Fr. John Hannigan (second from left), a member of Council4482 in Twenty Nine Palms, CA, ministers to members of the U.S. Marine Corps during his second tour in Iraq.Council 4482 has been supporting the troops of the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center for three years.

The wheelchair project of the year was a Veterans Day weekend event in which Knights of Columbus distributed 2,000 wheelchairs to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces in four major cities: Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The logistics for this huge project were expertly handled by brother Knight Chris Lewis, of the Wheelchair Foundation, Supreme Master Joe Schultz and members of the Fourth Degree in each of the metropolitan areas, and our military affairs coordinator, Chuck Gallina, along with large numbers of volunteers from local councils and assemblies.

	A member of Council 8250 at the U.S. Military Academy was among those supplying disabled American veterans with wheelchairs on Veterans Day 2007.

The success of the Veterans Day effort owed a lot to the close relationship we’ve built with local veterans hospitals all around the United States. With members of the Fourth Degree — who now number over 305,000 — leading the way, our “Serving Those Who Served” program now provides volunteers in 98 percent of the VA facilities in the United States.

Our support for active duty military, which began with U.S. and Canadian army “huts” during World War I, is more widespread than ever in 2008. We have 52 military councils in places as far-flung as Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy and even the North Pole. We have roundtables in Iraq and Afghanistan, enthusiastically supported by councils in Florida,

Colorado and Pennsylvania. A few months ago, we chartered the brand new Commodore Barry Council 14534 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It joins councils at the U.S. Air Force Academy, West Point and The Citadel in serving the future leaders of the U.S. armed forces.

Each year since the attacks of 9/11, we have paused at our Supreme Convention to remember brother Knights who have given the last full measure of devotion serving in the Middle East. The situation has improved dramatically in Iraq over the past year, although conflict in Afghanistan continues at previous levels.

	Sgt. Jonathon Martin	Capt. David Boris

Since we met last August in Nashville, two brother Knights have died in the service of the United States army: Capt. David A. Boris, of Council 8250, was killed in Afghanistan on November 12, 2007. And Sgt. Jonathon L. Martin, a member of Council 546, was killed in Iraq just ten days later, on November 22, 2007.

We honor their courage, we mourn their loss, and we extend our sympathy and prayers to their families.

We pray for the day when armed conflict will give way to a world in which we can live together in peace and justice.

We invite people everywhere to join us once again on September 11 for the Knights of Columbus World Day of Prayer for Peace.