By Joe Reagan
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, our nation pauses. Veterans Day
marks the moment the guns fell silent in World War I. But that cease-fire was not clean
nor kind. Nearly 3,000 more men died between the signing of the Armistice – which
occurred shortly after 5am – and 11:00 a.m., including Private Henry Gunther, who fell at
10:59 a.m. He was still charging forward as the war ended—still fighting for what he
believed this country demanded of him.
Across our history there has always been someone like Gunther—someone whose
sacrifice becomes the last line in a war’s long ledger. It was true again in World War II
for Private Charlie Havlat, who liberated the homeland of his immigrant parents only to
fall moments before peace reached him. It was true in Saigon, and it was true in Kabul,
where Staff Sergeant Ryan Knauss and twelve of his brothers and sisters were killed
during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Every conflict has a final casualty. Every generation produces an American who gives
the last full measure of devotion. And every Veterans Day asks each of us not simply to
remember these stories, but to ask what we owe in return.
I come from a long line of people who answered that question with action. My Irish
relatives fought in the Irish brigades for the Union and chose to stay. My great-
grandfather, wounded in France in 1918, returned home, started a business, raised a
family, and helped build his community. He served, survived, and then built something
here at home. He did not talk about his scars. He got to work.
That is the quiet legacy of American veterans: the belief that after the battle ends, the
duty to serve does not.
For those of us who wore the uniform, war is not something we learned in a book—it is
something we carry. We carry the names, the moments, the weight of service and the
cost of freedom. And many of us also carry something harder to describe: a deep,
aching knowledge that our country is worth fighting for—not because it is perfect, but
because we still believe it can be.
That belief is why I’m running for Congress.
In every foxhole I’ve known, there were no Republicans or Democrats—just Americans who understood their obligation was to each other and to the mission. We lived the truth that unity is not sentiment—it’s survival. It’s success. It’s strength.
Today, our country feels divided in ways that should alarm everyone who has ever worn our flag on their shoulder. Veterans understand what happens when trust breaks down—when people stop believing in institutions, in each other, in the idea of America itself.
I hear that doubt growing in our communities. I see the economic pressures squeezing working families. I meet veterans who still feel unseen after two decades of war. And like many who served, I watch a Congress where fewer than one in five members have
ever worn the uniform—yet make decisions affecting those who did.
We said we would never forget. But “never forget” must be more than a phrase—it must
be a promise fulfilled through action, accountability, and opportunity.
Veterans do not ask for special treatment. We ask for a nation worthy of the sacrifices
made for it. We ask that when young Americans put down their weapons and come
home, they find a country ready to welcome their skills, their leadership, and their
potential. Because when veterans thrive, America thrives.
This Veterans Day, I do not just honor those who served. I recommit to serving
again—to bringing the values I learned in uniform into public life: duty, humility, courage,
mission first, and country always.
The battles overseas may have ended. A different kind of fight is here at home—the
fight to restore trust, to rebuild opportunity, to bridge divides, and to ensure our children
inherit a nation as strong as the one we were willing to defend.
Service does not end. It evolves.
This moment calls us—not for short, frenzied outbursts of patriotism, but for the steady
dedication that built America in the first place.
It is time, once again, to stand up, to step forward, and to serve.
Joe Reagan is running to represent Colorado’s 5th Congressional District. A Purple
Heart and Bronze Star recipient, Reagan served eight years on active duty as a U.S.
Army officer, including two combat deployments to Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain
Division, and is a graduate of both Ranger and Airborne schools. Following his military
service, he built a career supporting veterans, national security, and mission-driven
organizations—including leading military and veterans outreach for Wreaths Across
America and driving growth for companies serving federal and defense markets. Raised
in a family rooted in service and now a proud resident of El Paso County, Reagan is
committed to bringing principled leadership, accountability, and a renewed sense of duty
to Congress.
