Copy of a Speech I gave for Memorial Day

We are here today to honor members of the US Armed Services. The irony of this day is that the ones we are here to honor are the ones who cannot be here. This day has been set aside to remember those who have not returned. On November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg Pennsylvania, Abraham Lincoln gave a well known speech at the dedication of the battlefield about what it means to memorialize. "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate; we can not consecrate; we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract… It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain."
What cause is it that they have died for? In a word "freedom"! The LORD has blessed this great country beyond what we have the capacity to realize, and when our freedom is threatened these are the men we turn to. Why do they do it? What is their reward? Let me tell you something, if I was doing this for the money…I wouldn't be doing this. I can tell you this, though; a "thank you" from a stranger means more than all the money in the world. Next time you see one of the boys in uniform, realize that they have taken an oath to die if necessary to protect your right to show up on Sunday and remember the LORD, without having to worry about government harassment…and a thank you, will make their day.
Do not fool yourself into thing that the current war we are engaged in is a political one. The people we are fighting are the agents of Satan, who is alive and well in the middle-east. What you are seeing now is The Bible coming alive before your very eyes on Fox News. What they are doing to the captured troops over in the sandbox is right out of the pages of "Fox's Book of Martyrs". The enemy we fight right now is determined to eradicate all followers of Jesus Christ from the world (does that sound like something Satan would want? J). This fight will never be over while the world still stands, but we can take heart in knowing that our side wins. But we must be on our guard, because they have friends within our own borders—is it any surprise that those who wish to remove all vestiges of Christianity from our public life are sympathetic to those who wish to eradicate our way of life? This country is a great bastion of freedom in the world and the reason for that is that the only true freedom can be found in THE LORD. We are a Christian nation and the Radical Muslim Fundamentalists know this, which is why they attack us. Take a look at the imprint of freedom that America has had on the rest of the world and think to yourself…"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5:13.
Right now at this very moment there are those, one of whom is running for president, who seek to change the meaning of this day to one of anti-war protests. As disgusted as I am, personally, with these people, I have only one thing to say to them. "Thank you, thank you for exercising your right to say what you choose to say and believe what you choose to believe. I and the rest of my brothers and sisters in the armed services believe in these rights so much that we have pledged to die in their defense if necessary, and by exercising them you honor our sacrifice, whether you mean to or not. BUT I would add…regardless of your political affiliation or your personal beliefs, remember this! YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THESE RIGHTS IF IT WERE NOT FOR THE ARMED SERVICES. "Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of free and undivided republic." -- General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868. Remember to honor the 1,210,737 troops, so far, who didn't come home, and thank the ones who do, they ask for nothing more, and they deserve nothing less.