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Answering the Call of Our Fallen
Gathering Of Eagles ^ | 022807 | Kit Jarrell

Posted on 02/28/2007 3:06:39 PM PST by euphoriadev

Decades ago, we expected total victory against the Germans and the Japanese. We demanded it, for we knew what anything less would bring to our homeland--and yes, it was our homeland, regardless of our place of birth. We were united, together in the absolute, unshakeable belief that freedom was worth blood, even our own lives.

Many years later, the American Left called for the defeat and humiliation of our military, even going so far as to support the barbaric hordes of Islam in their quest to destroy America. The college-age hippies of 1969 were now parents and grandparents, with families who didn't have the faintest idea where Iwo Jima is and wouldn't dream of enlisting in the "imperialist army" of their nation. These past flower children, still apparently lost in the fog of free love and LSD, forgot their fathers' old "war injuries," received in places like Normandy, Bastogne, or Wake Island. Their children hated authority, hated America, and hated anything that stood in the way of the freedoms they abuses. To them, freedom of speech meant they should be able to wear their "F*** You" shirt to school.

During the War on Terror, it seemed as though these families were the only Americans left here at home, as our best and brightest went to Iraq and Afghanistan. The families of our heroes stayed quiet, their support showing in the form of tangible things like batteries and treats shipped in boxes with "We Love You" written on the side, in marker as permanent as their worry. For those who changed their blue star to gold, the pain of their loss often made them shy away from the pure, vitriolic hatred of the ever contradictory motto of the Left: "Support the troops…bring them home."

Meanwhile, the antiwar crowd marched in Washington.

And in the day-to-day grind of American weekday life, millions of patriotic Americans simply went to work and came home. We couldn't afford to miss work to stand on a street corner. We put our yellow ribbons on our cars and our flags in the window, hoping that the troops knew we cared. We yelled at the TV and the radio when appropriate and muttered to our friends about how infuriated we were at these people who thought liberty was a commodity. Our anger burned deeply, but slowly.

The antiwar crowd kept marching and declared themselves the majority. They had the funding, the celebrity backing, the media fascination. They were everywhere. They spray-painted the Capitol steps, sent money to the terrorists, and staged media feeding frenzies outside the President's home. They even held up their anti-American signs outside military hospitals, where soldiers and Marines who gave pieces of themselves in exchange for freedom tried to get used to life without their best friends, their limbs, and in some cases, their sanity.

The Cindy Sheehans and Jane Fondas of the nation got bolder, spurred on by the silence of those who kept their medals and memories locked away. It seemed as though there was no stopping the force of those who sought to bring the mightiest nation on earth to her knees.

But then, the antiwar groups announced plans to begin their next march at the Vietnam Wall. Fifty-eight thousand names cried out in protest, and America heard the call of her fallen.

We were finally angry enough.

It began like a quiet rumble, the hint of an impending storm. A small group of veterans slowly rose to their feet, their combat disabilities unable to hinder them this time. A gas station attendant, a lawyer, a doctor, a housewife. One by one, Americans stood, setting down their lives to answer the reveille, minutemen once again in the cause of freedom.

They came from New York City and Nowhere, Indiana. They drove in from the mountains of Idaho and flew in from Hawaii. They rose up from all walks of life, all financial situations. The wave rolled across the United States like a tsunami, determined to reach Washington, D.C. for one purpose: to deliver a message to the flower children that was forty years overdue.

The message was simple, and as thousands of Americans stood in stoic rows around the memorial, it reverberated off the ebony beauty of the Wall. The silence of their stand deafened the obnoxious antics of the defeatists and sent a clarion call like a beacon across the globe.

Half a world away, soldiers and Marines lifted their heads a bit higher and stood taller.

And at the Wall, as thousands of American faces reflected in the polished surface, the ghosts of 58,000 men smiled back in silent, grateful pride as their lips mouthed the message their countrymen had come so far to deliver:

Freedom.


TOPICS: Government; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: americanpatriots; gatheringofeagles; iraq; mad; moralabsolutes; moveamericaforward; opinfinitefreep; pgr; rollingthunder; supportourtroops; thewall; vietnam; vietnammemorial
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To: GodBlessUSA; ohioWfan

Thank you so much for the ping..It is a wonderful and stirring post..

God bless those who are going.. My heart goes with them.


41 posted on 03/02/2007 7:18:16 AM PST by MEG33 (GOD BLESS OUR ARMED FORCES.)
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To: Earthdweller
Thank you for the ping to this great thread.
I was out of pocket from about 8 AM Wednesday to about 7 PM Thursday, so I missed it.
42 posted on 03/02/2007 7:21:32 AM PST by HuntsvilleTxVeteran (Vote for RINOS, lose and complain by sending a self-abused stomped elephant.)
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To: LUV W

I can't believe how low these liberal whackos will go to insult our troops and our war dead. And the worse thing about it is there are some gold star moms (and dads) on their side too.


43 posted on 03/02/2007 7:23:09 AM PST by Tamar1973 (Note to Hillary, Boxer and Fonda: The peas called, they want their pod back!)
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To: euphoriadev

Tears.


44 posted on 03/02/2007 7:57:50 AM PST by maxter
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To: Earthdweller; LUV W; ohioWfan

BTTT.


45 posted on 03/02/2007 8:20:57 AM PST by StarCMC (After the attacks of 9/11, profiling Muslims is more like profiling the Klan. - Ann Coulter)
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To: euphoriadev; LUV W

*Tears*
Thank you for the PING, Luv..
Maine has answered the call...
We WILL be there on March 17th..
Come hell or high water..
Ms.B


46 posted on 03/02/2007 8:49:05 AM PST by MS.BEHAVIN (women who behave rarely make history)
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To: euphoriadev
SEE YOU THERE
47 posted on 03/02/2007 8:57:10 AM PST by oneolcop (Take off the gloves!)
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To: euphoriadev
The antiwar crowd kept marching and declared themselves the majority.

This sentence makes me the most angry. Just because they hear their opinion on TV, they THINK it becomes a fact, and because they hear nothing to the contrary, they THINK they are the majority.

Well, I THINK they have a new lesson to learn on March 17th. Their freedom has not come cheap, and it's their own fault they THINK their liberty is a birthright that can't be taken away!

48 posted on 03/02/2007 9:08:25 AM PST by Apple Blossom (...around here, city hall is something of a between meals snack.)
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To: bmwcyle

Post #24.


49 posted on 03/02/2007 9:18:10 AM PST by Apple Blossom (...around here, city hall is something of a between meals snack.)
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To: MEG33; StarCMC; stopem; Bahbah; Carolinamom; Earthdweller
Good to see some activity on this incredible thread.

BUMPing it again. :)

50 posted on 03/02/2007 9:25:44 AM PST by ohioWfan (PRAY for our President and our troops!!)
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To: ohioWfan; acad1228; AliVeritas; aomagrat; beachn4fun; BIGLOOK; blackie; bluesagewoman; ...

Bump and ping to a few friends.


51 posted on 03/02/2007 9:31:12 AM PST by StarCMC (After the attacks of 9/11, profiling Muslims is more like profiling the Klan. - Ann Coulter)
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To: ohioWfan

Thanks much for the ping (and no apologies needed for the double ping - it was worth it). Great article.


52 posted on 03/02/2007 9:50:21 AM PST by hsalaw
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To: StarCMC

BTTT


53 posted on 03/02/2007 10:00:07 AM PST by E.G.C.
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To: AirBorn

bttt


54 posted on 03/02/2007 10:30:48 AM PST by bmwcyle (It is time to stop the left at the wall.)
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To: euphoriadev

*sniff*....I wish I didn't live so far away
so I could help the Gathering of Eagles, to protect
the memories and honor of our fallen who are being
spat upon by the very ones that they died
to protect free speech for.

55 posted on 03/02/2007 2:21:13 PM PST by luvie (The War On Terror--not a clash between civilizations....it is a clash ABOUT civilization--Rush L.)
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To: ohioWfan

Thanks for the ping ...been AFC all day and might have missed it:)


56 posted on 03/02/2007 2:50:47 PM PST by SE Mom (Proud mom of an Iraq war combat vet)
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To: ohioWfan

oWf, thanks for the ping. What a moving article. How could anyone read it and not end up in tears.

God bless all those who are able to go to The Wall to defend our nation and support the military.


57 posted on 03/02/2007 3:21:13 PM PST by jtill (Lord, please keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth!)
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To: LUV W; debbieargel

Check the MoveAmericaForward site for an itinerary...they're having rallies all across the country, and collecting American flags at the rallies.

I'm taking a couple to the Phoenix or Tucson rally, haven't decided yet, it's the least I can do.


58 posted on 03/02/2007 3:54:04 PM PST by HiJinx (Ask me about Troop Support...)
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To: HiJinx

Thanks for that info, Jinxy!

Found this entry. I am going to TRY to at least be out on the Interstate when they roll through Odessa on the 11th...I hope....

SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2007:



8:30PM - 10:00PM :: Monahans, TX to Midland/Odessa, TX

10:00 PM :: Arrive in Midland, Texas - Media & supporters can welcome the caravan into Midland/Odessa as it arrives at the Hampton Inn hotel in Midland. The caravan participants will overnight at this location:
Hampton Inn Midland
5011 W. Loop 250 N
Midland TX, 79707

MONDAY, MARCH 12TH


7:00AM - 8:00AM :: Midland/Odessa Pro-Troop Rally & Press Conference
CJ Kelly Park
5500 League Drive
Midland, Texas

*Please bring American flags to donate to the caravan!
*Members of the media invited to attend


59 posted on 03/02/2007 4:41:51 PM PST by luvie (The War On Terror--not a clash between civilizations....it is a clash ABOUT civilization--Rush L.)
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To: ohioWfan

Thanks for the ping.


60 posted on 03/02/2007 4:58:18 PM PST by Freedom'sWorthIt
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