On This Memorial Day Weekend

"I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did. We mourn for them as comrades who have departed, but we feel the glory of their dying and the glory of their achievement covers all our great country, and has set them in an imperishable roll of honor." — President Benjamin Harrison, May 30th, 1891

On this Memorial Day weekend, remember the fallen and thank those who have served or are still serving - it's the least that we, as a grateful nation, can do.

What America Means to Me - An Essay

Awhile back I mentioned that the company I work at was having an essay contest on "What America Means to Me" and I asked my readers what America meant to them to see if I could find some inspiration as I wasn't sure in what direction I wanted the essay to go. People left a lot of good responses that helped me to finally write the post below that I submitted for my entry.

I'm not a historian but if given the chance to become one rather than a dispatcher, I'm sure I would jump at it. When the question is asked, "What does America mean to you?" my thoughts invariably go to the history of this great country of ours. Compared to other countries, we are still but a babe in the woods at 232 years old but in that time the United States of America has grown from a fledgling upstart nation of only 13 colonies who dared to defy the most powerful king in the world to a country made up of 50 states and 6 major territories throughout the world who bow before no king.

When the Second Continental Congress of the United States convened in Philadelphia in May of 1775, following the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, the 56 delegates from the 13 colonies were charged with the task of directing the nation in its goal to become an independent country free from the rule of the British Empire. It was a daunting task that no doubt seemed impossible given the power and wealth of England but the Declaration of Independence was drafted and signed, a Continental Army was formed, and a patriotic fire burned in the hearts of thousands. In spite of the overwhelming odds and the loss of 25,700 patriot lives, America emerged a free nation dedicated to the proposition "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."

Still, happy endings don't come easy and from 1861 to 1865, our country fought its biggest battle on our own native soil with 623,026 American lives lost in the War Between the States. Even though it is popularly believed that the war was fought over the question of slavery, the real issue was States' rights versus the preservation of the Union. America has always been a nation filled with men with strong ideas and beliefs when it comes to independence and individual rights and having fought the British - not once but twice - to maintain that freedom, it became imperative to keep the nation united as one and not split into two separate countries.

In his first inaugural address on March 4th, 1861 the newly elected President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, implored "We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

Eventually those better angels persevered and the war ended but not before profoundly changing our country forever. What began as a bitter dispute over Union and States' Rights, ended as a struggle over the meaning of freedom in America. One needs only to step onto the hallowed grounds of one of the great battlefields like Gettysburg or Antietam or Shiloh to understand how important that freedom was to both sides. That the United States of America stayed as one country and eventually became the most powerful nation in the world is a testament to those men who fought and died for what they believed in.

These days it's way too easy for people to complain about America, especially those of us who live here, but it's still the country that more immigrants want to call home than any other. Yes we have problems with health insurance, yes our gas prices have gotten out of hand (though not as badly as the rest of the world it seems), yes we have political turmoil and our fare share of strife but we're still a republic that was founded on individual freedoms and rights and we have the right to complain about all of those things without fear of being thrown in prison. We have the right to not only want a better life but to pursue it; we have the right to question our leaders and replace them with better ones; we have the right to reach for the ideal, maybe fall short, and find another way to achieve it. We have more rights than most citizens of most other countries and yet we take those rights for granted and fail to appreciate them and the brave men and women who have died protecting those rights.

In spite of the troubles facing our country I am proud to be an American and a patriot. Maybe this country isn't perfect and maybe we don't always see eye-to-eye but when disaster strikes - as it all too often does - we forget all that and rally around the flag and become that "one Nation under God" that our forefathers dreamed of and fought for. I just wish that more people would remember that without having to have two towers fall and thousands of lives be lost but I, for one, still love this country and all that it stands for. We may not be perfect as a country but if you knock us down, we'll get back up again and be stronger for the experience. That's what America means to me.

A big thank you to all of you who gave me your input on what America means to you - it really helped in shaping this essay and getting me inspired. I don't know if I actually won or not but it certainly gave me the chance to climb up on my patriotic soapbox and spout off a little bit. Plus I got to work in a tiny bit of history and for me that's always a plus even though it tends to bore a lot of people to tears.

*The flag picture above was taken here in Norwich on a beautiful June day not too long ago. I knew it would come in handy at some point!

What America Means to Me

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For as long as I can remember I have been a patriot. I was raised as an "Air Force brat" for the first 16 years of my life moving from state to state and base to base while my father, a patriot himself, proudly served his country as an aircraft mechanic. He was barely seventeen-years old when he enlisted and was sent to Korea on a troop ship to begin what would become a 20+ year career. Many times during those years my mother was left home alone to raise four kids Stateside while Dad got sent to one remote duty location after another but never once - not even while reading letters written in my Dad's shaky script while sitting out a raid in a bomb shelter at Danang Air Force Base in Vietnam - did my Mom ever say that she wanted my father to get out of the military. Never once did she complain about the nomadic life that we lived or the lousy pay that Dad got; never once did she curse the Air Force or the government that sent my father into a senseless war and left her home alone to worry and wait. She could have but she didn't; instead she supported my father in every way possible. She was a patriot, too.

Having two patriots for parents and growing up on Air Force bases and in military communities it's no wonder that I became a patriot also. At 1800 hours every evening traffic would stop all over the base while "Taps" was played and the flag was lowered; every Fourth of July there were fireworks and celebrations for our country's independence; at the base theater the "Star-Spangled Banner" was played and everyone stood before every movie started; and every year there would be an Air Show with all manner of planes on display as well as spectacular aerial shows by the Air Force Thunderbirds. I was proud to be a part of the military and I was proud of my father for his part in it; proud enough, in fact, that I followed in his footsteps and joined the Air Force myself arriving in boot camp just three short days after my high school graduation - only seventeen-years old just like my father before me.

Even though I have been away from military life for a long time, to this day I still choke up at the playing of our National Anthem - whether it be at a ballgame or other sporting event, a memorial service, a concert, or even the end of a broadcast day on radio or TV. When attending a parade I get the same feeling and can't talk around the lump in my throat while watching the Honor Guard march by. I have even been known to shed a tear while watching fireworks displays on the 4th of July - please don't ask me to speak to you during the finale because I can't! I am proud to be an American and that pride has never faltered even though I don't agree with the direction things in this country are currently heading.

It has become standard operating procedure to insult our Government and those insults come not only from the "common people" but from those politicians we have elected to represent us. The very men and women that we have voted into office to speak for us in Congress or the Senate cannot seem to show a united front and that causes everyone else to be at odds with each other. While politicians jockey for position and undercut each other in their quest for the Presidential prize or to align themselves with the "popular side of the room", they send out a mixed message to the rest of the world; a message that does not show solidarity to those who watch and wait to destroy the country that many patriots like my father have fought for and died for these past 231 years. I know, though, that in spite of the arguing and disagreements the solidarity that we seem to be so sorely lacking does exist as I've seen it in action.

On September 11, 2001 I watched in horror with the rest of the Nation while the Twin Towers in New York City were taken down by foreign terrorist actions. I stood in shock in front of my television set while the news media told of an additional attack upon the Pentagon and of a plane that went down in a remote field in Pennsylvania rather than into its intended target because its heroic passengers and crew chose to fight back against their hijackers. I cried as reports of the deaths of the brave men and women who rushed into those towers to save others were reported and I cried even more as the horrific death toll rose higher and higher. I was shocked and appalled and dismayed that such destruction could be visited upon one man by another.

However when the smoke cleared and the country came together in a surge of National pride and brotherhood I was more than proud to be an American. I didn't have to run out and buy an American flag to hang out as I already owned one but I was happy - no ... thrilled - to see so many other flags now flying from cars, from houses, from office buildings, from every possible place. The words "let freedom ring" never sounded sweeter because they were spoken by people who truly meant them and who treasured that freedom and the men and women who fought and died for it as much as I did. The world had temporarily tipped on its axis but America was standing strong and proud and nothing or no one was going to knock us down.

The memories of those dark days following 9/11 define what America truly means to me. We are a Nation whose people have the Freedom of Speech; the freedom to question and criticize our government, the freedom to ask "why?" and expect an honest answer, the freedom to enter into intelligent debate without fear of governmental reprisal, and the freedom to say "I disagree with you but I respect your different opinion as you should respect mine". We are a Nation that seems to be at odds with not only ourselves but with the rest of the world, however we are also a Nation who will pull together and defend our country like a mother bear defends her cubs if the situation warrants it. We are "free to be" and that's what America means to me.

Staff Sgt & Mrs. Kendall B. Orlomoski & family
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona 1965

Note: This post was originally written as an entry for an essay contest on "What America Means to Me".

Happy Fourth of July!

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