My girls and I just returned from town after attending the Memorial Day Observance hosted by American Legion Post #6. I've been to services in the past with only 35-40 people taking the time to come and honor our fallen servicemen and women. But today the seats were filled with many standing around the room...I would guess there were 300 people in attendance, maybe more. The Moscow combined Jr/Sr. High Band did a beautiful job, playing a poignant tribute written in honor of a specific Marine unit, along with another medley of songs and the National Anthem.
But the keynote address by Brigadier General Waldrop (Ret.) was so moving and so inspirational that I begged him to send me a copy so I could post it here. My tissues were out more than once during his address. I hope our readers are likewise inspired and touched by his remarks to honor our fallen. At the very end of the post is a great youtube video about expressing gratitude to our servicemen and women. Please scroll down to watch it.
M E M O R I A L D A Y A D D R E S S
Moscow, Idaho, Monday, May 31, 2010
Brigadier General Carleton B. “Barney” Waldrop, USAF (Ret)
“FREEDOM IS NOT FREE”
INTRODUCTION:
Thank you for the introduction and thanks to American Legion Post. No. 6 for hosting this Memorial Day ceremony, honoring those who have so bravely served our Nation.
RECOGNITION:
I would particularly like to thank all of you for attending today and especially recognize the Veterans who are present. Please raise your hand if you are a WW-II Veteran ….. Korean War ….. Vietnam ….. Desert Storm ….. Operation Enduring Freedom ….. Iraq ….. Afghaniztan.
Thank you so much for your service to our country. It’s an honor for all of us to be here in the presence of you warriors who have done so much to secure our Freedom.
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE – Someone has to pay for it. We are gathered here today to honor those who have paid and made that ultimate sacrifice. And, we are here also to honor others still living who have served their country in times of war and in times of peace; and those who continue to serve.
MEMORIAL DAY:
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our Nation’s service. Although Waterloo, NY was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, this significant day had many different beginnings in separate locations in the North and in the South of our country before the end of the Civil War, as communities gathered to honor the many who had died in that conflict. There were over 600,000 American casualties in the War Between the States and Decoration Day, was officially first proclaimed on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan in General Order No. 11. In 1971,
President Nixon declared that Memorial Day would be celebrated on the last Monday of May. Today is that day.
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE and Memorial Day is about a coming together to honor those who have given their all in sacrifice to secure that “Shining City on the Hill” - America - that City of Freedom as it is known. What is this FREEDOM of which we speak? Not only does it entail the Free Speech, Free Assembly and Free Press of which we are so familiar, but it also includes the Freedom of Americans to be secure in their homes and their persons. As George Washington said, “ We are a country of laws, not men,” and FREEDOM is about the Rule of Law, not about the fear, chaos and anarchy currently being experienced on our southern border that is slowly rolling northward like the sound of not so distant thunder.
And now more than ever it’s the Freedom to be Free from the excessive regulation of almost every aspect of our lives. The Freedom NOT to have political correctness prevail over the very security of our Home Land. The Freedom NOT to be burdened by a crushing national debt. The Freedom NOT to have a global governance imposed on our Nation by naïve, East Coast, Ivy League and European elites. Most of all, the Freedom NOT to have our visions, our strengths, and our hopes for the future extinguished and destroyed.
DUTY, HONOR, SOVEREIGNTY, JUSTICE in all things, TAXES paid by all of us for our needs – Not just by an unlucky minority of our population, Faith in GOD, Pride in our COUNTRY, FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY and living within one’s means, Security through STRENGTH – Not appeasement, PRIVATE ENTERPRISE – Not dubious social engineering experiments, FAMILIES with both a father and a mother, COMMON SENSE decision-making, AND that WONDERFUL SPIRIT OF AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM. These and HARD WORK are the traditional American values for which our heroes have died, whom we so humbly honor today.
In 1863, at the dedication of the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Cemetery for Civil War dead, Abraham Lincoln said:
…. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work (for) which they (the dead) who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of (their) devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
More recently, the Honorable Andrew P. Napolitano has stated: “In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its maximum hour of danger, and NOW is that time.” Right here, today.
Adding to Judge Napolitano’s words, now is also the time to remember the charge given us by the honored dead mentioned in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Those brave souls who gave their last full measure of devotion for this America – this new birth of Freedom.
ED FREEMAN of Boise is a Medal of Honor recipient. Ed is one of those rare
individuals who survived the action that resulted in his receipt of the Medal of Honor. He passed away in Boise, August two years ago (August 30, 2008) at the age of 80.
In 1965, Ed Freeman was a 37-year-old Huey helicopter pilot in Viet Nam. I’m going to tell you his story and what qualified Ed Freeman for the Medal of Honor because FREEDOM IS NOT FREE and many have done great things just so that we can be here in safety and Free association today.
Here’s how Ed Freeman earned his Medal of Honor as told by one of the soldiers he rescued: (Reported in the Fall 2008, “Rudder Flutter,” Idaho Div of Aeronautics)
“Many in our unit were critically wounded, dying in the jungle of Viet Nam; it’s at Landing Zone X-ray. It’s November 14, 1965 and our infantry unit is under intense enemy fire from a mere few hundred yards away. We are outnumbered eight to one and the fire is so intense that our own commander has ordered the Medivac helicopters to cease operations.”
“We’re lying there, listening to the incessant chatter of the enemy machine guns; we know we’re not getting out. Eighteen, 19 years old, and our families are 12,000 miles away on another continent, in another world, on another planet. We will never see them again.” (Or so we think.)
Slowly, as consciousness begins to fade, we hear the faint sound of a helicopter, or is it just the distortion of the machine guns caused by (our) pain and resignation (of death)? In the haze that has wrapped itself around (our) minds, (We) can make out the image of a Huey; surreal in (our) thoughts because it has no Medivac markings. In its semiconscious fog, (our) minds struggle between hope and the despair that tells (us) the Medivac helicopters were ordered to stand down.”
But hope prevails. It is Ed Freeman and he’s coming for us. No, he’s not a Medivac and (No) it is not his job, but he is coming anyway. He is flying his Huey directly into the smothering machine gun fire even after the Medivac helicopters were ordered not to come.
Ed drops it in and sits there amidst the withering gunfire as they load two or three of us on board. Then he flies up and away, out of the hail of bullets, to the waiting doctors and nurses.
And, he comes back again and again and again. Ed keeps on coming back ….. 14 times he comes back …… and moves about 30 wounded soldiers to safety, who otherwise would never have made it, while at the same time bringing in badly needed ammunition and supplies to the besieged infantry unit.
FREEDOM IS NOT FREE. May we never forget the valor, selfless dedication and sense of duty that Ed Freeman displayed on that day in 1965 in another war, and may we remember that those same traits reside in each of our military members serving us in far away lands throughout the world, in combat and in peace. May we never forget our commitment and responsibility to them for their service. May we never forget those who have died … those who have served … and those who are serving, those like Ed Freeman. Because you see, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.”
Over our history, many outstanding leaders have had unusual, visionary experiences. One such person is General George Washington who was indeed a visionary of our new America.
The first great peril in the vision was the Revolutionary War in which General Washington was then involved. The second great peril was the Civil War, which would not take place for yet another 100 years after General Washington was long dead.
General Washington also saw all of America in this vision and beheld villages, towns and cities springing up one after another until the whole land from the Atlantic to the Pacific was dotted with them. This too was something that would not happen for many, many years as most of the land west of Pittsburgh at that time was still wilderness.
The third of these great perils, if General Washington’s vision is to be believed, is yet to come. It will be America’s greatest challenge, because you see, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE, and there are those who have a burning hatred for America; this Christian nation; this Shining City of Freedom on the Hill”.
Dr. William J. Bennett in his book, AMERICA, THE LAST BEST HOPE, states: “We cannot escape our destiny, nor should we try to do so. The leadership of the free world was thrust upon (America) two centuries ago in that little hall (in) Philadelphia" …. Dr. Bennett then goes on to quote a statement made by Pope Pius XII who said, ‘The American people have a great genius for splendid and unselfish actions. (and) Into the hands of America, God has placed the destinies of an afflicted mankind.’
We (Americans) are indeed, (as Pope Pius has stated), the last best hope of man on earth.” And we can be very proud of this responsibility - this destiny – this fight for Freedom
And, there is something very special about destiny, too. You don’t have to look for your destiny, because it will find you. BUT, you do have to prepare.
In closing, I know that many of you have heard of the poem, “In Flanders Fields,” which was written in 1915 by John McCrae. The poem title refers to Flanders Field American Cemetery & Memorial; a resting place for those lost on the WW-I battlefields of the medieval County of Flanders in Europe, which spans southern Belgium and northwest France.
This poem reads in part:
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly …..
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.”
Inspired by this poem, a woman by the name of Moina Michael responded in the same year with her own, even more poignant, verse:
“We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.”
THANK YOU for being here today, and May God richly bless each and every one of you - AND GOD BLESS AMERICA. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE – Someone has paid for it, and those who have paid are the ones we honor here today. Let us ensure that the red blood of these brave heroes never dies. They have left us with a sacred trust.
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