37 Veterans Day Quotes to Honor Those Who Served
Updated: Nov. 11, 2022
Let us honor our veterans and give them the recognition they deserve with these Veterans Day quotes—not just on Nov. 11, but every day.
Veterans Day is all about honoring our soldiers, both past and present, who have made sacrifices for our freedom—not to be confused with Memorial Day (we know, Memorial Day vs. Veterans Day can be quite confusing). Take a minute this November to give thanks to those who have served with our favorite Veterans Day quotes from inspiring leaders.
Many of us wouldn’t be where we are today without our soldiers, so what better way to honor them than with some quotes from some of the most famous veterans and their supporters? If you or a family member are a veteran, make sure to grab a Veterans Day free meal. You can also shop the best Veterans Day sales—no service required.
Veterans Day quotes
1. “Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
2. “Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.” —Michel de Montaigne
3. “The boys will all be mustered out, Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours.” —Wallace Bruce
4. “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” —Maya Angelou
5. “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” —Joseph Campbell
6. “We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.” —George Orwell
7. “The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here [at Gettysburg], 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
8. “America without her soldiers would be like God without his angels.” —Claudia Pemberton
9. “We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them.” —Francis A. Walker
10. “In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” —José Narosky
11. “We don’t know them all, but we owe them all.” —Unknown
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12. “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
13. “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” —Elmer Davis
14. “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear—not absence of fear.” —Mark Twain
Read more empowering courage quotes here.
15. “Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don’t know how far we can go.” —Bernard Malamud
16. “Their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored.” —Daniel Webster
17. “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
18. “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” —Cynthia Ozick
19. “There is nothing nobler than risking your life for your country.” —Nick Lampson
20. “There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism.” —Alexander Hamilton
21. “The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.” —Benjamin Disraeli
22. “A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.” —Bob Dylan
23. “Fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor.” —Michael N. Castle
24. “It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.” —Norman Schwarzkopf Jr.
If these Veterans Day quotes have you inspired, try some of these strength quotes that will give you that extra boost of confidence.
25. “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.” —Barack Obama
26. “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it … it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” —Unknown
27. “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
28. “My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place.” —Sidney Sheldon
29. “America’s veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world.” —John Doolittle
30. “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” —Billy Graham
31. “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 he best can, the same cause.” —Abraham Lincoln
32. “The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree.” —Thomas Campbell
33. “Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.” —Douglas MacArthur
34. “The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude.” —Jeff Miller
35. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” —Winston Churchill
36. “A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace.” —Theodore Roosevelt
37. “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
