Blogs

The original immigrants were mostly farmers, just trying to survive and eke out a life in the New World. Then followed the trappers, shopkeepers, merchants, and the rest. For a very long while, staying alive and taking care of the daily duties was a family job requiring everybody to carry a bit of the load. Stressful, yes, but within the close interdependence and reliance on each other, they also developed the uniquely American Culture and transmitted those lessons and values for generations. 

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It isn't often that the President of the United States is upstaged, but it happened recently to Barack Obama. On February 7, the President spoke at the National Prayer Breakfast as has every President since Eisenhower. But, no one is talking about the President's remarks; only those by Dr. Benjamin Carson, head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. 

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Kountze is a little town of just 2,100 people in Hardin County in East-Central Texas. It was originally established as the Sabine and East Texas Railroad pushed west in 1881. Today, Kountze is in the heart of the sub-tropical, heavily wooded lumber producing "thicket" region near the Louisiana border.  

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Neil Armstrong was born on a farm in Ohio in 1930. He joined the Angels on August 25, 2012.

Armstrong grew up like most kids did at that time. "He had a paper route, cut lawns, and shoveled snow," explained Gene Cernan. But, Armstrong was different than most kids. When he stared into space, it wasn't just in wonder. He wanted to go there. And, so he did.

Armstrong etched his name forever in the history of mankind as the first man to set foot in another world. On July 20, 1969 Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed their Apollo 11 spacecraft on the moon. Armstrong opened the hatch, descended the short ladder touching the surface and uttered what many consider the most famous words of the 20th century; "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." And, they planted the flag of the United States of America.

 

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The vast majority of us will never know the identity or missions of the men and women who protect our lives and national security within the ranks broadly defined as "Special Operations."  Nor will we be able to adequately thank them for the risk they take, the personal and family sacrifice given, and the lives lost.  For obvious reasons, their jobs and their identities are usually among our government's best kept secrets.   

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It seems that virtually everyone agrees that the upcoming election in November is the most important in our lifetimes. And, while many people do engage in supporting candidates, the vast majority of citizens remain on the sidelines. Barely half of the eligible population bothers to vote even in a presidential election. Only a small fraction of the people ever step up to volunteer to help or write a check. 

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June has been a big month for American Patriots. The 68th anniversary of D-Day (Army video here) was June 6. The twenty-fifth anniversary of President Reagan saying the four words that changed history – "Tear down this wall" – was June 12 (video here). On June 14 the nation honored the Stars-and-Stripes with Flag Day as well as the 237th birthday of the United States Army. 

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Mitt Romney stopped off in Colorado last week to talk about getting the economy going again and the importance of affordable domestic energy production in his plans to make that happen. He made himself available to some members of the media, providing local reporters with an increasingly rare opportunity to spend a moment with the man who may well be the next President of the United States. 

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In his foxhole on Iwo Jima, he was considered just another worthless black man in a lily-white Navy.

Joseph LaNier, II wore a United States Navy uniform, but as he was in his native rural Columbus, Mississippi, he was segregated. Even in war.

In 1945, Joe became a Navy Seabee in one of the first black Seabee units in U.S. history. He joined the service to help his family out of poverty. 

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