Pride In Country

This picture, by “Joe Rosenthal,” depicts pride in country; a million words could not provide a more telling explanation of what it means to have that love, devotion, pride, personal satisfaction, patriotism and pleasure of being an American.

Remember the World War 2 posters that were everywhere? For those not old enough they are easy to find on the Internet.

Remember:

“This Is The Enemy,”

“…Pass the ammunition” The Army Needs More Lumber,”

“Save Freedom Of Speech - Buy War Bonds,”

“Where our men are fighting our food is fighting,”

“1778 - 1943 AMERICANS will always fight for liberty,”

“OURS…to fight for FREEDOM FROM FEAR,”

“OURS…to fight for FREEDOM FROM WANT,”

“the five Sullivan brothers missing in action off the Solomons, THEY DID THEIR
PART, ” “What did you do today for freedom,”

“YOU can’t afford to miss either! BUY BONDS EVERY PAYDAY,”

“To Have and to Hold - WAR BONDS,”

“OER THE RAMPARTS WE WATCH - UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES,”

“PT 34 - GIVE US LUMBER FOR MORE PT’s,”

“KEEP IT UP BROTHER THIS WAR’S NOT WON BY A DAMN SITE,”

“DO IT RIGHT - MAKE IT BITE,”

“SUB SPOTTED - LET EM HAVE IT,”

“CARELESS TALK got there first,”

“God help me if this is a dud!” His life is in YOUR hands,”

“We have just begun to fight!,”

“MEN OF VALOR - They fight for you,”

“…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…REMEMBER
DEC. 7TH,”

“If you tell where he’s going…he may never get there!”

“GIVE IT YOUR BEST!” and

“You buy em we’ll fly em! DEFENSE BONDS, STAMPS.”

Where are the posters of today?

Remember the “USO” entertainers? Thankfully we still have entertainers who are willing to give of their time for our troops; remember all that Bob Hope did and John Wayne back in their day?
Remember the patriotic movies? They did much to tap the patriotic spirit of the American people while they entertained. The movies made during the war, even the classics, emphasized patriotism. Movies like “The Lion Has Wings,” a British film, actually a documentary, made in 1939; “The Long Voyage Home,” made in 1940; “Waterloo Bridge,” made in 1940; “Caught In The Draft,” made in 1941; “Sundown,” made in 1941 concerning the North African campaign; “Underground,” 1941 about the German resistance; “Corregidor,” in 1943; the list goes on, movies about patriotism.

Some of the actors who were enlisted were:

James Doohan (”Scotty” on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day. Doohan was a Canadian citizen.

Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was an R. A. F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.

David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy.

James Stewart Entered the Army Air Force as a private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel. During World War II

Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S. entered WW II, Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles.

Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak.

Ernest Borgnine was a U. S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.

Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, more specifically on B-29s in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.

George C. Scott was a decorated U. S. Marine. He served as a ceremonial guard at Arlington National Cemetery and taught English literature and radio speaking/writing at the Marine Corps Institute.

Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroic action as a U. S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov. 1943.

Brian Keith served as a U.S. Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabal in the Pacific and received an Air Medal.

Lee Marvin was a U.S. Marine on Saipan during the Marianas campaign when he was wounded earning the Purple Heart.

John Russell enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1942 where he received a battlefield commission and was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal.

Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was bombed) joined the U.S. Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.And

Audie Murphy; Murphy was the most decorated serviceman of WWII and earned: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with “V”, 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.

Now compare that era with what we have today.

The national pride and patriotism we once had is gone. The last president we had that embodied patriotism was President Reagan who also served and held the rank of Captain.

Hours from now we will have a First Lady who professes she has never been proud of this country. A president who openly refused to place his hand over his heart during the National Anthem, a president weaned at the feet of some of the worst this country has to offer spouting “CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE.” How he must be inwardly laughing as he sees the multitudes grovel at his feet and refer to him as messiah.

We have a fine group of personnel in our military that we should all be proud of, but as a nation we have overwhelmingly gone from a era of real Americans to a era of whiners, people with their hand stretched out, palm up, waiting for someone to fill it rather then get off their backsides and work for want they want, to keep fighting for that next step up on the ladder. We have national leaders, elected to office to serve and protect yet our borders are as porous as cheesecloth, our heritage, our national character dissolving away, we have a government intertwining itself deeper and deeper into every aspect of our lives until we can hardly take a step in any direction without the need of first asking; may I? We have fallen deeper and deeper into the waiting arms of socialism, forsaking all that made this country great, the greatest of all time, forsaking our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, the teachings of our forefathers. As one pathetic man put it years ago in a question to the president, we are your children, how will you take care of us?

I’ll close with this ending paragraph from “The Evolution Of A Republic,” by Alexander Tyler;

“From bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to

great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to

abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from

selfishness to complacency, from complacency to

apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency

back to bondage.”