Why America's 250th birthday should start with its veterans
This July 4, Americans will gather under flags, fireworks, and the sound of freedom. We should, for 250 years of freedom is worth celebrating.
Yet if America’s 250th birthday is going to mean anything more than ceremony, we must be honest about the men and women who carried the cost of that freedom long after the parades ended.
Our veterans do not need another slogan. They need a nation that remembers them after the music fades, and this is sadly often not the case.
For nearly five decades, one of us served alongside soldiers and their families. In this capacity, I saw courage up close, and I saw sacrifice that most Americans will never be asked to make. I also saw what happened after the uniform came off.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 6,398 veterans died by suicide in 2023.1 That is 17.5 veterans every day. Even more sobering, 61% of those veterans were not receiving VA health care in the year before their death. That should stop us cold.
Many veterans are carrying wounds that are not only clinical but also rooted in moral injury. Some come from what they saw, what they lost, what they survived, or what they still cannot name. Medicine can help treat symptoms, and counseling can help restore stability, but there is still a massive gap between those who need help and those who are available to provide it. We need trained, compassionate men and women with a heart to help, people willing to step into that gap and walk with veterans toward hope, forgiveness, belonging, meaning, and purpose before crisis becomes catastrophe.
That is where America’s faith communities must step forward. The Church is one of the few institutions still present in nearly every American community. It has relationships before crisis. It has language for guilt, grief, redemption, forgiveness, and restoration. And now, research is affirming what many of us have long known: faith, community, meaning, and relationships are deeply tied to human flourishing. The Global Flourishing Study, led by researchers from Harvard and Baylor in partnership with Gallup, surveyed more than 200,000 people across 22 countries and found that religious participation and community life were linked with higher flourishing.2 The Church also has pastors, counselors, chaplains, coaches, veterans, military families, and trained lay leaders who can recognize distress, respond with wisdom, and refer when professional care is needed.
This is not a replacement for mental health care. Sadly, spiritual care and faith integration, two potent elements of human flourishing, are often absent for our veterans.
For decades, the other of us has worked with counselors, pastors, ministry leaders, and families who are trying to respond to America’s mental health crisis with clinical excellence anchored in biblical conviction. Through that work, and as a veteran himself, one thing has become clear. The Church cannot be a bystander.
That is why the American Association of Christian Counselors and Light University are advancing the America 250 “No One Left Behind” effort. The goal is simple and serious. We will help equip churches, leaders, and everyday helpers to recognize distress, respond with wisdom, and care for those who have served with both biblical conviction and clinical wisdom.
For too long, many veterans and military families have suffered in silence. Too many have believed their burdens are too heavy, their stories too complicated, or their pain too private to bring into the open. Too many have fallen through the gaps between the clinic, the community, and the church. America can no longer accept this reality.
As we celebrate Independence Day, every church, counseling ministry, chaplaincy network, and Christian leader should ask a simple question. Who are the veterans and military families in our community, and are we prepared to care for them before crisis comes?
Gratitude must move from words to action. It should build relationships in local communities where veterans are known by name, where families are not left alone, and where those who carried the battle are met with steady, faithful Christian love.
The best tribute we can offer America’s veterans is not merely to thank them for what they did. It is to refuse to leave them alone with what it cost.
This July 4, let the fireworks remind us of freedom. Then let the morning after remind us of duty and the Great Commandment.
No one left behind must be more than a military promise.
It must become an American commitment.
References
1. Burnett, T. (2026, March 8). VA releases 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. https://news.va.gov/145433/2025-national-veteran-suicide-prevention-report/
2. Global Flourishing Study. (2025). Global Flourishing Study: Wave I. Center for Open Science. https://www.cos.io/global-flourishing-study
Tim Clinton, Ed.D., LPC, LMFT, is president of the American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC), Executive Director of the Global Center for Human Flourishing, Professor Emeritus at Liberty University, Founder of Light University, and president of Light Counseling. A licensed counselor and marriage and family therapist, he is a world leader on mental health, relationships, Christian leadership, and professional athletes. He hosts “Life, Love, Faith, & Family” with Dr. Zach Clinton, previously co-hosted Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk, hosts “Sunday the Road Forward,” and has authored or edited over 30 books.
Chaplain Tom Solhjem, Major General, USA Ret., is the 25th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army, culminating a 49-year career of military and ministry service. He enlisted in the Army in 1974, served in active duty and the Reserves, pastored a local church for six years, and returned to active duty as an Army Chaplain in 1988. He served at every level of chaplaincy leadership, ultimately shepherding the Department of the Army’s 1.2 million Active, Guard, Reserve, and Civilian personnel, along with 4.8 million family members. He is Founding Partner of Global Spiritual Awakening and Renewal, Founder and President of General Consulting Network, Executive Director of the US Family Chaplaincy Network, and Chair of the Advisory Board for LUKE Holdings, Inc. His work focuses on faith, spiritual resilience, constitutional religious freedom, chaplaincy, and care for warfighters, veterans, first responders, and families.
