Swain Country
- continued

6. Military

STAFF SERGEANT HOWARD MARTIN JONES
WORLD WAR II HERO

Howard Martin Jones
Benton, Illinois
American Hero of World War II

Howard graduated from Benton High School in June, 1941. His yearbook quote his Senior year was: "I am a woman's man." During his Senior year he was in Hi-Y. In his Junior year, Howard was elected President of the Junior Class, having served as Vice-President of his Sophomore Class. Howard was a Cheer-Leader during all four years of high school. In his Freshman year, he was in the Hi-Y play. Additionally, he was voted Best Dancer and the school editors (Sara Beth Thomas and Robert Hill [a retired Circuit Judge in Franklin County and the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Illinois] noted that in the future 20 years, the following description would probably apply to Howard: "Howard Jones is (will be) a typical hen-pecked husband."

It was not long thereafter that he volunteered as an Infantryman with the United States Army.

Howard [in the above photo, Howard is first on the left, third row] was in the 28th Infantry Division, 112th Regiment. The Division's nickname was the "Keystone Division", named for its state of origin, Pennsylvania. The 28th Infantry Divsion is the Oldest Divsion in the in the Armed Forces of the United States, elements tracing back to 1747, when Benjamin Franklin organized his battalion of "Associators" in Philadelphia. During the War of 1812, The Mexican War and the Civil War, units fought victoriously at Vera Cruz and Cero Gordo. Units of the Pennsylvania Miltia won 29 battle streamers during these wars. The Division mustered into Federal service in 1898 for the Spanish American War. Elements saw action in Puerto Rico and the Philippines.The Germans called it the "Bloody Bucket" Division. www.indianamilitary.org

Not long after D-Day, and his 22nd birthday, Howard was in combat near St. Lo and Falaise, France fighting the Nazis as they tried to break-out and escape from the hedgerow fighting in the Normandy and Brittany portions of Western France which borders the English Channel. The action was known as the "Falaise Pocket" and involved hard vicious very personal in-close combat, that only an Infantryman really knows. And, on August 12, 1944, while leading his men in combat, 22 year old Howard Jones was killed in action by small arms fire from the Nazis.

In the Registry for the World War II Memorial www.wwiimemorial.com the following description is given of Howard's heroic activity during World War II:

"He was a Staff Sergeant with Company H, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, United States Army. He was killed August 12, 1944 while successfully leading his machine gun platoon against heavy German resistance on Hill 338, Normandy, France. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star for Valor and Combat Infantryman Badge. He was also honored by his Company Commander, Captain Charles L. Crain."

Today, the youthful 22 year old Howard Jones, possessing a Combat Infantryman's Badge, Bronze Star and Purple Heart, is buried in a grave (Plot D Row 14 Grave 9), together with 4,907 American youths at the The Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial (marking the point where the American forces made their famous breakthrough from the hedgerow country of Normandy into the plains of Brittany during their offensive around Avranches) one-mile southeast of the village of St. James, Manche, France, 15 miles southeast of Mont St. Michel, in a grave with a majestic 4' tall white marble cross standing in eternal vigilance and respect for the supreme sacrifice given so that the citizens of America, and its Allies, could remain free from Axis domination. Nearby, the American Cemetery at Normandy is home to another 10,944 Americans who paid the ultimate price for the rest of us. www.abmc.gov

The parents of Howard Jones, following his tragic death at such a young age, received from his commanding officer, Captain Charles L. Crain, Company Commander of Company H, the following letter:

"I am writing you in reply to your letter dated September 9, 1944, concerning your son, S/Sgt. Howard Jones.
I regret the fact that I am unable to give you the information that you wish at this time due to government regulations and censorships. I am fully aware of the incidents of this case and I hope in the very near future I can write you the full details.
I have had the pleasure of serving with S/Sgt. Jones since October, 1942, therefore I am capable of telling you that we have never had a better soldier. He has served well as a Non-Commissioned Officer and at the time of his departure was serving in the capacity of a First Lieutenant. Sgt. Jones received a citation in August. You will receive this in the near future I am sure.
I feel that the loss of this brave lad to us is second only to you and the family. We will never be able to replace him in our hearts or our ranks. He died leading and encouraging the men to whom he was responsible. A truly brave boy.
Time for writing is indeed limited for me, but I assure you if and when I am able I will try and give you the full details. My wish is to see the families of all my boys after the war but of course that would be unlikely. They are all a fine lot. They are getting good clothes and plenty to eat and the best medical care that is possible under the circumstances. I hope we are giving them the leadership they deserve.
If at any time you would like to write me I would appreciate it. I will do my best to answer your questions. In behalf of the Company I send our deepest sympathies. I hope this will help you a bit. Please give my sympathy to Miss Frailey of whom Sgt. Jones spoke so often.

Sincerely,
CHARLES L. CRAIN."

[Note: Captain Crain remained in the U.S. Army, acquiring a distinguished and honorable record of service to America, and retired as a Colonel, having served in combat commands in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He currently resides in North Carolina.On March 1, 2005, Colonel Crain published his book: "Stories from Three Wars: One Soldier's Memories" by Charles L. Crain, Colonel Infantry, United States Army. For more information go to: www.soldiermemories.com.]

(b) Vietnam Video & Reminiscences

Through Army ROTC at the University of Illinois (Champaign, IL), I was commissioned in June, 1961 as a proud 2nd Lieutenant, Infantry branch (one of the 3 combat arms branches:Infantry, Armor, Artillery - I was a Distinguished Military Graduate, which qualified me to receive a Regular Army Commission, but since an additional 1 year committment would be required, I chose to stick with a Reserve Commission). I still remember Lt.Col.Hooper instructing us that the two important rules in the Army are: No excuses, and, don't assume anything. And, Capt. Burns told us how in Korea they sighted a .50 caliber machine gun, with one round, on a spot where a pesky enemy would regularly appear. Receiving a delay to complete law school at the University of Illinois, College of Law (Champaign, IL), I was permitted to take the bar examination and was sworn in as a lawyer in Illinois on October 15, 1963(Note: Initially I applied for and was accepted in Naval ROTC at the U of I, since my plan was to be a Marine fighter pilot,a Marine Raider [my hero was Sgt John Stryker in "Sands of Iwo Jima", my favorite movie] or Navy UDT, but backed out when I learned that NROTC would only give me a 1 year delay in going on active duty following commissioning, and I needed more time to complete law school. The Army was willing to give the extra time so I signed up with the Army, with a plan to join an elite unit such as the Paratroopers or Rangers). My initial orders assigned me to Civil Affairs at Fort McPherson, Georgia, which was quite natural and wise from the Army's standpoint for a lawyer, but which sounded sort of boring to gung ho me. Sometime during the Fall, 1963, I drove out to the Pentagon to ask to be assigned to an Airborne Division. The Infantry Captain (a "career advisor" who normally dealt with West Pointers and other careerist officers) chuckled, noting that only Fort Bragg (82nd) or Fort Campell (101st) had airborne divisions; but that since I was not even jump-qualified (I had made 8 skydiving jumps at Jacque Istell's Orange, Massachusetts facility in August, 1961, and later, 25 military jumps & qualified "jumpmaster", exiting from a total number of 10 types of aircraft and helicopters, namely Otter/Norseman(2), Cessna 172(6), C-119(3), C-123(2), C-124(2),C-130(6),HU-1B(4),HU-1D(1), H-34(1),CV-2(2)) he could not help me; but being a great Infantry officer said in parting that he would see what he could do to at least get me assigned to one of the forts (as a "leg" -not jump qualified), for which I was very grateful. On 2 December 1963 I reported to Fort Benning, Georgia for the Infantry Officers Basic Course. It was great fun and I enjoyed the camaraderie, the physical challenges,including the escape and evasion night course, etc. When they asked if anyone wanted to volunteer for Airborne and/or Ranger schools, I quickly signed up for both. What a great deal. It did not cost a penny and it sounded like fun; and of course, I had to become a paratrooper if I wanted to enjoy my ultimate assignment (somewhere along the line, I received orders to the [and,was privileged to meet 1st Lt. William Dubbs, later an Airborne Ranger with the 101st Airborne Division and in combat with the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam; and the heroic and highly decorated 1st Lt. Ted Jagosz, later to command a Company in combat in Vietnam in which he achieved phenomenal wins for his Infantry Division] Security Platoon at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Of course, both of those schools would probably not have been available to me (being filled) with my 2 year commitment, had it been in the summer when the West Pointers, and other career officers, had just graduated (as they would receive preferences for the slots, as they should have, since they were military careerists), and so, again, I lucked out. Ranger #8 (20 Feb to 23 April, 1964 - 44th Ranger Company) followed by Airborne School (class #37 - 45th Company - on 11 May 1964 - one of the old C-119s had some sort of mishap on the ground in which a flash of fire went into the plane killing two friends, Ranger classmate,1st Lt. Tom Sands, and 2nd Lt. Bill Vogel). Then to Ft. Campbell, where I reported to the Security Platoon. Its duty was to escort secret truck cargoes to and from Tennessee/Kentucky locations. While my top secret clearance was being processed, they would not even permit me to look in the back of the semi-trucks where the "cargo" was being carried!! By the way, I wrote the Pentagon Infantry Captain (his name now escapes me) a heart-felt thank you. Soon, I headed over to the Judge Advocates General's [and met some top-notch present and future lawyers: Col. Reid Kennedy; Maj. Hugh Overholt(later a Major General and Judge Advocate of the Army), Maj. Ross Goddard, Capt. Lew Conner (Nashville), Capt. George Gardner (Delaware),Capt. Frank Stone, and other fine officers and lawyers] building at Campbell; did some Special Court Martial defense work (having a ball representing enlisted men they were trying to drum out of the Army as misfits and so forth, and learning to cross-exam psychiatrists, investigate vehicle accidents, and so forth) etc. More importantly, I got to know a 101st lawyer-Major Goddard and told him I sure would like to get across "the tracks" and be with the 101st. Within 7 days, I had received orders to 3d Platoon, B Company, 2/502 Airborne Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (MOS: 71542). www.101stabndiv1stbrigade.com and www.screamingeagle.org. It was just great. That was in July, 1964, when the 1st Brigade was just returning from maneuvers in Iran under the command of Colonel Wolfe. I was honored to be a commander of troops (Captain Roe was our Company Commander for B Company), in the form of being an Infantry platoon leader, even though it was only for about 30 days!! I still remember the Mess Hall mural of Custer's Last Stand, with the C-119s disgorging paratroopers in the background coming to his defense![Note:Highly decorated Col.Tom Taylor (a West Point graduate and now a DC lawyer and best-selling author and son of Gen. Maxwell Taylor), a company commander of Company B in Vietnam, has observed with Company B's three (1 in WWII and 2 in Vietnam)Congressional Medal of Honor recipients, that no other Company in either the US Army or USMC has that many MOH recipients.] From there, I became S-1 at Battalion (Lt.Col.Wilfred K.G. Smith, commanding,and Major Joseph E. Hicks, Executive Officer, Sergeant Major Melvin Strawser - about as tough as they come, the 2/502 Sergeant Major) and in November, 1964, went to Brigade (Colonel James S. Timothy, commanding,West Point Class of 1942, DSC,Lieutenant Colonel Joseph B. Rogers, Executive Officer, West Point Class of 1946,Silver Star ("If you were born to hang, you are not going to drown." Lt.Col Joe Rogers to 1stLt Don Korman as their Marine H-19 was in auto rotation down into a rice paddy in Vietnam in 1965, after being shot by heavy caliber enemy antiaircraft guns.), and Sergeant Major Trinidad Prieto, Brigade Sergeant Major) as S-2 (Intelligence Officer)(S-1 - Captain David Pinson; S-3 - Major David H. Hackworth; S-4 - Major Herbert Dexter).After living on post at the BOQ, I moved off-post in a house with fellow lieutenants (they were West Point graduates, Class of 1964, and career U.S.Army)Ranger Phil Mock and Ranger Jerry Nakashima (and for a brief period Ted Yamashita) [both to later see considerable combat in VN; Phil [Colonel and possibly General later - Phil father was a 4 star - commanding the 5th Army] to teach at the Army War College, Carlisle, PA and Jerry to teach at the Univerity of Illinois]. My future wife, Avalyn Berry of Franklin, Tennessee, I met through my younger sister Cisty, who had traveled to Europe in the summer of 1964 with 12 girls from around the USA; and who (Avalyn) had extended an invitation to her (Cisty's) brother to call her if he (me) would like a good Southern home-cooked meal!! And, I did. Our first date was in mid-August, 1964. In the Spring, 1965 (LBJ sent Marines into Vietnam in March, 1965) the 1st Brigade was on maneuvers in Western Tennessee, which were abruptly terminated and the Brigade was called back to Ft. Campbell and told to get ready to go to Vietnam!! Wow, this is great. That is what I like about these guys in the Airborne, all were action packed and always raring to go tangle it up type people.Everyone wanted to go and see combat (a VMI grad (Ranger Bob Miller), fellow Lt. wanted to win a Silver Star and Purple Heart for his resume; but once in VN was not so anxious, although he performed heroically in doing his job calling in air strikes, etc; he might have even gotten those decorations, but I do not know).We had to qualify at the range and I qualified Expert with my ivory-handled Model 1911 .45 caliber (Remington Rand) automatic, which I had purchased through the mail when I was a teenager for $35 [Note: in Vietnam, I wrapped the grips in green tape so that I would not be a "trophy target"; but in the field carried an M-16, leaving the .45 back at headquarters at An Khe]. The 2nd and 3rd Brigades were disappointed that they were not going. Anyway, our June 25th marriage was moved up to May 9th (I made a jump on Saturday, the 8th); with the short honeymoon in beautiful Gatlingburg, TN.

The 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Separate) was commanded by Colonel [later Brigadier General] James Simmons Timothy, a laid-back West Pointer and WWII hero, having won the second highest medal for heroism in battle, the Distinguished Service Cross, a Master Parachustist [i.e. "master-blaster", at least 65 jumps]and a charismatic and able troop leader in Vietnam; whose 1st Brigade which was constantly moving from one hot spot to another was sometimes knows as "Timothy's Traveling Trouble." I became assistant S-2 (to the legendary WWII Marine, Korean War hero [see below], Special Forces/SOG Laos/Vietnam vet Major (later, Lt.Col.) Joe Hicks, formerly XO, 2/502). The very capable friendly giant E-8 (later, Sgt. Major) L.C. Pennycuff and sharp E-7 (later, Ranger-OCS-Captain-Ranger Instructor at Fort Benning, GA) Ike Ikner kept everything on track and shipshape. L.C. was a combat infantryman veteran of the Korean War and both L.C. and Ike were combat infantryman veterans of the Vietnam War. Two very fine and extremely capable Americans.

[Note: With the 50th Anniversary of the commencement of the Korean War (June 1950-June 2000) and some interesting articles in my VFW magazine about the "early days" of that war and Task Force Smith, I emailed Joe's son, Colonel Steve Hicks, an Airborne Ranger Infantry officer, to see if he could tell me where Joe was and the unit he was with. Steve graciously replied, in part stating: "Joe was a Lieutenant in I Company, 34th Regiment, 24th Infantry Division (based at Sasebo, Japan, I think). Basically the entire 24th Infantry Division was alerted and moved. Task Force Smith was the lead in the 24th Infantry Division. Joe was an infantry lieutenant who was both a platoon leader and the Training officer (as an additional duty) for the company. They did that because he had WWII experience. Said that his company rarely went to training and really did not have all the weapons and equipment that they needed. He knew the S3 and XO for TF Smith, who were from the other regiment (21st Regiment/24th Infantry Division). Joe actually followed TF Smith from Japan to Pusan, but not by long. They debarked at Pusan and then went forward by train. He told me that they picked up some heavy weapons when they reached Pusan. His platoon/company was positioned behind TF Smith on the right side of the road and that when they were hit he saw some of them that he recognized brought back along the road. He said that it was heavy fighting all the way as they fought back. Told me about his Regimental Commander was eventually relieved and court martialed, but he did not know the reason. .At some point later in the fight when Major General Dean was cut off in Taegon(?), Joe was part of an element that tried to fight back into the town to see if he was alive. They thought he had been killed...but when the war was over discovered Dean had been captured. You probably know that later he was defending forward of a riverline with his platoon. His company commander was "called to Battalion level" and handed him the radio and told him that he was in charge of the company. Companies that were on his right and left pulled back without orders, leaving the company hanging out and unaware that the others had pulled back. Many in his platoons died. Joe spent 69days cut-off behind enemy lines before making it back. That's enough of that. More than you wanted to know..."].

The video (a copy of the 8mm film spliced together) starts at 1st Brigade, Fort Campbell, KY (in the parking lot to the rear of Hqs); to Oakland, CA; Travis AFB; (via C-124's) Hawaii; Guam; Wake; Philippines (the splicing sequence is a little out of order, sorry) then Nha Thrang; 5th Special Forces HQ; Dong Ba Thin; Camh Rahn Bay; Nha Thrang ; South China Sea; Qui Nhon; Route 19; AnKhe; Route 19 (Task Force Hansen); Hill George W. Burkheart; Qui Nhon; Phan Rang; back to the World in mid November, 1965.

There was a Vietnamese saying about Vietnam concerning military strategy: "Whoever contols Highway 19 controls the Highlands, and whoever controls the Highlands controls Vietnam." It was no wonder that the 'Eastertide Offensive' in 1973, and the final offensive in 1975, struck at the heart of the Central Highlands.www.landscaper.net.

I have told many people the true stories of how older men helped me throughout my Army experience. The reason I do this is to let the young people know that older people would often be more than willing to help a young person reach a worthwhile goal. Just ask. I was fortunate in my Army experience to meet some truly unique and fine people.

I remember the legendary Major (later, Col.)David Hackworth www.hackworth.com could hardly wait to close with the VC. Hack was pure guts and action; he feared nothing and thirsted to close with the enemy so that he could kill them; he would do anything or perform any mission that he asked or ordered another person to do or accomplish; what an honor to serve with this living legend; I remember an operation being considered of a combat jump on an island in the South China Sea to release POWs where EVERYONE wanted to participate (never occurred); I remember being detailed to Saigon to pick up a slug of maps for an operation and when I returned it had been cancelled (I was in Saigon 5 hours; had my loaded .45 in my waistband under by jungle fatigues, remembering that my instructions were that should a bicycle-taxi driver cross "any river" to make him turn back); getting a hop back to Nha Thrang with Lt.Gen.Throckmorton (Deptuy CG to General William Westmorland) and his captain aide in a Beachcraft (I don't think the General said a thing to me, other than a polite initial hello, the whole way; actually not much conversation by anyone). I remember going on a med evac mission in one of the two escort Hueys and taking a few photos, one of which is on my office wall with the following: "The photograph was taken from one of two Huey "Frog" helicopter gunships which was escorting a medivac helicopter on a resuce mission which occurred in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam, generally in the vicinity of Route 19, in September, 1965. As the medivac was preparing to land near the smoke signal, the escorts flew opposite one another in a large circle, at varying altitudes, and provided suppressing fire with their machine guns and rockets as needed. The American pilots were able to maneuver the unwieldy-looking helicopters with grace, professionalism, and a skill beyond one's imagination." Amen. Incidently, a "Hog" carried only rockets, while a "Frog" carried machines guns, plus a few rockets.

I remember on a Route 19 operation on Burkheart Hill, under the command of the very capable and fearless Ranger-Captain [later Colonel] Henrik O. Lunde, in which his unit closed with the VC and captured their staging area on the jungle hilltop, but only after the VC had killed 1st Lt. George W. Burkheart, an Airborne Infantry officer (a courageous ex-football player, who was well respected by his men)of Murfreesboro, Tennessee; and the very deep feeling wanting to exact revenge and payback for what the enemy had done to our comrade in arms; Captain Lunde being one of Hack's operation and planning specialists who devised the ways in which to beat the enemy and accomplish the mission at hand.

In 2009, Colonel Henrik (Hank) Lunde was the author of a 590+ page book entitled: HITLER'S PRE-EMPTIVE WAR: The Battle for Norway, 1940. Havertown, PA, Casemate, 2009. From the jacket on the author: "Colonel HENRIK (Hank) LUNDE, US Army (ret.) was born in Norway and came to the US as a young boy following World War II. After graduation from the University of California, he accepted a US Army commission and remained on active duty until he retired in the 1980's. In addition to earning a degree in international relations from the University of Syracuse, he is a graduate of the Army's Airborne, Ranger, and Pathfinder courses as well as the Command and General Staff College and the US Army War College. Much of Colonel Lunde's troop assignments were in airborne divisions or in Special Forces. Highly decorated on the battlefield, he served three combat tours in Vietnam as commander or operations officer at all levels from company to brigade as well as operations advisor at corps level. He also served as chief of negotiations with the US delegation in Saigon charged with monitoring the 1973 Paris Peace Treaty. From 1976 to 1979 he served in the Plans and Policy Branch of Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. His last assignment in the Army was Director of National and International Security Studies at the US Army War College." I have read the fine book and am in the process of writing a book review for it for Amazon with the working title: "A Primer for the American War Colleges on the Conduct of Joint Operations."

I remember buying for $35 a very worn Thompson submachine gun from the Special Forces sergeant at 5th SF Hqs, because the new M-16's were an unknown item (I never fired the "tommy gun" and left it with L.C. when I left Vietnam. I knew that back in "The World", being fully automatic, it would be illegal, etc.Later, L.C. told me that he traded the tommy gun for a German P-38 9mm pistol, but someone then stole it!).I remember how the 5th Special Forces in Nha Trang served as the initial host for the 1st Brigade(S), 101st Airborne before we moved on to Cam Ranh Bay (maybe a week or so) and seeing and being impressed with the professionalism of the Special Forces troopers [WSJ:12.19.2003:"Two years ago this month, fewer than 100 men of the Army's 5th Special Forces Group, based out of Fort Campbell, Ky. -- almost all of them non-commissioned officers -- essentially took down the Taliban on their own. Along with a handful of Air Force Special Ops embeds, they succeeded where the British and the Soviets before them in Afganhanistan had failed, because they had been given no specific instructions. The bureaucratic layers between the U.S. forces and the secretary of defense were severed. They were told memerly to link up with the "indigs" (indigenous Northern Alliance and friendly Pushtun elements) and make it happen].

I remember, along with some Vietnamese Rangers, loading some M-16 magazines on the hood of a jeep by airstrip in Nha Thrang, when 3 Special Forces types come walking down the street [yes, well staggered and about 5 yards apart] heading for the hills, the famous Ranger-Major (later,Col. - Ranger Hall of Fame) Charlie Beckwith [later to found Delta Force (the U.S.Counter-Terrorist Unit) and lead the Iran failed hostage rescue mission] stopping by with a friendly hello to me.

I will never forget meeting [in 1967, I believe, at a 1st Brigade reunion at Ft. Benning, where Brig. Gen. Timothy was Assistant Commandant of The Infantry School]Lt. Col (later Lt.General) Henry "Gunfighter" Emerson, who had commanded the 2/502 as a Lt. Col. after I had rotated back to The World, who had made the mark in VN as a tenacious and daring combat leader, worshiped and admired by his men, who would have followed him into hell and beyond, inventor of the extremely successful and imitated "checkerboard" method of guerilla warfare (whose cousin is Dennis McLaughlin of Peoria, IL).

I remember the tough little Vietnamese intelligence/interrogator type who carried a .38 in his shoulder holster, who had never jumped; so he jumped with us from a Caribou at Ahe Khe, enjoying the experience.

I remember wanting to participate in Operation Gibraltar (one of the early helicopter assault operations) while on Route 19 with Task Force Hansen (which was part of the 1/327, of which Major Hansen was the XO), but concerned that to do so (it was not part of my job as S-1/S-2 at TFH) might get me into trouble (i.e. court-martialed, I imagined) , since I did not know the CO [Major Mark Hansen, later Colonel, and a decorated combat veteran in VN] as well as those superiors I had been with since Campell.

I remember being detailed to go to Quinhon to get beer and Shasta (at that time pretty rare and hard to get) for TFH troops, and finding a plentiful supply at the PX and a friendly and generous American lad from Whippany,NJ (Jim Auld, is an honorary member of the 101st Airborne Division and with whom I have remained in touch) who filled up our deuce and a halfs so that the thirsty and hard-working troops would have something cold to drink; and as we returned from the 30 to 40 mile trip I happened to "catch" our escort squad, led by a mean-looking buck sergeant with a bandana around his forehead, trying to take some cases for themselves; which I told them to stop, leaving he and I staring daggers at each other.

I remember Silver Star winner and Airborne Ranger Artillery officer, Ranger-1st Lt. Don Korman (OCS, Cleveland, OH), who was both fearless and smart (physics major), an artillery officer who had both a nose and a thirst for action. In early 1966, Gen. Westmoreland stated that "The 1st Brigade (101st Airborne) had the highest operational rate of any U.S. unit in Vietnam."

I remember those helicopter rides and those magnificent pilots who were so proficient and brave.

And, I remember my friends and acquaintances, and whose names/etchings from The Wall, I have on my law office wall which I look at every day,who gave their lives in Vietnam so that future Americans, as well as the rest of the world, could experience increased freedoms and avoid domination by Communist and Socialist governments:

Ranger- 1st Lt. George W. Burkheart, age 24,Murfreesboro, TN, 9.3.1965;

S/Sgt. George E. Burchett, age 36, Bloomington,IL, 9.18.1965;

Ranger- S/Sgt. Johnnie W. Faircloth, age 26, Cordele,GA, 9.18.1965, an Airborne Ranger Infantry Non Commissioned Officer, Silver Star (posthumously), with whom I was in Ranger School with and served with in B Company, 2/502 Airborne Infantry at Ft. Campbell; one of the finest and most capable soldiers ever sent into battle by America. His Silver Star Citation reads as follows:

FAIRCLOTH, JOHNNIE W. RA14608232 STAFF SERGEANT E-6 United States Army

Awarded: Silver Star (Posthumously)
Date action: 18 September 1965
Theater: Republic of Vietnam
Reason: For gallantry in action: Staff Sergeant Faircloth distinguished himself by heroic action on 18 September 1965 while serving as a rifle squad leader in an airborne infantry battalion on 2 heliborne search and destroy operations in the Republic of Vietnam. Almost immediately after landing, Sergeant Faircloth's element was pinned down by enemy small arms fire. The unit received instructions to move forth to link up with the main force approximately 800 meters away. With enemy sniper fire coming from the west, and knowing the small unit was completely surrounded by enemy forces, Sergeant Faircloth, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, led the first element of the unit north. After moving approximately 20 meters, the element came under a heavy volume of small arms and machine gun fire. Sergeant Faircloth was wounded and fell to the ground, signaling the other members of the element to return to the unit's positions. He refused to accept medical aid for himself knowing that it might result in another casualty. Sergeant Faircloth was wounded several more times by enemy machine gun fire and died on the battle field. His fearlessness and genuine concern for his subordinates in the face of his own peril was an inspiration to the entire unit. Staff Sergeant Faircloth's unimpeachable valor in close combat against numerically superior forces was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Authority: By direction of the President under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved 9 July 1918, and USARPAC Message 16300, dated 17 August 1965.

GENERAL ORDERS NUMBER 1537, Dated 9 November 1965, HEADQUARTERS, UNITED STATE ARMY VIETNAM, APO San Francisco 96307

FOR THE COMMANDER:

OFFICIAL: JOHN D. MCLAUGHLIN
Colonel, GS
Chief of Staff

Captain Robert E. Rawls, age 30, Royal Oak, MI, 9.18.1965 (a West Pointer, big football player type, well respected by his men and who he was leading in battle when he was killed on Operation Gibralter);

Major Herbert J. Dexter, age 33, Decatur, IL, 9.18.1965, a Distinguished Service Cross (posthumously) (next to Medal of Honor) recipient who was killed leading his men and attacking the enemy on Gibralter (Avalyn and I had the privilege of eating breakfast at the Offices' Club at Ft. Campbell on the morning we left for VN with Major Dexter; a fine officer who undoubtedly would have become a General)[Note: I happened to be in Decatur, IL on a legal deposition on 6.2.2003 and happened to drive by the "Maj. Herbert J. Dexter Army Reserve Center." I stopped and went inside and introduced myself as a friend and in the 101st with Major Dexter at both Ft. Campbell and in Vietnam. The sergeant was very polite and showed me the dedication plaque of 1974, noting that Major Dexter received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism. In addition, there is Dexter elementary school at Ft. Benning, Georgia named in his honor] ;

Captain Kirk I. Riley, age 26, Peoria, IL, 12.3.1965, United States Marine Corps, when his H-34 helicopter that he was piloting was shot down in VN,(backgound on H-34: parachute jumps were also made from the old Korean War vintage H-34 helicopter that the Marines used in Vietnam [Special Operations liked the H-34 because the pilot was up high for good visability of the LZ and more protected from ground small arms fire - very strong, durable helo] [my good friend, USMC Captain Kirk Riley, was piloting a H-34 when he was shot down and killed on 03 Dec 1965 - I imagine that Kirk flew special operations missions, possibly into Laos and Cambodia, although this is speculation] (Kirk and I were both in the Class of 57 at Peoria Central High School and we were both on the swimming team (freestyle - Kirk was faster!); and I almost hitched a ride up to visit him at Chu Li when I was in the Quinhon area, but regretfully did not get the job done; one of the finest Marines and friend a person could have; there is a Kirk Riley Swimming Award given annually in his honor to the top swimmer at Peoria Central High School);

Ranger- 1st Lt. Frankie Lee Wallace, age 25, Cherokee, AL, 2.4.1966, with whom I served with at Ft.Campbell; an able Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer in the tradition of fellow Southerner Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest.His Silver Star (posthumously) citation reads:

*FRANKIE LEE WALLACE
(Award of the Silver Star, posthumous, General Orders 3694, dated 12 June 1966 - Wallace, Frankie L. OF10237, Second Lieutenant Infantry, USA, Co. @ 2d Bn (Abn). 502d Inf. 1st Bde, 101st Abn Div, APO 96347 - Date Action: 4 February 1966 - Theater: Republic of Vietnam - Reason: For gallantry in action: Second Lieutenant Wallace distinguished himself on 4 February 1966 while leading a squad size patrol on a routine search of several villages in the Republic of Vietnam. At approximately 1430 hours as Second Lieutenant Wallace's squad approached a village, they were suddenly engaged by small arms and automatic weapons fire by an estimated Viet Cong squad. Exposing himself to the deadly insurgent fire, Second Lieutenant Wallace led an assault on the hostile positions. The assault was so aggressive that the Viet Cong were forced to withdraw. Second Lieutenant Wallace then led his patrol across an open rice paddy, skillfully executing fire and movement in pursuit of the insurgent force. The Viet Cong squad joined an estimated platoon size force who were well entrenched. Second Lieutenant Wallace directed effective artillery fire and air strikes on the hostile positions. When the supporting fires lifted, Second Lieutenant Wallace led his squad in an assault and was met by intense automatic weapons and mortar fire which forced him to withdraw. In the withdrawal, one fire team leader fell wounded.....Without hesitation, Second Lieutenant Wallace ran in to the open rice paddy to aid his wounded comrade and was wounded in the leg before he could reach him.Unmindful of his wound, Second Lieutenant Wallace got up and continued toward the wounded man. As he approached the stricken soldier, he killed two Viet Cong who were also attempting to reach the wounded man. Fully exposed to the intense Viet Cong fire concentrated on him, he aided the wounded soldier. Second Lieutenant Wallace was mortally wounded by hostile automatic weapons fire while assisting his wounded comrade to safety. Due to his courage, inspiring example, and his leadership, he was instrumental in saving the life of a fellow soldier and accounted for twenty-seven Viet Cong killed. Second Lieutenant Wallace's unimpeachable valor in close combat against a numerically superior hostile force was in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United State Army. Authority: By direction of the President under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved 9 July 1918. FOR THE COMMANDER: C.M. Mount, Jr., Brigadier General, US Army, Acting Chief of Staff.);

Congressional Medal of Honor (posthumously) recipient Ranger - 1st Lt. James A. Gardner, age 22, Dyersburg, TN, 2.7.1966, an Airborne Ranger Infantry officer, a fearless football player highly respected by his men and not afraid of anything, killed only after killing numerous VC and destroying the multiple objectives confronting his unit (at Task Force Hansen, Jim was the S-4 (logistics) while I was the S-1 (personnel), an Airborne Ranger Infantry Officer that his home state of Tennessee would have been proud of, and after whom a structure in his hometown has been dedicated;his citation reads:

*GARDNER, JAMES A.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: My Canh, Vietnam, 7 February 1966. Entered service at: Memphis, Tenn. Born: 7 February 1943, Dyersburg, Tenn. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Gardner's platoon was advancing to relieve a company of the 1st Battalion that had been pinned down for several hours by a numerically superior enemy force in the village of My Canh, Vietnam. The enemy occupied a series of strongly fortified bunker positions which were mutually supporting and expertly concealed. Approaches to the position were well covered by an integrated pattern of fire including automatic weapons, machine guns and mortars. Air strikes and artillery placed on the fortifications had little effect. 1st Lt. Gardner's platoon was to relieve the friendly company by encircling and destroying the enemy force. Even as it moved to begin the attack, the platoon was under heavy enemy fire. During the attack, the enemy fire intensified. Leading the assault and disregarding his own safety, 1st Lt. Gardner charged through a withering hail of fire across an open rice paddy. On reaching the first bunker he destroyed it with a grenade and without hesitation dashed to the second bunker and eliminated it by tossing a grenade inside. Then, crawling swiftly along the dike of a rice paddy, he reached the third bunker. Before he could arm a grenade, the enemy gunner leaped forth, firing at him. 1st Lt. Gardner instantly returned the fire and killed the enemy gunner at a distance of 6 feet. Following the seizure of the main enemy position, he reorganized the platoon to continue the attack. Advancing to the new assault position, the platoon was pinned down by an enemy machine gun emplaced in a fortified bunker. 1st Lt. Gardner immediately collected several grenades and charged the enemy position, firing his rifle as he advanced to neutralize the defenders. He dropped a grenade into the bunker and vaulted beyond. As the bunker blew up, he came under fire again. Rolling into a ditch to gain cover, he moved toward the new source of fire. Nearing the position, he leaped from the ditch and advanced with a grenade in one hand and firing his rifle with the other. He was gravely wounded just before he reached the bunker, but with a last valiant effort he staggered forward and destroyed the bunker, and its defenders with a grenade. Although he fell dead on the rim of the bunker, his extraordinary actions so inspired the men of his platoon that they resumed the attack and completely routed the enemy. 1st Lt. Gardner's conspicuous gallantry were in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army.

S/Sgt. Carlos Betancourt-Mojica, age 36, Jacksonville, NJ, 2.7.1966, one of the Cuban veterans from the Bay of Pigs operation that had volunteered for the American Airborne troops (I served at both Benning and Campell with Lt. Eduardo Fernandez, a heroic Cuban who also was a Bay of Pigs vet);

1st Lt. William D. Settlemire, age 23, Mt. Vernon, IL, 2.6.1966, a Vanderbilt grad, ROTC, awardee of the Silver Star (posthumously), and one of America's Best and Brightest, an example of a country's best young men being killed in wars (Avalyn and I attended his funeral in Mt. Vernon, watched the Army color guard, listened to the Battle Hymn of the Republic (aka "Blood On the Risers")and have since visited his grave at the cemetary in Southern Illinois)[Note: I received this email in late May, 2003 with respect to Bill: Mr. Swain:
I grew up in Mt. Vernon Illinois and a friend of Bill Settlemire from the age of about 4 on. We were running buddies all through high school and I often visited him at Vanderbilt University and we made side trips to Nashville to visit the Grand Ol Oprey. We frequently visited a friend of ours (Larry Trowbridge) at Ft. Campbell Kentucky, because we all wanted to be paratroopers and of course the 101st was the only unit to belong to. I went into the army in early 1963 and after "Jump School" went to Ft. Bragg for Special Forces Training. I was TDY for some training at Ft. Campbell in 1964 and busted Bill's balls for not really being Airborne just a wanna-be. I had a party at my parents house in Mt. Vernon prior to going to VN with the 5th SFG and remember telling Bill that he was going to miss all of the action.
Well unfortunately he did not miss the action. He was killed just before we were to meet in Nha Trang. Of all the people whom I knew that were KIA in the ten years that I spent in VN, his death is the one that haunts me still. A sidebar: his mother Jeanetta died in February in the town of Loveland Colorado, at the age of 86 or so. His sister Susan lives there with her husband who is a physician.
I just thought I would drop you a line after reading some things you had put on the web. You were right about the young men who served in Viet Nam being the "Best And The Brightest" William David Settlemire was one of the best and the brightest of those. Airborne!!! All The Way Sir!!!!!Sincerely:Dr. Douglas August Sapper III,Tulsa Oklahoma];

Ranger-Captain George E. Perry, III, age 25, Falls Church, VA, a West Pointer, well respected by his comrades, and tragically killed just prior to the completion of his 1 year tour of duty;

Ranger- Captain William T. Deuel, age 27, Springfield, IL, 9.30.1966,an Airborne Ranger Infantry officer, another sharp West Pointer who could have been a CEO of any company in America and who I remember giving me diving pointers at the Officers' Club pool at Campbell long long ago; I am told Captain Deuel's death occurred when they were returning from an operation and in their Hueys at altitude and some VC shot into it and hit him; Thanks in early 2007 to Ranger C. Steve Jaeger and Ranger Mick Rosenberg, UNITED STATES ARMY RANGER ASSOCIATION members and leaders, Bill's United States Military Academy, at West Point, New York Obit follows: www.aogusma.org/class/1961/deuel.htm

Ranger-Captain Gerald J. Winch, age 26, Lakewood, OH, 3.15.1968, an Airborne Ranger Infantry officer, with whom I was in Ranger School with at Benning; and was on his second tour in VN.

My, what an honor and privilege it was for me to serve with the America's best and brightess and most able men in our country's most famous fighting unit, the 101st Airborne Division. God Bless every one of those men who served on behalf of and in the service of America in Vietnam. They were, and are, America's Best.

(c) United States Army Rangers

U.S.ARMY RANGER LINEAGE & TIMELINE

RANGER JAMES ALTON GARDNER
MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT, POSTHUMOUSLY
INDUCTION CEREMONY
RANGER HALL OF FAME
FORT BENNING, GEORGIA
29 JUNE 2006

TRANSFER OF ORIGINAL MEDAL OF HONOR
FROM FAMILY OF 1/LT JAMES A. GARDNER TO
101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSAULT)
FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY
FRIDAY, 14 AUGUST 2009

MAJOR GENERAL CAMPBELL, LADIES, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, FRIENDS OF 1LT JAMES A. GARDNER……

"YOU ARE THE 1ST BRIGADE"

WORDS OF STONEWALL JACKSON TO HIS TROOPS BEFORE BATTLE……

FOR THE 30 MONTHS PERIOD FROM JULY 1965 UNTIL JAN 1968- THE FAMED 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION WAS REPRESENTED IN COMBAT IN VIETNAM BY ITS 1ST BRIGADE….

ON THE 1ST BRIGADE’S SHOULDERS RESTED THE HONOR, COURAGE, SKILLS, RESULTS AND REPUTATION EARNED BY THE LEGENDARY 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION IN WORLD WAR II, A MERE 20 OR SO YEARS BEFORE.

COGNISANT OF THIS RESPONSIBILITY WAS MY FRIEND AND COMRADE WITH WHOM I WAS HONORED AND PRIVILEGED TO SERVE ALONG ROUTE 19 IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF VIETNAM, 1ST LIEUTENANT JAMES ALTON GARDNER.

1ST LT GARDNER WAS A SPECIAL PERSON, A SPECIAL WARRIOR OF THE 101ST AIRBORNE.

WHILE ONLY 22 YEARS OF AGE, THIS YOUNG MAN FROM TENNESSEE WHO HAS AN ATHELIC FIELD NAMED FOR AFTER HIM AT FORT BENNING AND JUST A STONE’S THROW FROM A SIMILAR FIELD THERE NAMED AFTER ANOTHER FAMED TENNESSEAN, ALVIN YORK.

ON THAT FATEFUL DAY, 7 FEB 1966, SERVING IN CLOSE COMBAT WITH THE ENEMY WITH LT. GARDNER WERE: BELDON; CHAISSON; “DYNAMITE” HUGHES; MARTIN; KORMAN; GRAVES; MURPHY; BOWERS; MUSSELWHITE; BENJAMIN AND OTHER AMERICAN PARATROOPERS, EACH AN AMERICAN HERO;

LT GARDNER WAS RECOGNIZED AS THE TYPE OF SOLDIER THAT HAD THE TALENTS AND ABILITIES TO LEAD HIS TROOPS BOTH IN AND OUT OF BATTLE BY THOSE OF HIGHER RANK INCLUDING SUCH FINE FELLOW LEADERS AND SUPERIOR OFFICERS AS TIMOTHY, ROGERS, HACKWORTH, JOHNSON, HEISER, DEXTER, HICKS, HANSON, LUNDEE TO NAME A FEW, THERE AGAIN BEING MANY OTHERS;

ONE OF WHOM DESCRIBED LT. GARDNER AS FOLLOWS:

“HE WAS MOST RECENTLY THE RECON PLATOON LEADER, BECAME THE FIRST TIGER COMMANDING OFFICER.

HE WAS A HARD-WORKING, REDHEADED, DYERSBURG, TENNESSEE-BORN IRISHMAN,

A NATURAL LEADER WHOSE GENTLE DEMEANOR BELIED THE COCKY, PROFANE TIGERS THAT HE HELPED CREATE…..”

THIS SUPERIOR OFFICER WENT ON TO OBSERVE:

“GARDNER WAS MY KIND OF MAN.

HE HAD NO TROUBLE IN GETTING VOLUNTEERS FOR THE NEW OUTFIT EITHER, AND SOON HE’D ORGANIZED AND BEGUN TO TRAIN HIS VERY MEAN TWO-PLATOON TIGER FORCE.”

…..AND THOSE OF EQUAL RANK HOLDING LT. GARDNER IN THE HIGHEST REGARD INCLUDE….GRAVES, FOLEY, O’BRYAN; DORLAND, PERRY, HOWARD, HUDSON, OLYPHANT, WILLIS, DOC BENJAMIN, DUBBS, KORMAN, MURPHY; BOWERS, AND, OF COURSE, MANY OTHERS….

AND THE NCOS, WITH WHOM THE U.S. ARMY COULD NOT FUNCTION, WHO SUPPORTED LT GARDNER,

INCLUDED BUT SURELY WERE NOT LIMITED TO, BELDON, CHAISSON, SMITH, MUSSELWHITE, ORTEGA, WILLARD, HUGHES, MARTIN, NUNNELLY, AND A HOST OF OTHERS……

*********************
LT. GARDNER’S FEATS OF COURAGE AND HERIOSM UNDER FIRE IN ORDER TO PROTECT HIS PARATROOPERS AND ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION….ARE SET FORTH IN HIS MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION……

*******************
WE WISH TO THANK THE 101ST AIRBORNE (AIR ASSAULT) FOR MAKING THIS CEREMONY HAPPEN… AND ESPECIALLY IVAN WORRELL….JOHN O’BRIEN…DAN PETERSON…PAT GRAVES… MAJOR TIMOTHY LINDSAY AND LT. WEED……...FOR MAKING SURE EVERYTHING GOT DONE SKILLFULLY, IN A QUALITY MANNER AND ON A TIMELY BASIS…….

IT IS APPRECIATED BY ALL OF LT. GARDNER’S FRIENDS, AND ESPECIALLY HIS FAMILY WHOM I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE……..

********

INTRODUCE
LYNDA GARDNER PARK
HER DAUGHTER, KIMBERLY PARK PRUITT
JOELLA GARDNER MC MANUS
<p><p>
GOD BLESS 1LT JAMES A. GARDNER, HIS FAMILY, THE 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION (AIR ASSUALT) AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

THANK YOU.

[Postscript: Following the ceremony, Janie Putnam, Dyersburg, Tennessee, approached and introduced herself to Tim Swain. She told how she was Jim’s 4-H Advisor the whole time that Jim was growing up in Dyersburg. She told of Jim’s early leadership abilities in that he was always elected president of his class. She told of one time when she was experiencing some difficulty in rounding of the energetic boys after swimming in a lake. Out a ways in the lake she could observe Jim sheparding and staying with a friend who had an affliction that reduced his swimming abilities. Jim accompanied the young boy safely to shore, and his 4-H Advisor believes that but for Jim’s actions, his friend would not have been able to return to shore.

1ST/LT JAMES ALTON GARDNER
MEDAL OF HONOR
POSTHUMOUSLY

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry, 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. Place and date: My Canh, Vietnam, 7 February 1966. Entered service at: Memphis, Tenn. Born: 7 February 1943, Dyersburg, Tenn.

Jim's Medal of Honor Citation reflects how, with a armful of grenades and his M-16 rifle, he set off to silence the enemy of his unit, and succeeded in knocking out five (5) separate enemy bunkers and killing the occupants, before being killed by small arms fire. His courage and heroism permitted a beleaguered unit to be relieved and the objective taken.
In honor of 1st/Lt. James A. Gardner's conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in the face of extreme danger to the paratroopers in his command, his Medal of Honor is prominently displayed at the Headquarters’ Atrium in its Hall of Heroes, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he has been inducted into the United States Army Ranger Hall of Fame, the Officers Candidate School's Hall of Fame and an athletic field named in his honor, at Fort Benning, Georgia, Home of the United States Army Infantry Center.

GENERAL WAYNE A. DOWNING

RANGER (GEN) WAYNE A.DOWNING
RANGER HALL OF FAME

UNITED STATES ARMY RANGER

CLASS 08-1964

Standing Orders - Rogers Rangers

(d) 101st Airborne Divsion - America's Guard of Honor

(e) 101st Airborne Division - Medal of Honor Recipients

MAJOR U.S. ARMY COMBAT UNIT CASUALTIES DURING VIETNAM AND NUMBER OF MEDAL OF HONOR AWARDS

(f) National Airborne Day - August 16th

(g) The Infantry - Queen of Battle

"It has borne the brunt of human conflict through the ages," according to Encyclopedia Brittanica, "and has been called the 'Queen of Battle.'"

That title was earned by American infantrymen on blood-drenched battlefields from Camden in the Revolutionary War to the Ia Drang Valley in Vietnam. In special recognition of their role in war, the War Department created the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) in 1943.

As Eric C. Ludvigsen wrote in "Army": "The CIB was created for infantrymen in infantry units at a time [1943] when they were doing 70% of the fighting and dying - a proportion that has not changed much despite the ever-increasing application of technology to was, and is likely to increase in infantry-oriented, low-intensity conflict."

Unfortunately, not every American is proud of first-line combat soldiers, the men who, in every one of our wars, led the way and bled profusely as a result, much more so than any other branch of the service....The public has simply never appreciated the magnificant service rendered by the infantry during the past 226 years.

Tradition of Versatility

The humble infantry's beginnings were humble. On June 14, 1775 (the day of the Army's inception), the Continental Congress authorized 10 companies of riflemen to be raised in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia as part of the new Continental Army. That makes the U.S. Infantry branch older than the Declaration of Independence itself.

Although its weapons, equipment and tactics have become increasingly sophisticated, the infantry still has the same basic mission: to get to the battlefield and to close with and destroy the enemy. As such, the infantry is the most flexible and most mobile of the Army's combat arms.

It can move by land, sea or air and arrive at its destination ready to fight. It can land by parachute, conduct both air assaults and amphibious operations, operate effectively under all weather conditions and overcome natural and man-made obstacles.

Uncomplimented 'Joe'

Just who has been the U.S. Infantryman? He is the tired and hungry Continental soldier standing watch in the freezing cold at Valley Forge; the brave man wearing blue or gray at Shiloh and Gettysburg; and the tough professional in a lonely outpost on the Western frontier.

He has put streamers on the Army's battle flag recalling fights in the Spanish-American War and WWI. Without hope or chance of relief or rescue, he fought desperately at Bataan and Corregidor, gaining valuable time for America to mobilize. Infantrymen fought more limited wars in Korea and Vietnam, helped liberate Grenada, restored stability in Panama and faced off against a tyrant in Iraq.

An infantryman is the lone soldier whose foxhole marks the Army's forward progress. He is the uncomplimented "Joe" who fights without promise or reward.

He carries on because of discipline, pride, belief in a cause and for not wanting to let down his comrades. As [Ernie] Pyle put it, if for no other reason, "at least for each other."

Periodically - down through the centuries - some have implied the infantryman's days were numbered, suggesting he be relegated to the junkyard of history. Yet the foot soldier has demonstrated again and again that individual courage, good leadership and fighting spirit does make a difference in battle.

Indispensable Contributors

America's citizens also should remember that the infantryman has served in many other ways: exploring, surveying, mapping and settling the far reaches of the U.S. and its overseas possessions. He carried out the country's foreign policies, but also quelled domestic disturbances.

Helping to create national ideals, he was in the forefront of the country's political, economic, social and technological successes. He has gone when and where he has has been ordered, and has done what had to be done when he got there.

Since 1775, the U.S. Infantryman has been called upon to perform prodigious deeds, both in war and peace - not for fame or fortune, but because those deeds needed doing.

If the U.S. is to maintain its liberties, it will, as in the past, depend on the fortitude and gallantry of its Infantrymen.

Ernie Pyle - appropriately regarded as "the infantry soldier's ambassador to America" - as usual, got it right: "I love the infantry because they are the underdogs. They are the mud-rain-frost-and-wind boys...In the end, they are the guys that wars can't be won without."

Author: Albert N. Garland, VFW, August, 2001.

Infantryman

(h) Radical Islamist War on Americans - VFW - September, 2002

7. The 2nd Amendment Guarantees Our Freedom

8. Conservative Politics

9. Inspiration

(a) Motivational sayings used by Swains

"Where there is no vision, people perish." Proverbs 29:18

"In the end, they will lay their freedom at our feet and say 'Make us your slaves, but feed us." Dostoyevsky

"History suggests that Capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom." Milton Friedman

"Remember, Be The Best You Can Be."

"Be Courageous! Have Faith! Go Foward." Thomas Edison

"Think Big." (Little minds focus on little things.)

"Problems Create Skills."

"Problems Create Confidence."

"Seek Intellectual Confidence."

"Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide."

"Change does not always mean improvement."

"Always Ride Your Own Horse." Timothy W. Swain

"Keep the ball in the other fellow's court."

"Always follow the straight and narrow."

"Do your best, that is all a mule can do."

"It's A Great Life If You Do Not Weaken." TWS

"It's A Great Life If You Remain Strong." TS

"Cleanliness is next to Godliness."

"The early bird catches the worm."

"Speed, Simplicity, Boldness." Patton

"In the end, they will lay their freedom at our feet and say 'Make us your slaves, but feed us." Dostoyevsky

"People do not lack strength, they lack will." Victor Hugo

"(1) Be a Team Player; (2) Welcome Change; (3) Beware of Complacency; (4) Remember, Attitude is the Mother of Luck." Pat Riley ('What Winners Know"')

"A unique talent or insight usually lies behind every fortune." Barron's

"As they get older, men can become wise and mellow. Or they can get cranky and despairing." Paul Gigot, WSJ

"We now live in a world dominated by instant communications and unremitting economic competition. We now know that the key to progress is personal ability and personal autonomy." Robert Bartley, WSJ

"The principal mark of genius is not perfection but originality, the opening of new frontiers." Arthur Koestler

"Life is built of the things we do; the only construction material is positive action."

"Do extraordinary things, do not just dream them."

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." Aesop

"It's not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." Sir Edmund Hillary

"No man ever became great except through many and great mistakes." William E. Gladstone

"True democracy is not so much about the entitlement to vote, as it is the rule of law." John Crawford Davis, Bethesda, MD, WSJ letter to editor

"Think Preventive Law." Tim Swain

"Obstacles are things you see when you take your eyes off the GOAL."

"The world is composed of billions of individuals making trillions of economic decisions each day guided by the iron laws of self-interest and mutual advantage." WSJ letter to editor

"Innovate, develop, motivate, inspire trust - be a leader."

"Money is the enemy of caste and stagnation." Forbes

"The best way to predict the future is to invent it." Alan Kay

"Opportunities are seldom labeled."

"The most important political development of the second millennium was the firm establishment, first in one or two countries, then in many, of the rule of lawÂ…and the rule of law throughout our planet is likely to be among the achievements of the third millenniumÂ…." Paul Johnson, WSJ

"Leadership is action, not position."

"The Cost of Freedom is Service." Kay Swain

"Freedom is not free." - U.S. Special Forces

"It Can Be Done!" S.H.Altorfer

"All action people are born leaders."

"Ability involves responsibility."

"Man is selfish for neglecting his neighbor's good."

"Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier."

"Think well of yourself and proclaim this fact to the world not in loud words,but in great deeds." Optimist's Creed

"There is a spark of genius in each of us - find it - use it." Peoria High School

"In the story of our lives we cannot write the beginning or the end - but we can write anything we want in the middle - if we believe in ourselves." PHS

"Leaders always look out for their troops."

The two most important Rules of Life: (a) self confidence, and (b) a sense of humor. ts

"Now children, don't forget to pray." David A. Hoerr, Apostolic Christian Sunday School Teacher in the 1950's (Note: Great-grandson J. Leman, 6' 3", 243 lbs, University of Illinois Linebacker, named to First Team, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-American Team on 29 Nov 007)

"Where there is a will, there is a way."

"When you rest, you rust." - Sign, YMCA locker room.

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." Henry D.Thoreau

"ATTORNEY. The Most Creative Job In the World. It involves: Law * Communications * Government * Intellect * History * Judgment * Detection * Memory * Oratory * Diplomacy * Education * Anyone who can handle all this Is someone very Special!" Inscription on mug which was a surprise gift from Kristan to her Dad (12.1993).

"To God Be The Glory."

"Believe in yourself."

"If it's going to be, it's up to me."

"I don't have time for that."

"Aw, the hell with it. Just do it."

"That's his problem."

"Oh Tim, you can't worry about that."

"Focus on the mission."

"The real secret of success is enthusiasm."

"All things are difficult before they are easy." English proverb

"Get up. Get moving. Get going."

"You gotta keep going."

The two characteristics that all the self-made millionaires have in common: (a) they think differently from the crowd, and (b) they have a strong belief in themselves.

"Discipline is remembering what you want." Osmond family motto

"You can't worry about it."

"The past is our future. Let's all pray together. Let's all work together and I believe we'll see change." - Native American saying forwarded to Papa Tim by grandson Hank Smith, Great Falls, Montana.

"Life always gets harder toward the summit - the cold increases, responsibility increases." Nietzsche

"Triumph lies in discipline."

"The Fall Of A Republic
When the 13 colonies were still a part of England, Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic over 2000 years previous to that time:
"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence:
from bondage to spiritual faith,
from spiritual faith to great courage,
from courage to liberty,
from liberty to abundance,
from abundance to selfishness,
from selfishness to complacency,
from complacency to apathy,
from apathy to dependency,
from dependency back to bondage." Alexander Tyler [Gregg G. Smith]

"Every day is a good day. Some are just better than others." Devan Swain Smith

"CNN lies." - Tailwind Story, 1998

"At an early age, I became aware that newspapers report no event honestly." George Orwell

"I lied to everybody." Bill Clinton, 60 Minutes interview with Dan Rather, June, 2004

"I think you can be an honest person and lie about any number of things." Dan Rather

"In an insight into who the media most influence, Gallup discovered that 'those with lower levels of education and income are more likely to have confidence in the media's accuracy and fairness."

"The Peoria Journal Star selfishly seeks to harm the Peoria area and its citizens." Bielfeldt story - 2003

"Now 'drawer dumping' and 'pillow slicing' are reported (by the mainstream media) with the same level of breathless outrage as a bullet in the back of a GI's head during an act of kindness." Investor's Business Daily, May 18, 2004

"Opinions based upon ignorance are worthless."

"Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid."

"Victory belongs to the persistent."

"The future belongs to those who prepare for it." Emerson

"Courage is believing in yourself, and that is something no one can teach you."

"Every noble work is at first impossible." Thomas Carlyle

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort." Teddy Roosevelt

"We don't have time to be unhappy!" - Dr. Sue Sauder

"Great spirits have always encountered violet opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

"Press on: Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance." Calvin Coolidge

"Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains." William Penn

"The secret is this: Strength lies solely in tenacity." Louis Pasteur

"Fortune favors the brave." Terence

"The extent of the 'desire to control' is what distinguishes all political philosophies."

"There are no limitations except those you acknowledge. Whatever you can conceive and believe, you can achieve." Napoleon Hill

"The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance."

"The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men." Thoreau

"Oh, the hell with it, just do it."

"Brevity is the soul of wit." - Shakespeare

"The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men." Thoreau

"God of Grace, God of Glory, Grant Us Wisdom, Grant Us Courage." Henry Emerson Fosdisk at dedication of Riverside Church, NYC

Weight Watchers 17 Words That Will Never Fail You:

Prepare
Care
Forgive
Change
Risk
Listen
Choose
Relax
Pray
Persist
Smile
Focus
Act
Trust
Accept
Wait

"First you borrow, then you beg." Hemingway, "Old Man and The Sea"

"Who moved my cheese?"

"Let's roll!" Todd Beamer 9.11.2001 Flight 93

"We cannot know every turn this battle will take. Yet we know our cause is just and our ultimate victory is assured. We will no doubt face new challenges. But we have our marching orders: My fellow Americans, let's roll." - President George W. Bush 11.9.2001

"People sleep at night peacefully because violent men ready to fight stand guard over them." George Orwell

"Move the blood. Stay in touch."

"O God, Your Sea So Great, Our Ship So Small."

"Prompt obediance. Iron discipline." Rangers

"Never complain. Never explain."

"It's the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It's the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to demonstrate.
It's the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trail.
And it's the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves under the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives the protester the right to burn the flag."

"To those who pit Americans against immigrants, citizens against non-citizens, to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve.... They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil." U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, 12.6.2001

"Good surgeons are born, not made." Taylor Caldwell, "Testimony of Two Men"

"Trace, you really do have good hands." Dr. Smink, Chief Surgeon, to Dr. Swain, Chief Surgical Resident, 2003

"A day without surgery is like a day without sunshine." A dedicated surgeon

"Don't kid yourself, that's the way it is." Grace (Jack's mother)Welch

"Make every obstacle an opportunity." Linda (Lance's mother) Armstrong

"A person who has tried and failed is superior to the person who has never tried."

"Never underestimate an American."

"He was born tired and raised lazy."

"I hate facts. I always say the chief end of man is to form general propositions - adding that no general proposition is worth a damn." Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

"There are no facts, only interpretations." - Nietzsche

"As we gather tonight, our nation is at war, our economy is in recession, and the civilized world faces unprecedented dangers. Yet the state of our Union has never been stronger....I will not wait on events, while dangers gather....My budget supports three great goals for America; We will win this war; we'll protect our homeland; and we will revive our economy....Good jobs must be the aim of welfare reform. As we reauthorize these important reforms, we must always remember the goal is to reduce dependency on government and offer every American the dignity of a job....America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity; the rule of law; limits on the power of the state; respect for women; private property; free speech; equal justice; and religious tolerance....We seek a just and peaceful world beyond the war on terror...." President George W. Bush, January 29,2002

"Creative people are laced with self doubt." From the novel, 'Envy'

"That [state] which separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards, and its fighting by fools.' Thucydides, 'The Peloponnesian Wars'

"The purpose of our legal system in general and our adversarial system in particular is to ascertain the truth." The Federalist Society

"Lord, grant me the patience to endure my Blessings." Bil Keane

"Keep it clean and Keep it neat." The Rules of this Room

"A Winner never quits. A quitter never wins."

"If it is to be, it is up to me."

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams
And endeavors to live a life which he has imagined
He will meet with a Success unexpected in common dreams."
Henry David Thoreau

"1982 Family Resolutions

1. Team Work Around the House - "12 helping hands"
2. Be happy. Think kind thoughts
3. No gossip. No bad news
4. Acept Family duties happily
5. Treat each other kindly
6. Be tolerant. Count to 50 before becoming angry
7. Gripe session. List on paper all complaints and they will be discussed . Also list one compliment.
8. Be active in the "meal assistance program"
9. California trip = everyone getting good grades
10. Learn to plan & use lists on a daily basis
11. Work to achieve your own "goals list"
12. Take part in the weekly Sunday Planning Conference.
Mom, Dad, Devan, Alicia, Trace & Kristan

"Pride goeth before the fall."

"Well done is better than well said." Ben Franklin

"The Family that prays together stays together."

"Character is the only secure foundation of the State." Calvin Coolidge

"Establish your territory." Ralph (Dale's dad) Earnhardt

"Give me a knapsack of medals and I will conquer the World."Napoleon

"Success demands singleness of purpose." Vince Lombardi

"[N]o weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism...." President Ronald Reagan, 1st Inaugural Address

"Ronald Reagan won the Cold War single-handedly, without firing a shot." Margaret Thatcher, Britain's Prime Minister

"Never go to the law for revenge, only money."

"A soldier is a person who fights for people who cannot fight for themselves."

"You never hit higher than you aim." Dr. Chester Danehower

"He lies like an eyewitness." Russian saying

"Again, from our redoubt in the 21st century the decade's divers look so naive and even goofy, but anyone who came into contact with these quintessentially American entrepreneurs couldn't help but be touched by their optimism, belief in self and extraordinary energy, an energy described many years ago by a famous European as the Protestant ethic -- work hard, get ahead." WSJ 5.3.2002, Daniel Henninger,

"Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave." Henry Brougham

"Be Cheerfull. Don't Worry. Feel Good." Larry Hageman

"Never brag. Never quit. Never let 'em know you're hurting. Be honest. Be kind. Care about the other guy. Don't look down on anyone. Compete hard. Play to win. Give the other guy credit." Grandmother Dotty Bush

"It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out where the strong man stumbles, nor where the doer of deeds could have done them better. On the contrary, the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena - whose vision is marred by the dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up again and again; who knows the great devotions, the great enthusiasms; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. However, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt

Democratic Party: "A collection of warring tribes that have come together in anticipation of common plunder."

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." Thomas Jefferson

"This old house once gave warmth and comfort as we fought the 'storms of life.'"

"A little boy was hitting a baseball by himself. Before he threw the ball up in the air the first time to hit it, he said, "I am the greatest." He missed. He threw it a second time, saying, "I am the greatest." He missed. He threw the ball up a third time, saying, "I am the greatest" and again missed. He picked up the ball and then said, "I am the greatest pitcher." Paul Harvey

"Always seek to know and understand the Big Picture."

"Success often comes from successful environments. If you're in a dynamic company, school or family, you'll experience and see success. If you're not, you need to place yourself in situations in which you can experience and feel success." Dr. Bob Arnot

"The cumulative effect of the small become gradually large." Ken Carrigan

"The concept is interesting and well formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." A Yale University professor in response to a paper by Fred Smith, future founder of FedEx, proposing reliable overnight delivery service.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge, because knowledge is limited while imagination embraces the whole universe." Einstein

"Stay alert. Stay alive." Major Hackworth

"Character consists of what you do on the 3rd and 4th tries." James Michener

"Don't assume anything. No excuses." Lt. Col. Hooper, USA, ROTC-University of Illinois

"We've got to work hard and keep moving and try to do the right thing." Whitey Whiteside in the novel 'Jim the Boy',Tony Earley

"Never invest your money in anything that eats or needs repainting." Billy Rose

"I personally believe we were put here to build and not to destroy. So if by chance some day you're not feeling well and you should remember some silly little thing I've said or done and it brings back a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart, then my purpose as your clown has been fulfilled. Goodnight and may God bless." Red Skeleton. These are the words that he sometimes used to close his performance, which describe his philosophy about life.

"Blessings in disguise fill our lives, and are everywhere."

"Search for and recognize blessings."

"Requisites for all personal services: honesty, competency."

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while Congress is in session." Mark Twain

"God gave us an unfinished world so that we have the joy of participating in creation. What we're doing is God's work. We're trying to turn this unfinished world into something we want it to be. God did not ask you to accept life. You must take it. The only question is 'how?' Some meet the challenge; some don't." Bob Jamieson

"Liberals are in my estimation just not bright people. They don't think deeply; they don't comprehend; they don't understand....They have a narrow educational base, as opposed to hard scientists....I have not been impressed with the intellect of the left since I was a freshman in college." Dick Armey

"While one hesitates because he feels inferior, the other is busy making mistakes and becoming superior." Henry C. Link

"Useful idiots." Lenin, on Westerners who believe Marxist/Socialist ideology

"The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment." Robert Hutchins

"Free beer, tomorrow." Sign at One Stop Cafe, Franklin, Tennessee

"It was merely an indicator of the man's strength of character. [Jack] Ryan was a tough formidable sob who met things head-on when he had to. That was his weakness, Wellington told himself. He prefers to meet things head-on. He lacks subtlety. It was a common failing of the honest, and a grievous weakness in a political environment." Tom Clancy's 'The Sum of All Fears.'

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan

"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free." P.J. O'Rourke

"Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you." Pericles (430 BC)

"Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest." George W. Bush

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course. I have kept the faith." II Timothy 4:7

"Conservatism is better for America than liberalism, because it's more tuned to individual freedom." William Saffire

"I am what I am." Popeye

"I like old people." Carsen Smith, age 5

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." Thomas Jefferson

"The show goes on."

"It's showtime."

"Professionals should not take what amateurs have say too seriously."

"Dogs bark at things beyond their understanding."

"You need three things to win a war, Money, money and more money" - Trivulzio (1441-1518)

"Neither genius, fame, nor love show the greatness of the soul. Only kindness can do that." Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire

"The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor." Vince Lombardi

"The secret of discipline is motivation. When a man is sufficiently motivated, discipline will take care of itself." Sir Alexander Paterson

"Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way." Gen. George S. Patton

"If women did not exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning." Aristotle Onassis

"There seems to be little correlation between a man's effectiveness and his intelligence...brilliant men are often strikingly ineffectual." Peter Drucker

"The only person who is not insecure is 6 feet under." P. Drucker

"The hardest thing in life to learn is which bridge to cross and which to burn." David Russell

"The whole point of getting things done is knowing what to leave undone." Lady Reading

"Know your enemy."

"Never despise your enemy."

"Knowledge is power."

"If we die, we want people to accept it. We're in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life.'' Gus Grissom

"No one is big enough to be independent of others." Dr. Will Mayo

"Success demands singleness of purpose." Vince Lombardi

"A nation can have no permanent allies, only permanent interests." Lord Palmeraton

"There are knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns." Unknown (Rumsfield)

"The one thing that's clear, at least to me, is that to participate in modern society you need a good education.. When I was growing up, mechanical sciences were obvious: You can look at a car, take it apart and figure out how it works. But biology and biotechnology are not obvious. To get that knowledge, you need a solid education." Gordon Moore

"If you have you have your health, you have everything." Dad

"When you can't breathe, nothing else matters." Chicago Lung Association

"Every day matters."

"Today is tomorrow's yesterday. Make it count." Reis Ford, Marissa, IL

"Hollywood's beautifully bodied, but mentally and patriotically limited stars and starlets, going on worldwide television and opening their precious little mouths..." Tony Blankley

"Iraq makes a new exhibit for the argument that natural resources are more a curse than a blessing." Holman Jenkins,Jr.

"A Texas Ranger is an officer who is able to handle any situation without definite instructions from his commanding officer or higher authority." Captain Bob Crower

"No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that is in the right and keeps on a-comin." Captain, Bill Mc Donald, Texas Ranger

"When your success exceeds your expectations, it's a trap." Army general

"C-One-Thirty rollin' down the strip
Airborne Ranger on a one-way trip
Mission unspoken, destination unknown,
Airborne Ranger ain't never comin' home!" Ranger running cadence

"Communists are people who read Marx and Engles, anti-communists are those who understand Marx and Engles." Ronald Reagan

"Who dares wins." Special Air Service Regiment

"Operations create opportunities." Brig.Gen. Vincent Brooks

"When I wake up each morning, I want to be able to answer 'yes' to the question, 'Do I feel honorable and clean?'" Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman

"Don't gamble. Buy some good stock. Hold it till it goes up... and then sell it. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it!" Will Rogers

"In foreign policy, America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests." Henry Kissinger

"Capitalism produces mass affluence." Dinesh D'Souza

"Immigrants don't spend a lot of time contemplating the hardships of the past; their gaze is firmly fixed on the future. They recognize that education and entrepreneurship are the fastest ladders to success in America." D'Souza

"America is the greatest, freest, and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world. By making sacrifices for America, and by our willingness to die for her, we bind ourselves by invisible cords to those great patriots who fought at Yorktown, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima, and we prove ourselves worthy of the blessings of freedom. By defeating the terrorist threat posed by Islamic fundamentalism, we can protect the American way of life while once again redeeming humanity from a global menace. History will view America as a great gift to the world, a gift that Americans today must preserve and cherish." Dinesh D'Sourza's 'What's So Great About America'

"Hypocrites lack credibility."

"We are disciplined, trained and accurate." Brig. Gen. Brooks

"America is the last best hope for mankind." A. Lincoln

"Commerce, which if properly managed, will be a better instrument for obliging the interested nations of Europe to treat us with justice." Thomas Jefferson (1797)

"Changing seasons make life more interesting and folks can always discuss the weather." Butte, Montana brochure

"How are the battles going?" Greeting of hiker on Mt. Sentinel, Missoula, MT

"Generally, the RMI guides are in their 20's and their clients are in their 30's and 40's. Climbing Mt. Rainier is a young man's ball game." TS, 6.21.2003

"Always take advantage of 'open' stairways at airports. Good exercise."

"You can do anything if you have enthusiasm." Winterset,Iowa sign

"Let there be light." Andrew Carnegie, from nothing to wealth to giving all his wealth away, including establishing over 2,000 libraries in America and his native Scotland, in that he believed education was the secret.

"Success breeds enemies."

"While the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it's best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department." Andrew Carnegie

"Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." Abraham Lincoln

"Seek good, and not evil, that you may live, so the Lord will be with you." Amos 5:14 - Norma Lee Jones

"The best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can't ask his patients what is the matter - he's got to just know." Will Rogers

"The confidence which we have in ourselves gives birth to much of that which we have in others."

"For America, there will be no going back to the era before September the 11th, 2001 - to false comfort in a dangerous world. We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength; they are invited by the perception of weakness. And the surest way to avoid attacks on our own people is to engage the enemy where he lives and plans. We are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities." President George W. Bush, 9.7.2003.

"I like action."

"The most valuable natural resource in the 21st century is brains. Smart people tend to be mobile. Watch where they go! Because where they go, robust economic activity will follow." Rich Karlgaard

"Leaders need courage to fight for right, and wisdom to know when to retreat to fight another day."

"An oral contract is not worth the paper it's written on." Louis B. Mayer

"The longer we look into the past, the more we see into the future." Winston Churchill

"17.2% of statistics are made up on the spot." George Carlin

"If you done it, you ain't bragging." Dizzy Dean

"The finest metal is forged in the hottest fire."

"You will figure it out." Dr. Sue Sauder

"You can handle it."

"No problem."

"You can do it."

"A great leader is distinguished from a mere politician, by the mental power to concentrate on objectives for long periods without tiring." Napoleon

"Driver carries no cash. Our kids have all of it." Bumper sticker I-355

"Flash your hooters for driver." Written in dirt on back of semi - I-80(watch it, he might take photo!)

"This man means trouble for all your kind,
You shrinkers and cowards with a sick soul and mind
Beware his temper that you do not burst
For he is a fighter from the 101st." Author, Vietnam vet

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Thomas Paine

"Politics is like fighting rats. You have to keep at it night and day." Zell Miller

"Deal with it."

"Sixty years of Western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe -- because in the long run stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty." G.W.Bush

"There are leaders and there are gripers."

"If the shoe fits, wear it."

"The danger when men stop believing in God is not that they'll believe in nothing, but that they'll believe in anything." G.K. Chesterton

"Christmas Blessings on all."

"Troubles-flee following a good nights sleep."

"I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant." Admiral Yamamoto, post Pearl Harbor bombing

"Success goes to who can predict evolutionary change and take advantage of the resulting chaos."

"3-legged stool: each leg equally important."

"Skilling was a city kid who understood, from personal experience, the perpetual change that defines urban (and, maybe more important, suburban) life that, intuitively if not expresses, the emptiness that often lays at the center of it." Power Failure The Inside Story of the Collapse of ENRON

"Every era gets the clowns it deserves." Vince Kaminski

"Steely determination is required to achieve lasting change."

"The best chance you have of making a big success in this world is to decide from square one that you're going to do it ethically." Alan Greenspan

"Two rules for a happy life: (a) love your work; (b) retain a sense of humor." Dr. Huge Firor

"Something to do; something to love; something to work for."

"All styles are good except the boring." Voltaire

"What you see is not always what you get."

"Best to be thankful for what you have than to complain about what you don't."

"Be sure you're right, then go ahead." Davy Crockett

"Patience and persistence." Bill Porter's mother

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." Machiavelli

"You can only fail if you give up too soon." Jonas Salk

"A cheap dollar means lots of US exports and fewer US imports."
"US Exports = US jobs + profits."

"Age, damn you AGE!"

"Sound judgment is one of the qualities that sets us apart from insect life and the Osbourne family." William F. Buckley Jr.

"No one likes to say it, but over half the people on the FBI's Most Wanted terrorist list are named Mohammed, Ahmed, or both."

"Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress." Thomas A. Edison

""Prefer a lost to a dishonest gain; the one brings pain at the moment, the other for all time." Chilton

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation." Pearl S. Buck

"Hey, we all make mistakes." William J. Casey

"The more liberal the facade, the darker the heart."

"Not having a clue about what the future holds is one of the least appreciated conditions of life. If we knew, probably most of us would be in a constant state of despair. But in our ignorance of the future, most of us live in hope. " Tony Blankley

"Essential traits of leadership(Jack Welch):
1. Energy - can go go go - love action - relish change
2. Energize others - love people - can inspire people
3. Edge - courage to make tough yes-no decisions
4. Execute - get the job done."

"Diligence is the mother of good luck." Ben Franklin

"Have hope and harness fear."

"Perception is sometimes reality, sometimes not."

"The only way you hurt your body is not using it. That's the killer: inactivity." Jack LaLanne

"You have to do muscle work, you got to do flexibility, you got to do some cardiovascular. That's the key. If man makes it, don't eat it and don't eat between meals. He drinks plenty of water, eats at least 10 raw vegetables and 5 pieces of fresh fruit daily." Jack LaLanne

"Three hops get you just as far as one leap."

"Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, it empties today of its strength."

"Nobody can pedal a bike for you."

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on." Robert Frost

"The difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between lightning bug and lightning." Mark Twain

"We become what we think about." Earl Nightingale

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature." Helen Keller

"Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Abraham Lincoln

"I love America."

"The essence of a successful life: Honor. Contribution."

"Texas has better art galleries than France does -- the Louvre being the sole exception -- and that although Texas is only one state in the union it has more first-class universities that the entire country of France does...." Paul Johnson, British historian, Forbes

"Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you." Satchel Paige

"The secret is exercise."

"A man is happiest when he is working." Uncle Stanton Jones

"Life is a journey."

"Life is a stall."

"Luck is the residue of design."

"Fear can paralyze. Action is the antidote." Ken Follett in "Hornet Flight"

"In the end, they will lay their freedom at our feet and say 'Make us your slaves, but feed us." Dostoyevsky

"If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may be even a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves." Winston Churchill (page 310, "The Hell Makers")

"Nothing good comes from something bad."

"America's best days lie ahead." Ronald Reagan

"Evil thrives when good people do nothing."

"Self talk: You can't worry about it Tim; Oh, the hell with it, Tim; Nice person/people"

"Individual ambition serves the common good." Adam Smith

"From here, you can go anywhere." Sign in Idaho Falls, ID airport (U of ID)

"Don't pack your ancestors around on your back." Fannie Gebhart's Dad, Dr. Alexander H. Ewing.

"They join for the action. So they enjoy it very much." Special operators in Afghanistan.

"We can only remain free if America remains strong." Ronald Reagan

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Ronald Reagan

"A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both." Dwight Eisenhower

"America is no longer the melting pot it used to be. It has now become a tossed salad of foreigners that arrive to our shores wanting to keep their culture and forcing our acceptance."

"If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude." Colin Powell

"Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is courage to continue that counts." Winston Churchill

"Political Correctness is just Tyranny with manners." Charlton Heston

"The government's view of the economy can be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps on moving, regulate it. If it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan

"The beauty of the Second Amendment is that it will not be needed until they try and take it." Thomas Jefferson

"Americans have the right and advantage of being armed - unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms." James Madison - The Federalist Papers No. 46, 243-244

"The difference between a politician and a statesman is: a politician thinks of the next election and the statesman thinks of the next generation." J.F. Clarke

"Communism is like prohibition. It's a nice idea, but it won't work." Will Rogers

"Riding is simple. It's just not easy." Carsen's riding academy, Great Falls, Montana

"We are all imperfect. Still, we can be great." Kristan

"Life is fun."

"They do not know me or my family. They do know my reputation." Alvin LaCabe, commencement speaker, The University of Denver College of Law, Kristan's graduation, May 15, 2004

"To win in a battle, you must be the one to choose the battleground." Garry Kasparov

"My legs are strong and I've got a lot of ambition." Ranger Colonel Charles Beckwith, founder of Delta Force

"Brains matter, not size."

"Nothing happens until somebody sells something."

"The work of the individual still remains the spark that moves mankind forward." Igor Sikorsky

Investor's Business Daily has spent years analyzing leaders and successful people in all walks of life. Most have 10 traits that, when combined, can turn dreams into reality. They are:

1. How you think is everything: Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.

2. Decide upon your true dreams and goals: Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

3. Take action: Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started. Just do it.

4. Never stop learning: Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills.

5. Be persistent and work hard: Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

6. Learn to analyze details: Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

7. Focus your time and money: Don't let other people or things distract you.

8. Don't be afraid to innovate; be different; Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

9. Deal and communicate with people effectively: No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

10. Be honest and dependable; take responsibility: Otherwise, Nos. 1-9 won't matter.

"The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators." Edward Gibbon

"The toughest thing about success is that you've got to keep on being a success. Talent is only a starting point...you've got to keep on working that talent." Irving Berlin

"There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity." Douglas MacArthur

"The Democrat Party and the leftist (ABCCBSNBCCNN NYLATIMES) media are a criminal enterprise."

"Many minds make quick work of uncertainty."

"It was Lt. George Rice of the 10th Armored Division.
Rice(to Winters) "Looks like you guys are going to be surrounded.
Winters: "We're paratroopers, Lieutenant. We're supposed to be surrounded." 101st Airborne Division

"I've told you a billion times, stop exaggerating."

"It could probably be shown by facts and figures that there is no distinctly native American criminal class, except Congress." Mark Twain

"People tend to get well."

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled, or hanged." President Abraham Lincoln

"Discipline is the soul of an army. It makes small numbers formidable, procures success to the weak, and esteem to all." George Washington

"In the long run, people hit only what they aim at." H. D. Thoreau

"They must know the price the Americans paid to free our continent. Half a million killed in World War II. More than 7000 killed on D-Day alone, in Normandy; 25,000 killed to liberate Italy. Some of them rest in peace in our country, buried in Anzio. I suggest you visit that cemetery, and see the names of people unknown to you: John, Charlie, Robert, Ted, Howard... Men aged 20, 22, who gave up their life for our freedom." -Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi

"When the Lord calls me home, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future." Ronald Reagan

"I lied to everybody." Bill Clinton, 60 Minutes interview with Dan Rather (6.2004)

"When the Berlin Wall fell, the perpetual right in America, which always needs an enemy, didn't have an enemy anymore, so I had to serve as the next best thing." Bill Clinton

"Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book." Ronald Reagan

"Ronald Reagan, unlike all but 10 or so Presidents, was a world figure whose career will interest historians for centuries, and centuries hence his greatness will be, and should be, measured primarily by what happened in Europe, as a glorious echo of his presidency, in the three years after he left the White House. What happened was the largest peaceful revolution in history, resulting in history's largest emancipation of people from tyranny - a tyranny that had deadened life for hundreds of millions of people from the middle of Germany to the easternmost of Russia's 11 time zones...." George Will

"Why do Al Qaeda and DNC press releases always sound the same?"

"Europe says: 'Let's give communism another try."

"Nothing is wrong with shooting as long as the right people get shot." Dirty Harry

"War means fighting, and fighting means killing and getting there firstest with the mostest." Nathan Bedford Forrest

"Leaders initiate."

"Rules of war - luck and pluck."

"Many of you are well enough off...the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." Hillary Clinton (6.29.2004 - San Francisco)

"From each according to his means, to each according to his needs." Karl Marx

"Some of us are more equal than others." Animal Farm

"If you can read this, thank a teacher...and since it is in English, thank a soldier."

"The lottery is a tax on people who are not good at math."

"Our aims are simple to state. They will be challenging to achieve." Paul Volcker, Chair, U.N. Oil-for-Food Program Inquiry

"He loved being on a team, fighting for a goal." Lance Cpl. Justin Hunt, age 22, killed after losing 150 lbs to enlist in Marines, Iraq, 2004

"Anyone spouting the decline of America's youth never had the privilege of commanding them in combat." 1st Lt. Lee Alley, DSC, 1968, Vietnam

"The last two words of American are 'I Can'." ViceAdm Conroy Land, 1945

"An ambassador is a good man sent abroad to lie for his country." Sir Henry Wootton

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them" Ray Bradbury

"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should get too fond of it." Robert E. Lee

"History suggests that Capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom." Milton Friedman

"Speed (i.e. continuous movement) is security in recon platoons."

"Bravery is not the absence of fear. Bravery is the ability to keep going in the presence of fear."

"They should have armed themselves." Clint Eastwood

"Camelot, like all dreams, dies with the dawning of the light." Wes Pruden

"The secret is focus."

"We're challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. We've raised the bar. We're setting high standards. We're focusing on results. We're insisting on accountability. We're empowering parents. We're making sure local folks are in charge of school, real substantial progress in reading and math...With four more years, we'll help a rising generation gain the skills and the confidence to achieve the American dream...Good education means workers can realize their dreams...One of the lessons of September 11th is we must deal with threats before they fully materialize...We will continue to lead the world with confidence and moral clarity...But I will never turn over America's national security decisions to leaders of other countries...In the long run, our security is not guaranteed by force alone. We must work to change the conditions that give rise to terror: poverty and hopelessness and resentment...The role of government is to help our citizens gain the time and the tools to make their own choices and improve their own lives...." George W. Bush, Springfield, Missouri, July 2004

"Life at the top is frequently a lonely business." Ronald Reagan

"Members and front organizations must continually embarrass, discredit and degrade our critics. When obstructionists become too irritating, label them as fascist, or Nazi or anti-Semitic .... The association will, after enough repetition, become "fact" in the public mind."
--Communist Party, Moscow Central Committee 1943

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything." Alexander Hamilton

"There's more to life than football. I want to contribute to society and help people." Cpl. Pat Tillman, U.S. Army Rangers

"Great things can be accomplished as long as you don't care who gets the credit." Ronald Reagan

"Mess with the best, die like the rest." Ancient Special Forces saying

"When Bush said that Scalia and Thomas are examples of judges who base their judgments strictly on the words of the Constitution, he was stating what the American people expect of judges. The alternative is for judges to base their decisions on their personal political views and supremacist attitude." Phyllis Schlafly

"You can run, but you'll only die tired." U.S. Army long-range snipers

"Get out and do something. Just don't watch TV." G.H.W.Bush, 80+ parachutist

"Like all good husbands he brought out the best in his wife." Amy Finnerty, speaking of Paul Child, Julia's husband.

"He fights." A. Lincoln explaining why he liked U.S. Grant

"Chloroform in print." Mark Twain remarking on a particular article

"The Darfur genocide — like the genocides in Rwanda, Srebrenica, Cambodia, and so many other nations in the last century — was made possible only by the prior destruction of that fifth auxiliary right (i.e. the right to be armed)....It is long past time for the United Nations and the rest of the international community to do more than bemoan genocide after the fact. It is time for formal international law to recognize the natural right of self-defense, and to acknowledge the universal human right of "having arms for their defense" so that, as a last resort, victims can "restrain the violence of oppression." As history has shown, as long as dictatorships exist, the only way to ensure the primary right to life is to guarantee the auxiliary right to arms." National Review Online, August 18, 2004 'Avoiding Genocide: The right to bear arms could have saved Sudan.'

"The very roots of restricting private firearm ownership run deep with racism." American Freedom (NRA) Magazine, 9.2004, page 25

"O my young friend, the world is beautiful and life is full of promise." Phillip Brooks

"In spite of the most inept civilian command possible, our military had defeated the NVA. But not for the Kerry's, Fonda's and their red, diaper, doper, baby buddies millions of Vietnamese and Cambodians would be alive today." Lucianne.com chatter

"Life is not about how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce."

"Victory at all costs, for without victory there is no survival." Churchill

"Truth is the most powerful concept, because we can do nothing about it." Marilyn Vos Savant

"Do what you are afraid to do; go where you are afraid to go. When you run away because you are afraid to do something big, you pass opportunity by." W. Clement Stone

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The classical difference between an introvert and an extrovert is that if you send an introvert into a reception or an event with a hundred other people he will emerge with less energy that he had going in; an extrovert will come out of that event energized, with more energy than he had going in."

"Light, swift, accurate." Motto, 199th Light Infantry Brigade

"Without a heritage, every generation starts over." The Heritage Foundation

P.J. O'Rourke explaining to a British gent the basic nature of your average American: "WE BE BAD....We're three-quarters grizzly bear and two-thirds car-wreck and descended from a stock-market crash on our mother's side. You take your Germany, France and Spain, roll them all together, and it wouldn't give us room to park our cars. We're the big boys, Jack, the original giant economy-sized new and improved butt-kickers of all time."

"I don't give anybody hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell." Harry S Truman

"But you are not natural runners like I am." Hank Smith, age 11, at conclusion of his cross-country six week season - in response to his parents' observation that between them they have finished 5 marathons.

"The rich don't mind high taxes, because they already have their money." Barney Kilgore, WSJ

"If you hate the people who hate you, then you become like the people who hate you." Richard M. Nixon

"Achievers experience moments of anger, indecision, intemperance, envy, fear, too."

"In their hunger for power and control, Democrats/Liberals are willing to destroy America and Americans."

"By not reading the local liberal newspaper, a side benefit is not to be drawn to reading the pages of depressing obituaries of mainly the unknown."

"Patton has two phrases that he used almost ad nauseum. The first, from Danton, was "Audacity, always audacity, still more audacity." The second was "the unforgiving minute," a phrase from Kipling that referred to certain times in war when the collective will of people or an army can without warning collapse - critical moments that must be capitalized on."

"After the debate, Lynn Cheney ripped Kerry. 'This is not a good man," she said. "Of course, I am speaking as a mom, and a pretty indignant mom,...What a cheap and tawdry political trick."

"The secret is ice."

"We live in the age of surprises."

"No ordinary work done by a man is either as hard or as responsible as the work of a woman who is bringing up a family of small children; for upon her time and strength demands are made not only every hour of the day but often every hour of the night. She may have to get up night after night to take care of a sick child, and yet must by day continue to do all her household duties as well; and if the family means are scant she must usually enjoy even her rare holidays taking her whole brood of children with her. The birth pangs make all men the debtors of all women. Above all our sympathy and regard are due to the struggling wives among those whom Abraham Lincoln called the plain people, and whom he so loved and trusted; for the lives of these women are often led on the lonely heights of quiet, self-sacrificing heroism." Teddy Roosevelt"

"Then I heard the name of the Lord say 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, "Here am I, send me." Isaiah 6:8. United States Army Ranger Association.

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying, who shall I send, and who shall go for us? Then said I, here am I, Send me." Isaiah 6:8, Son Tay Raider Association, 21 November 1970

"Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics."

"Why, man, we are at war!" Winston Churchill's critique of Cordell Hull's fatigue in a late night planning session in the early stages of WWII, when Hull began to excuse himself and head for bed, citing the lateness of the hour.

"Following honorable U.S.Navy service, Democrat Kerry betrayed America and sided with its enemies, the Vietcong, the North Vietnamese, the Soviets, the Sandinistas, the Communists in Grenada and in 1991, Saddam Hussein."

"Going forward into the future with only the past as our guide is akin to driving down a road with a blacked-out windshield and only a fleeting glimpse of the rearview mirror to help us on our way. It is unfair that men should live thus; uncertain of their eternal fate; blinkered and ignorant even of the consequences of their well-intended actions. Perhaps the most we can hope for is to act with honesty and goodwill. Robert E. Lee is forgiven for choosing the wrong side; forgiven for his sincerity and manliness. Sherman is pardoned his brutality; pardoned him for being in the right. But the book has not yet been written of our days; yet tomorrow we shall write and be judged." Wetchard, The Belmont Club

"America is land of the free, because it is home of the brave."

"Perennial conflict - freedom vs. control."

"With God, all things are possible." The Salvation Army

"Potestas Democraticorum delenda est!" Hugh Hewitt

"If it's not close, they can't cheat." Hugh Hewitt

"Life is short, pray hard." Bumper sticker at Rivercity

"Cultural liberals despise religion and patriotism."

"This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration. Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future." Adolph Hitler, 1935

"Darkness is a friend to the skilled infantryman." Liddell Hart

"They're not Americans. They're just journalists." Col. George Connell, USMC

"Blamers are weak."

"There is only one type of Ranger." Brig.Gen "Smokin Joe" Stringham, a Ranger legend

"Dare to be a David. Dare to stand alone." Smokin Joe's Mother

"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave." Patrick Henry

"I am a patient man....." Gen. Wayne A. Downing

"Who is he. Whom is him." Donald M. Hartshorn

"Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past." George Orwell

"A pretty girl is twice as pretty when she smiles." Tom Lawless

"Santa, what's your zip code?" Will Swain, age 4 to Santa on Christmas Eve at the Crawfords. Earlier, when his brother Sam, age 6, wanted to write Santa, his Mother said they would have to find Santa's zip code. Will's teacher described him as a "very confident little boy."

" It was like the 1959 Kingston Trio song, "The Merry Minuet"
They're rioting in Africa.
They're starving in Spain.
There's hurricanes in Florida;
And Texas needs rain.
The whole world is festering with unhappy souls.
The French hate the Germans.
The Germans hate the Poles.
Italians hate Yugoslavs.
South Africans hate the Dutch;
And I don't like anybody very much."

"What do you want to be remembered for? It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person - the person you can become. If you are fortunate, someone with moral authority will ask you that question early enough in your life so that you can continue to ask it as you go through life." Peter Drucker

"Whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears; to your confidences rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way." Ronald Reagan

"Privacy is essential to liberty." Roger Hedgecock

"Payback...is a medivac." Old Army mantra of revenge

"Why must you curl your lip when you say that?"

"The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage." Thucydides

"The Only Two Rules of Life: (a) Honesty; (b) Golden Rule."

"You can't just do what is best, you have to do what is necessary." W.Churchill

"...Vietnam Part II --not the war, the failure of political will-- is under way, but this time the consequences of allowing the left to succeed won't be two million dead Cambodians and hundreds of thousands of imprisoned South Vietnamese or boat people. This time surrender will mean dead Americans in American cities." Hugh Hewitt

"Oh! Once I was happy, but now I'm Airborne/ Riding in gliders all tattered and torn/ The pilots are daring, all caution they scorn/ And the pay is exactly the same." The Gliders Riders (Tune of "Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze.") Garner Sherwood, 13th Airborne WWII vet, Highland, Michigan

"Some think bloggers and internet writers of all sorts are like the 19th century pamphleteers who made American politics livelier and more vigorous by lambasting the other team in full-throated broadsides. Actually, I've said that. And there are similarities. But it should be noted that the pamphleteers were heavy on screeds and colorfully damning the foe. The most successful bloggers aren't bringing bluster to the debate, they're bringing facts--font sizes, full quotes, etc. They're bringing facts and points of view on those facts that the MSM before this could ignore, and did ignore. They're bringing a lot to the debate, and changing the debate by what they bring. They're doing what excellent reporters would do." Hugh Hewitt

"Every person has a story." Beth Gehrt, GM/ExecDirector, Times Newspapers

"The secret is a Thera Band."

"Keys to Success: Focusing, Anticipating, Consistency." Billboard, Smartt, Tennessee

"No democratic government has ever initiated national aggression." General Vernon Walters

"No plan is worth a darn until it results in work." Peter Drucker

Senators who voted
against confirmation of
Dr. Rice for Secretary of State

Akaka, Daniel - D - Hawaii
Bayh, Evan - D - Indiana
Boxer, Barbara - D-California
Byrd, Robert - D - West Virginia
Dayton, Mark - D - Minnesota
Durbin, Richard - D - Illinois
Harkin, Tom - D - Iowa
Jeffords, James - I - Vermont
Kennedy, Edward - D - Massachusetts
Kerry, John - D - Massachusetts
Lautenberg, Frank - D - New Jersey
Levin, Carl - D - Michigan
Reed, Jack - D - Rhode Island

"I am a slightly moderate staunch conservative."

"The lights are on, but nobody's home."

"Get er done."

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

"This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad."

"Can't do that if want to do this."

"Those who churlishly denigrate today's vote really do identify themselves as blind ideologues of the worst sort." Hugh Hewitt, 1.30.2005 first Iraqi free vote in 50 yrs

"Pay more but pay only once." Sign on plumber's truck.

"It is the true nature of mankind to learn from mistakes, not from example." Fred Hoyle, astronomer

"Be willing to dispense with formulas in order to get the job done." General Wayne A. Downing

"All glory comes from daring to begin."

"Study history."

"Learn from the past."

"Hillary Clinton seeks to give Americans an obsolete health care system."

"Kathy, you have to make your own music." In response to Kathy Lee's question to her Dad when she was young and was dancing and asked where the music was.

"She who laughs….lasts."

"Lawyers make much better analysts than journalists, and thus better journalists than journalists -- they are trained in logic and evidence." Hugh Hewitt

"The power to hold convictions and act on them." Whittaker Chambers, 'Witness'

"Fat, lazy and stupid is no way to go through life." Dean Wormer's advice to Flounder

"Give the lady what she wants." Marshall Field

"A geek among bean counters." Scott Stevens

"You deserve to work until you die." Coach Bruce Cowdrey

"Liberalism is a philosophy based on false premises and false promises, and failed programs."

"The fourth estate is a fifth column."

"Pettiness from a petty nation."

"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
George Orwell, Animal Farm 1945

"(A)rms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them." Thomas Paine, Thoughts on Defensive War, (1775.)

"If you enjoy your work, you are a success." George Burns

"Alimony: feeding hay to a dead horse."

"Num num." "Ranger" Austin Abraham, age 1, when his Mother drives by the Dairy Queen

"AARP, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic party, whose members share a common love for motel discounts." Senator Allan Simpson (R-WY)

"Sixty years of western nations excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make us safe, because in the long run stability cannot be purchased at the expense of liberty. As long as the Middle East remains a place where freedom does not flourish, it will remain a place of stagnation, resentment, and violence ready for export." George W. Bush, 11.2003, speech, National Endowment for Democracy

"Extremism generates not only anger, but resolve."

"Another lizard creeps from his dark hole to dart his tongue at a hopeless prey; only to slither back into his cave when the light of day approaches. Walter, you are a serpent!"

"You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream - the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order - or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism." Ronald Reagan

"I have not given you a spirit of fear." 2 Timothy 1:7

"Intelligence guided by experience." Rush Limbaugh

"Man was made to work and work hard. I don't think it ever hurt anyone....What we call stress is sometimes stimulating and can bring out the best features in our makeup. No vacation spot could ever prove as relaxing for me as does the operating room. Work can block out the unpleasant things we have to deal with every day. When you concentrate, you are not distracted by the things that are bothering you." Michael DeBakey, M.D., renowned cardiothoracic surgeon

"As a company commander in combat...crawling around in the mud with an enemy machine gun hammering over my head...the crotch ripped out of my uniform..constipated...hungry...huge bug bites under my eyes...exhausted with days of intermittent sleep....I could always comfort myself by saying..."it could be worse....I could be back in Ranger School". General Barry McCaffrey

"He was compact, with forearms the size of hams. His uniform was filthy and his use of obscenity was truly inventive." What struck the journalist most forcefully was "his enthusiasm, his magnetism, his exuberance, his invincible cheerfulness." Ward Just met Major David H. Hackworth in the ruins of a base camp in the Central Highlands in 1966, where he was a major commanding a battalion of the 101st Airborne

"Socialist Democrats are communists and are intent on destroying this Republic."

"The secret is two glasses of water."

"Major Hackworth was always deeply concerned for his men and he always pushed hard and relentlessly to defeat the enemy."

"Evan Thomas whose grandfather Norman Thomas was one of the ACLU's co-founders, not to mention Socialist candidate for President 6 times." Evan Thomas, Newsweek's Assistant Managing Editor, on Newsweek's apology for lying about the United States military.

"There is no such thing as 'friendly' fire in war." Ranger Jim Grimshaw

"Personal boycotts help one's mental health."

"I think Lawyers are cool. They help people." - Marriott reservations operator

"It is their right and duty to be at all times armed." Thomas Jefferson

"If not us, who? And if not now, when?" Ronald Reagan

"Communists. The only cult in history whose death toll is comparable to that of Islam. Both are popular on college campuses. Go figure."

"This is what you get when virtually every one of the top dogs at GM for 40 years or more came out of the finance group. Beancounters ain't leaders and have no vision, no love of product, no enthusiasm for manufacturing, and no resonance with customers. Eventually it shows."

"Stress is self-created."

"Pearl Harbor and September 11, 2001 are tributes to catastrophic intelligence failures."

"History is the pursuit of truth about the past."

"The absence of sympathy for the victims or even acknowledgement of the mass murders by the Communists in the Soviet Union, Cambodia, Vietnam and elsewhere demonstrates the complete emptiness of the Liberals' appeal made under the guise of universal humanitarianism."

"War is fear cloaked in courage." General William C. Westmoreland

"We had two parishioners in Iraq, one with the army, one with NPR. The soldier's mom encouraged him to get in touch with his childhood friend. He said, "Mom. They are the enemy."

"Holland: a very tolerant country. Until someone shoots you on a public street in broad daylight...."

"September 11, 2001, never forget, and never forgive."

"We are fighting an enemy that murdered 3,000 innocent people on American soil 3 1/2 years ago and would murder millions more if given the chance--and according to Dick Durbin, the actions of our American soldiers are more like the Nazis (9 million dead), the Soviets in their gulags (2.7 million dead), or Pol Pot(1.7 million dead).". James Taranto, WSJ, June 15, 2005.

"To be a good nurse, one has to be a good person." Florence Nightingale

"All gave some.
Some gave all."

"It is a well-established principle of development psychology that young children have no sense of cause and effect. They live in a magical world in which things just seem to happen. They don't understand that if you pull a gun's trigger, a bullet will come out. They don't even understand the finality of death. They just seem to appear, disappear and re-appear."

"The terrorists can kill the innocent, but they cannot stop the advance of freedom. The only way our enemies can succeed is if we forget the lessons of September the 11th, if we abandon the Iraqi people to men like Zarqawi, and if we yield the future of the Middle East to men like Bin Laden. For the sake of our nation's security, this will not happen on my watch." President George W. Bush

"Life is a calculated risk."

Kelo v. City of New London, United States Supreme Court, June 23, 2005
Holding:
Government may take private property from an owner for use by another private property owner.

Stevens, John Paul, wrote opinion
Breyer, Stephen G. concurred
Ginsburg, Ruth Bader concurred
Kennedy, Anthony M. concurred (filed concurring opinion)
Souter, David H. concurred

O'Connor, Sandra Day, filed dissenting opinion
Rehnquist, William H., Chief Justice, joined dissent
Scalia, Antonin joined dissent
Thomas, Clarence (filed dissenting opinion)

"Multiculturalism is based on the lie that all cultures are morally equal. In practice, that soon degenerates to: All cultures are morally equal, except ours, which is worse. But all cultures are not equal in respecting representative government, guaranteed liberties and the rule of law. And those things arose not simultaneously and in all cultures, but in certain specific times and places -- mostly in Britain and America, but also in various parts of Europe." Michael Barone

"If you understood what Communism was, you would hope, you would pray on your knees that we would some day become Communist." Jane Fonda, November 21, 1970, University of Michigan

"I, a socialist, think that we should strive toward a socialist society, all the way to Communism." Jane Fonda, Duke University

"The late economist Mancur Olson argued that the downfall of democracy would be its tendency to calcify into special-interest gridlock. Germany's extensive welfare state has created millions of voters who fear the loss of any benefits. Combine that with voters in eastern Germany who cling to outmoded notions of state support and you have an formidable challenge to bring about real reform. "The lesson for America is do not go down the road as far as Germany has," says Horst Schakat, a German who created a series of successful businesses in California for 30 years but retired to his native land in 2001. "You may find yourself unable to go down a different but correct path once too many people have become dependent on the state." John Fund, WSJ, 9.19.2005

"A person must necessarily occupy a narrow field who is at the beck and call of others." Kristan Swain

"Despite our admiration for sapience, as a species we humans are better at biting than thinking -- which is understandable as we have aspired to thought only for a few thousand years, while we have been biting and slashing since our DNA shared space in the crocodile." Tony Blankley

"Never, ever complain, because one can never repay God for the favors he has done us." Aloise (Bill's Mother) Buckley.

"Pimps, prostitutes, preachers." Caller to Rush Limbaugh Show

"At a certain age, if you do not wake up with aches in every bone in your body, you are dead."

"Never go to a gun fight with a handgun that uses ammo that doesn't start with a 4." LtCol Robert K. Brown

"Extremely Extreme Extremist."

"Compare yourself only with yourself."

"When a clown makes a mistake, he makes a big bow to the audience and celebrates with everyone his learning experience."

"We've been working on the Great Society and the war on poverty since 1964. Six trillion we've spent on it and what have we got? We've got New Orleans, and the liberals know it." Rush Limbaugh

"Free money gets spent faster than earned money."

"Attacking bunkers in Vietnam was responsible for the lion's share of the names on the Wall. Throughout the war, from the 173rd Airborne Brigade's wild assaults in 1965 against machine gun bunkers in War Zone C to the 101st Airborne Division's insane 1969 assault against fortified positions on Hamburger Hill, 'Hey diddle, diddle, right up the middle' was the name of the game. Rifle companies bled and bled many times over the years, taking fortified objectives, which they were frequently lured into attacking. This lack of intelligent tactics played right into the enemy's hands." Colonel David H. Hackworth, "Soldier of Fortune" December 1993.

"Sarcasm - the last refuge of an empty mind."

"Fear the government that fears your guns. God, guts, and guns made America great."

“Source of Austin being called “Ranger” by Dom.” Austin, age 2, journeyed with Alicia and Dom to Boone, Iowa to view the Thomas The Train weekend event. Arriving at the Ames, Iowa motel Friday night, they journeyed a about one mile West on Duff Avenue to a popular barbeque restaurant (Hickory Park). A portion of the road was gravel and it was a dark rainy night. After a fine dinner and on the way home Dom (a real Ranger!) decided to take a different route back to the motel to avoid the gravel portion of Duff Avenue. Austin immediately sensed a different route was being taken and raised cain. Marveling at Austin’s situational awareness and orientation abilities, Dom stated: “This Ranger is not letting a 2 year old Ranger tell him which route to take.” The rest is history.

"Sarcasm - the last refuge of an empty mind."

"Fear the government that fears your guns. God, guts, and guns made America great."

"Afghanistan is the first country to have been bombed out of the Stone Age." Christopher Hitchens

The Paradoxical Commandments
by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

"New Orleans has a Democrat Mayor, a Democrat City Council, and a Democrat Chief of Police. Louisiana has a Democrat Governor, a Democrat Lieutenant Governor, a Democrat Attorney General; 24 of 39 Louisiana State Senators are Democrat, 67 of 105 Louisiana State House Representatives ar Democrat, there's a Democrat Representative in the House from New Orleans, and one of two Senators in the Senate is a Democrat. So you can see why any problems with Hurricane Katrina are all Bush's fault." Soldier of Fortune, January 2006

"I don't know anybody under the age of 30 who has ever looked at a classified ad in a newspaper." Rupert Murdoch 24 Nov 05

"Good training is the foundation of good leadership. The rest can be found in the principles of another man who deeply influenced Hackworth, Col. Glover Johns. Hackworth loved to quote Johns' basic philosophy of soldiering:
- Strive to do small things well.
- Be a doer and a self-starter - aggressiveness and initiative are two most admired qualities in a leader - but you must also put your feet up and think.
- Strive through self-improvement through constant self-evaluation.
- Never be satisfied. Ask of any project, "How can it be done better?"
- Don't overinspect and oversupervise. Allow your leaders to make mistakes in training, so they can profit from the errors and not make them in combat.
- Keep the troops informed; telling them "what, how, and why" builds their confidence.
- The harder the training, the more troops will brag.
- Enthusiasm, fairness, and moral and physical courage - four of the most important aspects of leadership.
- Showmanship - a vital technique of leadership.
- The ability to speak and write well - two essential tools of leadership.
- There is a salient difference between profanity and obscenity; while a leader employs profanity (tempered with discretion), he never uses obscenities.
- Have consideration for others.
- Yelling detracts from your dignity; take men aside to counsel them.
- Understand and use judgment; know when to stop fighting for something you believe is right. Discuss and argue your point of view until a decision is made, and then support the decision wholeheartedly.
- Stay ahead of your boss.
These are the traits of good leaders in any field. Sadly, the people who live up to them are few and far between. But when you find a person who has these qualities, you will follow them gladly and with pride." Author, Colonel Glover Johns, as quoted and used by Colonel David H. Hackworth, American Preeminent Military Leader and Hero.

"Posterity -- you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." --John Quincy Adams

"The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a Nativity Scene in Washington, DC
this Christmas season. This isn't for any religious reason, they simply have not been able to
find three wise men and a virgin in the Nation's capitol! There was no
problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable."

"May the good Lord Bless You and Keep You until we meet again." Meredith Wilson's Mother

"Slavery of welfare." Rush Limbaugh

"Win the War
Confirm the Judges
Control the Borders
Cut the Taxes
Control the Spending."

"Takers hate Givers."

"If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention than to any other talent." Issac Newton, mathematician, physicist (IBD)

"The work of the individual still remains the spark that moves mankind forward." Igor Sikorsky, aeronautical engineer (IBD)

"The leader is not just a scorekeeper. He is responsible for creating something new and better." Bill Creech, Commanding General U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Command (IBD)

"Our vision controls the way we think and, therefore, the way we act.... The vision we have of our jobs determines what we do and the opportunities we see or don't see." Charles Koch, executive (IBD)

Peter Drucker's keen insights (IBD):

"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things."

"So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work."

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said."

"Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work."

"An organization's mission statement...should fit on a T-shirt."

"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily." George Washington

"Readers are plentiful; thinkers are rare." Harriet Martineau

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." Pablo Picasso

"Talk happiness. The world is sad enough without your woe." Orison Sweet Marden

"They should remember that in the absence of justice there is only revenge."

"Congressmen who willfully take actions during wartime that damage morale and undermine the military are saboteurs and should be arrested, exiled or hanged." Abraham Lincoln

Roll Call of U.S. Senate Vote on USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005:
YEAs - 52 Republicans
NAYs - 100% Democrats plus 4 Republicans (Larry Craig -IDAHO; Chuck Hagel -NEBRSKA; Lisa Murkowski ALASKA; John Sununu NEW HAMPSHIRE) 12.16.05 Vote #358

"Stop the excuses, go to school, get a job, don't be rude or start fights. How hard can that be?"

"Go for the Robes (i.e. judges, clergy, academics)." Karl Marx

"If he (Bush) gambled on creating a democracy in the Arab Middle East and he does it, he belongs on Mount Rushmore." Chris Matthews

"You can't be afraid of your shadow."

"The secret is demographics."

"In Wyoming, for example, Gov. Dave Freudenthal last April decreed that the Endangered Species Act is no longer in force and that the state 'now considers the wolf as a federal dog,' unworthy of protection." Front page LA Times factual story based on a fake news release/April's Fools joke. The story noted how successful the reintroduction of wolves had been 10 years ago.

"The ignorance among journalists is appalling. It appears that the leftist educators in American universities have succeeded in their goal, they have helped to produce a generation of idiots."

"Every car should have a gun."

"It is comforting to think that students are smart enough to capitalize on their professor's foolishness rather than dumb enough to be influenced by it." James Taranto

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts; so I am helped, and my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him." Psalm 28:7 (RSV)

"Conservative = Constitutional Republic, Liberty and Freedom.
Liberal = Socialism, Communism, destruction of the Constitution, total control of your life."

"The soft bigotry of low expectations." President George W. Bush

"The beginning of wisdom is the realization of responsibility." Christopher Hitchens

"The baby boomer generation begins reaching retirement age in five years or so. That will be the beginning of the end of the sixties. And I have nothing but respect for that larger percentage that served their country and worked their jobs instead of gnawing at the hand of the country that feeds them."

"Mediocrity." Salieri in comparison to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"The dems need to publicly apologize for the millions that were murdered after they voted to withhold the promised funds to the South Vietnam government."

"Welfare culture is bad not just because, as in Europe, it's bankrupting the state, but because it enfeebles the citizenry, it erodes self-reliance and resourcefulness." Mark Steyn

"America will long remember one thing and one thing only about New Orleans: Democrat 'diversity' city-and-state politicians are incompetent graftsters and neo-slaves whom they've dumbed down through handouts-for-votes are pathetic."

"We continue to narrow our view of warfare's acceptable parameters even as our enemies amplify the concept of total war." Wretchard, The Belmont Club

"I think the Danish ambassador should issue an apology. In the largest Christian church in Saudi Arabia." Laurence Simon

***********

Oliver Wendell Holmes:

"The one and only success which it is his to command is to bring to his work a mighty heart."

"And in a war there is only one rule: Form your battalions and fight."

"If you want it hard enough, you will get anything you want."

**********

"Work spares us from three evils: boredom, vice, and need." Voltaire

"Denial is an often useful innate human trait. Few of us would be able to function in the present if we did not put out of mind many unpleasant realities — such as our inevitable death." Tony Blakely

"America shines when it provides work for the mentally challenged."

"Unsung, the noblest deed will die." Bing West

"Be cheerful, live in hope, be productive and useful. Nobody likes a gloomy Gus." Tony Blakely

"I only see blessings and opportunities."

"And it gets cold in Cleveland."

"A patriot is someone who never gets over an obsession with protecting our nation." Daniel Henniger

"People love to learn. Learning is fun." George Shultz

"Keep your head in the game." Kevin

"Upheavals are history's way of retiring the mountain of political debts earlier generations of hacks have accumulated." Wretchard

"Behind every successful man is a surprised woman."

"You can either make yourself happy or miserable...the amount of work is the same."

"Mom, drive me to work so I can make some money." Austin, age 3

"I'm in love with downtown Franklin." Bernie Butler

"You fixed a good time to leave me Lucile."

"Mom, what are we doing this year after school is out?" Will Smith, age 11

"You talk always through me. Thank you." a Prussian trait

"The Army wants you to take the ordinary and do the extraordinary. Linc German

"Driver carries no cash. He is married."

"When they find exactly the right product at the right price, life is good." Satisfied consumer

"Most Americans recognize that stopping the next 9/11 before it happens requires aggressive intelligence gathering, and keeping those operations secret."

"History suggests that Capitalism is the necessary condition for political freedom." Milton Friedman

"Israel is doing all the right things. There must be a disproportionate response to terrorism to counter its asymmetry."

"Quoting myself: To be a liberal you must believe something that is not true."

"Remember, cars and bicycles are just wheels in the scheme of things."

"Dom, what did you do today?"

"If men make war in slavish obedience to rules, they will fail."
General Ulysses S. Grant

"When the Cuban people are finally free to speak about Castro's
decades of dictatorship, how will they rate the U.S. media's
coverage? Did our free press speak truth to power, or were they
instead cheerleaders for Castro's communist revolution?"

"Too often the GOP acts as if it's simply above the fray. George H.W. Bush was too decent a man to go after Bill Clinton and it cost us 8 years of having a president that neglected national defense at best and at worst allowed North Korea and China to become nuclear dangers to us." Comment in response to criticism that Ann Coulter is too tough.

"Sudan: A Grim Reminder That Genocide Begins With Gun Bans" - Cover, "America's 1st Freedom"

"My favorite cartoon depicting this was a single-frame with two homes. Outside one was a huge sign, with an arrow pointing to the other home. Above the arrow, the text said something like, "My neighbor believes in Gun Control. I respect his right to hold that position, and thus will not be using my guns to protect him."

"A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at home many want in....and how many want out." Tony Blair, in response to the perception of America in the world.

"But until we as a country come to terms publicly with what kind of a country we think America is and should be, we can never have a rational and full debate about what kind of immigration policy we should try to enforce." Tony Blankley

"It will never be known what acts of cowardice have been motivated by the fear of looking insufficiently progressive." Charles Peguy, French poet, as quoted by Patrick Buchanan

"My only quandary at this point in time. When the time comes, should we bomb Mecca and Medina simultaneously, or in sequence like Hiroshima and then Nagasaki?"

"Ginormous" - Carsen, age 7

"The continuity of a great ranch is no accident. It requires vision, work, commitment and persistence. " King Ranch (825,000 acres of South Texas land - larger than the State of Rhode Island), Kingsville, Texas.

"War is a series of catastrophes that results in victory." Clemenceau

"Worry is a misuse of imagination." Church sign

"We are at war with Muslims. I don't need a second 9/11 or a second Pearl Harbor."

"It all depends on what phase of our life that we are in." Nieman Marcus shoe salesman at Oakbrook

"Quality. There is hardly anything in the world that some men cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey." John Ruskin

Brevity is the soul of wit.
- William Shakespeare

"Dresden was payback for Coventry."

"Ignore those mad at the world."

"Our whole educational system, from the elementary schools to the universities, is increasingly turning out people who have never heard enough conflicting arguments to develop the skills and discipline required to produce a coherent analysis, based on logic and evidence. The implications of having so many people so incapable of confronting opposing arguments with anything besides ad hominem responses reach far beyond Wal-Mart or think tanks. It is in fact the Achilles heel of this generation of our society and of Western civilization." Thomas Sowell

"The above is merely my opinion and neither true or false. If valid, my memory serves me well. If not, sorry and I'll try better next time." Earle Malkin

"Ranger for Ranger, today's Ranger has more combat experience than any Ranger in the history of our Rangers."

"Study hard and do your homework because if you don't you'll get stuck in Iraq" John Kerry, October 30, 2006

"The mass of the population always want to live their own lives; change is always driven by small, committed groups of ideologues and fanatics - even in our own revolution. Representative democracy is a great ideal, but major shifts are rarely achieved by majority rule, which prefers the status quo." Camille Paglia (i.e. the tail does wag the dog)

Some time . . . when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys - tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, but I'll know about it, and I'll be happy. - President Ronald Reagan
"Complexity is easy; simplicity is difficult." Georgy Shpagin, designer PPSh41 submachine gun.
"I have a standard line that I use in speeches to academic audiences, where I quickly run through the various atrocities committed by Communism in the 20th century. Among those lines, I always begin my statement on the 100 million deaths attributed to Communism (twice the total of the World War I and II deaths combined) by The Black Book of Communism by first noting that the book was published by Harvard University Press, so I don't get scoffed at by the elites in the room. Even then, when I fire off a litany of horrific examples of Communist barbarism, students and non-faculty members are riveted, mouths agape, whereas the hardened leftist profs and media people in the room just sneer at me, daggers in their eyes, as if the ghost of Joe McCarthy has just flown into the room and leapt inside of my body." Jamie Glazov, Front Page Magazine.com 11.8.2006

"If you talk about the past, it means you have no future." Marty Katz

"Pity those Americans who can only find fault with and criticize this God-inspired greatest nation on earth."

"GWB has every reason to be tired. He led the country into what is a very difficult, and now contentious, war, he managed to lead the Congress and Senate into a Clintonist level defeat, and now faces a final two years of his term with an antagonistic legislature. The only way he could not look tired is with Botox. I fee sorry for the guy. But he was in charge and his problems are almost entirely of his making. Sorry GWB, but that is my take. And I voted for you twice." Chatter, 25 Dec 06.

"Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there."

"Your future depends on many things, but mostly on you."

"Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it."

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't."

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

"Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises."

"A mind that has been stretched will never return to its original dimension."

"Success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get."

"Courage is grace under pressure."

"If you are going to be thinking, you may as well think big."

"It doesn't get any better than this."

"One thing you can't recycle is wasted time."

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"

"Why do you have the coffee cup in your briefcase?" Austin, 3

" The big tax cuts of 2003 really enabled the economy to go from a 1 percent stagnant, semi-stagnant economy to the vigorous one we have today. It's not fully appreciated, because the main media more or less ignore it, but the growth in the American economy during the last four years exceeds the entire size of the Chinese economy. Obviously China is growing rapidly from an extremely small base. And so the tax cuts of 2003 were vastly superior, much more powerful than the ones of 2001. The nation has done very well with those tax cuts. On the spending side, Congress has been almost derelict. Spending in Washington has been compared to drunken sailors, and of course that's an insult to drunken sailors — drunken sailors spend their own money. There's been very little sense that this is real people's money and I don't know why the administration's been so reluctant to wield the veto pen. Ronald Reagan didn't hesitate to use it. And that's one reason why the Republicans didn't fare well, because is people felt they had lost their principles and were more interested in incumbent protection and corruption." Steve Forbes

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." Helen Keller

"Any nation is, at heart, an idea." Mark Bowden

"No, but I have FIVE cousins!" Austin, age 3, in response to question of Lynn Simpson in balcony at First Federated Church if he had any brothers or sisters. He was busy drawing pictures on the program with his pencil, when he paused, looked directly at Lynn and raised his hand to show the 5 answered the question, and then resumed drawing.

"The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men." Samuel Adams

"No one could have guessed how much money a thermal pool in Yellowstone National Park was worth when Thomas Brock took a tiny sampling in 1966 that yielded the microbe Thermus aquanticus. More than a decade later, scientists extracted an enzyme from that microbe that revolutionized DNA analysis; applications ranged from aiding criminal investigations to diagnosis and treatment of genetic diseases.... A Swiss pharmaceutical company named Hoffman LaRoche recognized its potential and brought the patent for the process. It was a smart move. Hoffman LaRoche has since made hundreds of millions of dollars from that patent. Yellowstone, on the other hand, hasn't seen a penny." National Parks, Winter, 2007 issue.

"Feminists advocate disarming women, and thus their slaughter."

"Feminists advocate disarming women, and thus their slaughter."

"The Good Lord looks out for fools, drunks and the United States of America." Bismarck

"You can't be afraid of your shadow."

"No problem."

"Love what you do." Secret of success

"The past is for cowards and losers." Mike Ditka

"Life is a race."

"Sam Walton had selective hearing. He knew who to hear and who to ignore." Michael Yon

"Going again." TSA agent at Peoria airport to TS

"Dinner, Sir." Southwest Airlines flight attendant serving TS a packet of peanuts.

"Invisible platforms."

"Motives do not alter facts." Ayn Rand

"Actions speak louder than words."

"Worry = wasted energy."

"Focus, move, think
Move, focus, think
Think, focus, move
Bob Mc Mahon

"He who gambles, lives in shambles." Mike North

"Let's take care of business." Ed O'Bradovich

"Fat people are harder to kidnap."

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Proverbs 29:18

"Cut your gains." Warren Buffet

"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." William James

"I accept the result with entire good humor and contentment." Teddy Roosevelt on defeat as Bull Moose Party Presidential Election

"Passion over perfection."

"This is a brand new day that has never been touched."

"Without women, we would still be living in caves." Nick O'Donnell

"You cannot be great if you are shallow."

"No problem."

"Love what you do is the secret to success."

"Talents and abilities."

"Go to the sound of the guns." Wayne Downing

"Where there is no vision, people perish." Proverbs 29:18

"The secret is to eat good carbohydrates (fruit) which satisfy your appetite, and refrain from eating bad carbohydrates (sugar) which increases your appetite."

"Payback is hell." PJS

"Follow your Heart wherever it take you and be Happy
Life is brief and very fragile and only loaned to us for awhile
Wake up every morning with the thought that something
Wonderful is about to happen."

"Do not mistake fairness for stupidity."

"The building of a free society is an intellectual adventure, a deed of courage." F.A. Hayek

"I've found over the years that nearly everyone is dying to tell his or her story." Mark Bowden, author

"The history of gun control appears to have been one of controlling people rather than reducing violence." Ken Blackwell, recounting when the Ku Klux Klan's primary aim was to prevent Blacks from having access to guns; and thus gun control is synonymous with racism.

"The late Murray Kempton once described editorial writers as 'the people who come down from the hill after the battle to shoot the wounded.' Nowadays, media analysts are the guys who follow behind them, going through the pockets of the dead looking for loose change."

"Your heart is not as black as****, but your heart still is black." J. Walker to defense attorney

"Why can't star-wars-man-on-the-moon technology in electronics, computers, aviation, munitions apply that same R&D to create effective counter-measures for improvised explosive devices (IEDs), focusing on disruption/ blocking/ disarming of the detonators, such as lasers, electronic-jamming, electronic-countermeasures, disruption of cell phone network, heat-melting technologies, infrared devices, sensors, counter-IEDs, viruses, dissolving-chemicals-electronics, and the like in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect our Rangers and all our troops on the ground?...obviously it is due to a lack of will, sense of urgency, determination, creativity and innovation and budget, not brainpower."

Check out http://www.aogusma.org In Memoriam for examples of America's Best and Brightest, many many Rangers, killed by IEDs, small arms fire, crashes, etc.

"Global warming is a unique cultural madness - it is a religion that allows the libs a moral basis for exerting total control over all people. Everything affects global warming - cars, cows, breathing, farming, offices, industry etc. This is a perfect moral basis for the lib desire to make other people do what they want - that is why it has become so popular. Soon they will be able to say that they had to kill a man to save the planet - and people will believe them."

"The Secret is future thinking/ planning."

"Ugoforward!!!" Karen Kay Jones

"When the liberal democrats have no analytical abilities, no long-term memory, and no link to the logical part of their brain, it is easy to be hypocritical. They are simply unaware of their hypocrisy. However, they are in touch with their "feelings".

"You are free by accident. You live free by choice. To die free is the responsibility of your generation." LTG Russell Honore

"Get an estimate before any work is done." ABS

"My weight is directly related to how much food I eat."

"Global warming is a unique cultural madness - it is a religion that allows the libs a moral basis for exerting total control over all people. Everything affects global warming - cars, cows, breathing, farming, offices, industry etc. This is a perfect moral basis for the lib desire to make other people do what they want - that is why it has become so popular. Soon they will be able to say that they had to kill a man to save the planet - and people will believe them."

"The Secret is future thinking/ planning."

General Tomoyuki Yamashita (Yamashita Tomoyuki, pronounced "ya mashta") (November 8, 1885 – February 23, 1946) was a general of the Japanese Imperial Army during the World War II era. He was most famous for conquering the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore, earning the nickname The Tiger of Malaya.

"Does a mean lady live there? No, she's a Master Gardner." Two little girls on their bicycles using the driveway circle at 111 Morningside talking and overheard by ABS through an open upstairs window.

"Austin, Mimi said that you did a good job today at Church. Mimi didn't say it." Austin in response to Papa Tim's comment about Mimi, when everyone was in the car heading home from Church, afterwhich Mimi, speaking in person, re-stated to Austin that he had done a good job in Church.

"Mission orientated."

"Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level, then beat you with experience."

"Life is an IQ test."

"He was happy every day of his life" Ranger Bill Amundson

"I've found that you don't need to wear a necktie if you can hit." Ted Williams

"Omission is the most powerful form of lie." George Orwell

"Birthday Week." Austin, 4

"In looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you." Warren Buffett

""You've got to love what you're doing. If you love it, you can overcome any handicap or the soreness or all the aches and pains, and continue to play for a long, long time. " Gordie Howe

"I find my greatest pleasure, and so my reward, in the work that precedes what the world calls success." Thomas Edison

"Surname - A name shared in common to identify the members of a family, as distinguished from each member's given name. Also called family name."

"I like a hard life." Nathan, 4

"Radical Islamists largely arise from the oil-rich Middle East. Since 9/11, the price of oil has skyrocketed, transferring trillions of dollars from successful Western, Indian and Chinese economies to unsuccessful Arab and Iranian autocracies." V.D. Hanson

"The problem lies equally with evil, and those who would deny its existence."

"Communists, Socialists, Democrats, Traitors, who can tell the difference?"

"Don's speak ill of others."

"Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind." Leonardo da Vinci

"Catch on fire with enthusiasm, and people will come for miles to watch you burn." John Wesley

"There is no use whatever trying to help people who do not help themselves. You cannot push anyone up a ladder unless he is willing to climb himself." Andrew Carnegie

"A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what he is born with -- a man is what he makes of himself." Alexander Graham Bell

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit." Conrad Hilton

"My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging." Hank Aaron

"Imagination has brought mankind through the dark ages to its present state of civilization. Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination let Franklin to discover electricity." Frank Baum

"Sanders said the crew always kept rocks on top of the tank as a way of dispersing troublemakers without using lethal force." Heroism of a tanker on 4 April 2004 in a Baghdad, Iraq battle. Article headline: "The tank specialist threw everything, even stones, at the terrorists." PC war-fighting gone amuck.

"Imagination floods us with suggestions all the time, from all directions" Federico Fellini

"Quality, service, cleanliness and value." Ray Kroc

"Don't be afraid to be unique or speak your mind, because that's what makes you different from everyone else." Dave Thomas

"If an exchange between two parties is voluntary, it will not take place unless both believe they will benefit from it." Milton Friedman

"If you have to boil down your negotiating attitude to two things...question everything and think big." Mark McCormack

"Every great batter works on the theory that the pitcher is more afraid of him than he is of the pitcher." Ty Cobb

"Be sure you are right -- then go forward." David Crockett

"Invest in yourself."

"Why does that car have only 2 numbers?" Austin, 4, seeing Cisty's 25 in FFC parking lot.

"Life is good." Ray Wood

"There are 3 things that will get you killed...messing with his wife, messing with his dog...or messing with his boundary line." Ronny Brown, surveyor, Franklin, Tennessee

“The term ‘bipartisan’ simply means that there’s a larger than usual deception going on.” George Carlin

"The future is now."

"A goal is just a dream with a deadline."

"There are two theories to arguing with a woman...neither works." Will Rogers

"Wisdom and cleverness are very different things. My nominations for the three wisest presidents would be Washington, Lincoln, and Reagan. For the three cleverest -- FDR, Nixon and Clinton. " Thomas Sowell

"Anyone who is popular is bound to be disliked," Yogi Berra

"The secret is athletics."

"Leaders look out for their troops."

"There is no beauty but the beauty of action." Proverb

"Dumb mistake - do without thinking. Stupid mistake - repeat Dumb mistake."

"An incompetent is unreliable."

"An unethical person is untrustworthy."

"Don't sweat the small stuff."

"Deal with it."

"Don't blame - anyone/anything."

"There but for the grace of God go I." Observing citizens of those being marched to the guillotine during the French Revolution

"He was a soldier's soldier. He and I are both infantrymen. We're taught some things at the Infantry School. One is...that the mission is always uppermost, and nothing should stand in the way of accomplishing the mission. But the second thing we're taught is take care of the troops.... Wayne was good at that." Gen. Colin Powell on his late colleague Gen. Wayne Downing.

"Personal excellence can be achieved by a visionary goal, thorough planning, dedicated execution and total follow-through." Gerald Ford, 38th U.S. President

"3 D's of success: desire, dedication, discipline." Greg Maddux, baseball Hall of Famer

"Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greater success stories are created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity." Joseph Sugarman

"I can take a bad situation and make it work to my advantage. That's part of what mental toughness means." Joan Benoit, marathoner

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles." Sun Tzu

"A subtle shift in presentation of promotional material made all the difference in the consumer's response." Lester Wunderman

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do thing worth writing." Ben Franklin

"Democrats want to do good deeds with your money." Gregg Smith

"Consider that in all of Europe no one under the age of 65 has picked up arms in defense of their country. That task has been borne by the United States since Hitler surrendered in 1945."

"The rule is brutal, but ironclad. If you don't kill the killers, the killers will kill you." Ralph Peters, retired Army officer

"Currently, there are no major Marine units among the 26,000 or so U.S. forces in Afghanistan. In Iraq there are about 25,000 Marines among the more than 160,000 U.S. troops there." Oct 007NYT

"As you get older, the ground gets harder."

"Knoxville is located in the center of the eastern United States and is within a day's drive of half the nation's population."

"Chattanooga is located at the convergence of three major interstates -- and it's within a day's drive of more than half the U.S. population."

"Berry Farms, Franklin, Tennessee is located on the heavily traveled North/South I-65 and convenient to Nashville Metropolitan Airport (BNA) and within a day's drive of more than half America's population."

"Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."

"Failure is never permanent unless you accept it." Roger Ailes

"Can't worry about it."

"Life is good."

"No pain no gain."

"I don't have time for that."

"Maybe if she were armed it wouldn't have come to this. Remember people, police provide justice but they can't protect you."

Mission of The Ranger Training Brigade:

"CONDUCT RANGER AND RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE LEADER COURSES TO FURTHER DEVELOP THE COMBAT ARMS RELATED FUNCTIONAL SKILLS OF OFFICER AND ENLISTED VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR ASSIGNMENT TO UNITS WHOSE PRIMARY MISSION IS TO ENGAGE IN THE CLOSE COMBAT, DIRECT FIRE BATTLE"

"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."
H. L. Mencken

"Good minds are not paralyzed by fear." Max Whitmore

"Austin walked in the CCP and immediately peeled off to check his jacket." Austin, age 4

"Shelby County, Tennessee (Memphis) Courthouse - Judge John Thomas Swayne, brother to Noah H. Swayne, U.S. Supreme Court (Ohio)"

Article in The American Legion Magazine, November, 2007, Ralph Peters, retired Army officer:

* "Killing a few hundred violent actors like Moqtaka al-Sadr in 2003 would have prevented thousands of subsequent American deaths and tens of thousands of Iraqi death. We started something our national leadership lacked the guts to finish."

* "War means fighting, and fighting means killing." Nathan Bedford Forrest

* "Our terrorist problems have been created by the catastrophic failure of Middle Eastern civilization to compete on any front and were exacerbated by the determination of successive U.S. administrations, Democratic and Republican, to pretend that Islamist terrorism was a brief aberration."

* "Israel is the Muslim world's excuse for failure, not a reason for it."

* "Saudi extremism has done far more damage to the Middle East than Israel ever did. The Saudis are our enemies."

* "But Islamic civilization was on a downward trajectory that could not be arrested. Its social and economic structures, its values, its neglect of education, its lack of scientific curiosity, the indolence of its ruling classes and its inability to produce a single modern state that served its people all guaranteed that, as the West 's progress accelerated, the Middle East would fall ever farther behind. The Middle East has itself to blame for its problems."

* "The unprecedented wealth and power of the United States allows us to afford many things denied to human beings throughout history. But we, the people, cannot afford ignorance."

"Go to Hell." ABS response to automated telephone request for credit card info.

"You can't be serious about national security unless you're serious about border security."

"Andrew reached into his shirt pocket and pushed a button on a black device the size of a cigarette pack. It sent out a powerful radio signal that cut off the chatterer’s cellphone transmission — and any others in a 30-foot radius."

"We are busying ourselves with things that should be taught in the history books..
China killed 50 million of it’s citizens. It’s a matter of history.
The USSR killed 20 million of it’s citizens.
Germany killed upwards of 6 million of it’s citizens.
Cambodia Killed 2 million of it’s citizens.
Turkey killed something like 1 million of it’s citizens.
If we count the casualties of our world wars, we could bump the numbers further."

"Be sure you're right, then go ahead." Davy Crockett

RANGERS WANTED!!

The UNITED STATES ARMY RANGER ASSOCIATION (USARA) is recruiting members from veteran Rangers to lend support to active-duty Rangers. Any Ranger knows that once a Ranger, always a Ranger. As a Ranger veteran, each of us is in a position to share our experiences and show our support and pride in the active duty Rangers both in the United States and fighting for our Nation in such places as Afghanistan and Iraq. Rangers can go to www.RANGER.org under the section "Join Us". Life memberships are only $250, together with proof, such as a copy of your DD-214, of Ranger qualification. Remember Rangers, "Rangers Lead the Way!!"

"They can't hit an elephant from this dis...." Last words of Union MG Sedgewick at the Battle of Spotsylvania, May 1864

"Character is fate."

"Feminists advocate disarming women, and thus their slaughter." (Kitty Genovese)

"We all have our roles."

Lexile.com

"Why should we Anglo-Saxons apologize for being superior. We are superior." Winston Churchill

"Now children, don't forget to pray." David A. Hoerr, Apostolic Christian Sunday School Teacher in the 1950's.(Note: Great-grandson J. Leman, 6' 3", 243 lbs, University of Illinois Linebacker, named to First Team, American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) All-American Team on 29 Nov 007)

"A rival's clarity was a liability because he had nothing to say." Arthur Balfour

"I carry a gun because I cannot carry a cop."

"It ain't braggin' if you can do it.”- Dizzy Dean

"Never pet a burning dog." LTC (Tennessee National Guard)

"Things are looking up for us here. In fact, Papua-New Guinea is thinking of offering two platoons: one of Infantry (headhunters) and one of engineers (hut builders). They want to eat any Iraqis they kill. We've got no issues with that, but State is being anal about it." LTC (JS) on OIF coalition-building

"The hardest thing about having a third child is switching from 1-on-1 to a zone defense." MAJ (EUCOM

"His knowledge on that topic is only power point deep..." MAJ (JS)
"If you want to take down a country, gimme a call. We'll get it done." GO/FO (EUCOM) to a gathering of US Ambassadors

"Hello gentlemen. Are we in today or are you just ignoring my request?" GS-15 (DSCA) in an email to EUCOM staffers

"I do it all." Response of Carsen, age 9, to question of on the playscript being developed as to who writes it; who casts the characters; who organizes the production; who acts in the play, and so forth. She also arranged for the "actors" to sign contracts that she had previously drafted.

"The Good Lord spreads it around."

"And when it comes to endorsements of individuals, let’s just say Oprah was able to take an unknown jury consultant from Texas, transport him to Beverly Hills and make a mega-TV star out of him. She did just that with a guy named — Dr. Phil."

"Bad guys should be shot dead, not Christmas shoppers." Ted Nugent

"What does a criminal call a gun-free zone? A playground"

"Feminists advocate disarming women, and thus their slaughter." (Kitty Genovese - 1964)

"She left her concealment and cover and advanced toward the heavily armed and body-armor covered gunman (who had just shot and killed two unarmed teenage sisters in the church parking lot) and after calling upon him to surrender, and receiving in return a spray of bullets, shot him dead with a bullet between the eyes. She has been credited with saving between 50 and 100 people in the church who would have in all probability been slaughtered."
(Jeanne Assum - 2007)

"Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and advocates enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the armed services."

"Confidence is based on accomplishment." Ranger Tony Herbert

"Nature or nurture."

"Work for the night is coming." Karl Larsson

"Where there is no vision, people perish." Proverbs 29:18

"In the end, they will lay their freedom at our feet and say 'Make us your slaves, but feed us." Dostoyevsky

“It was worse than a crime, it was a blunder.” So said the French politician Talleyrand after Napoleon had ordered the murder of one of his political rivals.

''The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.'' Groucho Marx

"You don't concentrate on risks. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done." Chuck Yeager

"No one can cheat you out of ultimate success but yourself." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"When a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it." Edgar Howe

"No one knows enough to say definitely what is and what is not possible." Henry Ford

"House (dressing)....my Mom needs this recipe...which aisle are they on (at Schnucks)?" Austin, age 4, eating dinner w/ Mimi at her home, she asked him the type of dressing that he wanted for his salad; then later in the meal when he was enjoying his spaghetti; and lastly when he was enjoying cinnamon rolls from Schnucks grocery store, where Austin and his Mother shop frequently.

"You have a coat like mine...you only have two buttons (I have three)" Will Swain, age 7, visiting with Chappie Chapman at Cisty's Christmas party, comparing blue blazers, following a firm handshake.

"When it comes to articulation, no one can beat Barack Obama. He can even convince people that he has new ideas, when in fact they are old 1960s ideas that have failed repeatedly, ever since that irresponsible decade....It is painful to watch her trying to act human and it would be even more painful to see the Clintons back in the White House that they disgraced in so many ways. She might even be shameless enough to put him on the Supreme Court, where he could ruin the law of the land, as many of his own judicial appointees are already doing in the federal courts. As for the other candidates in both parties, the big question is why anyone takes them seriously as candidates to lead the nation at a time of huge dangers that terrorists will end up with nuclear weapons, whether from Iran or Pakistan. This nation has come back from unpromising times before. Let’s hope that we have not already used up all our luck." Thomas Sowell

"Mimi, why are you the Mother to so many kids?" Austin, age 4

"I'll sleep when I'm dead":

"Our nation's men and women in uniform must rank with the finest Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines in our country's history. And it has been wonderful to see how those at home support our troops in harm's way and their families. I can imagine no greater privilege than serving with the new 'Greatest Generation' here in Iraq." General David Petraeus

"This is mostly Bill Clinton's fault. He and the incompetents running the CIA let Pakistan go nuclear in 1998."

Language oddities:

"as it were"

"be that as it may"

"no pun intended"

"if you will"

"so to speak"

"Apes are 7 times stronger than man."....and Ranger Gregg Orth (6' 4", 243 lbs - ex-Chicago Bears linebacker) in 1964 wrestled an ape at a Georgia Fair on a dare.

"Always do what you are afraid to do." Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I think liberals/socialists really can't stand it that our military services can take kids with little future straight from the street and reform them into productive members of society with pride and dignity. That is something liberalism is incapable of doing. In fact, liberalism has a vested interest in keeping them in an orange jumpsuit throughout life.”

“Ranger associations have to continuously update themselves if they hope to remain relevant.”

“Team Spirit. We are better together.”

“You can choose to be better or bitter.”

“If you pay attention to the darkness you will never find the light.”

“Warfare is obsolete. Today we have lawfare. Maybe that’s an indicator of the advance of civilization.”

Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century:
1. Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others;
2. Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected;
3. Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it;
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences;
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind;
6. Attempting to compel others to believe and live as well as we do.
--- Cicero

“I don't think the war was a mistake but that it is still going strong after 5 years has led many people to conclude that going in was a mistake. This country does not have the patience to see any effort through if it can't be settled in a very short while. If Iraq eventually becomes a stable, modern, democratic state, George Bush will be vindicated. In the short term the Iraq adventure helped end Republican control of the Congress and most probably the presidency. I wish Bush had been more prudent.” Chatroom

"Unsung, the noblest deed will die." Bing West

“Communism has been an abject failure wherever it has been tried, and Cuba is no exception.” The Australian
“Those who have food are going to have a big edge. With 54% of the world's corn supply grown in America's mid-west, the U.S. is one of those countries with an edge. …Mr. Coxe said crop yields around the world need to increase to something close to what is achieved in the state of Illinois, which produces over 200 corn bushes an acre compared with an average 30 bushes an acre in the rest of the world.” Financial Post
“Don’t be afraid of anything, be braver than that which scares you the most.” Sioux Indian word – wowaditaka.
[The Sioux have a word for that kind of bravery, according to Hawkins - wowaditaka. "It means don't be afraid of anything, be braver than that which scares you the most." Keeble personified the word according to fellow Soldiers, and earned the first of four Purple Hearts and his first Bronze Star for his actions on Guadalcanal.]

“A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth.”

“The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage.” Thucydides

“But what time will it snow?....She is 4…no, I am 4 ½….Dom, how do you know so much?” Sunday conversation traveling to and from Sunday School with Austin, age 4 ½, in response to Mimi’s statement that it was supposed to snow in the afternoon; and describing a “little 4 year old girl” at school or a birthday party; following Dom’s dissertation on “potholes” and on the way to see “the biggest pothole in the city” at the BP station across from Pioneer Bank.

“Signs of a dying organization: We never have done it that way before. That’s the way we have always done it.”

“Whenever law ends, tyranny begins.” John Locke, 1690

“Four things belong to a judge: to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to consider soberly and to decide impartially.” Socrates

“A nation may be said to consist of its territory, its people and its laws.” Abraham Lincoln, 1862

“The judicial power ought to be distinct from both the legislative and the executive , and independent upon both, that it may be a check upon both.” John Adams, 1776

“…a government of laws, and not of men.” John Adams, 1779

“No man is above the law and no man is below it, nor do we ask any man’s permission when we require him to obey it. Obedience of the law is demanded as a right, not asked as a favor.” Theodore Roosevelt, 1903

"We Don't Just Claim To Be The Best. We Are." Unknown Ranger, Co .H (Ranger), 75th Inf.(Abn) RVN

THE TEST OF A MAN*

The test of a man is the fight that he makes
And the way he stands on his feet and takes
Reverses of Life – Its knocks and its blows
The grit that he daily shows.
It’s easy to laugh when the road is smooth;
The test of a man when he set his goal
Through breakers that lash and beat at his soul.
It isn’t the victory easily gained
That makes the man who is honored and famed,
Or that wins the love and respect of all.
The man who’s back is against the wall
Is the man who wins in this game of life.
With head held high through storm and strife:
And a gallant smile if he gains or fails;
He’s set his course toward the Holy Grail.
You learn by the knocks and jolts you get;
Through the hours of sorrow and keen regret;
Through loss of prize that escaped your hand;
And the blows that the Soul must stand:
That victories gained lend new courage and might.
Yes, the test of a man is his fight for the right.
His honest endeavor is proof of his worth
Such men indeed, are the salt of the earth.

*A favorite inspiration of S.H. Altorfer

“If you are going to burn our flag, please make sure you are wearing it when you do!”

“Patriotism is the only cement which holds many different and competing groups together.”

“Most people are honest and most people will recognize and appreciate a sincere effort to be square on the part of the other fellow. In turn it influences them to keep up their end of the Golden Rule. If there were more confidence and less distrust in the beginnings of business relations, there would be fewer complaints afterwards that the other fellow hadn’t played fair.” Silas H. Altorfer

“What we still don’t understand is why you Americans stopped the bombing of Hanoi. You had us on the ropes. If you had pressed us a little harder, just for another day or two, we were ready to surrender! It was the same of the battles of TET. You defeated us! We knew it, and we thought you knew it. But we were elated to notice your media was definitely helping us. They were causing more disruption in America than we could in the battlefields. We were ready to surrender. You had won!” Memoirs of General Vo Nguyen Giap

“Attitude determines progress.”

“Pull your own weight.”

“We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good”. - Hillary Clinton

“Liberals are internally dishonest”.

“But with no shared language, customs, culture or political system, the euro zone has never existed except as a construct in the minds of bureaucrats and politicians.”

“In 1959, Heston won the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal as Judah ben-Hur. But his best performance was that of Charlton Heston the man, zealously declaring the goodness of America.” IBD

“You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts.” Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan

“The idea behind giving professors lifetime tenure is that this will enable them to speak out freely. But it would be hard to name any other occupation with a more cowardly record than academics, who have been giving in to politically correct campus bullies ever since the 1960s.” Thomas Sowell

"I never cease to be amazed at the misogynist attitude of some of the people in this country (America). I say to hell with them." Elton John

“Work to understand things.”

"Be not afraid of any man, no matter what his size, When danger threatens call on me, and I will Equalize".

“GOD created all men equal, Winchester keeps it that way.”

“Illinois Democrats = crooks, would steal candy from a baby, a ring from a corpse.
Illinois Republicans = incompetent would screw up a 2 car funeral.
Great combination”

“Work to understand.”

“Remains of Roman and Greek Empires daunting but testament if an Empire relaxes her vigilance and Army, she will certainly be overcome by those seeking the mountain top.” Linc German
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“We must respect the past, but at all times do what’s right for the future.” Bill Wrigley, Jr.

“Shortly after the duck incident, we were alerted that one of the recon teams had come across traces of a large enemy concentration and that the 5th Ranger Company would be inserted at the same time the recon team was extracted. As I recall it was a beautiful day, so nice a day, it was hard to believe anything bad could happen. We were inserted without a problem.”
Gary Nichols, Detachment B-52 (Project Delta)

“Patriotism is not always the last refuge of the scoundrel. Sometimes it's just the last refuge of a frightened politician.” Wes Pruden
“God and the Soldier, we adore,
In time of danger, not before.
The danger passed and all things righted,
God is forgotten and the Soldier slighted.”
~Rudyard Kipling
“Some people believe that they will succeed and some people believe that they cannot. Both are correct.”

“The lead dog gets bit in the butt every once in a while.”

“Mimi: Who purchased your blue racecar at Wheels of Time? Austin: I did. I gave the money to the cashier. Mimi: But who gave you the money to purchase it? Austin: Dom did. Mimi: So didn’t Dom purchase it? Austin: No, I paid the money and purchased it.”

“It is a difference between upscale demagoguery and ghetto demagoguery, playing the audience for suckers in both cases….When young people go out into the world, what will they have to offer that can gain them the rewards they seek from others and the achievements they need for themselves? Will they have the skills of science, technology or medicine? Or will they have only the resentments that have been whipped up by the likes of ….. or the sense of entitlement from the government that has been ….. stock in trade? In the real world, a sense of grievance or entitlement, as a result of the mistreatment of your ancestors, is not likely to get you very far with people who are too busy dealing with current economic realities to spend much time thinking about their own ancestors, much less other people’s ancestors….The time is long overdue to stop gullibly accepting the left’s vision of itself as idealistic, rather than self-aggrandizing.” Thomas Sowell

"We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf." (George Orwell)

“It has always been so. Civilization and the ability to inflict violence go together, are inseparable. Our pampered elites cannot understand this and have no ability to understand this. They look upon men with guns like apes gaping at The Last Supper…For it is those men and their guns who have carried upon their shoulders our American nation. It is their ancestors throughout time and space who created and supported Western Civilization, of which we are a part….In 1000 years when the dust has settled, when the first glimmers of a new Age of Gold appear, men like Leonidas will still be remembered. Men like Stephen King will be as forgotten as yesterday's papers, remembered only by worms.”

“Double your payroll check.” Billboard near casino

“Life is getting up one more time than you’ve been knocked down…Life is hard; it’s harder if you’re stupid.” John Wayne

“Americans have actually forced others to work for them involuntarily. The trademark contrivance these bosses employ is debt bondage, the oldest management trick of them all.” WSJ

“A French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages,
Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?’ Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

“At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. 'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.' The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !' The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to.'”

“The way the demographics are going the Republicans don't stand a chance in hell in the future. The takers now outvote the makers.”

"Those who "abjure" violence can only do so because others are committing violence on their behalf."

"No people in history have ever survived, who thought they could protect their freedom by making themselves inoffensive to their enemies." Joe Lieberman

“Space is hard.”

“We have bigger fish to fry.”

“Only 10% of America’s multi-millionaires inherited their wealth. The rest went out and made it.”

“I love this store.” Austin, 5, at Farm and Fleet after his Mother purchased for him his first cowboy boots.

“Do you understand….or understand this….is a condescending verbal tic.”

“I got the hang of it in 10 minutes.” Austin, age 5, upon learning to ride a two-wheel bicycle, sans training wheels.

“We've got a better chance of sticking with the will of the American people if state judges are elected rather than appointed by lawyers who have an interest in winning big-verdict cases before those very judges.” Phyllis Schlafly

"Happy memories are the best inheritance."
Daughter of Special Forces Robin Moore, eulogy

"We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf." George Orwell

“Red, white and blue.” Gov Bobby Jindal’s response when asked what color he was.

“50% is showing up and 50% is being punctual.” Albert Einstein’s rule for success.

“Imitation is the sincerest part of the con.”

“The only way conservatism can return as a force to be reckoned with is to encourage and finance efforts to get young people into journalism and public school teaching. The far left monopolizes both myth-forming centers of power, long abandoned by everyone else except a courageous few.”

“The response that "he has knowledgeable advisers" isn't enough. Obama's military and counterterror "experts" compose a unique collection of the dismissed, the discredited and the dysfunctional. Most appear to be out to settle personal grudges rather than to advance our nation's security.” Ralph Peters

“Yes I saw this and thanks for including me in the program...He was a great friend and American Hero that a lot of people will never now.....possibly the greatest General Officer of Insurgency operations that will ever exist... Harry.” Harry Ikner, Columbus, Georgia, speaking of his comrade in arms in Vietnam, then Captain, but later to become General Wayne A. Downing.

"Prizes, of course, played a very important role in the development of aviation, something of which Obama’s speechwriters are probably ignorant. They might find some useful information here, and here.” Instnpundit

"The American economy produces the largest output in the world -- more than Japan, Germany, and Great Britain combined. Measured by purchasing power, output per capita in the United States is the highest of any large nation....Among countries at all comparable to the United States in size or population, none has achieved as high an output per capita. New Jersey produces more than Egypt. California produces more than Canada or Mexico." Thomas Sowell

"In the course of the twentieth century, supposedly sophisticated Europeans managed to create some of the most monstrous forms of government on earth-- Communism, Fascism, Nazism-- in peacetime, and to start the two World Wars, the bloodiest in all human history. In each of these wars, both the winners and the losers ended up far worse off than they were before these wars were started.

After both World Wars, the United States had to step in to save millions of people in Europe from starving amid the wreckage and rubble that their wars had created. These do not seem like people whose sophistication we should defer to.

Between the two World Wars, European intellectuals-- more so than ordinary people-- completely misread the threat from Nazi Germany, and were urging disarmament in France and England, while Hitler was rapidly building up the most powerful military force on the continent, obviously aimed at neighboring countries.

During the Cold War, may European intellectuals once again misread the threat of a totalitarian dictatorship-- in this case, the Soviet Union. When they finally recognized the threat, many saw the question as whether it was "better to be red than dead."

They were no more prepared to stand up to the Soviet Union than they had been ready to stand up to Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

Worse yet, much of the European intelligentsia objected to America's standing up to the Soviet Union.

Many of them were appalled when Ronald Reagan met the threat of new Soviet missiles aimed at Western Europe by putting more American missiles in Western Europe, aimed at the Soviet Union.

Reagan, in effect, called the Soviet Union and raised them, while many of the European sophisticates-- as well as much of the American intelligentsia-- said that his policies would lead to war.

Instead, it led to the end of the Cold War. Are we now to blindly imitate those who have been so wrong, so often over the past hundred years? Thomas Sowell

"What lane do you pick the first time?" Austin, age 5, to Dom and Alicia when they were discussing the importance of a driver picking the correct lane, and how experience and usage best prepares the driver.

"History suggests that Capitalism is a necessary condition for political freedom." Milton Friedman

"Unity=Totalitarian"

"Freedom isn't free."

"Patriotism is defined by Merriam-Webster as "love for or devotion to one's country". Note - it does not say devotion to the "ideals" of the country. It implies love of one's country as it is in the present - not in some utopian future.

Also, devotion to the "ideals" of the USA is not necessarily devotion to the country itself. Most citizens of Britain, France and Germany would proclaim their devotion to 'Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness' but would they be called patriotic Americans?

The ideals the liberals are devoted to are, by nature, utopian. And they are part of an attempt to subordinate American sovereignty to an internationalist collective. This is not a devotion to make America live up to its founding ideals, but rather a diminishment of America as a country. I would hardly call this 'patriotic'."

"Liberals long-term goal is World Federal Government."

"When the government fears the people there is liberty ...." Thomas Jefferson

"Never underestimate the power of very stupid people in large groups."

"A poor craftsman always blames his tools."

"If you don't like the way I drive, Call 800-Cry Baby." Sign on back of semi on I-55.

"I bet other masters let their slaves take showers." Hank, age 15, to his Mother, after weight lifting and prior to delivering papers, without a break for a shower.

"It is hard to oppress a population equipped to hunt animals the size of a man." L. Neil Smith, Pallas (New York: Tor, 1993), p. 380

"Could you hear the tractor pull over here?" Austin, age 5, in conversation with Mimi, after he informed her that the Heart of Illinois Fair, which he visited twice this year...enjoying the experiences immensely, was over; to which she responded "Good." They both have sensitive hearing, and thus he must have presumed that it was the noise that made the Fair unwelcome to her.

"Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." - William Penn

"The American Indian found out what happens when you don't control immigration."

"Southern women. Vicious bulldogs disguised as powder puffs." Wes Prudhoe

"Over 50 MPG and A Free Organ Donor registration with every Purchase!"

"Politics today is endless self-calculation."

"Representative government will remain the enduring feature of American democracy, but the initiative process is a valuable safety valve. So long as elected officials gerrymander their districts and otherwise make it nearly impossible for voters to oust them, direct lawmaking will be popular. That's why attempts to arbitrarily curb the initiative, or to intimidate people from exercising their right to participate, must be resisted. It's a civil liberties issue that should unite people of good will on both the right and left."

"He survived with the theory that BS questions deserved BS answers....S & A never struck an answer and some answers were bizarre. Have some fun with them!!!"

"Always look on the bright side of life." Monty Python

"Humor comes from self-confidence. There's an aggressive element to wit." Rita Mae Brown

“Son, a fool with a plan can beat a genius with no plan.” T. Boone Pickens' Dad

"My friend shook hands with Mayor Daley the Younger. Said it was like shaking hands with warm butter. No muscle tone, he has someone to do that for him."

"I think owning a gun does not make you a killer, it makes you a smart American."

"A method of learning math and science that kids like, and that enables us to leapfrog India and China by breaking out of our unionized, bureaucratic curriculum. This would enable us to replace "No Child Left Behind" with a more effective education model that could be called "Every American Gets Ahead." Newt Gingrich

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Mark Twain

“I’m not a member of the permanent political establishment. And I’ve learned quickly, these past few days, that if you’re not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.” Sarah Palin

"There is a reason that Sarah Palin is about to become the most popular Republican since George W. Bush in 2002, in the wake of 9/11 and before Iraq. It’s not that she delivered a knockout speech, though that is a necessary precondition. It is that in that speech she emanated the spirit of all Republican politicians who connect with voters viscerally and with ordinary people beyond the merely partisan, from Theodore Roosevelt onward. She is a happy political warrior, a sunny combatant. She likes mixing it up, and speaks with determination, but does not spill either into anger or into self-pity. It’s an incredibly difficult tone to strike. Palin seems to have a sense of it down to her marrow.*****************Republicans far more than Democrats need to be able to strike it because they are proponents of a philosophy that suggests government’s loving embrace is destructive and that a society designed to reward individual effort and individual achievement is the only one that will work well. This view of human nature more closely approximates reality than others, in my view, but it’s rougher and more demanding than the softer liberal appeal, and the addition of anger can make it seem bitterly cold. The cheerfulness in the midst of assault, the bonhomie that anesthetizes the sting from the rapier’s jab — these are the qualities necessary for a transformative Republican politician." John Podhoretz

"There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you."

"Let us have faith that right makes might and in faith let us to the end dare to do our duty as we understand it." A. Lincoln

"Bloom where you're planted." Mother of Sarah Palin

"Without the Mainstream Media, the Left is Nothing."

"A taxpayer voting for Barack Obama is like a chicken voting for Col. Sanders."

"I used to be a Democrat up until I realized that they care more about creating a dependent voting block rather than actually helping one become self sufficient."

"Socialism is grandiose rationalization of petty resentments." Ludwig Von Mises, 1930's

"I used to be a Democrat up until I realized that they care more about creating a dependent voting bloc rather than actually helping one become self sufficient." Chatter

"The press knows Hillary hired all the jet mechanics." The reason given for Biden's jet being empty of the press.

"There is no education in the second kick of a mule."

"You Are The 1st Brigade!" Stonewall Jackson

"If you are not at the table, you are on the plate."

"There is no try only do."

The photo of Mom has an interesting story as told by Cisty who remembers living in The Knolls, it was about 1959, she was 15 making Mom 49....and Mom's youngest daughter, a pretty teenager, told her that she really was pretty and asked if she could make her up....and Mom let Cisty comb her hair and apply cosmetics...and Cisty continues in her own words: " Basically, Mom was going to attend some big social function (probably a Bar event), and I asked her if I could curl her hair and do her makeup in preparation for the big evening. I told her she had such a pretty face and great hair (which you got!), and would she mind if I helped out. She totally trusted me, never hesitated, and allowed me to have a free hand. It was a fun time, and I thought she looked beautiful. I think she felt beautiful. I took the photo and later bought the frame and gave it all to Dad to put on his desk. She was wearing a pink sweater trimmed in ribbon, which had a matching woven ribbon skirt. I loved that outfit. Do you remember it?"

"Socialism is the transition between capitalism and communism." Karl Marx

"Sometimes, you are a burden."

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." Thomas Jefferson

In training to run hills of Detweiller
in Turkey Trot on Sunday, 23 Nov 2008:

• no Diet Cokes
• no ice cream
• no candy bars
• no desserts
• no snacks between meals
• no snacks after dinner
• run "hills" on treadmill
• run course once prior to race
• practice breathing through nose

"You can say socialism is all about redistributing income, but what it's really all about is controlling money, controlling people, and controlling liberty." Rush Limbaugh

"My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world. I hope you'll join me as we try to change it." Barack Obama

"Life's tough....it's even tougher if you're stupid." John Wayne

Education/cost/shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves/plan for education

“In the finest tradition of Special Forces, almost every man seemed to be blessed with an inquiring mind, a strong will, an adventurous nature and a readiness to lead.... “They approached the challenge with a very simple philosophy: we’ll either find a way or make a way.”
United States Army Special Forces, Detachment B-52 (Project Delta).

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries."
James Michener

"Look to make your course regular, that men may know beforehand what they may expect."
Francis Bacon

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything".
Alexander Hamilton

"As is our confidence so is our capacity."
Williiam Hazlitt

"An America that is militarily and economically strong is not enough. The world must see an America that is morally strong."
Ronald Reagan

"Nobody stands taller than those willing to stand corrected."
William Safire

"You've got to be original because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?"
Bernadette Peters

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Energy and persistence conquers all things."
Ben Franklin

"Tell me, I forget. Show me, I may remember. Involve me and I'll understand."

"I guess I will go to Mimi's because she always feeds me vegetables."
Austin, age 5 3/4, to his Mother, since Miss Bombolis is having her pupils keep track of good food eaten.

"What does that mean?" Austin, age 5 3/4, in response to Mimi's comment that he was going to have to catch up on him sleep.

"Can I have one of those tubes?" Austin, age 5 3/4, at SHS as he walks through the copier room with Dom. Returning, Dom observes the tubes on the top of the far shelf almost hidden from view.

"Mistakes can be positive in that they often carry the seeds of self-correction."

"Either they are smart and putting us on, or they really are imbeciles."
Mark Twain

"Is there anything we have not discussed that you think we should know about?"

"Rising to your highest level of incompetence." Peter Principal

"Happiness is that between too little and too much." Lutheran Church sign

"Throughout the centuries, there were men who took first steps, down new roads, armed with nothing but their own vision."
Ayn Rand

"Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul."
Douglas MacArthur

"Few men during their lifetime come anywhere ner exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used."
Richard Byrd

"One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth must be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again."
Abraham Maslow

"Hit quicly, hit hard and keep right on hitting."
Holland Smith, USMC

"Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned."
Milton Friedman

"Always vote for pinciple, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflecion that your vote is never lost."
John Quincy Adams

"He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evids, for time is the greates innovator."
Francis Bacon

"A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way."
Mark Twain

"This is the only game where the player risks going down to the basement, rather than up to the attic."

- Will Swain, age 8, 2nd grade at Kellar, commenting to Papa Tim on the new board game that he invented, as they were rolling the dice and enjoying the new game at Owens Ice Rink, while brother Sam Swain, age 10, was playing in a ice hockey game for his team, Spring Hill.

"The days are long, the years are short." Dr. Hoy, CT Surgeon

"It does not just happen. You must work at it."

"I'll tell you what leadership is. It's persuasion and conciliation and patience. It's long, slow, tough work. That's the only sort of leadership I know or believe in - or will practice." Dwight Eisenhower

"What gets measured get done." Peter Drucker

"Repetition, repetition, repetition are the 3 rules of advertising." Al Reis

"The first thing a great person does is make us realize the insignificance of circumstance." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"So long as I am acting from duty and conviction, I am indifferent to taunts and jeers. I thing they will probably do me more good than harm." Winston Churchill

"I've never been one to dwell on reverses." Sam Walton

"Set a goal and see if you can achieve it...and if it doesn't work out, you've had fun trying." Sam Walton

"You've got to give folks responsibility, you've got to trust them and then you've got to check on them." Sam Walton

"On Thursday, April 23rd, Austin wanted me to ask Mrs. Bombolis, if he could read a book to the class. I asked and Mrs. Bombolis said sure. I sat in front of the class as Austin stood next to me. Austin chose 'Bathtime for Biscuit'. I held the book and turned the page while Austin read. He did a great job. His classmate Emily said "Austin, you read the whole book and only missed one word". Austin needed help with the word "oh" but he remembered after I reminded him. I then read a Curious George book. We had a few minutes left, so Austin and I read 'Jack and Jill and Big Dog bill'. We switched reading each page. Austin did a great job. I told him that I was so proud of him." Alicia reporting on Austin's 6th birthday

"Look Up, Get Up-- and, Never Give Up!"

"If you were born to hang, you are not going to drown." Lt.Col Joe Rogers to 1stLt Don Korman as their Marine H-19 was in auto rotation down into a rice paddy in Vietnam in 1965, after being shot by heavy caliber enemy antiaircraft guns.

"Work instills confidence."

"The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity." Bruce Lee

“The way to stop discrimination by race is to stop discriminating by race.”
Chief Justice John Roberts

"Clueless and beneath contempt." Charles Krauthammer re: Geraldine Gerlafalo

"If you can talk smooth enough, Americans will give you everything they have. They have no natural or mental defense whatsoever against the smooth-talking authority figure. Add in a willingly supportive press corps, and they will completely and blindingly entrust that leader with their safety, their wallets, even their own children's lives."

"It's what's repeated that counts."

"Power is the opiate of the fearful."

"Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted."
"If everybody is thinking alike, someone is not thinking. " George S. Patton
"Pressure makes diamonds." George S. Patton

"Marxist Antonio Gramsci created the strategy of de-Christianizing the Western world to break the bond our countries were founded on and now they've made us the evil "Christian Fundies". The world has seen this kind of demonization before. It didn't end well."
<p><p>
"Well, It is hard to convince fools they are wrong. Most people with common sense wouldn't have voted for an empty suited Rock Star."
<p><p>
"By cloaking his domestic agenda in terms of economic recovery, President Obama and his team of liberals have been able to pass the largest spending bill in history, repeal welfare reform, set us on the course to socialized healthcare, advance a very costly energy policy, impose high costs on productive people, and enact unprecedented expansions of governmental power. Furthermore, by cutting the defense budget and ordering the closing of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, the President demonstrates his complacency toward national security and undermines our ability to respond to future attacks." The Heritage Foundation

At an event in Switzerland in 2002, Colin Powell was asked how he felt about the U.S. being referred to as the "Great Satan." Here was his response:
"[F]ar from being the Great Satan, I would say that we are the Great Protector. We have sent men and women from the armed forces of the United States to other parts of the world throughout the past century to put down oppression. We defeated Fascism. We defeated Communism. We saved Europe in World War I and World War II. We were willing to do it, glad to do it. We went to Korea. We went to Vietnam. All in the interest of preserving the rights of people.
And when all those conflicts were over, what did we do? Did we stay and conquer? Did we say, "Okay, we defeated Germany. Now Germany belongs to us? We defeated Japan, so Japan belongs to us"? No. What did we do? We built them up. We gave them democratic systems which they have embraced totally to their soul. And did we ask for any land? No, the only land we ever asked for was enough land to bury our dead. And that is the kind of nation we are."

'Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not..' ~ Thomas Jefferson

It's the weekend!
Walk slowly and think good thoughts.
Count life's blessings!!

They will say that a sheepish American people weakened by political correctness and cowed by ethnic extremists went silently into socialism and let their republic slip away rather than stand boldly for the liberty that had given so much hope to the world.

The greatest crimes in history have been perpetrated by governments. You've been warned.)

“You can call me Coach and I might call you Kid.” Austin, 6, to Dom when they are playing soccer in the back yard.
“I can beat her.” Austin, 6, in response to Dom’s statement that his Mother was an excellent soccer player and, in fact, always made at least one goal per game.

“The American people can always spot a counterfeit. It may take them a little time, but in the end, they figure it out.” Harry Truman

Ability is what you are capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.
Lou Holtz

"Where does Dom look most in the refrigerator?" Austin, 6, asking Mimi (the milk) so that he could place a post it with a 3D box he had drawn right above the milk.

"Do you have a list? (yes) Let's place it on your list." Austin, 6, responding to when Mimi advised 'Have your Mother remind me to purchase plain macaroni and cheese and mini bagels."

"A commander may be excused for defeat, but never for surprise." Lt. Jim Magellas

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell

"Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.” Bishop Fulton Sheen (Peoria, IL)

"We in the News are diligent about giving you the facts but not always the truth." Ted Koppel, "Nightline."

"Be on time. No profanity. No teammate criticism." UCLA Coach John Wooten

"Those whom the Gods would destroy they first make mad."

Abbreviated Ranger timeline:

A. World War II Ranger units (2 1/2 years in service)
19 June 1942 - 1st Ranger Battalion activated
30 Dec 1945 - last (6th) Ranger Battalion inactivated

B. Ranger Training Center formed, Fort Benning, Georgia (59 years to present in service)
15 Sept 1950 - Ranger Training Center formed at Fort Benning

C. Korean War Ranger units (10 months in service)
9 October 1950 - Airborne Ranger Companies formed
August 1951 - Airborne Ranger Companies deactivated (10 months)

D. 75th Ranger Regiment and Ranger Battalions (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) (35 years to present in service)
31 January 1974 - 1st Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry formed

"Never underestimate a con artist".

The Bolsheviks, on the other hand, were out and out 'Defeatists'. The war had to be brought to an end by any means and at any cost. The soldiers had to be induced by organized propaganda to turn their arms, not against their brothers in the enemy ranks, but against the reactionary bourgeois governments of their own and other countries. For a Bolshevik there was no such thing as country or patriotism.

In 1952 at XIX Party Congress Stalin declared: "There are no more Mensheviks. Why should we call ourselves Bolsheviks? We are not the majority, but the whole party." According to his suggestion, the Bolshevik party was renamed the Communist Party of Soviet Union. Since that time, the term Bolshevik has been regarded as obsolete, and relevant only to the pre-Revolutionary times and the Russian Civil War.

"Offshoring may cost the U.S. economy somewhere between 30 and 40 million jobs over the next two decades." 2009

"The Dems like unions better than jobs. It’s as simple as that".

"Pathological narcissism is a reflection of weakness, not strength."

"While we are being threatened by H1N1, they are using the distraction to infect us with a much more deadly disease that will affect not only us, but our children and grandchildren: the disease of subjugation".

“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.” Mark Twain

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have". Thomas Jefferson

"Throughout their long history Rangers have thrived on hard work, tough environments and taking the fight to the enemy."

To: swain_forkbeard
Col. David Hackworth was correct !!
Gen Casey is just another Perfumed Prince of the Pentagon
8 posted on Monday, November 09, 2009 11:11:38 AM by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 119:174 I long for Your salvation, YHvH, Your law is my delight.)

"Go ahead and eat 'em." ABS. Following discussion with TS that apples she was giving to him to take to the office for lunch, and cautioning him that they should be washed (of the presence of possible pesticides on the unwashed apples) with water prior to eating, and TS responding that he did not have access to water at the office.

"Fight tactically — Think strategically." Jim Gant, SF

"One must have a true love and respect for the Afghan people (the tribes)and be willing to give a better part of his life for this strategy to work .Not everyone will be able to do this nor should they. But for those warriors who are qualified and feel the calling, it will be the adventure of a lifetime." Jim Gant, U.S. Special Forces

As for Cortese's biggest regret, he says the Mayo board had the opportunity 15 years ago to make a change in the insurance industry.

"We see the future better than we saw it 15 years ago, and one of the issues is the insurance aspect of things. So, I've challenged our group to think about that Mayo has to start its own insurance company or create some kind of insurance product."

"(Difficulty for Indy-car drivers to make transition to NASCAR) I think it's mind-set more than ability to drive a car. I don't doubt that every one of the 43 drivers in a NASCAR race are good drivers. But good racers? Ain't but six or eight who know how to race. Racers win. And good drivers - well, they're just good drivers."

"I've had a lot of down times that people don't really know much about. Some really, really down times. But I've had a bunch of good times. I follow the old adage, 'You pay now, or you pay later.' Life is up and down, up and down, but I try to keep it in the middle as much as I can. I don't get too excited when I win, I don't get too down when I lose. I don't know of anything that I could change - I mean, yeah, there are times I know now that if I had done this or that different, I would have won that race - but that doesn't change the philosophy. When you get dow to it, I'm 72 years old, and I'm still goin' and comin', doin' what I want to do. How many people are that lucky? The good Lord looked down, put me in the right place, the right circumstances, the right people - I've not done anything, all those people around me made it work. So no, I wouldn't change any of it."

Richard "The King" Petty, at 72 remains the winningest NASCAR Cup series driver in history, with 200 victories and seven championships

“The more I read about Climategate, the more the term ‘Piltdown Man’ pops into my head.”

"Hands that serve are more sacred than lips that pray."

"Example is the school of mankind and it will learn from no other." Edmund Burke

"This has been a good day." Austin,6, walking out to the car in the parking lot, after attending the Christmas party at CCP with his Mother, Mimi and Dom and being permitted to spend a good deal of time making Christmas cards in the craft room.

"I am too young to put up the Christmas decorations." Austin, 6, in response to Mimi's comment that it is the responsibility of the man of the house to put up Christmas decorations, with Dom driving the car, and Alicia, Mimi and Austin passengers.

"She's a very private person. She prefers not to be talking to anybody." Lady who crashed White House party.

The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule. - H. L. Mencken.

"Never argue with a pig. It will waste your time, and it will just annoy the pig."

(b) GROWING UP IN THE KNOLLS

LESSONS WE LEARNED AND FOND MEMORIES FROM GROWING UP IN THE KNOLLS DURING THE 1940's and 1950's AS REMEMBERED BY TIM SWAIN

* Be kind,courteous, helpful and friendly with the neighbors
* Tell the truth
* Don't smoke or drink
* Be confident and always keep a good sense of humor
* be patriotic and proud of the United State of America
* Own an American flag, and fly it often
* Vote Republican
* Buy American cars, tools and clothes
* Give a firm handshake with your right hand and look them in the eye
* Work to keep your neighborhood clean and neat and in good repair
*
* When the American flag passes or the Star Spangled Banner is played or sung, give a civilian salute of our Flag by placing your hand
(with fingers together) over your heart
* Play hard outside and study hard inside
* Learn to play the piano
* Join the Scouts and advance in the ranks
* Be a crossing patrol guard and protect the little kids
* Respect other people's property
* Be clean. Wash your hands often, with soap, scrub to count of 10
* Help your Dad mow the grass and wash the car
* Help your Mom clear the table and wash and dry the dishes
* Learn the words to The Star Spangled Banner and place your hand
over your heart while singing it
* Don't shoot out the street lights
* Look forward to the last day of school and the ride in Albert
Chesko's truck to Columbia Grade School
* Hope that Tony Smith is making the ice cream cones at Meadowbrook
Dairy
* Look forward to the Knolls Neighborhood Carnivals in the Sunken
Garden
* Try to mow the baseball diamonds in the vacant lots before the
grass gets too high
* Take off your bike's fenders before racing it on the dirt track in
the vacant lot

And remembering...........

Sledding down Stratford Hill on the first snow of the season, and making sure to make the 90 degree turn to the right so as not to go out on Knoxville

Mr. (Ollie) Bieth (Dick's Dad, who was a civil engineer with McDougal Hartman road builders; and took us to watch the construction of the "spillway" in East Peoria by Chris Hoerr & Sons in the 1950's, where we enjoyed floating in a WWII yellow raft in the water; wow, did we have fun!!!) taking maybe 6 or so sleds tied with ropes behind his car and driving - in what felt to be a really "fast" manner around the Knolls - if one considers maybe 3 sleds 35 mph with 20' ropes behind a car to be fast!! And, Dick's Mom, Mrs. Bieth, with her platinum blond hair and her flashy Buick convertible was not only good-looking, but quite memorable and, of course, always nice to us kids.

Hitching a ride on the Rozzells'Sealtest milk truck (down Terrace Lane) either with our sleds in the winter, or with our bikes in the summer.

Going to The Harvey Girls with the Heibergers to watch my first girl friend, Judy Garland.

Be treated to a "real milkshake" at the Wahlfelds where Mrs. Wahlfeld would use plenty of ice cream in their real milkshake mixer.

Making an assortment of things in Cub Scouts in Mrs. Heibergers, our den mother, basement. These included full Indian headdresses, wood kupi dolls, paper mache people, Indian tom-toms, birdhouses and many other things.

Watching Mrs. Heiberger back her Cadillac out of their long driveway bordered with a chain link fence, with the skill of a true professional.

Observing the huge wad of bills in Dr. Heiberger's wallet when he took us boys to the movies.

Remembering that I felt "sorry" for Jack and Jim because rather than the normal carpeting in their living room, they had to deal with beautiful dark hardwood flooring with a large priceless deep red and rich colored oriental rug. However, we could run our cars on the wood portion next to the walls.

Playing in the "hideout" of Charles Howard's house, which was accessed through steps affixed to the inside of the garage wall.

Playing in the ponds in the park at the corner of Bigelow and Hollyridge Circle and the vacant lot, where Blenders later built there home.

Being in the Welch's front yard when a buck deer came running by (it had escaped from Glen Oak Park), and chasing it with a 4' length of rope with plans to rope it.

Playing in the "bean field" (now Knollcrest) and throwing clods of dirt.

Playing "behind Hines" (now Seventh Adventist Church) in the woods with our BB guns, sleds and just plain exploring.

Playing on the roof and the swings at Hines School (now Seventh Adventist Church) and hearing the story that a gutsy girl had taken her swing over the top and in a compete circle!

Telling my dog King (named for RCMP Sgt. Preston's dog King, listened to on the radio...and later learning when official breeding papers were received that King's official name was: White King V) (a Belgium collie, all white, except for a brown spot over his eye) not to chase cars; using a squirt gun with ammonia in it to try and stop him (unsuccessful); taking him home when he came over to Thomas Jefferson school and drank out of the low water fountains; and receiving his sympathy during the hard times of a boy growing up; and how we would let him (a pure "outdoor, wandering dog"...who came home once with a 1" hole in his stomach caused a bullet, stake or some sort of shape object...which healed in short order) in our basement on the 4th of July when the fireworks at the Stadium would scare him.

Swimming in the Salzenstein/Schwartz swimming pool (the only one in the Knolls) in the summertime.Since Joel Schwartz's dad, Ben, was in the grocery business, when we were invited to Joel's bar mitzvah, which was held in his backyard, poolside, one could not imagine the food provided, including the largest shrimp (maybe 5 to 6 inches long)that we had ever seen.

Remembering when some of the older boys told us little boys that if we did not behave, they would take us up in the attic and shake a "bottle of nitroglycerin" that they had, and that would be it.

Going to Kenny's Market on Sheridan for assorted goodies; in being pulled by my Grandpa Swain with my sister Nancy in our wagon to Kenny's where he bought for us a box of 24 Hershey bars. Thanks again Grandpa!

At Halloween no one missed Rissers where they gave you a full-sized Hershey bar.

On Halloween, at our house on Bigelow, my Mom would have the treats in the basement which you would get to by following a rope from the front door, through the house and down the basement stairs. Once there, you could bob for apples, eat treats of all types.

Learning to ride my 26" wheel red Schwinn bike (which I partially help pay for through odd jobs at home) down Bigelow, but it being too big for me to sit on the seat and pedal. Thus, we bought Georgie Eagleton's used 24" bike which I rode for several years until I was big enough for my red bike.

The summer carnivals put on by the older kids. I recall that most were held in the Sunken Garden. They were real productions and everybody looked forward to them.

Right after Albert mowed with his team of horses the vacant lots, we would take the cut grass and build forts with it. One time, a match was thrown by an older kid and that was the end of that fort. Luckily, Mr. Glos (who often wore a WWII white sailor hat) got his hose and doused it before it could ignite the field and his house!

Searching through the tall grass and "cane-break" for, finding and playing in the concrete "pill-box" [a sewer structure] in the cane fields where War Memorial is now located.

Digging foxholes to play "war-games."

Riding our bikes everywhere. In fact, it was on a bike ride I was told about the birds and the bees. Asking Bud Howe at the Standard Station at Sheridan and War Memorial to put some air in our bike tires during our ride between the Knolls and T.J.

Serving as a "patrol guard" at the Florence/Sheridan crossing for Thomas Jefferson students. Arriving early and getting to school late so that I could assist kids crossing Sheridan Road and activate the school cross flashing light and hold the flag out. Also, helping to raise the American Flag at the front of T.J.

Watching Albert Chesko bring his team of horses to mow the vacant lots before houses were built on them in The Knolls. Jack Zang got too close to the rear of one of the horses and got some teeth kicked out. Albert has a wood panel Ford station wagon that was probably the "first school bus" in that he would transport us kids to Columbia grade school. On the last day of school, he would bring his 3/4 ton old truck, with high wood sides, and would take us to the little store on Boots Street, across from the main entrance to Columbia, and treat us to treats; other times he would take us to Meadowbrook Dairy for ice cream cones. Clearly, we were the envy of the other kids. All the kids in the Knolls loved Albert and his always kindness to the kids, and their parents. His home/farm was at the corner of Sheridan and Glen.

And, in the Knolls growing up, it always snowed on Christmas.

[2] The Knolls Roster

THE KNOLLS KIDS ROSTER 1930'S, 1940'S AND 1950'S AS OF 7.13.2000:

ALTORFER, JOANNE
ALTORFER, LINDA
ALTORFER, CAROL
BAYMILLER, JIM
BAYMILLER, BETTY
BAYMILLER, BONNIE
BELLAS, JOAN
BELLAS, BARBARA
BLENDER, BILL
BLENDER, BARBARA
BIETH, DICK
BLACKIE, BRUCE
BLANC, ALEC
BLANC, BARBARA
BLANC, ERIC, J.D. JUDGE
BLOOM, MARIS
BLOOM, PEB, J.D. SENATOR
BORK, NORMAN
BORK, SAUL
BOWER, BRENDA
BOWER, TOM
BRANDON, BOB
BROEHL, WAYNE, JR.
BROEHL, BUZZ
BROWN, BOB M.
BROWN, WILLIAM
BROWN, BARBARA
BURGETT, JERRY
BURHANS, BETSY
CANTERBURY, JOHN
CANTERBURY, BOB
CASE,BOB
CHARLESTON, BOB
CHARLESTON, JOHNNY
CHICOKI, TONY
COFFEY, BOB
COLLINS, BUNNY
COLLINS, JULIE
COLLINS, MARTHA
COONS, DAVE
COONS, BARBARA
COUGHLIN, JOHN
CUMMINGS, LINDA
CUMMINGS, PEACHIE
DEITRICH, SONNY
DEMOURE, SUSIE
DENNISON, TERI
DENNISON, SHARON
EAGLETON, RALPH ("Mack" - Mackemer)
EAGLETON, GEORGE
FINK, GARY
FISHER, ANNE
FISHER, STEVE
FISHER, ________
FLANIGON, NANCY
FLANIGON, CATHY
FLANIGON, JIM
FLAHERTY, TERRY
FLAHERTY, MARTY
HACKETT, BARBARA
HACKETT, E.J.
HACKETT, TWINK
HARKER, FRANCIS
HARKER, SUSIE
HAWKINS, JUDY
HAWKINS, JIM
HAWKINS, JAN
HEDBERG, RENA
HEIBERGER, JACK
HEIBERGER, JIM, M.D.
HEIDEN, JOAN
HEIDEN, TIM
HEIDEN, KIRK
HENNIGES, GUS
HINCKLE,JEANNE
HINCKLE, (GIRL)
HOLDERMAN,JANICE/JANET
HORN, JERRY, J.D.
HORN, MARTY, J.D.
HORN, _____, J.D.
HORN, _____, J.D.
HOWARD, TAYLOR
HOWARD, CHARLES
HOWARD, ANN
HOWARD, JANE
HOWARD, KAY "KIKI", M.D.
HOWARD, JOHN, J.D.
HOWARD, JIM, J.D.
HOWARD, MARK, J.D.
INGRAM, HENRY J., JR
INGRAM, ROBERT J.
ISGREN, MARLENE
ISGREN, CARL, CPA
JACKSON, DAVID N.
JOHNSON, ART ("SKIP"),M.D.
KEEFER, JAN
KEEFER, ANN
KELLOGG, KATHY
KELLOGG, BETSY
KLAUS, CARMEN
KLAUS, BOB
KLAUS, RIC
KLEIN, MIKE
KLEIN, NANCY
KUECKER, JIM, CPA
KUECKER, CYNTHIA
LADEAN, MARIAN
LAING, STEVE
LOLLI, BOB
LOLLI, LINDA
LUNDEEN,MARIAN
MARGARET, PATTY
MASON, BARBARA
MASON, BONNIE
MCCONNELL, BILL
MCCONNELL, JOHN
MCCONNELL, BARBARA
MILES, HELEN
MILES, CHARLIE
MILLER, FRED
MILLER, SUZANNE
MITCHENER, BILL
MITCHENER, SARAH
MUGGE, BOB
NELSON, JOYCELYN
PETERS, GORDON
PETERS, DAVID
PFLUKE, JACK
PHILLIPS, LINDA
POTHUIJSE, KENT
POTHUIJSE,, CRAIG
POTHUIJSE, SHARON
POWELL, CAROLYN
POWELL, CRAIG
RADLEY, BRUCE
RISSER, RONALEE
RISSER, MARDEE ANN
RITCHEL, MIKE
RITCHEL, TOM
RITCHEL, (GIRL)
ROSENBERG, (BOY)
ROSENBERG, SUSAN/JOAN
ROSENBERG, JEANNIE/JAN
SALZENSTEIN, SUE
SALZENSTEIN, CHUCK
SCHWAB, KEN
SCHWAB, ROBERT
SCHWARTZ, SANDY
SCHWARTZ, JOEL
SCHWARTZ, CARY
SCHWARTZ, BRENDA
SCHWARTZ, CATHY
SEHM, MARSHA
SHORE, ED, M.D.
SHORE, BARB, J.D.
SLOTO, JOLINDA
SLOTO, JIM
SMITH, TONY
SNAVLEY, CHUCK
SNAVLEY, JIM
SNAVLEY, HARRY
STONE, CAROL
STONE, HOLLY
SWAIN, NANCY
SWAIN, TIM, J.D.
SWAIN, CISTY
SWEENEY, BO
SWEENEY, RANDY "CHIP"
TOBIAS, JUDY
TORRENCE, JEFF
TROPE,CAROL
ULLMAN,DICK
ULLMAN, DON
ULRICH, NANCY
ULRICH, PATTY
VOELPEL, FREDERICK
VOELPEL, DAVID, D.D.S.
WAHLFELD, TED
WAHLFELD, JOHN
WALLK, DEBBIE
WALLK, JOY
WELCH, TOM
WELCH, CHARLES
WELCH, DAVID
WERTZ, ANITA<