Have You Forgotten?
Sep 11, 2010 Political
This song came out in January of 2003.
[note]In December 2002, Darryl played for the troops in Afghanistan and Kuwait. When he came home in the last week of December, he and Wynn Varble wrote the song. Darryl debuted Have You Forgotten at the Grand Ole Opry on January 10, 2003. Source[/note]
It is amazing how quickly attitudes can change. We went from a nation at odds over a close election to a nation united after the attacks on 9-11-01.
After the initial unity we were once again a nation divided as politicians revised history to oppose actions they overwhelmingly and willingly voted for. We became a nation divided over protracted wars. We became a nation divided.
And so we are nine years after the most horrific attacks on our soil, divided.
That we would even allow discussion about the erection of a mosque anywhere near the site where the attacks occurred shows how we are marching further toward dhimmitude.
Have you forgotten?
Let us take time today to remember those innocent people who were murdered in an act of war nine years ago today. Please keep the memories of those in the buildings, those who went to rescue them and those who forced a plane into the ground alive in your hearts and minds.
Let us at least come together as a nation to do that.
And fly your American Flag.
Have you forgotten?
Cave Canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
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Tags: 9/11, attacks, have you forgotten, heroes, Muslims, remember, war
Human Cost Of War No Longer Important
Sep 29, 2009 Political
When George Bush was president there was a rule that the media were not allowed to photograph the caskets of our returning war dead. This caused a stir because the media claimed that Bush was hiding the human cost of the war. The claim was that he did not want the media to show caskets on TV, on the Internet, and in papers because then more people would oppose the war.
The thought never occurred to them that he wanted our war dead to come home in dignity without being exploited by the media and the America haters on the left.
Joe Biden said our heroes were brought in in a clandestine fashion:
“These young men and women are heroes,” Vice President Biden said in 2004, when he was senator from Delaware. “The idea that they are essentially snuck back into the country under the cover of night so no one can see that their casket has arrived, I just think is wrong.” Examiner
Note to Biden, the past tense of sneak is sneaked.
I have been to Dover on business a number of times and our heroes are not sneaked in. When an aircraft carrying remains lands it goes to a special place on the base and all other operations stop while they are off loaded and taken where ever they go before they are transported home. I have been there at all hours of the day and everyone on base knows what is going on so they are hardly sneaked in.
When Obama took office he lifted the ban on allowing caskets to be photographed as long as the family agreed. I really have no problem with that because the family has a say in the matter and about 60% of them allow it. As far as I know the photographers have been respectful.
The funny thing is, now that Obama is in charge and the ban has been lifted the press is not very interested in taking pictures. The AP has a photographer there for every arrival but that is about all now. After all the fuss they are not interested in being there.
I guess now that Obama is in charge of the wars and now that they both belong entirely to him (especially Afghanistan), the human cost of war is no longer an issue. The media cannot risk showing all the caskets coming home and demonstrating that Obama was full of E. coli when he said that he would bring our troops home right away and that he would put an end to things.
Hell, Obama has blown off his commander and has delayed taking a decision on increasing troop strength in Afghanistan. He is too busy to ensure the needs of our military are addressed but he had time to fly to Copenhagen to beg for Chicago to get the 2016 Olympics. Another payback to the thugs in Chicago and all being done while our troops are ignored.
Since Obama is ignoring the troops and since he is not sending any reinforcements there will likely be more casualties.
They human cost of war will rise under Obama but now we don’t need all those pesky pictures.
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D-Day
Jun 6, 2009 Political
I grew up hearing about D-Day. This was because, while my father was too young to join the Armed Forces, my Uncle Roger had joined the Army Air Corps in 1942, as soon as he could. He got his flight training at Randolph Air Base, in San Antonio, which was a relief for my grandparents, as they lived in San Antonio then. They were able to see Uncle Roger up until the time he was shipped overseas to England in 1943 for deployment with a bomber detachment.
He was trained to fly the B-17, not a glamorous single engagement fighter plane like the P-38, or the Mustang, or any of the others, British or American. The B-17 was a bomber and/ or a troop carrier, loaded either with armaments or paratroops. At the time, there were not any paratroops to send, so he went on bombing runs. Little did he know he was helping set the stage for what was coming, softening up the French targets the Nazis had taken over.
On the fifth of June, 1944, in the early evening, he took off with the rest of his squadron for the first run, a bombing run. Of course, he and his squadron were met with stiff resistance, and they lost several planes, but he returned, albeit with a few holes, and was promptly gassed up and turned around, this time with a stick, or squad, of paratroopers that he and several others would drop on preselected targets. They were mixed in with bombers, and a few fighters, so as to camouflage their intent. Once again, they were met with stiff opposition, but he dropped his troops where he was supposed to and began his return flight to the base.
By this time, the morning was fast approaching, and he was gassed up and sent on a bombing run, his third of the night. As he crossed the English Channel, he could now see what the night had obscured- the largest armada ever assembled for an invasion. He later told me his heart was in his throat, and after seeing the newsreels of that time, I understand some of his emotion. I will never be able to understand the totality of his feelings, though. No one who was not there will ever be able to come close to knowing the depth of these emotions.
My uncle flew four runs across the English Channel that night and the next day in support of the brave men on the ground, and despite losing many of his friends on those runs, he was able to come home safe and physically unscarred, although I can say without a doubt that he felt deep emotion for the men he lost, all good friends, and those also who were able to come home.
For the next fifty years, he would go to the annual reunions that his squadron would have, generally near an Air Museum that would house “their” aircraft and those of that era. There they would reminisce about the past that they were a part of- both the bad and the good. They would salute those who didn’t make it home, and those who did but were, for one reason or another, unable to attend.
And they would end every gathering with a fervent prayer that this “world at war” would never happen again, because they knew, better than anyone who just casually read about this, just how horrendous war could be.
My uncle died last year- he was 84 years old, and he had lived a full life, a good life. He never regretted joining the Army Air Corps, he just regretted the loss of people he cared for.
Our “Greatest Generation” is passing away at the rate of about a thousand people a day, and this is doubly sad, as these people are family and friends, and also because as these people die, the lesson of this horrible war will, unfortunately begin to fade into obscurity, as all wars seem to- otherwise we would not keep repeating the same mistakes.
We should honor their memories by never forgetting how members of our families were a part of this struggle. Whether they were a part of D-Day, or they fought in Italy, or the Pacific theater, we need to honor them every day.
Because without them, our future might have been very, very different. And not in a good way.
God Bless Our Troops, Past, Present, and Future.
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Ban On Photgraphing Returning War Dead Lifted
Feb 26, 2009 Political
Since the early 90s there has been a ban in place to prevent news organizations from photographing the Flag draped caskets of our war dead. While critics claim that the ban was designed to hide the cost of war in human lives the ban was actually designed to allow families time to receive their loved ones and to grieve privately. Admittedly, not every hero’s family goes to Dover (the Air Force Base where remains are received) but the time is a solemn one and should be devoid of photographers who are trying to exploit the pain of others. Today, that ban was lifted.
The new rule allows photographing but only if the families agree. I don’t imagine there will be too many who say yes but some might. I was perfectly happy with the rule that was in place because the war dead should be brought home in peace and with honor and dignity. A hoard of photographers removes the dignity and disturbs the peace. To those who say that the ban hides the war dead I say that is untrue. The MSM routinely reported the number of dead when George Bush was in office. There were nightly body counts on every major network. I know that the graduates of public school need pictures to understand but I think that the numbers being reported gave a good enough report as to the number of dead.
I don’t really see this as an issue. The Commander can restrict access to his Air Base so all he has to do is deny the reporters and photographers entry. They might sit outside the base with telephoto lenses but the last time I was at Dover Air Base (a few months ago) I think I saw signs that said photographing the base was forbidden. The Commander can also say where photos may be taken so he can put the whole area off limits to cameras. Any photographer who is outside snapping shots could then be detained and the photos confiscated.
That would solve the problem. Of course the Obama Administration and Congress can change the rules or take authority away from the Commander but then they would be inviting a mess. They would also be inviting people who would love to target a military base to take surveillance pictures.
If there is all this openness then we should try an experiment. Ted Kennedy’s days are numbered. He has terminal cancer and he will not be with us much longer. When he dies there will be a big ceremony and his body will lie in state. I say we should get a bunch of photographers to go to the place where he dies and start snapping pictures of him and everyone around him. Then they can follow his body to the funeral home and snap photos there as he enters and as he is prepared. Then a large crowd of photographers can invade the Capitol and start snapping pictures of him lying in state.
Then maybe the next time there is a disaster we can have photographers show up and take pictures of all the dead. The bodies would have to be all lined up and together just like the heroes are when they arrive on the plane. Photographers could then go around and snap photos, but only if the families say it is OK.
Let us see how long that would be allowed.
Maybe we can get Congress and Obama to pile up a trillion dollars and let people take pictures of it so the public can get an idea of how much money is being wasted.
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Tags: Congress, exploitation, heroes, Obama, pentagon, war dead