MANCHESTER, N.H. — U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., marched in the Manchester Veterans Day Parade Wednesday and spoke at a wreath-laying ceremony at Veteran's Memorial Park, her office said Thursday.

Hassan, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said the holiday was a time to recommit to ensuring veterans "receive the care, benefits, and support that they have earned."

"The heroes who fought for our freedom abroad should not be left to struggle for their health care or left to sleep on the streets," Hassan said. "Our veterans put their lives on the line for us, and now it's our turn to fulfill our promise to them."

Before Veterans Day, Hassan joined other Granite Staters in placing American flags on veterans' graves at the New Hampshire State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, her office said. She also spoke at the Woodbury School's Veterans Day program in Salem.

"Simply to be a veteran requires a degree of selflessness that is extraordinary," she told the school audience. "So on this Veterans Day, we should each examine our own lives and resolve to offer America's veterans not only words of thanks, but also deeds."

Her office pointed to her record on veterans issues. It said she helped develop and pass the PACT Act, which covers health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances, and introduced and helped pass into law the Reserve Component Parental Leave Parity Act, which the office said expanded parental leave for Reserve and National Guard members.

The office said she also introduced a bipartisan bill to increase job support for Gold Star spouses, which it said has passed the Senate, and the Military Spouse Hiring Act. It said she backed the Bring Our Heroes Home Act, aimed at helping families get records on missing service members, and led the push to return the POW/MIA flag above the White House.

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