Independence Day
Let Freedom Ring!!!!
Early this morning, I sat on front porch with my car counting friend, my Grandson, Logan. As we sit back early in the mornings and hear the cars from afar and we both look to see what is going to pass by in front of us. I am personally training him to be a good Army Scout. I think he has potential.
As we embrace the morning, I ponder the importance of this thing we call Independence Day. The day we celebrate being Americans. I question whether this should be reserved for just this one day or probably more importantly this should be celebrated every single day. Since we have the luxury of following the Constitution and not a King or anyone else, you know we do not need permission for living a life as we see fit and pursuing happiness as long it falls in line with the laws established. Yes, it means I will BBQ and not ask anyone for permission, ever!
Let me tell some observations about how great our country is. First as a student of history, many young people fought for our Independence from England. These people who were generally young were from all races and many different countries.
Great men like Baron von Stuben, the Prussian military officer who instilled discipline in our young Army. He wrote the “Blue Book” which was officially called “Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States.” This book was the foundation for all of our Drill and Ceremonies. Casimir Pulaski who was born in Poland and did not speak English fought in the American Revolution and would become the “Father of the American Cavalry.” The Marquis de Lafayette from France who was just barely 20 years of age. I have referred to him as Washington’s “bull in the China shop.” The dude was badass. He was known as “the hero of two worlds.” Bernardo de Galvez who served with Spain. Galvez was responsible for bottling up the British Navy, in Florida. He also allowed the Continentals to ship things up the Mississippi so we would have resources, got to love logistics. Salem Poor who was a slave from Massachusetts and became an American hero. He fought in Saratoga, Monmouth and the Battle of Bunker Hill. It is said, “he was a brave and gallant soldier that behaved like an experienced officer.” Each of these brave men, played an integral role in our early success as a nation.
The American Revolution was just our start as a nation. We would go on to endure hardships as well as greatness. Fighting brother against brother, almost splitting our country into in order to ensure equality would prevail in our nation. Later we would face two World Wars. Both times, our presence was vital to the outcome we know today. Think about this, prior to WWII we were considered the 16 thstrongest nation in the war. We left WWII victors and also the strongest nation in the world. Our nation history is littered with greatness as well as some dark times but as a nation we have always prevailed.
I sit back and think of the time I was in Desert Shield preparing for Desert Storm. Our vehicles were parked outside of an area that exchanged money and you could buy local products from Saudi Arabia. While there I was parked next to some Egyptian vehicles. One of the Egyptian Soldiers came to me, and we exchanged some money, shook each other’s hands and did our pleasantries. As we both walked away, he turned around and said, “hey American.” I turned and looked, and he said while gesturing the numbers with his fingers, “America number one, Egypt number two.” Doing this with a smile and all sincerity. I remember thinking to myself I would never tell another person or someone from a different country that America was number two. That is the cloud we had in the world and that is before we kicked the Iraqi’s butt and showed the world how quickly we can execute a tank battle.
Later in my military career, I was in Bosnia. It was Thanksgiving and the US Army always feeds us well on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. So, my team marched up the bottom of the hill with heavy snow to link up at the top of the hill at the chow hall. Well, several other nationalities armies arrived hearing of the good meal. There was not enough room for us inside, so we ate outside on some picnic tables, the snow was steadily falling as we were eating. A table next to us, there were several Russian Soldiers, you know our old adversaries and a French Soldier. None of my team spoke Russian or French and none of the Russians spoke English but the French Soldier did speak English and Russian, so he translated. The Russians were asking why are we always showing out? We asked the Frenchman, “what do they mean by this?” He then stated, “well you know we were showing up and you all put on your helmets and body armor especially for us.” I was sort of stunned by this. I replied, “no, we are all issued this and we always where this when we move.” They could not believe that. I remember the pride I had of being an American right then. Right then I realized I was extremely fortunate to be an American because not all countries treat their military the same way. A few years later I returned to Bosnia, and Russia was at the point of not paying their troops anymore. I witnessed a Russian high-ranking officer trading his over coat for a pair of our boots to keep warm. His shoes he had you could see through them. This would not be acceptable in any way in our Army.
I have had the luxury working with many other forces from countries like Germany, England, Australia, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Afghanistan, Iraq, France, Sweden, Czech Republic, Liberia and the list goes on and on. Unequivocally that there is no country that even compares to America. That is not boasting, that is just fact.
My time in Liberia, I witnessed a local young man riding on the back of a motorcycle as the motorcycle circles us alongside the road just so he can tell me this. “I want to be like you, how do I get to America?” He was serious as can be. When the young man from Liberia said that, a Sergeant Major that worked for me that was originally from Nigeria, which is a couple countries over from Liberia but in the same region of the world clarified things. The Sergeant Major informed me, “CSM, many of these people see America as the true hope and they want to go there.”
While in Liberia I had to go to Senegal from time to time. In the country of Senegal which is the most western point of Africa. In Dakar, the capital city is a statue that is huge it is called The African Renaissance Monument. The statue which is enormous has a man holding a child in his left arm about head level and the child is pointing west, while a woman is in his right had as a partner with her right hand either letting go of where she came from or clinging to where she is. Some locals explained that she was clinging on to Africa while the child was pointing to New York where there is hope. Now think of that, this is coming from the local people there.
What is unique in all this is I just discussed actions of people. I didn’t go into details of poverty, war, etc. I simply gave examples of how our country is seen through the eyes of people that do not live in America. I could write another 10 pages on this, but you would probably get bored with that.
I am fortunate to live in a country that values freedom. A country where I can marry who I want, that is not always the case. A country where I can live how I want, in other countries that is definitely not the case. I am fortunate to have served our nation in the military where our country has always ensured we were properly outfitted for combat, that does not happen in other countries.
We as Americans may have our rough spots but the world does not have anything better than this shiny object of hope called The United States of America. That is a fact. From experience as a Soldier, you can see in people’s eyes the hope we as Americans bring when we arrive. I do not ever hear anyone discussing hope when any other country arrives. Hmmmmmmm!!!!!
So, Independence Day for me, is not all about just how we see it in America. It is important for the entire globe. For we are the beacon of freedom!!!!! I am grateful that my Grandson lives in a country as great as America!!!!!!
This is my Friday’s Thought to Ponder for the Weekend!!!!!
The Vet.
Originally published at https://shop.thecoachandthevet.com on July 1, 2021.
