1.0 MEMORIAL DAY : ITS MEANING AND PURPOSE

AS WE HEARD IN“LOGAN’S GENERAL ORDER”, MEMORIAL DAY HAD ITS BEGINNINGS ABOUT 140 YEARS AGO. THE PRACTICE OF HONORING VETERANS EXPANDED TO ALL MEMBERS OF ONES FAMILY. THE DAY BECAME A VERY IMPORTANT ONE FOR ALL FAMILY MEMBERS. IT BECAME THE DAY TO HONOR AND MEMORIALIZE ONE’S ANCESTORS, AND TO IDENTIFY WITH ONES HERITAGE.

TODAY HERE IN COALDALE WE ARE DOING JUST THAT. WE ARE GATHERED HERE TO REMEMBER AND HONOR OUR VETERANS AND TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE FREEDOMS WE ENJOY WERE EARNED BY THEM. WE ALSO HONOR THE FAMILIES FROM WHICH THEY CAME.

THE YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OF COALDALE, WHO UNHESITATINGLY VOLUNTEERED TO SUPPORT OUR COUNTRY, HAVE SERVED IN ALL OF OUR NATION’S CONFLICTS. MORE THAN 450 MEN AND WOMEN SERVED IN WORLD WAR ONE. AS WE ADD TEN NEW NAMES TO OUR WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL, IT WILL NOW LIST 1,346 MEN AND WOMEN WHO SERVED IN THAT MAJOR WAR. MANY GAVE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE WHILE OTHERS SUFFERED GRIEVOUS WOUNDS. COALDALE RANKS AT THE VERY TOP IN SMALL COMMUNITIES WITH RESPECT TO ‘PER-CAPITA’ WHO SERVED IN WW II.

COALDALE CONTINUES TO SUPPORT OUR COUNTRY. THERE ARE MANY YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SERVED OR ARE CURRENTLY SERVINGIN AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, AND AROUND THE WORLD IN THE WAR ON TERRORISM.

2.0 WE ARE AT WAR

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUTH OF PANTHER VALLEY, WE ARE CURRENTLY AT WAR. THE WAR ON TERRORISM IS REAL, AND WE MUST RECOGNIZE THAT OUR NATION IS FACED WITH AN EVER-GROWING THREAT, PRIMARILY FROM RADICALIZED MUSLIM NATIONS AND THE TERRORIST GROUPS THAT THEY SUPPORT. ALSO, WE WILL IN THE FUTURE BE FACED WITH MAJOR CHALLENGES FROM CHINA AND RUSSIA. AS THEIR ECONOMIC MIGHT IS REALIZED, THEY WILL EXPAND AND USE THEIR MILITARY MIGHT TO MEET THEIR OBJECTIVES.

2.1 THE WAR ON TERRORISM

MANY OF US CONSIDER TERRORISTS AS PEOPLE DRIVEN BY DESPERATION. THIS IS FAR FROM THE TRUTH. TODAY THE TERRORIST WE FACE IS DRIVEN BY WHAT WE MAY CALL “FASCIST MUSLIM CONCEPTS.” THE TERRORISTS WHO ACTED OUT THE WORLD TRADE TOWERS AND PENTAGON AERIAL STRIKES WERE NOT POOR, NOR WERE THAY DEPRIVED OF EDUCATIONAL , FINANCIAL, OR CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. MORE THAN HALF OF THEM HAD FINISHED COLLEGE, MANY WITH ENGINEERING DEGREES.

ARE THESE PEOPLE CRAZY? NOT IN THE LEAST. MENTAL DISORDERS ARE RARELY FOUND IN THESE GROUPS. THEY ALSO DO NOT EXHIBIT, AT LEAST IN PUBLIC, RADICAL RELIGIOUS TRAITS. THESE MAY BE DELIBERATELY HIDDEN, HOWEVER.

THE RECENT SUBWAY BOMBINGS IN LONDON WERE PLANNED AND EXECUTED BY MEN WITH MEDICAL DEGREES. WHAT MOTIVATES SUCH MEN? SYMPATHY FOR THE POOR OR DOWNTRODDEN IS NOT THE MOTIVATOR. THE PRIMARY FACTORS ARE: (1) ALIENATION FROM SOCIETY, (2) STRONG PERSONAL BONDS AMONG THE RADICAL GROUPS, AND (3) GROUP DYNAMICS AND PESSURES. ATTA, THE LEADER OF THE ATTACKS ON THE WORLD TRADE TOWERS AND THE PENTAGON, WAS PRIVILEDGED, EDUCATED, AND BY ALL SIGNS HE HAD HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND EXCELLENT POTENTIAL IN THE WEST OR INTHE MID-EAST. HE BECAME ALIENATED WITH THE WEST, AND WAS RECRUITED BY AL-QUIDA. HE FORMED THE GROUP WHICH CARRIED OUT THE MOST DAMAGING ATTACK EVER PERPETRATED UPON THE ZONE OF THE INTERIOR.

THE THREAT WE FACE TODAY IS REAL, COMPLEX, AND DIFFICULT TO ASSESS AND DETECT. THE TERRORIST CELLS ARE EXTREMELY WELL DISCIPLINED AND HIGHLY INSULATED. THEY WILL ATTACK US WHEN THEY CONSIDER IT IN THEIR BEST INTEREST. RIGHT NOW THEY APPEAR TO BE “STANDING DOWN” BECAUSE THAT DOES NOT WANT TO IMPACT OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS, WHICH THEY SEE TRENDING IN THEIR BEST INTERESTS. WE MUST STAY EVER VIGILANT, RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE AT WAR, HOWEVER DISTASTEFUL THIS MAY BE, AND ENHANCE OUR HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY PREPAREDNESS.

2.2 THE CHALLENGES WE WILL FACE FROM CHINA AND RUSSIA

THE MOST FOOLISH THING WE CAN DO IS TO TAKE OUR MILITARY SUPERIORITY FOR GRANTED.THE CHALLENGES WE FACE FROM THESE TWO NATIONS ARE BOTH ECONOMIC AND MILITARY. AS ECONOMIC POWER SHIFTS TO CHINA, AND THEN TO RUSSIA, OUR PRESENT MILITARY IS TOO SMALL TO MEET THE CHALLENGE. WE MUST EXPAND OUR MILITARY, AND WE MUST CONFIGURE OUR ECONOMIC STRATEGY TO MEET THESE CHALLENGES. IF WE DO NOT, WE FACE IGNOMINIOUS DEFEAT, POSSIBLY WITHOUT LARGE SCALE WAR, AS WE RETREAT IN ECONOMIC TERMS. THE MOST FRIGHTENING OUTCOME WOULD BE ACTUAL WAR WITH ONE OR BOTH OF THESE RISING POWERS, EMBOLDENED BY OUR WEAKNESS. BUILDING OUR MILITARY AND DEVELOPING AN AGGRESSIVE ECONOMIC APPPROACH IS AFFORDABLE, AND INFINITELY CHEAPER THAN WAR.

WE MUST NOT FALL FOR THE LIBERAL “NEGOTIATION” PARADIGM. NEGOTIATION IS A TECHNIQUE, NOT A STRATEGY. MEETING WITH HEADS OF STATE OF NATIONS THAT SPONSOR TERRORISM SUCH AS THOSE WHO LEAD NORTH KOREA OR IRAN IS FLAWED, AS THESE LEADERS ARE TERRORISTS IN THE SAME SENSE AS THOSE THEY SPONSOR TO CARRY OUT THE ACTS OF TERROR.

3.0 WE MUST SUPPORT OUR MILITARY

UNLIKE PRIOR WARS, THE PRESENT “WAR ON TERRORISM” COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT TO COMPREHEND. THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ IS UNPOPULAR. A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF OUR POPULATION IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED, AND MOUR MILITARY THAT IS ACTIVELY COMMITTED IN COMBAT IS MINISCULE IN RELATION TO OUR NATION’S POPULATION.HOWEVER, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT WE SUPPORT OUR MILITARY.

THE CONFLICTS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN ARE NOT ABOUT OIL, DESPITE THE FACT THAT OIL AND GAS ARE AT RECORD LEVELS. THESE COSTS ARE THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF ECONOMIC CONFLICT WITH CHINA, RUSSIA, AND OTHER EMERGING ASIAN NATIONS LIKE INDIA.

CHINA IS STOCKPILING DIESEL FUEL RIGHT NOW.

WE ARE IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN TO SAVE BOTH NATIONS FROM THE THREAT OF RADICALIZED ISLAM. WE MUST ESTABLISH DEMOCRACIES WHERE THIR CITIZENS CAN FORM NATIONS THAT CAN JOIN THE WORLD’S COMMUNITY. THEIR CITIZENS DESERVE FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND OPPORTUNITIES NEVER BEFORE REALIZED. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE FOR WOMEN.

THE WAR IN IRAQ AND THE COMBAT IN AFGHANISTAN ARE HORRENDOUS AND PRODUCE LIFETIME TRAUMA FOR THOSE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN COMBAT. MODERN MUNITIONS AND EXPLOSIVES, MANY OF THEM MANUFACTURED IN IRAN, ARE CREATING WOUNDS AND BRAIN TRAUMA NEVER BEFORE EXPERIENCED. MODERN MEDICINE AND RAPID MEDICAL RESPONSE ARE PERMITTING OUR SOLDIERS TO SURVIVE WOUNDS THAT IN PRIOR WARS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SURVIVABLE. HOWEVER, WITH THIS SURVIVAL RATE COMES A LARGE NUMBER OF TERRIBLE WOUNDS, PARTICULARLY THE LOSS OF ONE OR MORE LIMBS, AND OFTEN BRAIN TRAUMA.

ABOUT 18 MONTHS AGO, AMVETS POST ONE OF TAMAQUA, OF WHICH I AM THE COMMANDER, BEGAN A PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE BWOUNDED AT WALTER REED ARMY HOSPITAL.WE HAVE RAISED OVER $26,900 DOLLARS FOR THE CHAPLAIN’S OFFICE. EVERY CENT GOES TO THE YOUNG “WOUNDED WARRIOR” AND HIS FAMILY. ALL RELATED COSTS ARE BORNE BY OUR VOLUNTEER MEMBERS.

WE ARE CONTINUING OUR EFFORTS. IF YOU WISH TO CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE SEE MYSELF OR BILL GADDES, WHO IS OUR POST FINANCIAL OFFICER.

OUR RETURNING VETERANS AND THOSE CURRENTLY SERVING NEED OUR CONTINUING AND ENTHUSIIASTIC SUPPORT. A YOUNG MARINE LANCE CORPORAL, SERIOUSLY BURNED, HAD UNDERGONE MORE THAN 20 SURGERIES, AND FACES MANY MORE. A YOUNG CHILD, SEEING THE MARINE, SAID “MOMMY, LOOK AT THE MONSTER.” HER MOTHER REMARKED “DARLING THAT IS A MARINE WHO RISKED HIS LIFE SO THAT WE MAY BE FREE. HE IS A HERO. GO AND AAY HELLO TO HIM.” THE YOUNG CHILD OVERCAME HER FEAR AND HUGGED THE YOUNG MARINE.

PLEASE SUPPORT UOR MILITARY BY WRITING LETTERS, SENDING PACKAGES, AND THANKING BTHEM PERSONALLY. YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE IN THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ, BUT NDO NOT LET THAT INTERFERE WITH GIVING YOUR THANKS TO THOSE WHO ARE SERVING IN OUR MILITARY.

4.0 WE COLLECTIVELY AND OUR YOUTH FACE MAJOR CHALLENGES

WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY. HOWEVWR, FOR A DEMOCRACY TO WORK AND SURVIVE, WE MUST HAVE COMMITTED AND INFORMED CITIZENS. WE ALL HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO COMMIT OURSELVES TO MAKING OUR DEMOCRACY WORK, AND TO ENSURE THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS ARE INFORMED, EQUIPPED, AND WILLING TO CONTINUE TO MAKE IT WORK.

I FEEL THAT CULTURAL AND PARTICULARLY TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES AND FORCES ARE AT WORK IN OUR DEMOCRACY THAT THREATENS ITS VERY EXISTENCE. INFORMATION AND DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGTY IS AWESOME, BUT UNLESS IT IS MANAGED IT THEATENS TO NOT ENHANCE EDUCATION, BUT TO DEGRADE IT. COMMITMENT TO OUR TRADITIONAL CULTURAL MORES AND INSTITUTIONS LIKE OUR CHURCHES IS SIMILARLY THREATENED.

DIGITAL MEDIA, IN ITS EVER-GROWING EXPANSION AND CAPABILITIES, IS CREATING AMONG OUR YOU NG PEOPLE, AN INTENSIVE FOCUS UPPON ONESELF, ONE’S PEERS, AND THE PRESENT MOMENT. HISTORY IS BEING IGNORED IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE SO-CALLED “DIGITAL TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGES” SO OFTEN TOUTED, ARE NOT REALLY BEING EXPLOITED BY OUR YOUTH. INSTEAD, THEY ARE IMMERSING THEMSELVES IN AN IVIAL, SELF-CENTERED; INTENSELY PEER ORIENTED AND DISTRACTING VIRTUAL WORLD.INTERACTTION WITH ADULTS, READING OF BOOKS, PARTICIPATION IN ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS CHURCH AND COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES IS SUFFERING.

YOUTH MUST BE STEERED AWAY FROM THIS INTENSIVE FOCUS UPON ONESELF AND THE MOMENT. OTHERWISE I FEEL THAT THEY WILL BE ILL-EQUIPPED TO ENTER THE ADULT WORLD... THEY MUST BE BETTER EQUIPPED TO ASSUME REPONSIBILITIES OF THE ADULT WORLD, INCLUDING THOSE THAT COME WITH LIVING IN A DEMOCRACY.

BETWEEN 1992 AND 2005, TWELFTH GRADE READING SKILLS DROPPED DRAMATICALLY. ONLY 24 PERCENT OF HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS CAN COMPOSE A COHERENT, ACCURATE PARAGRAPH, MUCH LESS A SENTENCE WITH CORRECT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR. THIS AND SIMILAR SCORES IN MATH DO NOT BODE WELL FOR OUR WORLD COMPETITIVENESS WITH EMERGING NATIONS LIKE INDIA, CHINA AND RUSSIA.

PARENTS, EDUCATORS, POLITITIANS AND ELDERS, WE MUST SEE TO IT THAT THE NEW DIGITAL WORLD IS HARNESSED IN A WAY THAT WILL OPTIMIZE LEARNING, CULTURAL AND SOCIAL VALUES, AND COMMITMENT TO A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY AND NSATION. EDUACTORS, THIS IS A SERIOUS CHALLENGE, AND I AM NOT SURE THAT WE KNOW HOW TO SOLVE T. THE CONSEQUENCE, POSSIBLE FSAILURE OF OUR GREAT DEMOCRATIC EXPERIMENT AND LOSS OF WORLD ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP.

5.0 THE UNITED STATES HAS WORLD LEADERSHIP COMMITMENTS

I HAVE NOTICED A TREND TOWARD ISOLATIONISM AND “PROTECTIONISM.”.FOSTERED BY LIBERAL ELEMENTS, THIS IS A DANGEROUS TREND. WE SEEM TO FEEL THAT OUR MILITARY IS TOO LARGE, TOO COSTLY, AND IN SOME WAYS SUPERFLUOUS. WE SHOULD NOT IGNORE OUR HISTORY. WE WERE WOEFULLY UNPREPARED FOR WORLD WAR TWO WHEN ATTACKED BY JAPAN AND HITLER. MODERN TIMES WILL NOT PEMIT US TO “GEAR UP” OUR WAR FIGHTING POTENTIAL. WE MUST VREMAIN PREPARED AND CONGRUENT WITH AN EVER CHANGING WORLD THREAT. WE MUST STAY PROACTIVE AROUND THE WORLD, OPERATING NOT FROM APPEASEMENT AND NEGOTIATION, BUT FROM ECONOMIC AND MILITARY STRENGTH.

WE HAVE A COMMITMENT TO DEFEND FREEDOM AS WELL AS TO ASSIST EMRGING COUNTRIES TO OPERATE UNDER DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES, SO THAT THEIR CITIZENSMAY REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. LEADERSHIP MUST COME FROM CONGRESS.

6.0 CONCLUSIONS

MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT WE ARE IN A POLITICAL STRUGGLE THAT CAN BE SOLVED WITH NEGOTIATIONS, DIALOGUE, AND DIPLOMACY. THIS IS NOT SO. THE STRUGGLE WE ARE IN IS IDEOLOGICAL, AND OUR ENEMIES ARE DEDICATED TO OUR DESTRUCTION. THIS IS THE TERRORISM THREAT I DESCRIBED, SUPPORTED BY COUNTRIES LIKE IRSN AND NORTH KOREA.

THERE IS A SECOND MAJOR THREAT WHICH IS QUITE DIFFERENT, AND POSSIBLY EVEN MORE OMINOUS.

WE ARE BEING CHALLENGED FOR WORLD ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP. AND WITH IT, MILITARY MIGHT. THERE ARE TWO EMERGING NATIONS WHICH POSE AVERY SERIOUS CHALLENGE. THE FIRST IS CHINA; THE OTHER RUSSIA.WE MUST MEET THESE CHALLENGES. LIKE THE “ BEST GENERATION” OF WW II, WE MUST BUILD UPON THE SHOULDERS OF PRIOR GENERATIONS. THIS NECESSITATES KNOWLEDGE OF OUR HISTORY, OUR ANCESTORS, OUR DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES, AND A “SENSE OF AMERICA” INSTILLED BY OUR FAMILIES, OUR EDUCATIONAL AND CHURCH INSTITUTIONS, AND OUR SOCIETY. THIS PROCESS IS THREATENED BY CULTURAL CHANGES AND THE SO-CALLED DIGITAL REVOLUTION.THERE IS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY THAT OUR FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL EMERGE ILL-EQUIPPED TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR DEMOCRATIC PROCESS AND THE SACRIFICES THAT MAY EMERGE AS WE STRUGGLE TO MAINTAIN WORLD ECONOMIC AND MILITARY LEADERSHIP. I FEEL THAT ANY OF OUR POLITICAL, BUSINESS, AND EDUCATIONAL LEADERS ARE AT A LIOSS TO CHALLENGE THIS PHENOMENON THAT IS THREATENING OUR DEMOCRACY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH