My dad was the number one gunner upon a naval vessel in World War II. He was a very good gunner, in fact. He was injured twice, and each time recovered and went right back to fighting.

The only thing that he was more proud of was his love for his family and God. All he ever wanted to do in this life was to be in the Navy and serve our country.

After the war, he had somewhat, what I think they would now refer to as post traumatic stress syndrome, and he had to take medication for it, and yes it affected him and my family in some ways. But anytime and every time I asked him about his life,  he was still  proud of was his love for God, his family and his service to his country.

All of us know something about the perils of war, and all of us trust that we don’t ever have to go unless it is absolutely necessary, but I would never ever even dreamed of saying to him that Patriotism was nothing, and ridiculous, and other words that have been used to describe it. We have free speech in this country, and I am proud of that, and I am proud of all of our men who have ever gone to war in service to our country.

Not that long ago, we faced an enemy on our own land. At first, when we were hit, we didn’t know what to think only that someone hated us enough to do such a terrible thing. Everyone that day was on the same page, to serve and defend. I remember telling my co-workers….give me a gun…give me a gun.…because I wanted to go right then to wherever Osama Bin Laden was and kill him.

My mind hasn’t changed about that one bit. If he were standing in front of me right now, I wouldn’t call anyone, I would shoot him dead and maybe keep shooting till I was all out of bullets.

We, who have never served in the armed forces, can afford to sit back and have any opinion we want to have, because it costs us nothing!

We honored our men on Veteran’s Day not to long ago, and there were probably lots of politicians making speeches around the country, some might have even been talking about the war that we are in at the present.

But, I sat there in my chair thinking about all of the soldiers in all of the wars, and our soldiers especially because they are my kin. They are my fellow Americans, and I felt proud.

I felt proud that day of every soldier that was willing to fight so that I can enjoy freedom, so that I could even have the freedom to sit back and philosophizes about their sacrifice.

Because, you see, that is what America is all about. The freedom to even criticize them.

But, I won’t do that. When I look in every soldier’s eye, I see my dad, and I know what personal sacrifice he made to defend and protect this country.

And I wouldn’t dream of dishonoring my dad in that way. He loved this country the way some men love a woman. He loved God that way too.

There is no conflict between Our Allegiance to God and our Allegiance to country. War is never a popular choice.

I know from all I have gained from studying history. I majored in History in college. I wanted to be a History teacher. I have read so many books on World War II, I could probably sit down and re-write half of them.

I studied wars across our seas, no one likes war. But, we make the best choice that we can, not being like God and not being “all-knowing”. We are only men and women, and I will never sit back and say that Patriotism doesn’t mean anything.

I wouldn’t say it to my Dad, I wouldn’t say it to any soldier, I don’t care what country he is fighting for, and I won’t say it to you!

( Of course, I am not referring to any terrorists around the world, such as: "Radical Islam, or GIHAD, or any of the like)

If anyone wonders about how much a soldier loves peace, I'd say they possibly love it more than most, because they know the personal price of freedom. They have seen all the blood spilled in battle,  of men fallen around them. My dad use to tell me vivid stories, and I can still see those images in my mind as he descibed the anguish heard in the screams and other horrors, thank God, you and I will never see. 

So, we can have all the opinions we want, and the politicians can make all of their speeches, and the newspapers can print their stories, but it is the soldiers who fight for our freedom to do so. No, you won’t hear me saying that Patriotism doesn’t mean anything. You won’t be hearing that from me!

Footnote:.....There is no particular reason for this post only to take the opportunity to personal honor my Dad and other soldiers who have fought in many wars, and who will continue to fight for our freedom.....This is in no way any negative reflection towards anyone else's views or opinions, or statements made by anyone here. ....I just want to honor our "Guys" in uniform.....Thank you all!