Ronald Reagan - Veterans Day Prayer

Reagan's prayer at Veteran's Day: http://youtu.be/a6yA76fOIwo

Thank you for posting this, NEWwoman.

God bless America.

God bless America’s veterans, living and dead.

God bless Ronald Reagan.

This is a good time to remind conservatives that Ronald Reagan’s military bio was a little stronger than most Americans know, and many Americans don’t even realize that he served.

Reagan began taking home-study U.S. Army Extension Courses in March of 1935, passing 14 by December of 1936.

In April of 1937 he enlisted in the Army reserves, Reagan then spent FIVE full years as a Cavalry officer leading troopers that knew about horses and rugged outdoor life.

April 19, 1942, Reagan transferred to active duty. “This was not achieved without some difficulty because when Reagan took his first physical exam, he was not accepted for active duty due to eyesight difficulties. His persistence finally triumphed and he was given another exam, which he passed. He was classified for limited service only, which permanently denied to him his ambition of serving overseas. His first assignment was at the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, Fort Mason, Calif., as Liaison Officer of the Port and Transportation Office.”

Here is more on his WWII service from a long excerpt from this article http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=1660 :
“ At this time, the AAF and Warner Brothers Studios were planning a feature motion picture to be entitled “Air Force” and wanted Reagan for the leading role, so on May 15, 1942, he applied for transfer from the Cavalry to the AAF.

The transfer was approved and on June 9, 1942, Reagan was assigned to AAF Public Relations as P.R. Officer in Burbank, Calif., and subsequently to the 1st Motion Picture Unit in Culver City.

Lt. Reagan was promoted to first lieutenant, Jan. 14, 1943, and on Feb. 26, he was sent to the Provisional Task Force Show Unit of “This is the Army” at Burbank. Following this duty, he returned to the 1st Motion Picture Unit and on July 22, 1943, was promoted to captain.

As the result of a personal request from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of War, Reagan was ordered on temporary duty to New York City in January 1944 to participate in the opening of the 4th War Loan Drive, after which he returned to California to the 1st Motion Picture Unit. On Nov. 14, 1944, he was assigned to the 18th AAF Base Unit at Culver City where he remained until the end of the war. On Sept. 8, 1945, he was ordered to Fort MacArthur, Calif., for separation, effective Dec. 9, 1945.

While on active duty with the 1st Motion Picture Unit and the 18th AAFBU, Reagan served as Personnel Officer, Post Adjutant, Executive Officer, and even Commanding Officer, often two or more at the same time. On May 15, 1945, in a memo to Gen. H.H. “Hap” Arnold, Commanding General of the AAF, Maj. Gen. James P. Hodges, the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff for Intelligence, wrote that Reagan “has proven himself to be an officer of exceptional ability, demonstrating unusual initiative, and performs his duties in a superior manner. Captain Reagan has received a ‘superior’ efficiency rating continually since 1 Jul., 1943.” The reference to “unusual initiative” undoubtedly resulted, at least in part, from Reagan repeatedly volunteering to assist in producing and narrating AAF motion pictures, in addition to his regular duties. By the end of the war, his military units had produced 400 training films for the AAF.

In 1945, Reagan was recommended for promotion but because there was no major’s vacancy in his unit at the time, the request was not approved. On April 1, 1953, his commission in the Officers’ Reserve Corps was terminated as required by law and his military affiliation apparently ended.”

Thank you God.
Thank you Vets.

I posted a thread on this yesterday, but it didn’t seem to get much notice, so I hope you don’t mind my chiming in again.

Yesterday marked the 76th year since Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” in 1938. That scene was later re-created in the movie “This is the Army”, starring guess who? Ronald Reagan, our greatest President.

Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEJo7x9y3D4

On Veterans Day especially, and every day, “God Bless America”, and God Bless great Americans like Ronald Reagan, Irving Berlin, and Kate Smith, who reflected that message in their words and actions.

What year was this speech?

Do some intelligent googling, it seems it was given in 1985.

Here’s the link: http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/speakers/1985remarks.asp

Blessings, laplata

I miss Reagan.

Caliph Baraq...tear down this Obamacare!

Wow! Thanks for that insight. At least Reagan finally got a promotion to Commander-in-Chief!

And in those days, Hollywood backed America.

Blessings, ansel12

Right on, right way right

Many thanks to all who sacrificed to serve others.

That was a moving scene, bigbob.

Thanks for sharing.

(And note my tagline.)

Veterans Day Remarks

Remarks by President Ronald Reagan
Veterans Day National Ceremony
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia
November 11, 1985

PRESIDENT REAGAN: Secretary Weinberger, Harry Walters, Robert Medairos, reverend clergy, ladies and gentlemen, a few moments ago I placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and as I stepped back and stood during the moment of silence that followed, I said a small prayer. And it occurred to me that each of my predecessors has had a similar moment, and I wondered if our prayers weren’t very much the same, if not identical.

We celebrate Veterans Day on the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, the armistice that began on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. And I wonder, in fact, if all Americans’ prayers aren’t the same as those I mentioned a moment ago. The timing of this holiday is quite deliberate in terms of historical fact but somehow it always seems quite fitting to me that this day comes deep in autumn when the colors are muted and the days seem to invite contemplation.

We are gathered at the National Cemetery, which provides a final resting place for the heroes who have defended our country since the Civil War. This amphitheater, this place for speeches, is more central to this cemetery than it first might seem apparent, for all we can ever do for our heroes is remember them and remember what they did — and memories are transmitted through words.

Sometime back I received in the name of our country the bodies of four marines who had died while on active duty. I said then that there is a special sadness that accompanies the death of a serviceman, for we’re never quite good enough to them-not really; we can’t be, because what they gave us is beyond our powers to repay. And so, when a serviceman dies, it’s a tear in the fabric, a break in the whole, and all we can do is remember.

It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country, in defense of us, in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray haired. But most of them were boys when they died, and they gave up two lives — the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for our country, for us. And all we can do is remember.

There’s always someone who is remembering for us. No matter what time of year it is or what time of day, there are always people who come to this cemetery, leave a flag or a flower or a little rock on a headstone. And they stop and bow their heads and communicate what they wished to communicate. They say, “Hello, Johnny,” or “Hello, Bob. We still think of you. You’re still with us. We never got over you, and we pray for you still, and we’ll see you again. We’ll all meet again.” In a way, they represent us, these relatives and friends, and they speak for us as they walk among the headstones and remember. It’s not so hard to summon memory, but it’s hard to recapture meaning.

And the living have a responsibility to remember the conditions that led to the wars in which our heroes died. Perhaps we can start by remembering this: that all of those who died for us and our country were, in one way or another, victims of a peace process that failed; victims of a decision to forget certain things; to forget, for instance, that the surest way to keep a peace going is to stay strong. Weakness, after all, is a temptation — it tempts the pugnacious to assert themselves — but strength is a declaration that cannot be misunderstood. Strength is a condition that declares actions have consequences. Strength is a prudent warning to the belligerent that aggression need not go unanswered.

Peace fails when we forget what we stand for. It fails when we forget that our Republic is based on firm principles, principles that have real meaning, that with them, we are the last, best hope of man on Earth; without them, we’re little more than the crust of a continent. Peace also fails when we forget to bring to the bargaining table God’s first intellectual gift to man: common sense. Common sense gives us a realistic knowledge of human beings and how they think, how they live in the world, what motivates them. Common sense tells us that man has magic in him, but also clay. Common sense can tell the difference between right and wrong. Common sense forgives error, but it always recognizes it to be error first.

We endanger the peace and confuse all issues when we obscure the truth; when we refuse to name an act for what it is; when we refuse to see the obvious and seek safety in Almighty. Peace is only maintained and won by those who have clear eyes and brave minds. Peace is imperiled when we forget to try for agreements and settlements and treaties; when we forget to hold out our hands and strive; when we forget that God gave us talents to use in securing the ends He desires. Peace fails when we forget that agreements, once made, cannot be broken without a price.

Each new day carries within it the potential for breakthroughs, for progress. Each new day bursts with possibilities. And so, hope is realistic and despair a pointless little sin. And peace fails when we forget to pray to the source of all peace and life and happiness. I think sometimes of General Matthew Ridgeway, who, the night before D-day, tossed sleepless on his cot and talked to the Lord and listened for the promise that God made to Joshua: “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

We’re surrounded today by the dead of our wars. We owe them a debt we can never repay. All we can do is remember them and what they did and why they had to be brave for us. All we can do is try to see that other young men never have to join them. Today, as never before, we must pledge to remember the things that will continue the peace. Today, as never before, we must pray for God’s help in broadening and deepening the peace we enjoy. Let us pray for freedom and justice and a more stable world. And let us make a compact today with the dead, a promise in the words for which General Ridgeway listened, “I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

In memory of those who gave the last full measure of devotion, may our efforts to achieve lasting peace gain strength. And through whatever coincidence or accident of timing, I tell you that a week from now when I am some thousands of miles away, believe me, the memory and the importance of this day will be in the forefront of my mind and in my heart.

Thank you. God bless you all, and God bless America.

Yes! Thanks for posting the text as well as all your prayers and all you do on FR, Salvation.