In Honor of the American Soldier

At Valley Forge the American citizen-soldier left bloody tracks in the snow because the Continental Army could not afford boots for the troops, yet the American soldier marched onward, fighting on for the liberty that we enjoy today. American soldiers of the Revolutionary War faced starvation, death by freezing and the constant danger of being captured or shot by the enemy. They had no established government, no established uniforms and no real idea of what their government, once fully formed, would be like. They fought onward facing all that uncertainty, and what must have seemed like a series of never ending losses, because they believed in an ideal, the ideal that they would be free men with a voice in their own future, and a voice in their own government. They fought for the promise of a republic, a representative democracy, and the right to determine their own future through hard work and self application. They fought for a land where they could build a better life for their children and their children’s children.

In the American Civil War the American soldier and the nation was faced with the question of whether slavery was right, or wrong, whether this nation could continue and profess a belief in the unalienable right of every man to be free and pursue his own destiny while the institution of slavery denied that freedom and that promise of opportunity to a large portion of the population. Thousands died to answer that question, both black and white, and brother fought brother, under two flags, and in the most horrible conditions of war, but liberty and the rightness of freedom prevailed, because of the self sacrifice and the honor and courage of the American soldier.

In World War I the American Way of life was once again threatened, but this time on the battlefields of Western Europe. The American soldier was called upon to defend the country from the tyranny that threatened the idea of Freedom from afar. Thousands of American soldiers died in the trenches of France to preserve freedom and opportunity for themselves and their fellow citizens. Self discipline, honor, courage, the belief in America and the ideal of freedom carried them through to victory.

In World War II and Korea the threat of Nazism and Communism threatened world stability and the very existence of the democracies of the world. The American soldier was asked to defend freedom one more time, and they did so without complaint, nor expectations of reward. Honor, Duty to Country, Professionalism and the Self-Sacrifice of the American soldier saved the world from the horrors of maniacal dictators and the philosophies of hatred.

In both the Iraq wars and in the War in Afghanistan the American soldier has served with distinction in the defense of freedom. Many have served time and again. The American soldier is what stands between us and the ignorance and brutality of the fanatics and their fanatical political and religious beliefs that would make us all subservient to evil and ignorance Freedom is not free. Freedom has a cost, and as at Fort Hood on the day Hasan the Assassin struck it sometimes has a terrible cost. But the heroism and professionalism of the American soldier carried the day as it always will. The same soldiers that Hasan was trying to kill saved his unworthy life because it was the right thing to do.

To all those American soldiers that have served in defense of freedom and liberty throughout all the years and wars for their country and countrymen with such sacrifice, honor and distinction, I say thank you and may God bless you.