterans Day Thank You Quotes to Show Gratitude and Honor Service Members.
1. “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices.” — Harry Truman
2. “America without her Soldiers would be like God without His angels.” — Claudia Pemberton
3. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” – Jeff Miller
4. “The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment.” – Judd Gregg
5. “I respect every soldier, from every country, who serves beside us in the hard work of history. America is grateful, and America will not forget.” – George W. Bush
6. “While we can never do enough to show gratitude to our nation’s defenders, we can always do a little more.” — Gary Sinise
7. “Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran doesn’t have that problem.” — Ronald Reagan
8. “Without heroes, we are all plain people. And don’t know how far we can go.” — Bernard Malamud
9. “If there is only one word to describe a military veteran, it would be ‘sacrifice.'” – Unknown
10. “On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.” — Dan Lipinski
11. “Heroes don’t wear capes or tights, they wear dog tags and combat boots.” — Unknown
12. “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” — Cynthia Ozick
13. “This country has not seen and probably will never know the true level of sacrifice of our veterans.” — Thomas M. Smith
14. “And the truth is that all veterans pay with their lives. Some pay all at once, while others pay over a lifetime.” J.M. Storm
15. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John F. Kennedy
16. ”Heroism doesn’t always happen in a burst of glory. Sometimes small triumphs and large hearts change the course of history.”- Mary Roach
17. “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” -Joseph Campbell
18. “My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place — police, firefighters, and members of our armed forces.” — Sidney Sheldon
18. “May the flag wave boldly with its vibrant hues…honoring veterans like you, with the beautiful red, white and blue!” – Unknown
20. “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” — Bob Dylan
21. “We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.”- George Orwell
22. “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” –Winston Churchill
23. “Honoring the sacrifices many have made for our country in the name of freedom and democracy is the very foundation of Veterans Day.” — Charles B. Rangel
24. “America’s veterans embody the ideals upon which America was founded more than 229 years ago.” — Steve Buyer
25. “While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms.” -Randy Neugebauer
Veteran Quotes on Courage and Bravery.
26. “America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” – Harry Truman
27. “Soldiers, when committed to a task, can’t compromise. It’s unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it’s been done.” — John Keegan
28. “Some people dream the dream. Some people live the dream. Some people defend the dream. God bless the defenders.” — Unknown
29. “True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve all others at whatever cost.” — Arthur Ashe
30. “We will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail.” — George W. Bush
31. “Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.” – John McCain
32. “If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
33. “To command is to serve, nothing more and nothing less.” – Andre Malraux
34. “Those who stand for nothing fall for anything.” – Alexander Hamilton
35. “Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared to death.” — Gen. Omar Bradley
36. ”Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.” – Douglas MacArthur
37. “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” — Douglas MacArthur
38. ”No guts, no glory.” –Major Gen. Frederick C. Blesse
39. “Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste death but once.” – William Shakespeare
40. “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight—it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”- President Dwight D. Eisenhower
41. “Soldiers can sometimes make decisions that are smarter than the orders they have been given.” – Orson Scott Card, Enders Game
42. “I am not afraid of an Army of lions lead by a sheep; I am afraid of sheep lead by a lion.” – Alexander the Great
43. “The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” — Minot J. Savage
44. “Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.” – Colonel David Hackworth
45. “Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
46. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
47. “Perfect valor is to behave without witnesses, as one would act were all the world watching.” — Francois de le Rochefoucauld
48. “Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.” — Michel de Montaigne
49. “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” — Abraham Lincoln
50. “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” — G.K. Chesterton
51. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” — Mark Twain
52. Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” — Billy Graham
53. “In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” — José Narosky
54. “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!” –Sun Tzu
Veterans Day Quotes on Freedom, Liberty and Patriotism.
55. “Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” – Calvin Coolidge
56. “Freedom is one of the deepest and noblest aspirations of the human spirit.” – Ronald Reagan
57. “Freedom is never free.” – Anonymous
58. “Freedom lies in being bold.” – Robert Frost
59. “This will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis
60. “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” — Bob Dylan
67. “From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.” ― Thomas Jefferson
68. “Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as best he can, the same cause.” — Abraham Lincoln
69. “One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation evermore!” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
70. “My patriotic heart beats red, white, and blue.” (Author unknown)
71. “Home of the free because of the brave.” — Unknown
72. “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” – Unknown
73. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” — Jeff Miller
74. “I think there is one higher office than the president, and I would call that patriot.” — Gary Hart
75. “Damn the wars but bless the soldier.” — T.L. Moffitt
76. “Spending time with America’s soldiers is always inspiring.” — John Boehner
77. “America’s veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world.” — John Doolittle
78. “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” — Maya Angelou
79. “Better than honor and glory, and History’s iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men.” — Richard Watson Gilder
80. “There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” — Alexander Hamilton
81. “The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.” —Thomas Campbell
More quotes from American presidents.
82. “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” — President George Washington
83. “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with lots of pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations.” — President Woodrow Wilson
84. “It’s about how we treat our veterans every single day of the year. It’s about making sure they have the care they need and the benefits that they’ve earned when they come home. It’s about serving all of you as well as you’ve served the United States of America.” — President Barack Obama
85. “We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.” — President Ronald Reagan
Want more on thanking and honoring veterans?
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- 15 Unique Military Gifts That Will Never Disappoint
- 50+ Motivational Military Quotes That Will Make You Look Badass
- 7 Ways to Thank a Veteran Beyond Saying Thank You
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- 16 Inspirational Quotes for Military Kids That Will Make You Smile
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