ABRAHAM LINCOLN, UPDATED

Veterans Affairs Modernizes Motto to Use Gender-Neutral Language

The new motto is a modernized, more inclusive version of the old one, which is based on an Abraham Lincoln quote.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is shedding its old motto in favor of a more modernized and inclusive version, using gender-neutral language that doesn’t marginalize female and nonbinary veterans and military families. Since 1959, the department has used a line from President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address on March 4, 1865, in which he affirmed the government’s obligation to care for its veterans and their families: “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” On Thursday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough unveiled the new mission statement, which goes, “To fulfill President Lincoln’s promise to care for those who have served in our nation’s military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors.” McDonough pledged to review the motto after taking office in 2021, following years of demands from advocates who pointed out that women veterans—a group of around two million people—are expected to make up one in every five veterans in the U.S. by 2040.