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From the Gazeebo...  

"THE BOYS OF POINTE DU HOC "

"You all knew that some things are worth dying for...All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you" - President Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984, at the U.S. Ranger Monument, Pointe du Hoc, France.

If you ask any soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan what he needs or wants most from the American Public, invariably the answer comes that "we need to know that the people support us."

During the Korean War, the American public was largely and blissfully unaware of the horror and hardship that American boys endured there. Later, Vietnam became the first televised war, but the American public did NOT support the troops there, and they felt that lack of support, and they (you?) were angry and demoralized because of it.

In World War II, the American People supported our boys in uniform, of course, but the nature of worldwide communications left them largely in the dark, at least in the short term. Even without that communication, however, the soldiers in Europe and in the Pacific knew beyond doubt that the people of America were behind them.

If you pick up any collection of the great documents of American History, among them you will find the "D-Day" Memorial speech given by Ronald Reagan on the 40th anniversary of that day, in France, with the surviving veterans of the Ranger assault on the cliffs there in Normandy sitting before him in the audience. The Rangers had to storm the beach, scale the cliffs, and take out the huge German guns at the top - an effort that was a "giant undertaking unparalleled in human history."

"We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France," said Reagan. "The air is soft, but forty years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

"The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers on the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machine guns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb..."

It has been said that Ronald Reagan, the "Great Communicator," said things in a great way. But that is not true - Reagan didn't say things in a great way. Reagan said great things.

Among those great things was this speech directed at the surviving Rangers, the Boys of Pointe du Hoc. In the course of that speech, Reagan told them, and the world, a Truth that today the Warriors' Watch Riders live by:

"The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They fought - or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia, they were ringing the Liberty Bell.

"...These are the things that impelled them."

Reagan didn't say things in a great way. Reagan said Great Things.

Today, as the finest generation of young people that America has ever produced fights for the ideal of Human Liberty in the dust and desolation of the desert, thousands of miles from home, they hear of our support and they feel our love. Thanks to the miracle of instant global communications, the things that you and I do to support our men and women in uniform becomes immediately known to those not only here but also overseas in harm's way. They see us cheering our heroes and revving our engines and waving our flags and singing our songs of victory and courage and love of country and holding up our signs of welcome and support, and they take heart. To say it like the Great Communicator did, they know that in Georgia we are filling the churches, in Kansas we are kneeling on our porches and praying, and in Philadelphia we are ringing the Liberty Bell!

Reagan was saying that the Boys of Pointe du Hoc and all of America's liberators knew and were bolstered and upheld by the knowledge that the American people back home were with them, that the American People had their backs here at home.

For a time, for about a generation, during one of the most shameful periods of recent American history, Americans forgot - or did not care - how important that support was to our troops, and ultimately to freedom itself. If you are a member of the Warriors' Watch Riders, or any of dozens if similar groups, you know that today we have awakened and that we will never, ever, allow that to happen again.

Our troops in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in a half-dozen hotspots around the world, and here at home, know what the Boys of Pointe du Hoc knew. Here at home, the Warriors' Watch Riders are ringing the Liberty Bell.

God bless each of you for it.

- Wayne Lutz

TEXAS TO MAINE TO PHILADELPHIA

Of interest to Warriors' Watch Riders will be this little item: Our Texas Assistant State Coordinator, Rick Lyon (Txbiker), decided he needed a little ride to clear his head, so he hopped on his bike one recent day in Texas (south of San Antonio) and went for a ride...to Maine. Rick gave a shout to our intrepid National Coordinator, T, and myself as he passed through Pennsylvania, up north of here around Allentown (you know it from the Billy Joel song). When he got to Maine he did a U-turn and headed back towards Texas.

This time T and I caught up with Rick as he passed through, just south of Allentown, heading in the opposite direction this time, and took a rest stop in Quakertown.

We had a chance to sit in TGF Friday's with Rick and talk about strategy, execution, and some of the problems and advantages of Warriors' Watch Riding activity in Texas as compared to other parts of the Union. It was a very good time for all three of us, and we are grateful that Rick took the time to meet with us and allow us to get to know him on a much more personal level than had been the case.

Funny thing about Rick - he looks like we do. I could have instantly picked him out of a roomful of folks. Go figure.

It was a good time, a good meeting, and we are hopeful that more such meetings will happen in the future. So if you decide to ride through Pennsylvania, give us a shout. We'll even buy the beer (well, the first round, anyway.) Otherwise, we have our own road trips in mind...

FOLLOW THE MISSION PLANNING FORUM REGULARLY

Please check the Mission Planning Forums for upcoming Welcome Home rides - we need your support! The Mission Planning forums can be viewed even if you are not registered on the forums. However, if you have NOT YET REGISTERED ON THE FORUMS, PLEASE DO SO NOW to ensure that you do not miss any of the excitement, planning and discussion of this upcoming activity! Click on this link and register on the forums now!

Until next time: MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THIS, STILL THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH, AND ALL OF THOSE WHO DO, HAVE, OR WILL DEFEND HER, AT HOME AND ABROAD.

- Wayne Lutz

*This newsletter is named "The Weekly Ride" or "The Ride", for short, in memory of and to honor Sgt. Jennifer Hartman, U.S. Army. Sgt. Hartman was killed in Iraq by America's enemies. She died in defense of our freedom at the age of 20. This quote from Jennifer was read at her graveside:

"It's not about what happened in the past. It's not about what might happen in the future. It's about the ride, for Christ's sake."

Click here for a Tribute to Sgt. Jennifer Hartman: "The Ride"