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| Subject: be thankful for Vet's | |
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Author: Wm Magdziarz-Rainey |
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Date Posted: 22:40:04 11/10/02 Sun Mike, On Veteran’s Day I want to thank you for your military service time you spent in the United States Air Force. I’d be interested to find out if anyone else from our graduating class ‘actively served’ in the military. I have remained a ‘civilian’ my whole live although always 'civilly active'. However, during high school, for nearly two years I was courted by Air Force recruiters. I met and filed ‘papers of intent’, however my parents forbid me to get on the Air Force recruitment bus to Kansas City. Both my parents were adamant in refusing to let me join the armed forces. In a past political diatribe e-mail I had noted that I recalled the events of my 18th birthday… On October 23 1983; I stayed home from high school so to register for the draft that day. On that morning my alarm/radio woke me to the alarming news of the Marine barracks being bombed in Beirut. My worst fear (at the time) was that we would be going to war within days, and I would be drafted… That did not happen. But I registered none-the-less that very day. In Springfield we also had been having a bit of a wild time with thunderstorms and a tornado had wielded its way through southern Springfield. I recall volunteering for the Civil Defense and going in to assist in the cleanup of that tornado in Springfield. The storms had been terribly late for the year, being in September and October. On October 23rd, I stopped by the memorial cemetery just north of Battlefield Mall that day and took some photos on my way to register at the post office in the Brentwood shopping center near the mall. I took pictures of the flag at half mast (due to the Marine barracks attack). The recent storms had fallen a tree and crushed a stone wall. In my photo I juxtaposed the age-old stone wall to the flag at half mast with the brilliant fall colors of the trees and stark blue sky. The irony? Realizing that the stone wall had been set by stone masons who surely thought it would last forever… however we found that it met with an untimely force, that of nature. So were the lives of those men in the barracks... they net with an untimely force of an evil man. So too were the lives of those in the World Trade Center... and Pentagon... and on Flight 98. We recognized, sadly after the fact, then and now, that which we assume will stand forever cannot unless we are diligent, strong, and never waning in our task for the pursuit of freedom. The stone wall was rebuilt. So has been America’s determination. Just as in Japan’s Admiral Isoroku’s statement of "I fear we have awoken a sleeping giant..." after their attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. We’ve been struck yet again and been slapped into a realists view of what is going on in the world around us. Face it folks... PEOPLE HATE AMERICA. We must not back down. We MUST not show weakness or we will be forever tormented by these cowardly terrorists. Even then, we are still vulnerable. Just like the stone wall in the cemetery, and like the World Trade Center... even after they both crumbled, one was rebuilt after a few months... New York will heal and will also be rebuilt in a fitting fashion. The ‘American Spirit’ was not crushed then and the ‘will for freedom’ has not been extinguished. We shall overcome. Just as our military presence in the Middle East still exists today… We have stayed the course. Remaining even in the ruins of Beruit and even now in the devastation of the World Trade Center… Life is not Hollywood… As much as we always want to vanquish evil by the ‘end of the show’ we must realize that time is not on our side and that this will not be an endeavor without risk and sadly casualties. Young men (and now women), who set out initially to protect the fundamental American concept of democracy and freedom have been drawn into something much more grotesque. Some sadly have paid with their lives. As in Beirut, more likely will. God save our solders and God Bless those how have and are serving in the American Military Service! Thank you Veteran’s for your commitment of serving and protecting our “AMERICAN” right to a ‘Pursuit of Happiness’. Here’s a link to a site of Ronald Reagan’s Presidential address and directive of the actions he was willing to commit America to On October 27 1983 (a mere 4 days after the attack on the Marine barracks...). We need leaders with testicular fortitude today who are willing to make this stand and lead America without fear of retribution and/or terrorism… http://www.beirut-memorial.org/history/reagan.html Be thankful for our Vet's! -Bill [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |