Speaker Mike Maloney urges students to “keep writing the American story” at Montgomery Veterans Day ceremony
Nicholas Mistretta
MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP — A powerful Veterans Day message centered on service, sacrifice, and responsibility to future generations was delivered Sunday by Montgomery Veterans Memorial Committee member, Mike Maloney, at Montgomery Township’s annual observance.
Maloney served from 1984 to 1987 in Marine Corps aviation, assigned to HMT-204 Helicopter Squadron at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina, after completing training at Memphis Naval Air Station in Tennessee, Tustin Marine Corps Air Station in California, and Aircrew Candidate School at Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida. He has been a member of the Montgomery Veterans Memorial Committee since its inception in 2012 and is an active member of the American Legion and Rolling Thunder.
Addressing a room filled with veterans, families, scouts, community members, and Montgomery Lower Middle School students, Maloney framed Veterans Day as both an expression of gratitude and a call to action—especially for the next generation. Speaking directly to the students, he urged them to understand their role in carrying forward the ideals safeguarded by those who served.
In recognition of its impact, Headline News Montgomery is publishing Maloney’s remarks, in full, as delivered:
Good afternoon. Thank you all for being here today – your presence speaks “volumes.”
And it is “volumes” that brings us together as Americans this Veterans Day celebration. Volumes of the history of our country and American flag, our freedom. Pages and pages of people, places, things – skirmishes, battles, wars, lines and lines: countless paragraphs of bravery, courage, dedication, service, sacrifice, mixed within. Mixed throughout.
Today, we thank those who have written word after word, letter after letter, with blood, sweat, tears.
Today, we thank those who have provided the ink for us to write word after word, letter after letter in our own personal stories: life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.
Today, we thank all of our U.S. veterans – living and dead, those in our past, those here this afternoon, those nationwide, those worldwide, wherever they may be.
As we recognize and thank our veterans in a special way today, we must always first include, remember and honor, thank our U.S. servicemembers who earned the title of U.S. veteran but were never able to claim it. Memorial Day is of course officially set aside to memorialize them all, but they have earned mention in each and every single day of ours as free Americans, as have our 82,000+ U.S. servicemembers since the Great War: WWI – the ending of which became the beginning of what we know today to be Veterans Day – last seen as prisoners-of-war, last declared missing-in-action, our POW/MIA.
That includes Montgomery Township’s very namesake – General Richard Montgomery, killed-in-action on New Year’s Eve 1775, fighting for a country yet to exist, for a flag yet to fly, for a people yet to be called American.
Here this afternoon, some 250 years later, we Americans gather under the American flag – under Old Glory – and all that it stands for because of what was written in the forward section of America: Volume 1.
Entered 14 June 1775 – some 376 days before the birth of America as we know it on July 4th, 1776 – the very first oath of enlistment. This year – 2025 – prior to next year’s 250th celebration of America – we celebrate the 250th anniversaries of the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy.
Today, like Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, POW/MIA Recognition Day, Gold Star Mother’s Day, and others, your presence has far-reaching implications in the story of America, for its many characters defined here. You see, the most important thing we can do for a U.S. veteran is to show up. To be an American, a grateful American, worth serving for – to be as good, have the qualities that they predicted, expected, hoped for, fought for, sacrificed for, became missing for, died for. The official focus for Veterans Day is meant as a “celebration to honor America’s veterans for their love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for common good.”
This year, here today – we celebrate. We honor. And we have a special advantage of sorts. We do so with two days’ notice. While we celebrate and honor here today in Montgomery Township – Veterans Day officially is on Tuesday, November 11th.
Speaking for our U.S. veterans everywhere – all would say to you – as you awake this Tuesday on November 11th – make the most of your head start. Pull from today – move from an awareness to action. Any action, your action, but action. There are many needs – our veterans needed us yesterday, they need us today, they will need us tomorrow – perpetually.
In closing, there is a philosophy in writing stories – that there are coincidentally 11 different parts of a story: characters, setting, plot, conflict, resolution, themes, morals, symbolism, point-of-view, perspective, ending.
Everyone here today is an important part of the American story. We are in this together. And when it comes to that which is to be written ahead – the most important people here, everywhere, are our youth. Our children. It will not be plastic, wood, or metal poles that hold up our American flag ahead – it will be them. It will be you. Love our country. Be willing to serve and sacrifice in your own ways always for common good.
You have incredible power. The power of the pen.
Keep writing. Keep writing the American story with the ink that has been provided to you. Make absolute certain that there is a pen filled with ink for you to pass on one day.
Always remember – the one part of our story – our American story – that we can never allow to be written by others – is an ending…
That we leave to you.
God bless you all. Godspeed.
Photo Credit: Nicholas Mistretta/Headlinenewsmontgomery.com