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Love your freedom? Thank a vet.
#1
God who gave us life, gave us liberty. The veterans who secured us liberty gave us their lives.

I know we have several members on this forum who are veterans and there are even more members who are currently serving on active duty or in the reserves or guard. Flash: No this is not Veterans Day, but every day you take a breath is a great day to thank a member of the Armed Forces of these United States for sacrificing to guard and defend our sacred liberty and rights under the Constitution as free Americans. These airmen, marines, soldiers, sailors, and coast guardsmen don't get thanked enough. Thank you all for your service.

I just read this on leatherneck.com/forums and, while I have read it before, it is a tear jerker every time.



[SIZE="5"]"The Pledge of Allegiance"[/SIZE]
By Senator John McCain of Arizona


As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room.

This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home.

One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian.

Mike came from a small town near Selma , Alabama He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country and our military provide for people who want to work and want to succeed.

As part of t he change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing.

Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed on the inside of his shirt.

Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance.

I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell it was indeed the most important and meaningful event.

One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it.

That evening they returned, ope n ed the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all of us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could.

The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room.

As I said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to Pledge our allegiance to our flag and country.

So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world.

You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Southron Boy

CLEP: English Comp w/ essay, English Comp w/o essay, American Gov't, U.S. History I, A & I Lit, Humanities, Intro Sociology, Intro to Psyc, Human Growth & Development, Intro to Ed Psyc, Prin of Management, Prin of Marketing, Business Law

DSST: Technical Writing
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#2
Thank you for posting that. My brother and his fiancee are currently serving in Iraq. They have been there since October 2006, my brother clears IEDs from the road and his fiancee is a mechanic. It has been so hard to be without them but I am so glad that they are making a difference and spreading freedom to another people. Thank you to all who are serving or who have served. My family and I are truly grateful.
~Autumn

Master of Arts - Emergency and Disaster Management - Estimated Completion 2014
Bachelor of Science Human Services in Emergency Disaster Services - TESC- December 2009
Culinary Arts Certificate - Boise State University 2002

Education teaches a man to spell experience.Big Grin
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#3
Great post, while it's not why we do what we do, it is good to hear the voice of support. Lee
[SIZE="2"]Associates Degree, Aviation Maintenance Technology, Community College of the Air Force[/SIZE]
[SIZE="2"]Bachelors of Science, Liberal Studies Degree, Excelsior [/SIZE]
[SIZE="2"]MBA Human Resource Management, California Coast University[/SIZE]
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#4
Yes, it is a tear jerker....It also gives me that warm feeling inside. It bring s to mind the song: [INDENT]"...I'm pround to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. Amd I won't forget the men who died and gave the right to me. ANd I'll proudly stand up next to him and defend her still today.......God bless the USA."
[/INDENT]

Oficially a Graduate!!Big Grin
COSC B.S. Independent/Liberal Studies (Business Admin & Healthcare Admin)

Exams Passed:
- DSST: Technical Writing 64
- DSST: Principles of Supervision 58
- CLEP: A&I Literature 74
- DSST: Intro to Business 66
- DSST: Ethics in America 63
- DSST: Intro to World Religions 67
ALL DONE!! hilarious[SIZE=4]
[/SIZE]
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