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From the Gazeebo...  

"Semper Fi..."

In 1982 President Reagan ended a radio address by telling the following story:

"Not long ago, Marine Commandant P.C. Jones visited the hospital in Lebanon that houses those injured in the recent terrorist attack. One blind marine, swathed from head to toe in bandages, didn't believe it was the Top Marine General visiting his bedside.

The marine reached up to the general's shoulder and counted the stars with his fingers - one, two, three, four.

The private nodded and then signaled with his two hands for a pad and paper. Then he wrote, 'Semper Fi.' "

"Always Faithful." The burned and disfigured young marine exhibited a devotion to duty, pride, and love of country that exemplifies the character of today's American Warrior.

Those of us who spend so much of our time in the pursuit of Troop Support activities are faced with examples of this deep devotion every day. We see individual troops up close and personal, one by one, and we are reminded, if reminding is needed, of why we do what we do, again and again.

The young warriors who are sent to fight against the spread of tyranny and terror, we feel, are doing for us that which most of us are unable to do ourselves. In the days of WWII, the entire nation became directly or indirectly involved in the winning of the war, through direct fighting, to personal deprivation and rationing, to the manufacture of weapons and other war related materials. The war became part of daily life, felt by all Americans, despite our distance from the actual battles.

But today it is not our distance, but our wealth that insulates us from the effects of war. The Western World is so rich that it can absorb even the cost of a war without noticeably affecting everyday life.

There for many of us are left feeling as though we should be doing something, and so we do. We mount up and take care of our troops as we can on this side of the pond. While they "have our backs over there," we promise to "have their backs here at home."

The measure of your devotion is in the lengths to which you go to support our warriors. You ride in all weather conditions, all year long, in doing what you do. Last week, the Warriors' Watch State Coordinators from North Carolina each spent days and rode hours to welcome a Marine unit home from terrible fighting in Afghanistan. The unit flew in to Cherry Point, NC, and was escorted then by the Warriors' Watch faithful all the way to Camp Lejeune. I know this, even all the way up here in Philadelphia, by the same means that I know that this unit saw heavy combat (and lost two of its members): because my own beloved nephew was among those honored. "ABGeorge," his wonderful daughter "Pretty Princess," and "BC" were there for them, and it was grand. And scenes just like that one are being played out by Warriors' Watch Riders all across the country, from Florida to Pennsylvania to Illinois to California - we are honoring our troops, always faithful to our mission.

Chaney and Colleen Collins, Welcome Home!

As they were honored by us, I know you will understand what I say when I say that it is really we who are honored by them. To be allowed to show the respect we feel for our warriors is OUR honor and our faithfulness, not the other way around, and that is why we do what we do.

On this Thanksgiving Eve, I will close with this story, one which I believe illustrates the way we feel about our young warriors and what I have just wrote about honoring them:

In 1940, Winston Churchill was signing the Victoria Cross to a member of the Home Guard who had rescued five lives under a burning building that had been destroyed in the Blitz. The man said, "Mr. Churchill, you honor me."

Churchill replied, "Ah, but you are wrong! You are the one who honors me."

Happy Thanksgiving, to you and to yours. It is my fondest wish for all of us that we are and shall remain always faithful.

- Wayne Lutz

WREATHS ACROSS PA

Each year it has become our tradition that the Warriors Watch in Pennsylvania complete a long Wreath Ride in mid-December. On this ride we decorate the veteran's field of a chosen cemetery. We clean it up, plant fresh flags, and then put a Christmas Wreath, adorned with a bow, on the grave site of each veteran buried there. Then we mount up and continue on to several other places of honor, placing Christmas Wreaths as we go, ending at Washington's Crossing, where we place a wreath at the stone of each of the Unknowns who died there along the Delaware River in the Revolutionary war.

Forest Hills Cemetery, Veterans Field, Pa.

We are doing the same this year, but we still need donors. We get the Christmas Wreaths from a local wholesale florist at cost. That cost is $7.50 per wreath, plus then the bows. We have ordered 204 wreaths, for a total of $1,530.00, not including the bows. We are able to pay for this ONLY by "passing the hat" among us members. It is only your generosity and devotion that keeps this tradition in motion each year.

Tombstones of the Unknowns, 1777, Washington's Crossing

This year we are lagging behind. We have only about 2 weeks before we must pay, and to date we have raised only something over $500. We have a long way to go, and this is a direct appeal to you, our members and friends, to buy a wreath or two for this act of honor to our nation's veterans.

Please contact PA ASC John (Goldwing) Stein to make a donation. Just tell him how much you would like to donate and he will send you a PayPal invoice.

THANK YOU.

Contact J ohn Stein at: John112269@aol.com

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"