This Veterans Day held a special significance for me. It’s my first one without my dad — a Vietnam veteran who served our country with courage and who, like too many of his generation, came home carrying the invisible wounds of war.

My father fueled the planes that sprayed Agent Orange, and he would sometimes be drenched in it. He came home and battled cancer three times before ultimately losing his health care battle earlier this year.

As chair of the Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee — and as the daughter and sister of veterans — my work to support those who serve is deeply personal. My father’s story reminds me every day that the true cost of service often lasts a lifetime. That’s exactly why our work to support veterans must last just as long.

Veterans Day is about more than honoring those who served. It’s about renewal — a renewed promise to stand with those who stood for us. It’s about ensuring that our veterans not only survive after service, but also thrive. And it’s about lifting up the values that define our military community: courage, integrity, compassion, and the unshakable commitment to service above self.

Here in California, we’ve made meaningful progress toward that goal. Together, we’ve reduced veteran homelessness more than any other state in the nation. Through Proposition 1, we now have $1.5 billion to expand housing for veterans with........

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