The Greatest Feat of the Greatest Generation

On June 6, 2012July 26, 2012 By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
June 6, 1944

(Listen to General Eisenhower give his speech, here.)

Go Silent for Memorial Day

On May 23, 2012July 26, 2012 By Tom LindsayIn Uncategorized1 Comment

SSG Jordan Bear

PFC Payton Jones

This Monday is Memorial Day, and I plan to spend the morning as I did last year, shooting the Memorial Day Fundraiser pistol match at Creekside Firing Range in Cartersville, Georgia. Each year for the past seven years, Joe Harris at Creekside has donated all the proceeds of the Memorial Day Fundraiser to the family of a fallen serviceman in the Atlanta area. The Fundraiser includes a steel challenge pistol match in the morning, an auction of shooting gear, and a tactical rifle match in the afternoon.

In addition, at 12:01 PM, I plan to go silent in honor of a fallen US serviceman.

The Iraq and Aghanistan Veterans of America are sponsoring this event, where you can pledge to remember an individual person, and make the moment personal.

I choose to remember two people – SSG Jordan Bear, age 25, of Denver, Colorado, and PFC Payton Jones, age 19, of Marble Falls, Texas.

Both served in Bravo Company of the 2nd Batallion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and were killed March 1, 2012, at COP Sangesar, Afghanistan. You can read about their encounter in this New York Times article.

These men, this incident, and this newspaper article hit home for me, because my youngest brother is a SFC in the same unit. In fact, Lieutenant Davis, pictured in the article, is my brother’s Platoon Leader. He has spoken at length with the NYT reporter who wrote this story.

Please consider going to this site and pledging to remember a fallen American.