Written by Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights
On Veterans Day, we thank the men and women who served our country and the families who stood beside them. As an Army veteran, I am grateful for the people I served with and for the generations whose service made our own possible.
Military service asks people to put duty ahead of their own plans. For many, that means long separations from family, missed birthdays and holidays and uncertainty about what comes next. Some return with injuries that change the rest of their lives. All deserve our thanks.
Trampus Miller lost a leg to an improvised bomb in Iraq in 2008. His recovery at Walter Reed took three and a half years and more than 100 surgeries. Later, he attended a deer hunt through Jason’s Box, a Paris, Kentucky, nonprofit that provides free outdoor activities for severely injured veterans.
Miller recalled “just realizing you’re not alone” during that first hunt. He stayed on as a volunteer and now helps coordinate activities for other veterans.
Miller found something that mattered to him and chose to help make it available to someone else.
Here in Northern Kentucky, The Barracks Project provides transitional housing and emergency help to veterans and sends care packages to deployed troops. I was glad to tour one of its remodeled homes in Covington and help present a donation toward its work. I appreciate the volunteers who give their time to help veterans find a home and get settled.
Veterans Day is a chance to know people like Miller beyond their military service. Their lives include families, careers, friendships and plans for the future. Taking an interest in those lives is one way to show that our gratitude lasts beyond the holiday.
That can begin with a conversation. Call someone you served with. Ask a veteran in your family about an experience you have never discussed. Invite a neighbor to join you for a meal or an activity. Be willing to listen, and respect someone’s choice to keep parts of their service private.
As America marks 250 years of independence, I think about how much we owe the people who have defended it. Across generations, Americans have left their homes and families to serve. We live with the freedoms their service helped preserve.
No veteran owes us another accomplishment. Military service already merits our respect. A veteran may want to start a business, return to school, volunteer or enjoy a peaceful retirement. Those choices belong to them.
Miller chose to help other veterans join the activities that had welcomed him. I am thankful for his example and for the people here at home who offer that same friendship.
To every veteran, thank you for your service. To the families who shared its demands, thank you for your sacrifices. It is an honor to call you neighbors and to represent you in the Kentucky Senate.
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Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, represents the 23rd Senate District in northern Kenton County. He serves as co-chair of the Interim Joint Committee on Appropriations and Revenue and the 2026–2028 Budget Preparation and Submission Statutory Committee. As Senate budget chair, he also serves in an ex officio capacity on all seven budget review subcommittees: Health and Family Services; Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Protection; Education; General Government, Finance, Personnel, and Public Retirement; Justice and Judiciary; and Transportation. Additionally, he serves on the Interim Joint Committees on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations; Local Government; and State Government, and is a member of the Public Pension Oversight Board.
