In response to recent media negativity towards American veterans, here’s a media tribute to the sacrifice of our heroes – and whom they fight for.

Here are 15 of the most heart-wrenching pictures of veterans, found via Pinterest:

1. “The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” ~ Patrick Henry

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2. “Non nobis solum nati sumus. (We are not born for ourselves alone.)” ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero

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3. “Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die.” ~ G.K. Chesterton

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4. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” ~John 15:13

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5. "Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul." ~ Michel de Montaigne

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6. "An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot." ~ Thomas Paine



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7. “Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.” ~Ronald Reagan

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8. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same ... " ~ Ronald Reagan

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9. "It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle." ~ Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf

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10. "Freedom is not free." ~ anonymous

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11. “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” ~Abraham Lincoln

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12. Spontaneously and without effort we have fulfilled the law (towards one person) by loving our neighbour as ourselves. It is an image, a foretaste, of what we must become to all if Love Himself rules in us without a rival. It is even (well used) a preparation for that.” ~ C.S. Lewis

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13. “The essence of America — that which really unites us — is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion — it is an idea — and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things.” ~ Condoleezza Rice

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14. “America without her Soldiers would be like God without His angels.” ~ Claudia Pemberton

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15. “I believe it is the nature of people to be heroes, given the chance.” – James A. Autry

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Thank you, veterans, for your sacrifice.