- Jun 9, 2002
- 9,535
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Clipped from The Federalist ...
Please read, contemplate, and take these messages to heart. IMHO, We are facing a crossroads in history. We can grow to be the beacon for the citizens of earth or sink quietly in to the morass of history.
______________________________________________________________________________
"Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.... Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam. Under one such marker lies a young man -- Martin Treptow -- who left his job in a small-town barbershop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire. We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, 'My Pledge,' he had written these words: 'America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone'." --Ronald Reagan
"Eternal God, Creator of years, of centuries... Maker of all species and master of all history -- How shall we speak to you from our smallness and inconsequence? Except that you have called us to worship you in spirit and in truth... God, lift the hearts of those for whom this holiday is not just diversion, but painful memory and continued deprivation... We remember with compassion those who have died serving their countries in... combat... We believe that you will provide for us as others have been provided with the fulfillment of 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted'." -- Rev. Dick Kozelka
"By profession I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact, but I am prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentialities of death; the other embodies creations and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still." --General Douglas MacArthur
"There appears to be a serious deficit of American manhood today... It is masculine leadership that is sorely lacking in today's society. The feminist movement of the past half-century has certainly contributed to the problem of poor male leadership. Yet, the truth is, if men were the leaders they should have been, the feminist movement would never have gotten off the ground. The feminist movement was really not a cause, it was an effect... The real problem is men are not the leaders of their homes or of their churches... It is an undeniable fact that America has evolved from a patriarchal society to a matriarchal society. Women are the unquestioned authority figures in most homes... Add to the problem of weak-kneed husbands and fathers the problem of spineless preachers, and the deficit of masculine leadership takes on epidemic proportions!... Regardless of their individual political nuances, men such as George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan were manly men. They possessed the kind of manly qualities that were once commonplace in America... How can we expect men to hold their elected representatives accountable to the rule of law and good government if they cannot even hold their own families accountable to decent conduct? How can the principles of self- government prevail on Pennsylvania Avenue, if they do not prevail on Main Street?" --Pastor Chuck Baldwin
"Setbacks and tragedy are part and parcel of war and must be accepted on the battlefield. We can and will achieve our goals in Iraq. Waiting for war in the Saudi Arabian desert as a young corporal in 1991, I recall reading news clippings portending massive tank battles, fiery death from Saddam Hussein's 'flame trenches' and bitter defeat at the hands of the fourth-largest army in the world. My platoon was told to expect 75% casualties. Being Marines and, therefore, naturally cocky, we still felt pretty good about our abilities. The panicky predictions failed to come true... Nobody from my platoon died. Strength, ingenuity and willpower won the day. Crushing the fourth-largest army in the world in four days seemed to crush the doubts back home... In the spring of last year, I was a Marine captain, back with the division for Operation Iraqi Freedom... I was again subjected to the panicky analyses of talking heads. There weren't enough troops to do the job, the oil fields would be destroyed, we couldn't fight in urban terrain, our offensive would grind to a halt, and we should expect more than 10,000 casualties... [However,] I knew that our tempo was keeping the enemy on his heels and that our plan would lead us to victory... Mourning our losses quietly, the Marines drove to Baghdad, then to Tikrit, liberating the Iraqi people while losing fewer men than were lost in Desert Storm... Just weeks ago, I read that the supply lines were cut, ammunition and food were dwindling, the 'Sunni Triangle' was exploding, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was leading a widespread Shiite revolt, and the country was nearing civil war. As I write this, the supply lines are open, there's plenty of ammunition and food, the Sunni Triangle is back to status quo, and Sadr is marginalized in Najaf. Once again, dire predictions of failure and disaster have been dismissed by American willpower and military professionalism. War is inherently ugly and dramatic... All we ask is that Americans stand by us by supporting not just the troops, but also the mission. We'll take care of the rest." --Major Ben Connable, Foreign-Area Officer and Intelligence Officer with the 1st Marine Division, Ramadi, Iraq
"On Memorial Day, America honors her own. Yet we also remember all the valiant young men and women from many allied nations... who shared in the struggle here [in Europe], and in the suffering. We remember the men and women who served and died alongside Americans in so many terrible battles on this continent, and beyond... The grave markers here [at Normandy] all face west, across an ageless and indifferent ocean to the country these men and women served and loved. The thoughts of America on this Memorial Day turn to them and to all their fallen comrades in arms. We think of them with lasting gratitude; we miss them with lasting love... And we trust in the words of the Almighty God, which are inscribed in the chapel nearby: 'I give unto them eternal life, that they shall never perish'." --President Bush on Memorial Day 2002 at Normandy
Lex et Libertas -- Semper Vigilo, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for the editors and staff. (Please pray on this day, and every day, for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world in defense of our liberty, and for the families awaiting their safe return.)
Editor’s Note: Please join us today in honoring Memorial Day by observing a minute of silence at 3 p.m. local time [Monday], for remembrance and prayer. Also, if you can, please give a personal word of gratitude and comfort to surviving family members who today still grieve for a beloved warrior fallen in battlefields defending our cherished liberties.
The above was clipped (with apology) from the
31 May 2004
Federalist No. 04-22
Monday Brief
______________________________________________________________________________
In my own (normally inadequate) words ...
Please join me in honoring the above request on Monday, as we celebrate the freedoms that we, as Americans, enjoy in recognition of the continual sacrifice of our military on the behalf of the freedom. We, as citizens of the free world, owe so much to the men and women serving daily to protect our freedoms.
I stand in awe of those of us willing to sacrifice for the safety and well-being of those unaware, unwilling or unable to stand for themselves. May God keep and watch over our military men and women serving the cause of freedom.
It is my prayer that we drop the hyphens and simply be Americans on Memorial Day and from that day forth.
I do not mean to diminish or demean the sacrifices and support provided by the other countries of earth supporting the war on terrorism. Please post in support and celebration of the efforts of your military on your Memorial Day of reflection. We will all honor the commitment and sacrifice.
Please read, contemplate, and take these messages to heart. IMHO, We are facing a crossroads in history. We can grow to be the beacon for the citizens of earth or sink quietly in to the morass of history.
______________________________________________________________________________
"Beyond those monuments to heroism is the Potomac River, and on the far shore the sloping hills of Arlington National Cemetery with its row on row of simple white markers bearing crosses or Stars of David. They add up to only a tiny fraction of the price that has been paid for our freedom.... Their lives ended in places called Belleau Wood, The Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno and halfway around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Pork Chop Hill, the Chosin Reservoir, and in a hundred rice paddies and jungles of a place called Vietnam. Under one such marker lies a young man -- Martin Treptow -- who left his job in a small-town barbershop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire. We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, 'My Pledge,' he had written these words: 'America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone'." --Ronald Reagan
"Eternal God, Creator of years, of centuries... Maker of all species and master of all history -- How shall we speak to you from our smallness and inconsequence? Except that you have called us to worship you in spirit and in truth... God, lift the hearts of those for whom this holiday is not just diversion, but painful memory and continued deprivation... We remember with compassion those who have died serving their countries in... combat... We believe that you will provide for us as others have been provided with the fulfillment of 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted'." -- Rev. Dick Kozelka
"By profession I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact, but I am prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentialities of death; the other embodies creations and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still." --General Douglas MacArthur
"There appears to be a serious deficit of American manhood today... It is masculine leadership that is sorely lacking in today's society. The feminist movement of the past half-century has certainly contributed to the problem of poor male leadership. Yet, the truth is, if men were the leaders they should have been, the feminist movement would never have gotten off the ground. The feminist movement was really not a cause, it was an effect... The real problem is men are not the leaders of their homes or of their churches... It is an undeniable fact that America has evolved from a patriarchal society to a matriarchal society. Women are the unquestioned authority figures in most homes... Add to the problem of weak-kneed husbands and fathers the problem of spineless preachers, and the deficit of masculine leadership takes on epidemic proportions!... Regardless of their individual political nuances, men such as George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan were manly men. They possessed the kind of manly qualities that were once commonplace in America... How can we expect men to hold their elected representatives accountable to the rule of law and good government if they cannot even hold their own families accountable to decent conduct? How can the principles of self- government prevail on Pennsylvania Avenue, if they do not prevail on Main Street?" --Pastor Chuck Baldwin
"Setbacks and tragedy are part and parcel of war and must be accepted on the battlefield. We can and will achieve our goals in Iraq. Waiting for war in the Saudi Arabian desert as a young corporal in 1991, I recall reading news clippings portending massive tank battles, fiery death from Saddam Hussein's 'flame trenches' and bitter defeat at the hands of the fourth-largest army in the world. My platoon was told to expect 75% casualties. Being Marines and, therefore, naturally cocky, we still felt pretty good about our abilities. The panicky predictions failed to come true... Nobody from my platoon died. Strength, ingenuity and willpower won the day. Crushing the fourth-largest army in the world in four days seemed to crush the doubts back home... In the spring of last year, I was a Marine captain, back with the division for Operation Iraqi Freedom... I was again subjected to the panicky analyses of talking heads. There weren't enough troops to do the job, the oil fields would be destroyed, we couldn't fight in urban terrain, our offensive would grind to a halt, and we should expect more than 10,000 casualties... [However,] I knew that our tempo was keeping the enemy on his heels and that our plan would lead us to victory... Mourning our losses quietly, the Marines drove to Baghdad, then to Tikrit, liberating the Iraqi people while losing fewer men than were lost in Desert Storm... Just weeks ago, I read that the supply lines were cut, ammunition and food were dwindling, the 'Sunni Triangle' was exploding, cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was leading a widespread Shiite revolt, and the country was nearing civil war. As I write this, the supply lines are open, there's plenty of ammunition and food, the Sunni Triangle is back to status quo, and Sadr is marginalized in Najaf. Once again, dire predictions of failure and disaster have been dismissed by American willpower and military professionalism. War is inherently ugly and dramatic... All we ask is that Americans stand by us by supporting not just the troops, but also the mission. We'll take care of the rest." --Major Ben Connable, Foreign-Area Officer and Intelligence Officer with the 1st Marine Division, Ramadi, Iraq
"On Memorial Day, America honors her own. Yet we also remember all the valiant young men and women from many allied nations... who shared in the struggle here [in Europe], and in the suffering. We remember the men and women who served and died alongside Americans in so many terrible battles on this continent, and beyond... The grave markers here [at Normandy] all face west, across an ageless and indifferent ocean to the country these men and women served and loved. The thoughts of America on this Memorial Day turn to them and to all their fallen comrades in arms. We think of them with lasting gratitude; we miss them with lasting love... And we trust in the words of the Almighty God, which are inscribed in the chapel nearby: 'I give unto them eternal life, that they shall never perish'." --President Bush on Memorial Day 2002 at Normandy
Lex et Libertas -- Semper Vigilo, Paratus, et Fidelis! Mark Alexander, Publisher, for the editors and staff. (Please pray on this day, and every day, for our Patriot Armed Forces standing in harm's way around the world in defense of our liberty, and for the families awaiting their safe return.)
Editor’s Note: Please join us today in honoring Memorial Day by observing a minute of silence at 3 p.m. local time [Monday], for remembrance and prayer. Also, if you can, please give a personal word of gratitude and comfort to surviving family members who today still grieve for a beloved warrior fallen in battlefields defending our cherished liberties.
The above was clipped (with apology) from the
31 May 2004
Federalist No. 04-22
Monday Brief
______________________________________________________________________________
In my own (normally inadequate) words ...
Please join me in honoring the above request on Monday, as we celebrate the freedoms that we, as Americans, enjoy in recognition of the continual sacrifice of our military on the behalf of the freedom. We, as citizens of the free world, owe so much to the men and women serving daily to protect our freedoms.
I stand in awe of those of us willing to sacrifice for the safety and well-being of those unaware, unwilling or unable to stand for themselves. May God keep and watch over our military men and women serving the cause of freedom.
It is my prayer that we drop the hyphens and simply be Americans on Memorial Day and from that day forth.
I do not mean to diminish or demean the sacrifices and support provided by the other countries of earth supporting the war on terrorism. Please post in support and celebration of the efforts of your military on your Memorial Day of reflection. We will all honor the commitment and sacrifice.
