DAKOTA MEYER: Veterans took an oath to defend America. It has no expiration date

For a long time, I believed my greatest contribution to America would happen while serving in the Marine Corps.I was wrong.Our military protects this nation from threats around the world and represents our greatest insurance against them.

When I took off my uniform for the last time, I struggled with the idea that my greatest opportunity to serve might already be behind me.That struggle hit harder than I ever expected.I had gone into Ganjgal valley in Afghanistan in 2009 and driven into the kill zone again and again because my brothers were still in there.

Years later, after the Medal of Honor ceremony, after the speeches and countless handshakes, I still woke up some days wondering if the most useful version of me had already come and gone.I spent time thinking the country owed me something for what I’d done, yet that mindset didn’t last.

Somewhere in the middle of the ordinary days; working construction, pulling shifts as a volunteer firefighter, talking to young Marines who still had the option to stay in or get out — I realized the country still needed me to take care of it.The uniform had come off, but the work had not.AMERICAN WAR HERO DETAILS DIRE LIVING CONDITIONS US TROOPS FACE AS HEGSETH TAPS HIM TO 'FIX' ITEvery Veterans Day, Americans thank millions of men and women who served.

We recognize the sacrifices and remember the places and the names.And, while that matters, this year I want to recognize something else: how we think about what a veteran is, especially how we veterans think about ourselves.America still needs the same people who were willing to fight overseas to continue fighting for our constitutional rights at home.

We trusted those men and women to protect freedoms on battlefields far from our shores.It makes sense to look to them when those freedoms need defending in our communities.VAN HIPP: WHY THE ARMY SHOULD RESTORE ITS GRASSROOTS LINK TO AMERICA'S COMMUNITIESNow, that doesn’t mean every veteran has to run for Congress or st...