Free Republic

55 years ago today was Sir Winston's funeral. He was the greatest leader of the 20th Century. He stood alone against Hitlerism. He saved the free world alone, holding out for months until other allies joined the struggle. Note the honor guard keeping watch over his casket, their chins tucked deep into their chests, their eyes sorrowful and downcast. Sir Winston was a commoner. He was half American. Note the marching sailors escorting his casket from Westminster to Saint Paul's That was never allowed for the funeral of a commoner. This was the first state funeral for a commoner in...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2LZ9cVRkDw

It was a cold, solemn day on the Texas ranch. A biting, prairie wind was staved off with a thick, fur coat wrapped around an American music icon. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson had said before he died that at his burial he wanted the Rev. Billy Graham to pray and Anita Bryant to sing. Bryant, once Miss Oklahoma and a Miss America second runner-up, was known in 1973 as the vivacious spokeswoman for Florida orange juice and the Sunshine State. She nervously tried to get her voice ready to sing for a worldwide satellite television audience at the president’s...

On or around this day in 1861, Julia Ward Howe is inspired to write the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Did you know that this much-loved patriotic song has its roots in the Civil War years? Julia was the daughter of a Wall Street broker and a poet. She was well-educated and was able to speak fluently in several languages. Like her mother, she loved to write. She also became very interested in the abolitionist and suffragette causes. Samuel Howe was progressive in many ways, but he wasn’t too keen on expanding women’s rights. He thought Julia’s place was in...

This arrangement of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is performed by four high school choirs, plus a choir of elementary school children. A band accompanies the choirs, and the accompanying web graphics are beautifully done. The web site host, GreatDanePro, says, "I found the arrangement deeply moving. The little kids get the first verse to themselves, then the high schoolers join in." Click on the link to hear the childrens' choirs giving it all they've got!