Veteran’s Day is usually a bittersweet time for me, as I become pretty overwhelmed with the recognition of all the sacrifices our Veterans have made for America – and I remember two of my fellow soldiers in Iraq who lost their lives there. Spc. Jose Mora and SSG Dale Panchot were decent and honorable men, both lost too soon and sadly left-behind children who grieve them every Day.

When I’m thanked for my service, I sometimes genuinely don’t know how to respond. Mine was honorable service, yes, but also the service of a very young 17-22 year old who, in all truth, didn’t quite know what he was signing up for. I risked life and limb in Iraq, and I’m sometimes plagued with guilt that I have been able to thrive and represent veterans publicly when so many others have not. Sometimes I have survivor’s guilt and wonder why my life was spared when the lives of so many others in the war I fought in were taken.

Our Veterans struggle with mental illness, PTSD, homelessness, and substance abuse. Some can be routinely found begging for change on the streets of major American cities – that unfortunate situation an embarrassment for the leaders of these cities and our outreach programs that so often seem to fail the veterans on the margins.

It is a sad state of affairs in America that only the aisle’s conservative side speaks to their issues and praises their service with any sort of regularity outside of Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day. If anything, we should be celebrating these brave men and women every Day, every month of the year. As free Americans, we don’t just benefit from their sacrifice on two days a year, so why should our celebration of them be limited to these days?

On this Day, this week, and every other week, we should all recognize and honor their sacrifice – and think about how it benefits our Day to Day lives in this fantastic country.