In dedicating Wyoming’s first national cemetery last week, Congresswoman Liz Cheney said the work done on behalf of veterans and current members of the armed forces is the most important work she does as a member of congress.
“We all know and recognize that the freedoms that we enjoy, the freedoms that we are able to exercise every single day, we only are able to do that because of brave men and women like you who had stepped forward and answered the call,” Cheney said.
Cheney was joined by VA Secretary Robert Wilkie and Gov. Mark Gordon at the ceremony dedicating the new cemetery which is located about five miles northwest of Cheyenne.
Recalling a statue of a union solider at the Antietam National Battlefield, Cheney cited the inscription on the monument which says: “Not for Themselves, but for Their Country.”
“I think that is something that we all need to pause every day and particularly on a day like today when we’re here to commemorate to dedicate the cemetery,” she said. “That it is because of the selfless service of all of you that we live in freedom.”
She went on to say that the “task and responsibility” of representing Wyoming’s constituents is to make sure that she and others in elected positions “conduct ourselves in a way that is worthy of the sacrifices that so many have made and continue to make.”
“I am very honored to be here. pleased to be able to be here on such an important day and such an important moment,” she said.
Cheney later posted a photo of World War II veteran Gerry Meyer who attended the ceremony. The 100-year-old vet served in the Navy during WWII & later as Dean of Wyoming’s College of Arts & Science.
“We owe Gerry our gratitude for his patriotic service to our state & country,” she said,.
