Here we are coming up on the two-month anniversary of the Attack on America. As we read and hear every day about the war effort overseas, most of us can generally take some solace in the fact that even though our military forces are putting it all on the line, they are slowly eradicating once and for all the evil forces of terrorism.
What the terrorists have attempted to do is disrupt our lifestyle and replace all the things we hold dear to us with fear. Nothing could be further from the truth. What they have created is a Re-United States of America.
Our country has discovered that what we have always taken for granted does not look the same in a multistory pile of rubble. We have seen far too many flag-draped caskets. We have seen video and still photos of war zones in other lands that look like New York. What the criminals did was wake up a sleeping giant that is fed up with being threatened and now attacked. Our government leaders and military personnel will travel to the ends of the earth to bring the cowardly perpetrators to justice.
The attack has also brought a country made of people from all walks of life, all races, creeds and nationalities together. On Sept. 11, 2000, Wal-Mart stores nationwide sold 6,400 American flags. On Sept. 11, 2001, Wal-Mart sold 116,000 flags. That’s just one chain of stores. My wish is that once the fighting has subsided, the flags will still fly all over the nation. I have seen flags in more places and with more abundance than ever before since the attack.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best: “We, and all others who believe in freedom as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.”
No truer statement has ever been recorded.
Here is a brief example of that thought. In the smoke and confusion that followed the attack on the Pentagon, dazed employees looked for any way out.
For many, all they heard was a booming voice calling, “Listen to me. Listen to me. Follow my voice.”
That voice belonged to Army Lt. Col. Victor Correa, who disappeared into a wall of dense smoke to look for his colleagues.
“(Yours) was the voice I heard,” several people told him afterward.
“All of us had a different function,” Correa said, “and I knew what mine was.”
Heroism comes in all forms but Col. Correa did not contemplate his fate at the time. All he could do was contemplate what to do at the time and he did it. Americans always do!
Another Roosevelt, Eleanor, once said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”
That speaks volumes for our firemen and policemen in New York on Sept. 11. All of them knew if they went into the towers they could perish, but they had taken an oath to serve and protect and in they went. They stood on every floor, leading others to safety much like Col. Correa had done by providing the voice of confidence and courage.
The country’s major law enforcement and intelligence branches are receiving record requests for service. Where once hundreds of applications were received by the FBI, CIA and others, they are now receiving thousands per month.
I received an e-mail last week that offered an interesting comparison of thoughts between Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and one of our greatest generals, George Patton.
Omar is quoted as saying: “The situation where we are now, there are two things: either death or victory. To those who are fighting and bombarding us, they should understand the Afghan man is a fighter willing to die for jihad.”
This is followed by Patton’s famous quote: “I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”
I guess that pretty much sums it up.
To the balance sheet:
Credit:
To National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. for winning a fierce competition to capture a $709 million contract to build two new combat logistics ships. The contract has an opportunity to build up to 10 more ships by 2007. If all 12 ships are eventually built, it will be the biggest contract in the company’s 40-year history. Congratulations to Dick Vortmann and his team for capturing a big prize that will keep thousands of San Diegans working for years to come.
Credit:
To Dr. Gene Ray and his team at Titan Corp. as their SureBeam division has just sold eight of its irradiation units to the U.S. Postal Service to kill any anthrax that may be contaminating the mail. If the program is as successful as all parties hope, the Postal Service may buy hundreds more from SureBeam. Dr. Ray and his researchers are a classic case of a defense contractor looking to commercialization to ensure their company’s success. Congratulations to Dr. Ray and his team.
Credit:
To Al George, a volunteer board member of North Island Financial Credit Union, for being selected as this year’s National Association of Federal Credit Unions Volunteer of the Year. After the announcement he was also selected as the Defense Credit Union Council inductee into its Hall of Fame. He was cited for 50 years of dedicated service to credit unions. Congratulations Al, well deserved.
