Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Military

Veterans Day 2023

Arizona’s Veterans Memorial Highway

In 2004, Interstate 17, which runs from Phoenix, AZ to Flagstaff, AZ, was designated to be “Veterans Memorial Highway,” in recognition of America’s Veterans, past, present and future.

The Memorial Plaque seen here is located at the McGuireville Rest Area (southbound) on I-17 in Rimrock, AZ. Click on the image to enlarge. There may be another plaque on the northbound side, but I can’t say for sure.

To All Veterans

From Mark Alexander at The Patriot Post

vets-day.jpgIt is notable that Veterans Day shares the same anniversary date as the signing of the Mayflower Compact in 1620. That simple document, after all, is the taproot of a great nation, now a shining beacon of Liberty, which owes its very existence to the toils and trials of generations of American Veterans.

From the cold winter winds at Valley Forge in 1777 to the deadly terrain of the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan today, generations of American Patriots have stood fast in defense of Liberty and at great cost.

I am certain I will never meet a seasoned war Veteran who is fond of combat, but to a man, every Patriot concurs with John Stuart Mill’s timeless note on the subject: “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”

I am equally certain that these Patriots, like millions of others since the 1789 founding of our Republic, have honored their “sacred oaths” to support and defend the Liberty enshrined in our Constitution, against all enemies foreign and domestic.

God Bless our veterans!

10 Nov 2023 by Holidays Military

Armed Forces Day 2023

Today, we honor the Armed Forces of America. Image and excerpt borrowed from The Patriot Post.

On the third Saturday in May, millions of American Patriots observe Armed Forces Day, offering due honor and respect for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen serving our nation.

In 1950, President Harry Truman called for the establishment of a designated day to recognize the extraordinary service and sacrifice of our military personnel. Armed Forces Day consolidated the anniversary observations for the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force, following the unification of the service branches under the newly formed Department of Defense.

Having served in the US Naval Reserve on Active Duty many years ago, I can personally appreciate the daily activities that service personnel experience. Occasionally, those activities include rigorous physical involvement or putting your life on the line to serve in an inherently hazardous activity.

Let us honor our men and women serving in the military and keep them in our prayers during these interesting times. May Almighty God bless them all.

20 May 2023 by Everyday Heroes Military Patriotism

Pearl Harbor Attack 81st Anniversary

USS Arizona BB 39 Memorial, Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii

This event occurred about a year and a half before I was born, but the War in the Pacific was still ongoing until I was about three. I can’t remember specifically the hardships on the American People, especially those of us on the West Coast, but I do remember the times when the Japanese Navy threat to the mainland had us doing “blackouts” where our community would turn off all the lights in our household. Mom would turn off all the lights in the house save for the inside hallway where she closed the doors and read to my brother and me as we sat on the floor. The entire area was blacked out for fear that Japanese Aircraft or Vessels might bomb or fire upon signs of population. Fortunately, that never took place in Long Beach, CA, where we lived at the time.

FDR’s famous “Day that will live in Infamy” speech to Congress asked that war be declared:

Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense.

But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.

I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.

…

I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.

Nice words, but, ironically, FDRs own party, eighty-one years later, is conducting a similar “form of treachery” against the American People and our Nation. And they are doing so by collaborating with our enemies both foreign and domestic.

Pray for our Republic.

07 Dec 2022 by Military Never Forget

Veterans Day 2022

11/11 at 11:00 — ARMISTICE! The end of hostilities in 1918 is still celebrated today as Veterans Day. So, here’s to all who served before, during and after that date. May we remember those who have fallen with reverence and dignity. May we honor those still serving with high regard and our deepest thankfulness for what they do.

My Dad served in the Navy in WW2. Damsel’s Dad served in Naval Aviation during the post WW2 era at the beginning of the Cold War. My older brother served as a Naval Officer from the 1960s until about 1980. My younger brother was in Naval Aviation, as was I during the 1960s. I am proud of the Naval Service tradition in our family.

As for my service, it was during a mostly peaceful time even though the cold war was underway. Toward the end of my active duty, The Vietnam War had started to flare up, but I mustered out of active duty and began a career in aerospace, still serving, but in the capacity of support to the armed services through supplying the DOD with tools to get the job done. I have no regrets about that.

So Happy Veterans Day to all who served, are serving and those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

As an aside, we will be attending the annual Bluegrass Festival up at the Rodeo Grounds today. We may post about that event later this weekend.

11 Nov 2022 by Military Patriotism

Army and Flag Day 2022

From The Patriot Post:

June 14 is Army and Flag Day, celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the United States Army on June 14, 1775, and the adoption of our flag by the Second Continental Congress on June 14, 1777.

Our flag is a beacon of Liberty, a symbol of hope for all people who “hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed — that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…”

We American Patriots honor the history of our national flag and display it with pride. We believe those who denigrate our flag — and by extension our nation — deeply offend the honorable service of all who have defended our nation under its banner, and their families.

The (clickable) image above is our flagpole flying Old Glory and the Arizona State Banner above our little home in the desert. We proudly fly the colors most of the time and especially on the patriotic days like today, Memorial Day, Independence Day and the like. Our American Flag is made in the U.S.A. by Grace Alley and our Arizona Banner is by Annin Flags, also made in America.

The American flag is manufactured with actual embroidered stars and the stripes are sewn together; the binding is double-thickness and has brass grommets. The Arizona flag is made according to the specifications set by the state. We always have spare flags on hand to replace the old tattered ones (the desert sun and winds take their toll). We recycle the US flags with the American Legion who ceremoniously will burn them.

Congratulations to the U.S. Army on their 247th anniversary. Happy Flag and Army Day!

14 Jun 2022 by Military Patriotism

D-Day – Remembering The Boys at Pointe du Hoc

“Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.”
– Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

From American Thinker

What moved the brave men who stormed the beaches of Normandy and scaled the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc was the firm resolve and spirit that liberty and virtue, freedom and duty, God and justice, were bound together and it is only in this unity that true freedom and progress be enjoyed. The relativism preached today is contrary to the American Founding and the American resolve and spirit that confronted the great darkness of Nazism and totalitarian ideologies in the twentieth century.

The article goes on to compare those brave young men of 1944 with some of the hoodlums today burning buildings and wreaking havoc. God save our country.

Image stolen from Ace‘s Art Thread. Click to enlarge.

06 Jun 2022 by Everyday Heroes Military

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