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USO Canteen FReeper Style....Thursday....April 25,2002
Graphics and Layout by Billie and Written by Snow Bunny and a Thank you to Mama_Bear Today!

Posted on 04/25/2002 1:08:17 AM PDT by Snow Bunny

Anchors Aweigh

I am the American Sailor

Hear my voice, America! Though I speak through the mist of 200 years, my shout for freedom will echo through liberty's halls for many centuries to come. Hear me speak, for my words are of truth and justice, and the rights of man. For those ideals I have spilled my blood upon the world's troubled waters. Listen well, for my time is eternal - yours is but a moment.

I am the spirit of heroes past and future. I am the American Sailor. I was born upon the icy shores at Plymouth, rocked upon the waves of the Atlantic, and nursed in the wilderness of Virginia. I cut my teeth on New England codfish, and I was clothed in southern cotton. I built muscle at the halyards of New Bedford whalers, and I gained my sea legs high atop mizzen of Yankee clipper ships.

Yes, I am the American Sailor, one of the greatest seamen the world has ever known. The sea is my home and my words are tempered by the sound of paddle wheels on the Mississippi and the song of whales off Greenland's barren shore. My eyes have grown dim from the glare of sunshine on blue water, and my heart is full of star-strewn nights under the Southern Cross.

My hands are raw from winter storms while sailing down round the Horn, and they are blistered from the heat of cannon broadside while defending our nation. I am the American Sailor, and I have seen the sunset of a thousand distant, lonely lands. I am the American Sailor. It was I who stood tall beside John Paul Jones as he shouted, "I have not yet begun to fight!" I fought upon the Lake Erie with Perry, and I rode with Stephen Decatur into Tripoli harbor to burn Philadelphia.

I met Guerriere aboard Constitution, and I was lashed to the mast with Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay. I have heard the clang of Confederate shot against the sides of Monitor. I have suffered the cold with Peary at the North Pole, and I responded when Dewey said, "You may fire when ready Gridley," at Manila Bay. It was I who transported supplies through submarine infested waters when our soldier's were called "over there." I was there as Admiral Byrd crossed the South Pole. It was I who went down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, who supported our troops at Inchon, and patrolled dark deadly waters of the Mekong Delta.

I am the American Sailor and I wear many faces. I am a pilot soaring across God's blue canopy and I am a Seabee atop a dusty bulldozer in the South Pacific. I am a corpsman nursing the wounded in the jungle, and I am a torpedoman in the Nautilus deep beneath the North Pole. I am hard and I am strong.

But it was my eyes that filled with tears when my brother went down with the Thresher, and it was my heart that rejoiced when Commander Shepherd rocketed into orbit above the earth. It was I who languished in a Viet Cong prison camp, and it was I who walked upon the moon. It was I who saved the Stark and the Samuel B. Roberts in the mine infested waters of the Persian Gulf. It was I who pulled my brothers from the smoke filled compartments of the Bonefish and wept when my shipmates died on the Iowa and White Plains. When called again, I was there, on the tip of the spear for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

I am the American Sailor. I am woman, I am man, I am white and black, yellow, red and brown. I am Jew, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist. I am Irish, Filipino, African, French, Chinese, and Indian. And my standard is the outstretched hand of Liberty. Today, I serve around the world, on land, in air, on and under the sea. I serve proudly, at peace once again, but with the fervent prayer that I need not be called again.

Tell your children of me. Tell them of my sacrifice, and how my spirit soars above their country. I have spread the mantle of my nation over the ocean and I will guard her forever. I am her heritage and yours.

I AM THE AMERICAN SAILOR
Author unknown.


In Loving Memory
CDR. Clyde D. Killion, USN
YO1 L. H. Nash, USN


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: usocanteen
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To: d4now
Yes, Donna! I would not object at all! California needs a very drastic facelift!
601 posted on 04/25/2002 10:36:32 PM PDT by MistyCA
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To: 4TheFlag
Nite Brother
God Bless You
602 posted on 04/25/2002 10:36:59 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
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To: mystomachisturning
No way, buster!
603 posted on 04/25/2002 10:37:35 PM PDT by piasa
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To: mystomachisturning
Hi good to see you.
604 posted on 04/25/2002 10:37:42 PM PDT by FallGuy
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To: 4TheFlag
Good night, FRiend. Sleep well. Don't drown. Have a great day tomorrow. God bless.
605 posted on 04/25/2002 10:38:01 PM PDT by whoever
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To: mystomachisturning
You know, I've always been interesting in seeing what would happen if th country did that.

West of the Mississippi goes Conservative, Capitalist, strict Constituionalist, limited Federal power. East of the Mississippi goes Socialist, Welfare State, massive Federal power.

Any bets on which part would be the most productive and progress the furthist the fastest?

It would be interesting to see where each side was in 10 years.

606 posted on 04/25/2002 10:39:09 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: 4TheFlag
Flag Man, sleep well.
607 posted on 04/25/2002 10:41:11 PM PDT by FallGuy
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
Don't tell my wife. She'd probably dump me and move in with you.

She loves the ocean and would love to live near it.

608 posted on 04/25/2002 10:41:20 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: SAMWolf
We could do one better than that... just cut off the large cities and any county with a riverboat casino and we're free at last...
609 posted on 04/25/2002 10:43:35 PM PDT by piasa
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To: piasa
That's another good idea.

Oregon is like Illinois, most of the State is really Conservative but the major City populations are enough to put it them in the Liberal column. Willing to bet there are other States like that too.

610 posted on 04/25/2002 10:46:20 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: whoever
Good evening whoever. Guess a late good evening. Glad you are here, Bunny sure loves you ,glad I got to see you,or not see you. ha ha ha
611 posted on 04/25/2002 10:46:46 PM PDT by FallGuy
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To: whoever
My figment has always loved the ocean.
612 posted on 04/25/2002 10:47:05 PM PDT by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
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To: SAMWolf
You swiped my pictures! LOL
613 posted on 04/25/2002 10:47:36 PM PDT by MistyCA
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To: piasa
Good idea Piasa.
614 posted on 04/25/2002 10:47:44 PM PDT by FallGuy
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To: mystomachisturning
You gotta be faster!
615 posted on 04/25/2002 10:48:53 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: FallGuy
Thanks, FallGuy. Terrific to have you here on the thread.

If you see me, you are in real trouble...not only an active imagination, but you see things, too. Do you hear the birds overhead??? (gr)....

616 posted on 04/25/2002 10:50:09 PM PDT by whoever
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To: piasa
Buster? I accept the idea that you don't like my idea, but please....I don't make a good "Buster"! LOL
617 posted on 04/25/2002 10:50:41 PM PDT by MistyCA
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To: FallGuy;68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub;mystomachisturning;whoever
Well. Good night all, one more day of work before the weekend.
618 posted on 04/25/2002 10:51:43 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
Tonk, I like to look at the ocean or go deep sea fishing. But, I am a country girl at heart. I love the land, the mountains, forests, meadows, streams, etc.

A sunset over the ocean is a sight to behold, however. God is good to show us that as a symbol.

619 posted on 04/25/2002 10:52:32 PM PDT by whoever
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To: 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub;4TheFlag
LOL,good one. Bunny gets so rattled with call waiting ha ha ha ha ha, probably put it in "GUY" rotfl

Still can't believe she managed to hang up on not one but the two of you at the same time. LOL Had me laughing that night so hard.

620 posted on 04/25/2002 10:52:33 PM PDT by FallGuy
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