There is an old British Navy Toast for this time of the year... so wherever you are tonight the words are as follows...

"To absent friends
to those we have met
to those we have yet to meet
to those who have left us for a while
and to those who have left us forever

let us lift our glasses and drink a toast 
that they may abide in our hearts forever

To absent friends" 

Please remember the empty chair as we gather around the dinner table with family and friends to share good food, warm laughter, and the happy memories of years past. For many families, whose loved ones serve in the Armed Forces, this year's celebrations will not be complete.  A familiar voice will not be heard and a chair at the table will remain empty because, they have someone far from home serving our country. 

 Members of the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard (men and women, Active Duty, Reserve and National Guard alike) will gather in mess halls or in tents across the globe as friends and comrades to enjoy the traditional Holiday meal. So, as those of us who are blessed to be with our families celebrate and give thanks, let us remember in our prayers the homes that have an empty chair at the table and also offer a special prayer for the brave men and women of our Armed Forces, whose service and sacrifice will, we further pray, make the world a better and safer place. 

And a very special prayer, for those homes that have an empty chair that will forever remain vacant and for those servicemen and women who have come back to us, may their sacrifice not have been in vain.