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Excerpt from our Vision Statement:

...THE WARRIORS' WATCH RIDERS ENVISION A DAY WHEN EVERY MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES, AT HOME AND ABROAD, AND THEIR FAMILIES, FEEL APPRECIATED, HONORED, RESPECTED AND LOVED BY THE CITIZENS THEY RISK THEIR LIVES TO PROTECT...

From the Gazeebo...  

Teaching Veterans Day...

As I begin to write this, Veterans Day 2010 is two days off. Each year the Warriors' Watch Riders various chapters across the country have to choose from among many invitations to this ceremony or that parade or whatever. This year, in SouthEast Pennsylvania, we have another opportunity to teach.

"Teaching" is one of the goals of the Warriors' Watch Riders philosophy, articulated in that philosophy and in the Mission Statement. Years ago I instituted what I call "Teach the Children Rides," and I love those rides. Of all the good work that the WWR does, these teaching rides are my favorite.

When you consider it, it's a natural. We ride into an elementary school yard with 30 or 40 motorcycles and our vests and immediately grab the attention and imaginations of our young charges. Then, having their undivided attention, we teach.

Without teaching, history is doomed to repeat itself. No one wants, for example, to repeat the shameful period of the 60s and 70s when troops and veterans were not only NOT honored, they were in many cases actually vilified - by the citizens they were sworn to defend, by the media, and even by their friends and family. We remain hopeful that teaching children the sacrifice and honor that our veterans exemplify will help them to understand why they are important and worthy of respect.

Why are they important? What is the value of a veteran? To answer that question for yourself, just walk into any veterans cemetery and gaze across the hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of white granite stones, lined up in arrow-straight ranks, on grounds meticulously and even lovingly maintained. Ask yourself who these people were - what they did - what they gave - what they missed of life for our sakes.

Philadelphia National Veterans Cemetery, photo by AWWC Director Kat Fialkowski. Click here to see all of the photos taken on Sunday, November 7, 2010.

The answer is starkly clear. Every person in American history who wore a uniform in the nation's defense risked losing his or her life in defense of our way of life, and knew it. Many of our veterans, men and women who

Go to the VA website to see the gallery of posters in honor of Veteran's Day. This year's poster has a list of major battles fought by our veterans of the past and current day Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and Coast Guard.

US Veterans Association 2010 Veterans Day poster. Click here to see the entire gallery.

Each of those battles was fought by men and women who had made a promise to their nation and fellow citizens. They raised the right hand and promised to defend us, and our way of life. If any of you still write checks to pay your bills, think for a moment about what you are doing when you write out a check. A check is nothing more than a piece of paper - not made of gold or silver or even nickel or copper. Just paper.

The value of that check is not what it's made of, but what is written on it. The words on the check are a promise. You promise, say, your electric company that there will be an amount of money transferred from your account to theirs. It's a pledge of honor.

What the enlistment papers that our veterans signed are made of - paper - has no value. The value is what is written on those papers - a promise that the veteran makes to his nation, to the people, to his own sacred honor. The veteran promises to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The promise is one of honor and duty.

You could just as easily make out a check, but instead of a dollar amount, he/she would write in the true value of the promise being made. Thus the quote that has become popular to describe veterans, though the author remains unknown: "A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his or her life, made out a check, payable to the People of the United States of America, for an amount of "Up to and including my life." "

This is why we honor our veterans. This is why it is so important that we teach each new generation of that value - the value of a check made out in that amount, the "ultimate price." Most veterans will never see combat, although millions have. 3 million American Soldiers served in Vietnam. 500,000 of those actually saw combat. But ALL of them made out the same check, all of them made the same promise, and all of them did so with the same knowledge - that the check might be cashed at any time.

A final word about Veterans Day: For something truly inspirational, please go to this link on YouTube and enjoy the song "A Pittance of Time" from blind singer Terry Kelly, of Canada.The story of this wonderful song is as follows:

"On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a drug store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the stores PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.

Terry was impressed with the stores leadership role in adopting the Legions two minutes of silence initiative. He felt that the stores contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.

When eleven o'clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the two minutes of silence to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.

Terry's anger towards the father for trying to engage the stores clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, A Pittance of Time. Terry later recorded A Pittance of Time and included it on his full-length music CD, The Power of the Dream.

Thank You to the Royal Canadian Legion Todmorden Branch #10 and Woodbine Height Branch #2 for their participation in the Video. "

Please visit www.terry-kelly.com

 

Missions go On!

Take a look ever day at the Confirmed Missions threads in each of the four national WWR Regions:

Region 1 (Atlantic States)

Region 2 (Central States)

Region 3 (Mountain States)

Region 4 (Pacific States)

Also, read the stories through the after action reports and photos on the main website, which is continually updated. Remember, this is all about honoring our troops, one at a time or one unit at a time. Without that purpose, all the rest is just noise.

 

*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"