We drove up US 95 from Kingman, AZ, toward Las Vegas, today. We crossed from Arizona to Nevada at Hoover Dam. These art-deco angels were acting as the color guard for the flagpole that stands at the West end of the dam. The inscription is a very nice one, telling how fitting it is to place the American Flag at this site.
Click here to see the inscription.
Thank you Veterans for your service, your sacrifices, and your spirit. May God bless you all.
Two years ago, Damsel took this shot of the Lomita, California Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Each year, they fly these brilliant colors all over the property. A large American Flag and the POW flag were on the mast high over the post. We get a nice thrill out of their show of VFW patriotism on Veterans Day.
In the true spirit of “Never Forget” we re-post our original tribute to Mark Scott Zeplin, one of the 2996 victims killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. There were 2996 victims killed, but we were all victims of the pain inflicted by the attacks. Here’s our original “2996” tribute on this Patriot Day, 2008.
Damsel and I are very proud to be able to honor Marc Scott Zeplin on the fifth anniversary of 9/11/2001 and to be part of the 2996 Project.
“Zep” is what his friends called him. Zep was one of the 2996 victims who perished in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Marc Scott Zeplin, age 33.
Place killed: World Trade Center. Resident of Harrison, N.Y. (USA).
Marc Zeplin worked in the World Trade Center offices of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company. Reading what Marc’s friends and family have written about him, Marc was well-liked and respected by peers, friends and others who wrote words about him following his death.
The following is from Zep’s tribute at the memorial site that his company set up to remember their employees that were lost in the attack:
Date of Birth: January 12, 1968
Department: Equity Sales
A group of friends named and registered a star in the heavens in memory of Marc Zeplin. How fitting as he was a star in the eyes of so many.
Successful as an equity trader, he formed close relationships with his clients but he was foremost a family man. Marc was very caring and devoted to his wife Debra, sons Ryan (3 yrs old) and Ethan (10 months), parents, sister and in-laws. He adored his children and treasured the time he spent with them. Marc was very proud of the new home he and his wife built in Westchester and enjoyed the change from urban to suburban living.
Raised in Long Island, Marc attended Oceanside High School and the University of Michigan where he also continued to earn a master’s degree in the acclaimed business school. Marc’s first career calling was sports casting. He loved sports of all kinds and enjoyed broadcasting games in Michigan during his college years. However, when he returned to New York, he found immediate employment in the financial world and soon after started at Cantor Fitzgerald where he became a partner.
Marc was truly a “master of the word.” He knew how and what to say in order to put you at ease, make you laugh or help you resolve a problem. Marc loved people. He had many friends and demonstrated a zest for living life to the fullest. He was tops in every way. He even worked at the top. The right position for so many years unfortunately was wrong on only one day – September 11, 2001.
— Debra Zeplin and Leora Zeplin, Marc’s Wife and Mother.
After I set out 10 little flags lining the walkway to the door today, we spent our day relaxing and barbecuing. The meal was spare ribs, corn on the cob and squash medley. I read an article about the meal being served to many of our troops in Iraq, which, coincidentally, was also ribs and corn on the cob. Instead of squash, they were served a dessert of red, white and blue cake.
I hope everyone has a terrific Independence Day holiday!
Para Ordinance Warthog compact 1911 .45 ACP pistol and the National Colors. Click to maximally magnificate.
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004)
“We’ve come to a moment in our history when party labels are unimportant. Philosophy is all important. Little men with loud voices cry doom, saying little is good in America. They create fear and uncertainty among us. Millions of Americans, especially our own sons and daughters, are seeking a cause they can believe in. There is a hunger in this country today — a hunger for spiritual guidance. People yearn once again to be proud of their country and proud of themselves, and to have confidence in themselves. And there’s every reason why they should be proud. Some may have failed America, but America has never failed us, and there is so much to be proud of in this land.” — Ronald Reagan
The candidates for the Presidency and other political offices would do well to remember this great man’s words four years after he passed.
“I know in my heart that man is good, that what is right will always eventually triumph, and there is purpose and worth to every life.” — Epitaph, Tomb of Ronald Reagan
Rest in peace, Mr. President.
More Reagan quotes below the fold: Continue reading…
Arguably, one of the best US Presidents ever, Ronald Reagan, has some sage advice for those who would pervert the second amendment language to mean anything other than “individual right to own and bear arms.” Read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution – realize that that’s exactly what the founders meant: to keep individuals free and independent, with the right to defend themselves from tyranny, both at home and abroad.
“The second amendment gives the individual citizen a means of protection against the despotism of the state. Look what it refers to: “The security of a free state.” The word “free” should be underlined because that is what they are talking about and that is what the Constitution is about–a free nation and a free people, where the rights of the individual are preeminent. The founding fathers had seen, as the Declaration of Independence tells us, what a despotic government can do to its own people. Indeed, every American should read the Declaration of Independence before he reads the Constitution, and he will see that the Constitution aims at preventing a recurrence of the way George III’s government treated the colonies.”
— President Ronald Reagan
