Folks,
I was in at my Reserve Center all day yesterday so I did not read the
offending post which were removed.
We do not need divisiveness amongst our selves right now. What we need is a
calm and patience and resolve. There are many people who are angry right now
and want a response right now from the government. Be patient. We have some
of the brightest minds in the Country working on a solution right now. Did
our intelligence agencies and defense assets fail Tuesday? Maybe, but this
was an attack that master techno fantasy writer Tom Clancey himself called
unimaginable. This is a new type of warfare with tactics unseen before. It
is hard to develop credible defense against something you know only as
theory.
I do not want to get into a debate on security issues or play arm chair
quarterback. That does no good right now. We have a great many trained
professionals working on a proper response in the right direction, give them
a chance and SUPPORT.
Here is a poem/song that I read last night at the community vigil last
night. It was written by a man who is much better at expressing himself than
I. I hope that you my fellow citizens of this great nation find as much
comfort in the words as I do. For those of you outside this country, I hope
it helps you understand our ethos and resolve. For any terroristic bastards
our there, I hope it helps you understand that we are going to hunt you down
like the rabid dogs you are and do what needs to be done.
"That Ragged Old Flag"
I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin there.
I said, "Your court house is kinda run down,
He said, "No, it will do for our little town".
I said "your old flag pole kinda leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag you got hanging on it".
He said "have a seat", so I sat down,
He said, "is this your first visit to our little town"
I said, "I think it is"
He said "I don't like to brag, but we're kinda proud of "That Ragged Old
Flag"
"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there, When Washington took it
across the Delaware.
It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it, writing
"Oh Say Can You See"
It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson tugging at its seams.
It almost fell at the Alamo beside the Texas flag, But she waved on tho.
It got cut with a sword in Chancellorsville, Got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg, And the south wind blew
hard on "That Ragged Old Flag"
On Flanders Field in World War I, She took a bad hit from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low by the time that one was through, She was in Korea,
Vietnam, She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam.
The Native Americans, The Black, Yellow and White All shed red blood for the
Stars and Stripes.
And here in her own good land, She's been abused, burned, dishonored, denied
and refused,
And the very government for which she stands Has been scandalized throughout
out the land.
And she's getting thread bare, and she's wearing kinda thin,
But she's in pretty good shape, for the shape she's in.
Cause she's been through the fire before
And she can take a whole lot more.
So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don't let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I do like to brag
Cause I'm mighty proud of
"That Ragged Old Flag"
Written by Johnny Cash
This week saw another big tear in that old ragged flag BUT, it has also seen
America's best seamstresses breakout the needle and thread to repair the
damage.
We have a lot of work to do. We have a lot of grief and anger to work
through. We as Americans have always responded to a threat and a challenge
to our way of life and come out better for it. We will again.
Let each one of us do what we do best to show the world that we can cope
with the worst. Do it out of respect for the dead and appreciation for those
who are at ground zero arm deep in rubble.
Remember that if you can give blood and the lines are to long, they will
need blood next week and the week after too. And, if you get frustrated and
would like to do something to help, you can always say a little prayer. Or,
stop and say "Thank You for what you are willing to do." To a policeman,
firefighter, member of the military reserve or national guard. Be willing to
give somebody a pat on the back, a hug, a shoulder to cry on. Just be there
for your neighbor.
This has been long an I hope it is accepted with the spirit of humility,
comfort and hope with which it is given.
Thank You,
Gordon W. Bell
-----Original Message-----
From: Military Vehicles Mailing List [mailto:mil-veh@mil-veh.org]On Behalf
Of JaxInCalifornia@aol.com
Sent: 13 September, 2001 00:04
To: Military Vehicles Mailing List
Subject: [MV] With respect...
Because of this time we may say things that people could challenge,
especially if you are on the outside looking in. But, remember before you
speak too critically, this is something we've not faced before and there are
a lot of feelings being sorted out. I know I don't have say anymore...you
understand.
All our best,
Jack
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Oct 08 2001 - 10:58:58 PDT