Patriotism

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF2iX2VG6e4&feature=rec-fresh]YouTube - Penn & Teller - Patriotism[/ame]

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An email I recived a long time ago but couldn't bring myself to deleting it.

 

SUPPORT THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF UPDATEFORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR FRIENDS

 

AND FAMILY, URGING THEM TO SUPPORT OUR

 

PRESIDENT AND THE TROOPS BY CLICKING HE

 

GrassFire.org - Real Impact Online.

 

3/31/03

 

Dear Charles,

 

We just received a message from a U.S. Marine that was so

 

compelling, we had to share it with you.

 

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I sat in a movie theatre watching "Schindler's List,"

 

and asked myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"

 

I sat in a movie theatre watching "Pearl Harbor," and

 

asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"

 

Now I know why.

 

Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the

 

actions of evil people.

 

On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered

 

because too many Americans naively rejected the reality that

 

some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others.

 

Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want

 

us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the

 

bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the

 

killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of

 

the perpetrators...

 

I will not be manipulated. I will not pretend to understand.

 

I will not forget.

 

I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the

 

press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.

 

I will not forget that CBS news anchor Dan Rather preceded

 

President Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark,

 

"No matter how you feel about him, he is still our president."

 

And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Halperin warned if

 

reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this war,

 

they aren't likely--nor should they be expected--to show

 

deference."

 

I will not forget the attack on the USS Cole...

 

I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory

 

strikes like those perfected by the previous administration.

 

I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing" regulations

 

like the silly, "Have your bags been under your control?"

 

question at the airport.

 

I will not be influenced by so called, "anti-war demonstrators"

 

who exploit the right of expression to chant anti-American

 

obscenities.

 

I will not forget the moral victory handed the North

 

Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and

 

spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors

 

and marines.

 

I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists

 

who chose reassurance over reality.

 

I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair

 

who told the Labor Party conference, "They have no moral

 

inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could

 

have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they

 

would have done so and rejoiced in it?

 

There is no compromise possible with such people, no meeting

 

of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just

 

a choice; defeat it or be defeated. And defeat it we must!"

 

I will force myself to:

 

hear the weeping.

 

feel the helplessness.

 

sense the panic.

 

experience the loss.

 

remember the hatred.

 

I sat in a movie theatre, watching "Saving Private Ryan," and

 

asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"

 

Now I know.

 

We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.

 

--Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.)

 

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Charles, we hope these words spoke to your heart like

 

they did ours.

 

God Bless America.

Charles, we hope these words spoke to your heart likethey did ours.

And they did..

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Captain McVay "I believe this whole ordeal about the sinking and especially the outcome of the court-martial was and is a black mark on the Navy and not the Captain."

USS Indianapolis CA-35

 

McVay was found guilty on the charge of failing to zigzag. The court sentenced him to lose 100 numbers in his temporary rank of Captain and 100 numbers in his permanent rank of Commander, thus ruining his Navy career. In 1946, at the behest of Admiral Nimitz who had become Chief of Naval Operations, Secretary Forrestal remitted McVay's sentence and restored him to duty. McVay served out his time in the New Orleans Naval District and retired in 1949 with the rank of Rear Admiral. He took his own life in 1968.

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I would like to share a local story that some of you can either relate to or know a similar story.

 

This year on Armed Forced Day may 21, 2005 the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Alaska chapter 593, was honored to celebrate the unveiling and dedication ceremony for the Purple Heart Monument at the Anchorage Deleney Park. Saluting all veterans, the Rolling Thunder was presented by Cdr. Fred ?Bulldog? Becker and his Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club. These Veterans also presented the ?Fallen Warrior Ceremony?.At this ceremony this story was brought to the attention of all

 

CHANCE MEETING (By. Jim Leva)

 

On March 30 1966 while I served with Company A 1/12th Cavalry Division (Airborne) in Vietnam. I was shot in the right upper leg by a tracer round (bullet). A tracer round heat is similar to branding irons. The bullet went through my upper leg, singeing my blood vessels which caused no bleeding. My platoon sergeant was hit in his abdomen. We filed-packed him as best we could then started to back track to out company that was about 1,000 meters away. When we got there, our medic, Larry ****rum met us. Larry asked me if I was shot as I said ?yes, I am Doc?. He slit my pants and looked at my upper let that showed a big hole but no blood. He said he couldn?t do anything and tagged me and put me on the medivac. He packed up the platoon sergeant; put him on the medivac and we went off on the last trip into the night. I had not seen Larry since that fateful night of flares and light ? March 30 1966

 

It was 37 years later that I received a call one late afternoon at work. A voice said ?hello, Jim Leva. This is Doc?. I said Doc who?? because I knew a few doctors. The Voice said, ?Bon Son March 30?. And I knew right then whom the voice belonged to. We spoke awhile and I asked him how he found me. Larry said he had gotten a computer and looked up the first Calvary Division and found a friend of ours, Lt Davis in Florida. He told him that I lived in Anchorage. I asked him where he lived and he said Wasilla AK. It really floored me. Larry told me that he had been living in Wasilla for a few years know. Then we found out that we work for the same company. We found out that we were working only ten minutes away from each other. Since that day of chance meeting, we have kept in touch with other.

 

Larry ****rum is a 5 time Purple Heart recipient and a valiant, courageous Medic with a ?heart of gold? ? the bravest man I know.

 

I introduced Larry at the unveiling and offered my deepest respect and appreciation to all Medics around the world. Without these honorable heroes, we, Purple Heart recipients, would not have made it back to our loved ones, families and homes.

 

I humbly asked Larry Cocrum to help me present the Purple Heart wreath for the Purple Heart Monument dedication.

 

This really hit home as I worked with both of them at one time or another.

 

Jim has a valid point. Without the heroic Medic?s in all theaters of war, most would not have come home.

 

We need to honor and remember the heroic Medics!

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My Dear Son, it is almost June,I hope this letter catches up to you, and finds you well.

 

Its been dry but they?re calling for rain,

 

And everything's the same ol? same in Johnsonville.

 

Your stubborn 'ol Daddy ain?t said too much,

 

But I?m sure you know he sends his love,

 

And she goes on,

 

In a letter from home.

 

I hold it up and show my buddies,

 

Like we ain?t scared and our boots ain?t muddy, and they all laugh,

 

Like there?s something funny bout? the way I talk,

 

When I say: "Mama sends her best y?all."

 

I fold it up an' put it in my shirt,

 

Pick up my gun an' get back to work.

 

An' it keeps me driving me on,

 

Waiting on letters from home.

 

My Dearest Love, its almost dawn.

 

I?ve been lying here all night long wondering where you might be.

 

I saw your Mama and I showed her the ring.

 

Man on the television said something so I couldn?t sleep.

 

But I?ll be all right, I?m just missing you.

 

An' this is me kissing you:

 

XX?s and OO?s,

 

In a letter from home.

 

I hold it up and show my buddies,

 

Like we ain?t scared and our boots ain?t muddy, and they all laugh,

 

'Cause she calls me "Honey", but they take it hard,

 

'Cause I don?t read the good parts.

 

I fold it up an' put it in my shirt,

 

Pick up my gun an' get back to work.

 

An' it keeps me driving me on,

 

Waiting on letters from home.

 

Dear Son, I know I ain?t written,

 

But sittin' here tonight, alone in the kitchen, it occurs to me,

 

I might not have said, so I?ll say it now:

 

Son, you make me proud.

 

I hold it up and show my buddies,

 

Like we ain?t scared and our boots ain?t muddy, but no one laughs,

 

'Cause there ain?t nothing funny when a soldier cries.

 

An' I just wipe me eyes.

 

I fold it up an' put it in my shirt,

 

Pick up my gun an' get back to work.

 

An' it keeps me driving me on,

 

Waiting on letters from home.

http://justbs.us/off-topic-bs/58-we-need-a-lyrics-post-98.html#post84556

[Old Salt]

I hope all of my fellow veterans have a good Veterans' Day.

 

A local (chain) supermarket has a breakfast buffet that's free to veterans today. Anyone seen that Boeing commercial? No mention of Boeing, just veterans talking. The only mention is the very last scene where the name Boeing is written.

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HOLE IN THE COLE

 

 

Rules of engagementApproximate location of bombing, Aden Harbor, YemenThe destroyer's rules of engagement, as approved by the Pentagon, kept its guards from firing upon the small boat loaded with explosives as it neared them without first obtaining permission from the Cole's captain or another officer.[13]

 

Petty Officer John Washak said that right after the blast, a senior chief petty officer ordered him to turn an M-60 machine gun on the Cole's fantail away from a second small boat approaching. "With blood still on my face," he said, he was told: "That's the rules of engagement: no shooting unless we're shot at." He added, "In the military, it's like we're trained to hesitate now. If somebody had seen something wrong and shot, he probably would have been court-martialed." Petty Officer Jennifer Kudrick said that if the sentries had fired on the suicide craft "we would have gotten in more trouble for shooting two foreigners than losing seventeen American sailors."[14

USS Cole bombing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[wez]

Good day to all the Vets out there... Specially the guys on the street..

 

Homeless Veterans Home

 

Some stats put the figures as high as 43% of homeless males over 25 as being veterens.. Not cool.. Coulda used some of that bailout money for these guys.

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Good day to all the Vets out there... Specially the guys on the street.. Homeless Veterans Home

 

Some stats put the figures as high as 43% of homeless males over 25 as being veterens.. Not cool.. Coulda used some of that bailout money for these guys.

That's one charity I always give to. They have a crew of vets collecting money for them. Just gave them money yesterday.

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thank a vet today!

 

[RoyalOrleans]

Thank a vet every day. We aren't hard to distinguish... look for the thousand yard stare.

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOiqAhi4aiA]YouTube - Patton Speech[/ame]

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This is a real good movie!!

 

WE WERE SOLDIERS

 

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz8fba9zTIA&feature=related]YouTube - We were soldiers speech[/ame]

[RoyalOrleans]

This is a real good movie!!

WE WERE SOLDIERS

 

 

YouTube - We were soldiers speech

Virtually anything that Mel Gibson is a part of, is pure gold.

[IWS]

Virtually anything that Mel Gibson is a part of, is pure gold.

I'm not sure if the whole DUI/Jew hating thing was something he was part of that I'd consider, "pure gold" :D

 

My favorite Mel Gibson movie is Payback...

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qjw4KOtctLM]YouTube - Porter's Best From The Payback[/ame]

[RoyalOrleans]

I'm not sure if the whole DUI/Jew hating thing was something he was part of that I'd consider, "pure gold" :D

Louis Farrakhan thought it was funny.

 

http://justbs.us/applications/core/interface/imageproxy/imageproxy.php?img=http://www.africawithin.com/farrakhan/louis_farrakhan.jpg&key=22c7f4f5d71f777e3feb5c7a68684be00fff5047160c3e92dff4aea38ea50330

[emkay64]

I bet you boys cried in Braveheart...it's okay...admit it.

[RoyalOrleans]

I bet you boys cried in Braveheart...it's okay...admit it.

Braveheart was a fantastic movie and I've seen it a hundred times.

 

I was a bit put off by the historical inaccuracies.

[emkay64]

Braveheart was a fantastic movie and I've seen it a hundred times.I was a bit put off by the historical inaccuracies.

You're right! Men like that don't exist :P

[IWS]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7C8avvdzR4]YouTube - Mel Gibson Jew hating schmuck[/ame]

[RoyalOrleans]

YouTube - Mel Gibson Jew hating schmuck

I wonder if the Domesday Book can shed some light on the population of Jews in England and Scotland during the High Middle Ages?

[Ali]

Thank you so much, brave men and women who have served to protect our freedom!!!!

 

I hung out with my pops (a vet) that day and bought him lunch. :)

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[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B33xPreWsXM&feature=related]YouTube - Band of brothers - Song brothers in arms (dire straits)[/ame]

 

From this day to the ending of the world,

 

But we in it shall be remembered-

 

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

 

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

 

Shall be my brother;

 

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http://justbs.us/gallery/data/500/medium/usskittyhawk.jpg

 

December 18, 2001: USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) Sailors spell out the word FREEDOM on the ship's flight deck during their return transit to Yokosuka, Japan. Kitty Hawk departed Yokosuka Oct. 1 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by PHAN Lee McCaskill

 

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About 250 Navy SEAL trainees each year get their introduction to cold- and wet-weather survival at a secretive base on Kodiak Island. They're soaked so often that they don't bother to bring firearms.

So much for being a secret base. :rolleyes:

 

Actually it's been there a long time but it was one of the bases supposedly closed due to expenditures. Navy ships are there year round.

 

Alaska Newsreader: Alaska Newsreader | adn.com

 

Cold Warfare: Future SEALs Get a Firsthand Lesson in Northern Exposure