A Word From Jack Tobin, National President Of The Special Forces Association
Tomorrow June 14th, is not only Flag Day, but also celebrates the 238 Birthday of the US Army. As has become custom, below are my feeble attempts to verbalize tributes to each of these occasions.
The Star Spangled Banner
When I stand at attention, salute the flag and hear the "Star Spangled Banner" I can see the "rockets red glare", the rugged determination of that little group of soldiers at Ft McHenry who refused to surrender. As the flag flies unfurled I can visualize the men on Bataan, who would check every morning to see if the flag on the Rock was still there, and the empty feeling as they started the Death March when it was gone.
My step father, a retired Marine, said that when he saw that flag raised on Iwo it was like a jolt of electricity (he saw the second raising, not the first), he could hear National Anthem in his mind. I can remember returning from a operation, arriving at Nha Trang AFB at 1800, as we were sorting out the 'Yards, and trying to get them on the trucks, they played the Star Spangled Banner, and four very dirty, smelly Americans in ripped uniforms stood there with tears streaming down their dirty faces, saluted the flag.
As we Americans do not swear allegiance to a President, a King, or a Parliament, but to a document that provides the basis for our Freedoms, our Constitution. The flag represents that document and the spirit of the men that wrote those immortal words, The flag is a banner that symbolizes what this country was built on, the white stripes of truth, the red stripes for our patriot?s blood, the blue of our free skies, the stars representing the states of our republic, e pluribus Unum, "from many, one." Today, many people wonder each morning if ?our flag is still there" but regardless of any actions taken by those who want to destroy the nation and principles it represents, by each "dawn's early light" it is still proudly waving, an inspiration to all who refuse to let the dream die.
Army Day
Soon I will be going home to PA to see family, and on my way out, real early in the morning, I will stop by Valley Forge stand in front of the chapel and watch the sun rise. While many claim the US Army was founded 238 years ago, with the actions at Lexington and Concord, I maintain the US Army was forged during that terrible winter at Valley Forge.
I have walked and stayed on many battlefields, but at Valley Forge where no shot was fired in anger, one tall determined Virginian, a group of talented amateurs and a ragtag bunch of men who realized that Freedom and Liberty were not just words, but were principles worth dying for, and even more important, worth living for. While they suffered near starvation and deprivation for their dream, two German expatriates, DeKalb and Von Steuben drilled them unmercifully converting a rabble into what became the Army of the United States.
By this time the "Summer Soldiers and Sunshine Patriots" were gone, the men left had pledged their "lives, liberty and sacred Honor" to be free. Honor, a unique concept, it will bring you neither wealth, fame, nor comfort, but rather can bring the opposite, many who will not abandon principles and just go along are those who are attacked and reviled by politicians, press and peers, to whom power is not responsibility, but a narcotic. Many of these men lost their homes and families, but continued for they yearned to be free of an oppressive government.
Over the last two centuries, Americans have gone into battle with cries of "Remember the Alamo", "Remember the Maine", "Remember Pearl Harbor", maybe in the battle today for the soul of America, our battle cry should be "Remember Valley Forge" where men quietly starved to death, or slipped into the final frozen sleep rather than abandon the cause of freedom.
I believe Jack has stated what many of us feel. Happy Birthday to all that have worn the uniform.
De Oppresso Liber
