Vice President Pence on Monday hailed Americans for their courage and sacrifice amid the coronavirus pandemic in a Memorial Day op-ed.
In the column published on FoxNews.com, Pence thanked members of the military and veterans for their service while calling on U.S. citizens not to take for granted the freedoms that they enjoy.
“While our doctors, nurses, health care workers and first responders rendered care for our families as if they were their own, the American people stayed home from school, from work and from worship. Some closed down a business that took a lifetime to build. They have canceled weddings and graduations. They have foregone seeing parents, grandparents and loved ones,” Pence wrote. “This Memorial Day, the American people have just come through a lot.”
“From the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, the American people have made great personal sacrifices to protect the health and safety of our nation,” the vice president continued. “In a very real sense, the American people have been willing to voluntarily forfeit aspects of their personal freedom to protect the lives and safety of their family, their neighbors and people they’d never met.”
Pence’s comments come as non-essential businesses around the U.S. have been shuttered for weeks while state governors have implemented and even in some cases renewed stay-at-home orders that have kept millions out of work. The coronavirus has sickened more than 1.6 million Americans so far and killed nearly 100,000.
His remarks struck a softer tone than those from President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump retweets personal attacks on Clinton, Pelosi, Abrams Biden swipes at Trump: ‘Presidency is about a lot more than tweeting from your golf cart’ GOP sues California over Newsom’s vote-by-mail order MORE in recent days, who has called for states to reopen economies and schools at a faster rate.
Pence concluded his op-ed Monday by calling on Americans to remember the names of fallen service members and their families, who he said made “the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”
“Now more than ever, we will remember and honor all the men and women throughout the generations who defended our freedom at the cost of their lives. We will also remember the families of the fallen for whom every day is Memorial Day and assure them that our nation will never forget or fail to honor their loved ones,” he wrote. “And as we remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, we will also remember and pray for all those serving today in the Armed Forces of the United States.”
