T E X A R K A N A M A G A Z I N E
and education are inalienable rights endowed to us by our Creator, the God of Abraham. This is the same Creator who is so freely mocked, but called upon by unrecognizable patrons when in dire need of miracles.The down payment for any of our national benefits or entitlements is the blood and sacrifice of those who serve. These same spellbinding ideologies seek to take from those who toil by the sweat of their brow and give openly to
willingly. The goal has always been to fight to the last battle so that our sons and daughters could remain blemish-free. I find that the intolerable mission of those who seek to indoctrinate our youth with themes of socialism comes from the same unseen hand that refuses to take the oath to defend our country. Truly we have seen that socialism’s great ambition is transitioning to a communist society devoid of God and consumed by a
2006—Charles sits atop a tank in Al Ramadi, Iraq. submitted photo
those who have no ownership or investment in hard work or this nation. Great men die and leave behind families who are frozen in time, families continually shunned and shamed by the acolytes of socialism who cheapen the value of true inheritance. Some may ask the veteran: “why should we fight;” “why should we serve;” “why should we risk comfort;” and “why should we sacrifice at all?” The answers are even simpler than the questions. SOMEONE MUST GO! Someone must fight! Someone must serve! Someone must risk it all! Inevitably, someone will die. If we could remember the
tyrannical government. Socialism is incompatible with the spirit of Americanism in much the same manner as communism is the enemy of Christianity. There can be no easier way of establishing socio- communism in the United States than for the masses to forget the fallen and for the old to die without passing along the great tales of men of renown—America’s mighty men of valor. For me, the military history of this nation is inseparable from the history of the American people. This history cannot be separated by race or class and increasingly includes women who have borne the
greatest teaching for a misguided nation, “greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend,” then well-intended intolerant socialists can see why we serve—for love. Memorial Day brings all generations of service members together into a non-politicized vacuum that harnesses that power of selfless service. The spirit of Americanism is shrouded in the Spirit of God. More than a decade ago, a Vietnam veteran found me feeling sorry for myself while in the Dallas Ft. Worth Airport, feeling as though my years of service were in vain. He told me he did not want me to come home the same way he had. I had no reason to be ashamed. I did not and still do not know his name, only the face of a weathered man, thin as a rail, who hugged me as if I were his son, as if I were a returning hero. As he held me I collapsed in his arms knowing he understood all I
burden of battle. The cause of freedom is joined at the hip with the pursuit of happiness, just as liberty is attached to those who fight tyranny. As a veteran of a foreign war, I am committed to preserving this great democracy and the memory of those who have given their lives for the cause of freedom. I could say more as an eyewitness to war, but the certainty is that the road of this democracy, at the intersection of business and politics, is littered with heroic men and women who deserve to be remembered daily. In the future, as the clenched fist of communism and its socialist sibling turn their backs on truly oppressed people, who will answer the call? If not America, then who? If not for selfless service, then for what cause will a brave man die? It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of a tyrannical government, but
“ As the young become champions in battle and
professionals in conflict, the old
become stewards of history and tellers of great tales.”
Charles Jordan
had seen and done. I cried like a baby as I looked up at him and could not muster a proper thank you. I am still overwhelmed by the gravity of my service to this great nation, and that service connects me to every other veteran who has ever worn the uniform of this nation with honor and dignity. If we who believe in freedom could offer ourselves again to this great nation we would gladly, without hesitation or evasion, do so
more terrible hands await those who, out of selfishness and pride, fail to seek justice for the orphan and widow. America remembers its fallen on Memorial Day as a tribute not only to heroes who have fallen in battle but a deep salute to the orphans and widows who have sacrificed a loved one for the sake of this great nation. Remember them all on Memorial Day. Lest We Forget.
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