A HERO: “down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid. He is the hero; he is everything. He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must be, to use a rather weathered phrase, a man of honor—by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it. He must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world. - Raymond Chandler
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During the holiday season of 1944, Gen. Patton’s Third Army was bogged down in their advance against the Germans. Patton was bogged down as he was trying to reach Bastogne, a town in southern Belgium that held by 15,000 American troops but encircled by over 50,000 Nazi soldiers bearing down on it.
Unfortunately, due to the weather, Gen. Patton didn’t have the air cover he needed to relieve the 15,000 brave American troops holding off the Germans. That’s when he decided to rely on the power of prayer.Patton had Chaplain Fr. James O’Neill compose a card to be distributed to each one of the 250,000 troops under his command in the Third Army, and had all of the men pray this simple prayer: And it worked. The next day, the weather cleared, Patton’s Third Army made its way into Bastogne to relieve the 101st Airborne, stymie the Nazis, and … well, you know the rest. |
REMEMBERING
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FLAGS
The placing of American Flags on the graves began with the Boy Scouts at The Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in 1951. Later, the 3rd U.S. Infantry would place flags on the graves of the fallen at Arlington and maintain a constant vigilance to ensure the flags never falter. Nationally, American Flags will be raised and flown at half-mast until noon in remembrance and raised to full mast for the remainder of the day.
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HONOR COMES FOR MANY IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS!
Cody Green was a 12-year boy in Indiana who was diagnosed with leukemia at 22 months old. He loved the Marines, and his parents said he drew strength and courage from the Marine Corps. He had bravely fought the battle of Leukemia into remission three times. Although he was cancer-free at the time, the chemotherapy had lowered his immune system and he developed a fungal infection that attacked his brain. Then as he struggled to fend off the infection in the hospital, the Marines wanted to show how much they respected his will to live, his strength, honor and courage. They presented Cody with Marine navigator wings and named him an honorary member of the United States Marine Corps.
For one Marine, that wasn't enough ... so that night, before Cody Green passed away, he took it upon himself to stand guard at Cody's hospital door all night long, 8 hours straight.
Nowhere on the face of this planet is there a country so blessed as we to have men and women such as this. I wish I could personally tell this Marine how proud I am of him and how proud he makes me to be an American!!!
For one Marine, that wasn't enough ... so that night, before Cody Green passed away, he took it upon himself to stand guard at Cody's hospital door all night long, 8 hours straight.
Nowhere on the face of this planet is there a country so blessed as we to have men and women such as this. I wish I could personally tell this Marine how proud I am of him and how proud he makes me to be an American!!!