GyBill
07-03-2006, 16:36
Reflections of a Patriot
Deborah Tainsh | June 28, 2006
Patriot -- the word's meaning became fixed in my soul July 4th, 1983, as I stood with the United States Marine who became my husband. In evening rain we held hands beneath the Washington Monument illumined against the night. Above the United States Capitol, thunderous red, white, and blue fireworks pierced the dark sky. Among thousands I stood beside this marine whose face, lifted toward the flag, revealed a reverence I'd never seen.
My own patriotism intensified when later my now retired Sgt Major escorted me to an Evening Parade at Marine Corps Barracks 8th and I, his pride of service after returning from Vietnam. With his six-foot frame at stoic attention during the National Anthem, I stood completely awed. Still spellbound, I watched enter the grounds two companies of Marines, impeccable in Dress Blues. The crack of one hundred and fifty steel-plated rifle butts striking the concrete deck in unison gave me chills. And an hour later after precision mirror performances by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team and hearing The Stars and Stripes Forever by “The President's Own” Marine Corps Band, I believed my heart could contain no more pride or humility. Then a lone Marine bugler appeared atop the oldest Marine Corps barracks in the nation. With one hand holding the hand of my Marine and the other against my heart, I reverently watched the United States flag slowly descend in the glow of a spotlight to the hands of two waiting marines. And with tear-filled eyes, for the first time, I heard live the beautiful, mournful notes of “Taps.”
Two decades later I again held my Marine's hand as we listened to those mournful notes resound in a Georgia chapel after the death of another true patriot. Killed in Baghdad, Iraq, 11, February, 2004, a Purple Heart, Bronze and Silver Star recipient, my stepson, Sgt Patrick Tainsh, was a proud U.S. Army scout with 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. When Taps played for Patrick, not only tears of sorrow fell, but tears of honor.
I now observe citizens and media members who live nonchalantly outside the wire of military families. I wonder why flags don't appear on more doors and vehicles, and I fear many exist without understanding the depths of patriotic pride or that of others in the midst of horrific pain. I wonder what meaning July 4th holds for them beyond backyard barbeques and fireworks in a nation where today's youth have little to no appreciation for their history or the sacrifices made by the men and women who created and maintain their freedom. I suppose there's truth in what one does not suffer to gain or preserve, one does not truly appreciate.
I want my country to remember that the men and women of today's armed forces are ongoing links to our history. Two hundred thirty one years ago, with only forty to forty-five percent of colonials in agreement, thirteen American colonies revolted against oppression. Although the Revolutionary War began with no professional army, under General George Washington, volunteers fought as the colonists pressed forward with steel determination to establish a nation.
One year after the start of war the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, seven years before the Revolutionary War formally ended and twelve years before ratifying the Constitution.
“These are the times that try men's souls,” wrote Thomas Paine, who rode with the army during a retreat from Cornwallis, a time of low morale, wavering popular support, and abandonment by Congress of Philadelphia.
Today we see similarities to our past as the United States fights terrorism, and supports Iraq in its struggle for freedom and securing its fledgling democracy. Skeptics today appear often to doubt our country, and the ability of Iraq to become successful, skeptics who apparently take much of our freedom and way of life for granted. They forget the blood and resolve endured to build the United States, they forget that retreating from struggles to preserve freedom and democracy can cause both to disappear.
It is written that the American Revolutionary War affected the rest of the world and was a “case of practical success which provided the world with a working model.” That it “encouraged other peoples to fight for their rights and showed it was possible to win” even when seen as the underdog.
So this July 4th, I ask all Americans to reflect on the first patriots and all those forging the path, defending our country to allow its becoming the shining beacon for independence, democracy, and life of opportunity. Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.”
Although my family has sacrificed in service and death for our country, I remain patriotic with the flag still flying at my home. Beside my husband, my Marine, I stand on this holiday knowing I cannot be so selfish as to believe my family should not have bled for my country's safety and freedom as other families have bled for over two hundred years. Let us remember that July 4th came and remains at the highest sacrifice. May we forever honor those wearing a United States military uniform, every wounded warrior, our fallen, and their families. And may we the people of this United States remember always a quote from the Virginia Gazette, July 18th, 1777: “Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till times shall be no more. Amen and Amen.”
Deborah Tainsh | June 28, 2006
Patriot -- the word's meaning became fixed in my soul July 4th, 1983, as I stood with the United States Marine who became my husband. In evening rain we held hands beneath the Washington Monument illumined against the night. Above the United States Capitol, thunderous red, white, and blue fireworks pierced the dark sky. Among thousands I stood beside this marine whose face, lifted toward the flag, revealed a reverence I'd never seen.
My own patriotism intensified when later my now retired Sgt Major escorted me to an Evening Parade at Marine Corps Barracks 8th and I, his pride of service after returning from Vietnam. With his six-foot frame at stoic attention during the National Anthem, I stood completely awed. Still spellbound, I watched enter the grounds two companies of Marines, impeccable in Dress Blues. The crack of one hundred and fifty steel-plated rifle butts striking the concrete deck in unison gave me chills. And an hour later after precision mirror performances by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team and hearing The Stars and Stripes Forever by “The President's Own” Marine Corps Band, I believed my heart could contain no more pride or humility. Then a lone Marine bugler appeared atop the oldest Marine Corps barracks in the nation. With one hand holding the hand of my Marine and the other against my heart, I reverently watched the United States flag slowly descend in the glow of a spotlight to the hands of two waiting marines. And with tear-filled eyes, for the first time, I heard live the beautiful, mournful notes of “Taps.”
Two decades later I again held my Marine's hand as we listened to those mournful notes resound in a Georgia chapel after the death of another true patriot. Killed in Baghdad, Iraq, 11, February, 2004, a Purple Heart, Bronze and Silver Star recipient, my stepson, Sgt Patrick Tainsh, was a proud U.S. Army scout with 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. When Taps played for Patrick, not only tears of sorrow fell, but tears of honor.
I now observe citizens and media members who live nonchalantly outside the wire of military families. I wonder why flags don't appear on more doors and vehicles, and I fear many exist without understanding the depths of patriotic pride or that of others in the midst of horrific pain. I wonder what meaning July 4th holds for them beyond backyard barbeques and fireworks in a nation where today's youth have little to no appreciation for their history or the sacrifices made by the men and women who created and maintain their freedom. I suppose there's truth in what one does not suffer to gain or preserve, one does not truly appreciate.
I want my country to remember that the men and women of today's armed forces are ongoing links to our history. Two hundred thirty one years ago, with only forty to forty-five percent of colonials in agreement, thirteen American colonies revolted against oppression. Although the Revolutionary War began with no professional army, under General George Washington, volunteers fought as the colonists pressed forward with steel determination to establish a nation.
One year after the start of war the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, seven years before the Revolutionary War formally ended and twelve years before ratifying the Constitution.
“These are the times that try men's souls,” wrote Thomas Paine, who rode with the army during a retreat from Cornwallis, a time of low morale, wavering popular support, and abandonment by Congress of Philadelphia.
Today we see similarities to our past as the United States fights terrorism, and supports Iraq in its struggle for freedom and securing its fledgling democracy. Skeptics today appear often to doubt our country, and the ability of Iraq to become successful, skeptics who apparently take much of our freedom and way of life for granted. They forget the blood and resolve endured to build the United States, they forget that retreating from struggles to preserve freedom and democracy can cause both to disappear.
It is written that the American Revolutionary War affected the rest of the world and was a “case of practical success which provided the world with a working model.” That it “encouraged other peoples to fight for their rights and showed it was possible to win” even when seen as the underdog.
So this July 4th, I ask all Americans to reflect on the first patriots and all those forging the path, defending our country to allow its becoming the shining beacon for independence, democracy, and life of opportunity. Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson: “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.”
Although my family has sacrificed in service and death for our country, I remain patriotic with the flag still flying at my home. Beside my husband, my Marine, I stand on this holiday knowing I cannot be so selfish as to believe my family should not have bled for my country's safety and freedom as other families have bled for over two hundred years. Let us remember that July 4th came and remains at the highest sacrifice. May we forever honor those wearing a United States military uniform, every wounded warrior, our fallen, and their families. And may we the people of this United States remember always a quote from the Virginia Gazette, July 18th, 1777: “Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till times shall be no more. Amen and Amen.”