- Thread starter 565fitter
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One thing that I'm grateful for is that my father and mother always made the 4th of July one of the biggest holidays in our family. I remember going down to Christmas Lake in southern Indiana and having a great weekend and watching the fireworks show. I was too young then to understand how special the 4th of July is, and how lucky I am to be borne in the United States of America.
In all truthfulness though, I think less about the American Revolution on this holiday. I think more and more about my time in the service and about the guys I had the honor to serve with that aren't with us anymore. For whatever reason, I think more about my fallen friends on the 4th of July than I do on Memorial Day. The best reason I can come up with is that deep down I don't think the men and women who have sacrificed in more recent wars are any less patriots than Paul Revere or John Adams. They'll never have states or cities named after them, but from Bunker Hill to Gettysburg to Ardennes to Normandy to Chosin Reservoir to Tet to the small firefights going on right now in Wardak and Helmand provinces in Afghanistan, everyone who has lost his life has raised his hand to serve his country. That's a sacred bond between everyone who has worn the Stars and Stripes on his or her shoulder.
For those of us who weren't called upon to pay the highest price, let's raise a glass today of whatever we like, burn a great cigar to those who gave all, and give thanks for being able to call the US our home.
In all truthfulness though, I think less about the American Revolution on this holiday. I think more and more about my time in the service and about the guys I had the honor to serve with that aren't with us anymore. For whatever reason, I think more about my fallen friends on the 4th of July than I do on Memorial Day. The best reason I can come up with is that deep down I don't think the men and women who have sacrificed in more recent wars are any less patriots than Paul Revere or John Adams. They'll never have states or cities named after them, but from Bunker Hill to Gettysburg to Ardennes to Normandy to Chosin Reservoir to Tet to the small firefights going on right now in Wardak and Helmand provinces in Afghanistan, everyone who has lost his life has raised his hand to serve his country. That's a sacred bond between everyone who has worn the Stars and Stripes on his or her shoulder.
For those of us who weren't called upon to pay the highest price, let's raise a glass today of whatever we like, burn a great cigar to those who gave all, and give thanks for being able to call the US our home.
I would have posted a copy of the Declaration of Independence, but I can't think of a more political -- and in America's current political and legal climate -- controversial, post. Not wanting to get banned, I'll refrain.
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