HONOR AMERICA'S TROOPS

"by John Ubaldi

May 20th the United States observes Armed Forces Day across the country, a tradition begun by President Truman to honor the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform.  This year, Armed Forces Day provides us an opportunity for great reflection as our treasured youth are again fighting in far-flung outposts of the world in defense of liberty.

This Armed Forces Day lets remember the sacrifices of the men and women serving the nation, fighting the perpetual struggle determining if civilization lives in peace or darkness.

President John Kennedy stated, "Our serviceman and women are serving throughout the world as guardians of peace-many of them away from their homes, their friends and their families.  They are visible evidence of our determination to meet any threat to the peace with measured strength and high resolve.  They are also evidence of a harsh but inescapable truth-that the survival of freedom requires great cost and commitment, and great personnel sacrifice."

Reminded of the inscription above the statue of Thomas Jefferson at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., reads "I have sworn upon the alter of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of men." The caption represents the fundamental beliefs of this nation and the values of many that serve on the front lines of freedom.

We are blessed to live in a land of unprecedented peace and prosperity, where our dreams and aspirations can be fulfilled.  Our armed forces provide us the tranquility and freedom, which this republic has enjoyed.  The ability to live in a free and democratic country that gives man the capacity to control his own destiny free from oppression and terror.   The armed forces of this nation are engaged in the monumental task of fighting terror in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations where the forces of evil hide, ridding the world of the scourge of international terror.

Unfortunately the rights of man are not enjoyed by all mankind, many across the globe face terror and oppression, denied the basic tenets of liberty.  So long as freedom is threatened, we can't take our freedom for granted.  Freedom cannot survive without protection.  In protecting freedom of all mankind, we honor the men and women of our armed forces serving all across the globe in the preservation of that basic right.    

America, as stated by President Lincoln, gave humanity a "new birth of freedom."  Again, the nation's armed forces have been summoned to rescue humanity from individuals who wish to enslave and terrorize.

It's humbling to know that many brave men & women are serving in the army, navy, air force, marines, and coast guard of this great nation realizing that freedom isn't free, following in the illustrious tradition of previous generations who sacrificed everything serving in Americas Armed Forces.

The Declaration of Independence states, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, derived their just powers from the consent of the governed."

In a speech President Kennedy was to give in Dallas he states,  "We in this country, in this generation, are-by destiny rather then choice- the watchman on the walls of world freedom.  We ask, therefore that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient wisdom of "Peace on Earth, and good will toward men" That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underline our strength.  For as was written long ago;  "except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."

This Armed Forces Day, lets take the time and remember all those who serve in the armed forces of this great nation, but also those who have served the cause of freedom, but have never come home that lay in the battlefields across the globe.  In the last century their lives have ended in places called Belleau Wood, the Argonne, Omaha Beach, Salerno, and half way around the world on Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Pork Chop Hill, The Chosin Reservoir, and hundreds of rice paddies and jungles in Vietnam.

In our lifetime they fell in the Persian Gulf, Somalia, the mountains of Afghanistan, Fallujah, Nasiriyah, Ramadi, and on the streets of Baghdad.

Let us not forget the words of George Washington's First Inaugural Address in April 1789:  "No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more then the people of the United States.  Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency."

This Armed Forces Day, let us remember we are again in a great conflict that will determine whether our children live in freedom or face a world void of liberty.  Lets remember those who are serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the globe preserving the freedoms that we enjoy.  

Freedom is too precious a gift not to remember the gallant warriors serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.  Lets honor all who serve, it's the least we can do!

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Support our troops and the fight against terrorism.  Log on to http://www.MoveAmericaForward.org and join the nation's largest grassroots pro-troop organization."