And Last But Not Least ~ Our Child-In-Chief
Actually, Romney and Obama were never in the military either.
Freedom is neither free or cheap.
And Last But Not Least ~ Our Child-In-Chief
Second, never let crass politics or chic social engineering endanger our men in military actions or operations. This means not just that we do not send in forces or conduct drone strikes just to make our hapless president look less incompetent; it also means an end to such grotesqueries as politically demanding that women be allowed in combat, knowing that this creates battlefield hazards and lowers combat efficiency.
Third, it means that our goals in military actions deserve to be clearly defined by the political leaders who put our men in harm's way. At a minimum, Congress ought to be fully informed and consulted, and unless circumstances prevent it, the constitutional power of Congress – and Congress alone – to declare war ought to be respected. If we lack any real goal in waging war, then our political leaders ought never to set our nation's forces into combat.
Fourth, our goal any time we fight must always be to win. The defeat of those who threaten us and threaten our liberty must always be the ultimate purpose of any military action. Good leaders like Reagan may be blessed enough to hand us total victory with little or no bloodshed, but that works only when that ultimate goal is victory, not meandering from place to place looking at public opinion polls or the popularity of our leaders with other nations.
These words should be copied and sent to your lists as they are so meaningful.
God bless them all.
..."That, of course, is the lesson of this century, a lesson learned in the Sudetenland, in Poland, in Hungary, in Czechoslovakia, in Cambodia. If we really care about peace, we must stay strong. If we really care about peace, we must, through our strength, demonstrate our unwillingness to accept an ending of the peace. We must be strong enough to create peace where it does not exist and strong enough to protect it where it does. That's the lesson of this century and, I think, of this day. And that's all I wanted to say. The rest of my contribution is to leave this great place to its peace, a peace it has earned.
Thank all of you, and God bless you, and have a day full of memories.
Ronald Reagan
Remarks at a Memorial Day Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia
May 26, 1986
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
This weekend I have the honor & the privilege to be part of the American Legion Post #420’s day of rendering honors to the fallen at various locations, around the community. I see this as one way of giving back to those who served before me & made their mark on history, by doing what others can not do. [Since my service was so UNremarkable]
We should remember the foolishness as well as the wisdom. Those who died due to mistakes would certainly be the first to tell us, if they could, please don’t make those mistakes again. Let their fate serve as a lesson. So a rosy romanticism really doesn’t do the scene justice.
