Been listenin' in on ya, and knowin' you kinda looked up to me, have a few thoughts for you. Woke LadyX to write down a few things in a form you can read when you get a laptop...
First of all is the name thing, you gettin' hung with the El Roy ('The King') Ray moniker, and me with Marion Morrison - lol - can you see that on a theater marquee?! Actually, my nickname of 'Duke' was in honor of a dog I had as a lad in the California desert...:)
Know you love the deserts of West Texas where you roamed as a little fella, going on later to bigger ones in Saudi Arabia and to other parts of Africa, and places in Singapore and other exotic places, as well as several states in America in your work coaxing gas from the earth for us.
You know all about hard dirty work and 'True Grit,' just like me - appreciated the movie I made of Sands of Iwo Jima and the Marines -- you were one in real life, and know how special that is! An old football injury kept me from going to Annapolis or in service, but I always loved the military.
Yep - starred in all kinds of hero type films, but what I loved best was Our America and preserving her. In 1944, I helped found the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, later becoming its president for 3 years.
Those USO tours I did were some of my best 'work' from WWII through Vietnam, and I wore Capt. Stephen P Hanson's "Prisoner of War" bracelet after the Marine was shot down over Laos, Vietnam. Sadly, Hanson never came home but I stayed in contact with his wife and young son.
During a visit to Vietnam in 1966 I was given a tribal bracelet of the Montagnard people - in 1973 was honored with the Veterans of Foreign Wars highest award - The National Americanism Gold Medal. Congress awarded me the Congressional Gold Medal in 1979.
Most recently was the honor of an Army RAH-66 Helicopter, to be named "The Duke." Many were there at the naming ceremony in Washington D.C. on May 12, 1998, including my children and grandchildren, congress men, the president of the USO Metropolitan Washington, dignitaries and many military personnel.
Michael Wayne said at the ceremonies, "John Wayne loved his country and he loved its traditions."
I surely did, just as you do.
Know you have that kind of heart, Big Fella, and now are fighting a mighty battle.
I'm here in 'Big Sky Country' to tell ya to hang tough and bite a bullet or two when you have to, but there are a whole lot of folks cheerin' for you, and prayin' for you.
We hear those streaming in a very long ribbon all the way to where I am!
Had a lot of horses in my day, and maybe I should tell you that your Grasshopper is in a pasture near me, waitin' for you to ride like the wind on him again whenever you get here! It'll be a fine day whenever in God's timing you do come to these pastures God has provided for us...a whole bunch of Marines will be lined up on either side of the road to bring you aboard.
One more thing--when you are hurtin' and need to retreat to a more comfortable place, just imagine you're in a sleeping bag in the back of your pickup truck under the night skies of West Texas, and count those stars instead of sheep! By day, mentally pick up your guidon and lock on to that old Right Guide stride and march on --
Lookin' forward to shaking your hand some day.
"The Duke"