Memorial Day

The cost of liberty is less than the cost of repression.
--WEB Dubois

Hip Hop Republicans.com would like to extend a happy Memorial Day;
to all who read our blog!
Let us never forget the fight for freedom
in Iraq, we must stay and finish the misson.


George S. Patton said, "War is Hell." He was right. War is Hell. But
war is also something else... although war is best understood by those
who served in war, war has also been served very well and sacrificed,
always with enormous pain, by those who didn't serve in war. Americans
who served to support those of us who were 'Over There' are as much a
part of our wartime memory because they worked to provide us the
motivation and materiel we needed to get the job done that needed
doing. No matter our politics, our religion, our race or color... on
Memorial Day we Americans become one.


Memorial Day is our one day in three hundred and sixty-five that we
take a twenty-four hour moment out of our daily and routine lives to
think about every individual American... going back to 1492... who
gave his or her life so that you and I would be here today enjoying
the freedom we have to live as men and women pursuing our daily wants.
I suppose that is why I enlisted to serve. I suppose that's why some
of you did the same.


That is why it is so very, very important that on each Memorial Day we
remember the pals who didn't make it home. As survivors of war we live
for the men and women left behind. That is why we don't have time for
hate. We don't have time for alcohol and drugs. We don't have time for
divisiveness. We only have time to make sure that every American boy
or girl who may one day be called upon to help free someone else... or
keep us free... gets all the help we can give them through our unity
and collective support.


When we fight for veterans benefits we fight to make sure that our
veterans our healthy so that they can preserve the memory of the kids
left behind on battlefields our kids aren't taught about. When we
fight to make sure every American veteran can openly speak his or her
mind without censureship we ensure that the democracy our brothers and
sisters died for is a continuing war that will, as all American wars
have done, make Democracy the only option of final resort. When we
fight for the equality of one veteran we fight for the equality of all
veterans who need, deserve and have earned the highest respect and
dignity of any living person in America. No President, no Senator, no
doctor, no farmer, no one has done more for America and international
freedom than the single, dog-faced American soldier, sailor, Marine or
airperson who served for pennies a day at supreme risk of limb or
life.


Yes, there are a lot of Americans who enjoy Memorial Day as a great
day off. But for those of us who served in America's longest war...
and those of you who served in other wars, or served in uniform to
support us overseas... Memorial Day is Every Day.


My greatest wish on every Memorial Day is that our wonderful country,
The United States of America, one day becomes Memorialized as the
oldest way of life in human history. I suppose that means we have a
long way to go if we want to beat the ancient Romans, Greeks and those
other guys who lasted long only because they never faced the kinds of
tremendous challenges the kids of America had to face in battle. But,
as we used to say in 'Nam... "No big deal... Can do!"


To you and yours, and to all... hats off to every American who
served... and to you guys and gals Up There who gave your life so that
future generations of Americans could live in Freedom... Freedom is a
wonderful thing. May we always raise freedom loving children for you
who couldn't.


Thanks for your Memories,
Always,
Phill


Phill Coleman
Senior Librarian, The American War Library


-- Brooke Rowe
Vietnam War Correspondent


Mr. Coleman's website is at URL:
http://members.aol.com/warlib/pcole.htm