Honor Given Where Honor Is Due - 3

Part 3, From Yesterday’s Post

On December 8th, 1941, President Theordore Roosevelt, gave the great “Infamy speach”. The last few paragraphs woke up a nation that began to prepare for war.

President Roosevelt’s speech ended with,

But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery wi ll never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces—with the un-bounding determination of our people—we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

Japanese General Isoroku Yamamoto was against the Attack on Pearl Harbor, but once it was inevitable, he planned the attack. Shortly after the attack of Pearl Harbor he said, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." His premonition became a reality. We awoke and we built. Our men went to war and our women built the machine’s that were needed for the war.

Near the end of the war in Iwo Jima Admiral Chester A Nimitz stated that, “Among the Americans serving on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Many said that Iwo Jima was the battlefield that closely resembled the Biblical vision of Hell. Iwo Jima was eight square miles of volcanic ash, pumice and sand. The Marines had the honor of taking Iwo Jima and take it they did.
Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle in the war and in all of Marine history. They had more casualties than the Union Army at Gettysburg. The battle was responsible for over 1/4 of all the Medals of Honor awarded to Marines during World War II. The picture of the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima is the most honored and reproduced photograph of all time. I have been at the Memorial in Virginia. You can’t help but stand in awe, silence and respect when standing in front of it.

Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal told a friend that, “ the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years." He also came out with this little ditty:

Storm'd at with shot and shell
Bravely they rode and well
Into the Jaws of Death
Into the Mouth of Hell

Part 4, Tomorrow

Honor Given Where Honor Is Due - 1

"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

What a rich heritage we have as a nation. The Star Spangled Banner says it all, especially the last line, “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”. We ARE the land of the free and the home of the brave. I started thinking about how we have stayed safe since the inception of our nation.

A young lawyer, named Frances Scott Key lived during the War of 1812. He agreed to broker a peace treaty between the Americans and the British. The British ships were anchored in Baltimore Harbor and Mr. Key was taken aboard the H.M.S. Surprise. The British wouldn’t listen to Mr. Key's terms of peace until after they bombarded Fr. McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland through the night.

Before the battle began, Major George Armistead, whom later became a renowned General in the Civil War, asked for a gigantic flag to be made so that the British couldn’t help but see it from their vessels. By the time it was finished it measured 30 by 42 feet. It must have been an amazing sight.

The stage was set. Many British vessels surrounded Ft. McHenry. Major Amistead and his men bravely waited for the attack to begin. The British carried 220 pound bombshells. The Americans sunk 22 British vessels before the attack, so that the British couldn’t get as close as they wold like. At 1 am on September 14th, 1814 the bombardment began.

Mr. Key watched from the inside of the H.M.S. Surprise. Probably all he could see were the lights from the exploding bombs. The shelling continued until the dawn hours, then suddenly there was silence. Smoke filled the air. Mr. Key didn’t know if the flag was still flying high or not. When he looked out again, the smoke had cleared and the flag was still standing, battered, yet proudly swaying in the wind for all to see. Mr. Key began to write.

Our military had withstood an unbelievable onslaught. The British stopped the attack. They didn’t think Ft. McHenry was worth any more effort. The tide turned because our military withstood all that had happened that night and started the beginning of the end of the War of 1812.

Part 2 Tomorrow

Honor Given Where Honor Is Due - 5

Part 5, From Yesterday’s Post

How could anyone forget December 11th, 2001. Terrorists with radical ideas, whom are willing to die for their beliefs, attacked the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon and would have attacked Washington DC if brave men and women hadn’t crashed the plane before it arrived at our nation's capitol.

My Father-in-law, retired Colonel, B.F. Simmons of the United States Air Force told us that one of the offices bombed out in the Pentagon used to be his when he was there. What a sobering thought. Dad used to be in Medical Administration while serving his country. During the Viet Nam War Dad would fly to the Mash units in helicopters. He said that bullets would fly by the open helicopter doors all of the time. My husband and I a very proud that we have many distinguished military in both of our families.

We are now at a crossroads in our nation. Things are going haywire. Our nation has had problems before, but the one constant has been the strength and dedication of our military. We need to appreciate all that they do. They stay behind the scenes and we really don’t know a small portion of what they do to keep us free and safe.

Our military has always been voluntary (except during the Nam war). Men and women have boldly, bravely and loyally answered the call to protect our nation. I’m proud of our military and I thank them for all that they do for us. You allow freedom to reign. You allow our flag to fly free and proud. You allow us to sleep at night in peace with no fear that someone is going to come and drag us out of our homes because we disagree with them.

There are many more courageous, brave and bold incidences through out our nations history where our military have protected us. It would take to long to list them all. Our heritage is long and rich. Because of the dedication of our military we are definitely, “the land of the free, and the home of the brave”.

Honor Given Where Honor Is Due - 4

Part 4, From Yesterday’s Post

My brother, Gary joined the military in 1969. For some reason he did not get sent to Viet Nam. He did however get sent to the DMZ zone between the two Korea’s many times. Gary was there in 1976 when we received a letter from him. He told us that he couldn’t tell us what was going on and he was sleeping with his gun. Gary wanted us to please pray for him and our nation. We all had goose bumps after we received Gary’s letter.

Later on we found out that the “Tree/Hatchet Incident” had taken place on August 18th of 1976. Several American soldiers and South Koreans went into the Neutral Zone to trim a tree that was blocking the Americans view . The North Korean leader ordered, “mikunulchi ki cha”, to kill the American soldiers. Thirty North Koreans bludgeoned eleven of our soldiers to death with the end of their machetes. My brother knew two of the men. They were young and with families.

President Ford order a decree that was kept quiet. He sent a message to the North Koreans saying that if they didn’t hand over the men that committed this heinous crime we would be at war. America did not know how close to war we were. Like any other bully, North Korea saw the threat was real and handed over the men to our authority. Our President and military stood strong and prevailed over evil once again.

My brother’s son joined the military and became an 82nd Airborne. Dale joined in the late 80's. On December 20th, 1989 our Rangers from Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and the 82nd Airborne attacked Panama. My brother found out that his son was jumping into Panama as the invasion was taking place. Silence and stealth were necessary for victory.

Our military invaded to remove Manuel Noriega because the then President George Bush knew that the Panama Canal was soon reverting back into Panama’s hands and Noriega had strong ties to many of our enemies. It would have been very dangerous for us as a nation if Noriega had been in power after the transfer of ownership.

Part 5, Tomorrow

Honor Given Where Honor Is Due - 3

Part 3, From Yesterday’s Post

On December 8th, 1941, President Theordore Roosevelt, gave the great “Infamy speech”. The last few paragraphs woke up a nation that began to prepare for war.

President Roosevelt’s speech ended with,

But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery wi ll never again endanger us.

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.

With confidence in our armed forces—with the un-bounding determination of our people—we will gain the inevitable triumph—so help us God.

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

Japanese General Isoroku Yamamoto was against the Attack on Pearl Harbor, but once it was inevitable, he planned the attack. Shortly after the attack of Pearl Harbor he said, "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." His premonition became a reality. We awoke and we built. Our men went to war and our women built the machine’s that were needed for the war.

Near the end of the war in Iwo Jima Admiral Chester A Nimitz stated that, “Among the Americans serving on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.” Many said that Iwo Jima was the battlefield that closely resembled the Biblical vision of Hell. Iwo Jima was eight square miles of volcanic ash, pumice and sand. The Marines had the honor of taking Iwo Jima and take it they did.
Iwo Jima was the bloodiest battle in the war and in all of Marine history. They had more casualties than the Union Army at Gettysburg. The battle was responsible for over 1/4 of all the Medals of Honor awarded to Marines during World War II. The picture of the Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima is the most honored and reproduced photograph of all time. I have been at the Memorial in Virginia. You can’t help but stand in awe, silence and respect when standing in front of it.

Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal told a friend that, “ the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years." He also came out with this little ditty:

Storm'd at with shot and shell
Bravely they rode and well
Into the Jaws of Death
Into the Mouth of Hell

Part 4, Tomorrow

Honor Given Where Honor Is Due. - 2

Part 2 , From Yesterday’s Post

In August of 1781 during the Revolutionary War in Yorktown, Virginia, a major battle took place. Major Cornwallis of the British army knew that if he could take Yorktown, the war would end in their favor. General George Washington had different ideas though. Benjamin Franklin had been reaching out to the French for assistance throughout the whole war and they finally came through. With the French’s aid, General Washington was able to defeat the British and Major Cornwallis was forced to surrender on October 19, 1781. Cornwallis was right, the Yorktown battle did turn the tide of the war, but in America’s favor. The war went on for two more years and we prevailed.

Before the Revolutionary War, we didn’t have a military. Each state saw to its own needs and never saw the need for a national military. When the need arose, the Congress appointed General George Washington to form a national army to stave off the British. At first it looked impossible. Men would leave when they felt like it. They would go home at planting or harvest time and didn't think anything was wrong with that. They didn't understand commitment to a military.

Slowly, but surely General Washington earned the respect and loyalty of his men. He took a group of rag tag men and eventually turned them into an army that could stand up to the British and win freedom for our people. The Revolutionary War was the birth place of our military that we have today. As The United States grew, she saw the need to have a military so that we could defend ourselves against attack.

Over the years, we've had our ups and downs in the strength of our Army, but December 7th, 1941, would change the face of our military for ever. The Japanese took umbrage against us and attacked Pearl Harbor. We'd become fat, lazy and unprepared. Japan thought that we would be an easy conquest. Little did Japan know.

Part 3, Tomorrow

Honor Given Where Honor Is Due - 1

"Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”

What a rich heritage we have as a nation. The Star Spangled Banner says it all, especially the last line, “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”. We ARE the land of the free and the home of the brave. I started thinking about how we have stayed safe since the inception of our nation.

A young lawyer, named Frances Scott Key lived during the War of 1812. He agreed to broker a peace treaty between the Americans and the British. The British ships were anchored in Baltimore Harbor and Mr. Key was taken aboard the H.M.S. Surprise. The British wouldn’t listen to Mr. Key's terms of peace until after they bombarded Fr. McHenry in Baltimore, Maryland through the night.

Before the battle began, Major George Armistead, whom later became a renowned General in the Civil War, asked for a gigantic flag to be made so that the British couldn’t help but see it from their vessels. By the time it was finished it measured 30 by 42 feet. It must have been an amazing sight.

The stage was set. Many British vessels surrounded Ft. McHenry. Major Amistead and his men bravely waited for the attack to begin. The British carried 220 pound bombshells. The Americans sunk 22 British vessels before the attack, so that the British couldn’t get as close as they wold like. At 1 am on September 14th, 1814 the bombardment began.

Mr. Key watched from the inside of the H.M.S. Surprise. Probably all he could see were the lights from the exploding bombs. The shelling continued until the dawn hours, then suddenly there was silence. Smoke filled the air. Mr. Key didn’t know if the flag was still flying high or not. When he looked out again, the smoke had cleared and the flag was still standing, battered, yet proudly swaying in the wind for all to see. Mr. Key began to write.

Our military had withstood an unbelievable onslaught. The British stopped the attack. They didn’t think Ft. McHenry was worth any more effort. The tide turned because our military withstood all that had happened that night and started the beginning of the end of the War of 1812.

Part 2 Tomorrow