Memorial Day

A NOTE FROM A FRIEND Thanks Scott Agnew for sharing this with me.

Hope all are planning a happy and safe Memorial Weekend. Monday is a holiday
and I do hope we all observe this with remembrance to all those that have
sacrificed on behalf of our country.

Recently I spent 10 days in the Philippines researching the Battle of Bataan
wherein our soldiers along with the Filipino soldiers battled the Imperial
Japanese Army to a standstill, that is until they were diseased, without
medicine, starving, without bullets, and no escape from the sea or the Japanese.
Most know little of our crusade to rid fascism from the Pacific as Roosevelt's
strategy was always Europe first.

Over a battlefield of 100+ miles our men fought - and fought some more -
for 5 solid months! Finally the Imperial Army had to withdraw an entire
Army to Bataan. Discovering original letters from my father to his bride
describing chaos and ferocity of battle - and the realities reported in the
Philippines was so much more that his missives. The real story is so incredible
it makes fiction worthless. And because of Bataan we were able to hold New
Guinea and Australia allowing our Navy to enter the Battle of the Coral Sea
and later the Battle of Midway thereby stopping expansion of the Nippon Empire
- at that time the largest empire in the history of the world. And all this
happened within 6 - yes six - months of December 7th 1941.

"Washington: A Life" by Chernow illustrates over nearly a thousand pages
the fragility of this experiment we call freedom. Every time we hear, watch,
read, and even drive a car we are reminded that liberty is such a rare commodity
in the world! How valuable a commodity one might ask? Washington's continental
army was volunteered from the states - and they did not have to stand and
fight - many just left for home once their enlistment expired. Yet the father
of our country kept this rag-tag army together during freezing winters, forced
marches, and overwhelming odds.

Yes, Memorial Day is a time to take stock of the present, reflect on our
past, and renew our commitment to the future of our great America. We honor
those brave Americans who died in the service to our country. Today a group
of Veteran's dedicated our 25th Memorial to a soldier fallen in the Republic
of Vietnam, a young citizen of 19 who volunteered during those tumultuous
times of the Civil Right's Movement, the assassinations of Jack Kennedy,
Rivers, Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, the fiasco at the Bay of Pigs,
the near encounter with nuclear war over missiles in Cuba, the riots in Chicago
at the Democratic Convention, and so much more. This now forever young private
whose family shed lasting tears for what was and what might have been celebrate
his life and our constitution.

As a tribute to their sacrifice let us renew our resolve to remain steadfast
against aggression, moral wrong doings, and let us protect our freedom with
thoughtful, deliberate, and careful debate so we might shine a light of freedom
and peace throughout the world. And let's take the time to thank our citizen
soldier's, those men and women who serve our nation whether she be right
or wrong. My, it is just overwhelming to see these young men and women
without limbs and with full heart. It is just remarkable - and if you don't
believe me come go to the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta Georgia where
many are treated for grievous injuries. As one you lady replied when I ask
her goal: "someday soon I will be able to stand from this wheelchair and
dress myself"

Thank you for all you do for our company, our economic engine, and most of
all our great America!

With my best regards,

Michael Fleming