Honor, Courage, & Commitment
I had the honor and privilege to speak again this year at the City of Sherwood, Oregon’s ceremony for Veterans Day right next to Mayor Tim Rosener. While I didn’t have long to share, I wanted to leave an impression with my words being potent because they carried with them the gospel of Jesus Christ. The room was filled with a couple hundred people including veterans from nearly every military branch, but of course the United States Navy took the prize with the most veterans. Way to go shipmates!!
If you’re interested, here’s what I shared:
Veterans Day Brunch Speech 2025
Good morning!
You can always tell a veteran in a crowd — we’re the ones still showing up 15 minutes early… even to breakfast!
People have asked me what makes a veteran different from a civilian.
I tell them, ‘A veteran can make a bed so tight you could bounce a quarter off it — but somehow, we still can’t fold a fitted sheet.’
My name is Robert Garon, and I stand here as a Navy veteran, but also as the proud father of a Coast Guardsman. My son Brayden is currently serving on the Oregon coast. We also come from a long line of family members who’ve served in nearly every branch of the military—although not the Space Force yet.
Maybe one day we'll have someone in our family represent Space Force, which I think would be so cool! Anyone here currently serving—or do we even have any Space Force veterans yet since it’s so new?
Anyway… this day is personal for me, as I’m sure it is for all of you.
Veterans Day isn’t just about looking back; it’s about remembering what’s possible because of what we’ve done. We raised our hand. We took an oath. We chose service over comfort, duty over self, and purpose over popularity. That choice—made quietly and courageously—is what keeps our country’s freedom alive.
The uniform may come off, but the call to serve never does. Veterans still lead, still sacrifice, still build, still show up when others don’t. You model something this world desperately needs—the strength of selfless character.
In the Navy, I learned that courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s standing your post anyway. And I know every veteran here has done exactly that—stood your post when it mattered most.
Jesus once said, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
That’s the heartbeat of service—sacrificially giving yourself so others can live free.
And it’s also the heartbeat of the gospel—because Jesus laid down his life for us, not out of obligation, but out of faithful, sacrificial love.
So today, I simply want to say thank you.
Thank you for your courage, your endurance, and your example.
Thank you for showing a generation—including my son—what honor really looks like.
And as we move forward, may we keep serving—our neighbors, our communities, and our country—with that same spirit.
Remember, the greatest battles are often fought not on foreign soil, but right here at home—in how we love, lead, and live with integrity.
I’ll leave you with what the apostle Paul wrote: “Stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. Do everything in love” (1 Corinthians 16:13–14).
Pray with me….
God bless you all!!
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