Military Families Speak Out : Letters About the National "Support the Troops Day" and Moment of Silence

Letters About the National "Support the Troops Day" and Moment of Silence

Congress recently passed a resolution calling for a national moment of silence on Sunday March 26th, and declaring this day "National Support the Troops Day." The resolution in part says: “All people in the United States should participate in a moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of members of the Armed Forces both home and abroad.”

As military families we understand better than anyone how important supporting our troops is -- and we think that everyone in this country should be thinking about supporting our troops every day (not once a year). But we are also outraged that elected officials who continue to support and fund the war in Iraq are pretending that they are supporting the troops by calling for a moment of silence instead of doing what they need to do: end the war (including cutting off funding except for what is needed to bring our troops home quickly and safely), bring our troops home now and take care of them when they get here!

Below are letters written by Military Families Speak Out members about this National Support the Troops day/moment of silence.

"A moment of silence is not enough. The best way to honor the losses and sacrifices of our loved ones and our families is to end this war and Bring Our Troops Home NOW!"

Dear Members of Congress:

Our leadership ought not be SILENT because our loved ones are in harms way. They ought be involved and vocal in criticisms of what is going wrong and keep what is going right on track. They should be engaged in the business of representing their constituents who have, in overwhelming majorities, determined that war and violence is not the answer to bringing peace and stability to “hot spots” around the world. SILENT leaders do not honor my son’s service. There has already been too much SILENCE. It is past time to openly answer the call of the American people to BRING OUR TROOPS HOME and TAKE CARE OF THEM WHEN THEY GET HERE.

I am writing in reference to the resolution passed by the House last week supporting a “National Moment of Silence”, which asks for a moment of silence to honor the sacrifices of our troops.
March 26th, 2006

As a member of a military family whose son has made this sacrifice you seek to honor, I can not help but point out to you that our troops and their families have already experienced three long years of silence with no honor from our representatives in Congress.