Phil Angelides Addresses California American Legion

I want to thank the American Legion, and especially the Department of California, for having me here today - to honor your service, and talk about the ways in which our state and country can do more - and, I believe, must do more -- for our troops and our veterans.

Let's be clear about something, from the very outset:

We don't give our veterans anything. You earn it - through your own blood, sweat, toil, and tears.

I didn't serve in the armed forces. I finished college just after America ended its involvement in the Vietnam War. I don't pretend to know the depths of your sacrifice.

But you might say I'm a child of that sacrifice.

When he was 20 years old, my dad enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War Two. He's self-deprecating about his service; he likes to say he had a desk job. The problem was, it was the navigator's desk aboard a B-29, flying at about 20,000 feet. His 35 missions at that desk earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with four clusters, and a Presidential Citation of bravery for his entire unit.

My father's strength and his fearlessness in the face of adversity - which he shares with all of you - have been the pride of our family for six decades now. It's something to which I can only aspire.

After he came home in the fall of ‘45, he finished college at UC-Berkeley, and bought the house I grew up in, all because of the G.I. Bill.

Like so many of his generation, my dad helped win the war overseas, and then he helped win a powerful post-war prosperity here at home. He's here today, and I'd like to acknowledge him; if you ask me, they call it "the greatest generation" for a reason.

So you see, my commitment to the veterans of California is more than a policy position. It's in my blood.

And if I'm given the chance, it's a commitment I'm going to take all the way to the Governor's office in January.

My dad raised me to believe that a great nation is built on courage -- your courage.

And when we send our courageous young men and women into harm's way, we'd better be prepared to take care of them when they come home. That's what America did for my family. And I believe that is America's obligation.

We have to start with a strong national defense. That means backing up our troops in the field.

Now, the Governor of California doesn't make tactical military decisions, nor should he. But with so many young Californians headed into battle, especially in the sands of Iraq and Afghanistan, I believe the Governor can stand up and speak out for a simple principle:

We should never ask our servicemen and women to do what they have not been equipped to do. And we should always equip them to do what we ask.

In this time of global terror - in this time of unconventional weapons, and unconventional warfare - it is essential that our troops have the latest and best armor, and weaponry, and medical attention on the front lines.

Americans have widely different views about the current war in Iraq - about the way we entered it, the way it's been waged, and the way our troops have been supplied on the ground.

But all of us, as Americans, share a deep and abiding gratitude to our men and women fighting there -- which is why we must support them in every way we can.

If I'm your Governor, I will maintain an unshakeable commitment to veterans who have returned home from active duty.

That means pressing Washington for a VA health system worthy of the sacrifice of our troops.

It means making sure our veterans homes - the three we have now, and the five that are on the way -- are properly run and properly funded. No one who spent sleepless nights in a bunker should have to worry about the veterans home they're bunking down in, and I'll make sure they don't.

Of course, one area in which a Governor can make a special difference is the California National Guard.

More than ever, our Guardsmen and women are on the front lines of defending our freedom -- from the Persian Gulf to Hurricane Katrina to our most vulnerable bridges, ports, and skies here at home.

It is unacceptable to me that our state's National Guard has fallen below its authorized strength - that some units cannot be classified as ready for action. And it is unacceptable that California ranks at or near the bottom among the states in the support it gives to National Guard members and their families.

In this new war against terror, the National Guard have been deployed like any other branch of the service; they've been asked to risk their lives like any other branch of the service; they've bled and died like any other branch of the service. It's time we maintained and took care of them like any other branch of the service.

As Governor, I will fight for the proper levels of funding and support from Washington, so our state's National Guard can always meet its mission.

And I'll do much more. Today, I am proud to announce a brand-new plan to honor the National Guard - to better care for California's citizen-soldiers both during and after their service.

If I am privileged enough to become the Governor, I will push for the adoption of this five-point initiative.

First, I'll waive all fees at California's colleges and universities for National Guard members, so they can build their own futures after fighting for ours. California is the only state in the union that doesn't provide college help to its Guard members, and I will change that.

Second, it is just plain wrong that so many of our Guard members and their families have no health insurance. I'll make sure all California Guard members and their families have full health coverage, whether or not they're on active duty, and that they have the life insurance they deserve. That's the way to keep our Guardsmen and women in fighting shape, and it's the right thing to do for their loved ones.

Third, I'll recognize the strain that active duty places on family life, by allowing up to 12 weeks of family leave for spouses -- to help with child care, or care for an aging parent -- when a Guard member is activated.

Fourth, I'll make more Military Family Relief funds available, because active service should not mean financial hardship for struggling Guard families.

And fifth, I'll give tax credits to small businesses that pay their National Guard employees while they're on active duty, to encourage all employers, large and small, to do what's right for the families left behind.

I hope this plan will help to ensure that those who fend off the enemy are never, ever left to fend for themselves.

And it is just one way in which I'll try to serve an ideal that goes beyond veterans' affairs --

The ideal for which our young men and women serve and fight and die in the first place:

The notion of sacrifice for the common good. The belief that by banding together around shared values, shared beliefs, we all become stronger.

Together, we can create a California that honors and sustains hard-working families - instead of just lavishing more on those who have the most;

A California that gives its people more chances, not fewer, to climb the ladder of opportunity;

A California where not a single veteran is homeless, or hungry, or without the care he or she needs;

A California that upholds the values you fought for - family, opportunity, and freedom for all people;

A California to which any veteran would be proud to come home.

Harry Truman once said that he "considered statesmen to be more expendable than soldiers." I'm not about to challenge that view.

But perhaps our political leaders can start to even out the equation -

By taking what you've done for our country, and putting it at the center of our public policy, and our private thoughts and prayers.

God bless you all - and thank you for listening.