Salute to Great Men
We want great men who, when fortune frowns, will not be discouraged.
– Colonel Henry Knox
We salute you Staff Sgt. Raymond James Byron Anthony Charles Plouhar. May your honor be remembered by your men and may your mantle be passed with double portion to a willing brother. Father, grant comfort equal to his sacrifice to his family and be the Father to his fatherless children and a husband to his widow.
Sgt. Plouhar was the recruiter in the despicable mr. moore’s anti-war and anti-President Bush “documentary.” (To clarify, both are despicable.) The paper talked about how he cried when he realized this was not a piece for the Discovery Channel and was embarrassed to be seen in it.
He died on June 26, a couple of weeks before he was supposed to come home, leaving behind a wife, two sons, and parents. The way he sounds to me is that his only regret would have been that he couldn’t finish out his term. If it was predetermined for me to die in Iraq, I would want to die on the last day at the last hour, having served to the fullest.
I was moved by this piece after reading a few headlines before going off to bed. Maybe it was because it was late and I had been reading David McCullough’s 1776. Maybe it was because he was worthy of such honor and I should have been moved.
I’m 77 pages of being finished with 1776 and this is a truly inspiring work. I heartily recommend it. In fact, this is required reading for all Americans. Please e-mail me a 10 page report when you are finished. I can’t put it down. It was almost 1 A.M. tonight when I had to go to bed and then got distracted by the Sgt. Plouhar story. Even though I know the ultimate outcome and many of the details I am still on the edge of my seat while reading. My wife had brought the book home from the library for me to read while vacationing next week but I will be through with it before we leave town. I intend to get McCullough’s work on John Adams who is my favorite Revolutionary figure. My concern is that he leaves too much of the Christian influence out of his writings. He does give lip service by acknowledging how those who were there accredited it, but even the miraculous escape across the East River into New York is attributed to Washington and to luck. How can any sane person say it was sure lucky that wind changed direction the very hour needed and that very unseasonably thick fog was only over the area needed?
So we have it, the bookends. Holding up at the start of the bookshelf were the great men of our beginnings and now (for now) our current men of honor. Regardless of how you slice it, we’re doing ok. Don’t let the overly verbose loudmouths – despicables – distract you from the truth. I believe we will always have men who stand for the glorious cause. Pray that we will be accounted in their number.
– Colonel Henry Knox
We salute you Staff Sgt. Raymond James Byron Anthony Charles Plouhar. May your honor be remembered by your men and may your mantle be passed with double portion to a willing brother. Father, grant comfort equal to his sacrifice to his family and be the Father to his fatherless children and a husband to his widow.
Sgt. Plouhar was the recruiter in the despicable mr. moore’s anti-war and anti-President Bush “documentary.” (To clarify, both are despicable.) The paper talked about how he cried when he realized this was not a piece for the Discovery Channel and was embarrassed to be seen in it.
He died on June 26, a couple of weeks before he was supposed to come home, leaving behind a wife, two sons, and parents. The way he sounds to me is that his only regret would have been that he couldn’t finish out his term. If it was predetermined for me to die in Iraq, I would want to die on the last day at the last hour, having served to the fullest.
I was moved by this piece after reading a few headlines before going off to bed. Maybe it was because it was late and I had been reading David McCullough’s 1776. Maybe it was because he was worthy of such honor and I should have been moved.
I’m 77 pages of being finished with 1776 and this is a truly inspiring work. I heartily recommend it. In fact, this is required reading for all Americans. Please e-mail me a 10 page report when you are finished. I can’t put it down. It was almost 1 A.M. tonight when I had to go to bed and then got distracted by the Sgt. Plouhar story. Even though I know the ultimate outcome and many of the details I am still on the edge of my seat while reading. My wife had brought the book home from the library for me to read while vacationing next week but I will be through with it before we leave town. I intend to get McCullough’s work on John Adams who is my favorite Revolutionary figure. My concern is that he leaves too much of the Christian influence out of his writings. He does give lip service by acknowledging how those who were there accredited it, but even the miraculous escape across the East River into New York is attributed to Washington and to luck. How can any sane person say it was sure lucky that wind changed direction the very hour needed and that very unseasonably thick fog was only over the area needed?
So we have it, the bookends. Holding up at the start of the bookshelf were the great men of our beginnings and now (for now) our current men of honor. Regardless of how you slice it, we’re doing ok. Don’t let the overly verbose loudmouths – despicables – distract you from the truth. I believe we will always have men who stand for the glorious cause. Pray that we will be accounted in their number.
posted by brent at 2:14 AM
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