Veterans Day 2009


November 11 has always had special meaning to me over the years for the un-selfless sacrifice given by our men and women in the military.

This year is no exception but with added meaning this year as my daughter Kelly is serving in Iraq right now with her fellow troops and friends.



This is Kelly in the cockpit of the C-130 that took her into Iraq.  She rode in a jump seat behind the pilots with one of her other troop.



 
She has always liked the beach and lives in Fort Walton Beach, Florida with her husband and young son when not on tour.  She has plenty of sand now but not exactly what she is used too.


A group of friends I know had another reunion concert recently in North Carolina and from that came one of their songs that has always been one of my favorites.

It is a variation on the American Trilogy that Elvis did so many years ago from which the guys with Cullowhee added to give it more impact especially to those of us from the South.  Mike Clark does the lead singing, while Thom Jenkins plays the haunting harmonica as Terry Edwards gives the speech after the surrender of the Confederate Army by General Robert E. Lee to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia in 1865.

With his army surrounded, his men weak and exhausted, Robert E. Lee realized there was little choice but to consider the surrender of his Army to General Grant.  After a series of notes between the two leaders, they agreed to meet on April 9, 1865, at the house of Wilmer McLean in the village of Appomattox Courthouse.  The meeting lasted approximately two and one-half hours and at its conclusion the bloodiest conflict in the nation's history neared its end.

After the surrender to Grant, General Lee gathered around his troops and gave a speech thanking them for their sacrifice and their devotion to him and Terry over the years has given this speech many times always with the same effect for many of us both veteran and civilian alike.



Thanks Terry and Cullowhee for our continued reminder of what many have given over the years . . . that last full measure.

Thanks to our military personnel both overseas and at home as there is danger and sacrifice on both fronts.  Thanks to you and your families . . . to those in support of our men and women all over the world.

Take a few moments and remember what principles founded this country . . .

“In God We Trust”

We seemed to have moved away from those principles and slowly we are losing focus on what has kept us a great Nation.

Ice

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