"The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot."
BTW: i spent a career in the US Army. You?
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Thank you for your service, alsagr. I'm not interested in whipping out our, umm... credentials and comparing sizes because that is not reasonable debate, but since you asked...
The Beck side of my family has been here since before this was the United States. I have four ancestors that qualify me for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. One of them was a surveyor who built roads for General Washington to fall on Cornwallis. The others were soldiers, one barely 18 fighting for our independence. The Becks (my British Becks) have fought in nearly every war since The Revolution, Including the American Civil War in which one of my ancestors died fighting to preserve the Union. I'm also a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War.
My dad fought against the Empire of Japan in WWII in the Army Air Corps, which later became the Air Force. His formation of B-17s was attacked by Japanese Zeros for the first time over the skies of Burma (now Myanmar). That earned him his first battle star. There would be many more. That was the first of many scrapes and close calls he had in WWII as a flyer. He also served during the Korean Conflict. He was deployed many times during his 20 years in the Air Force and then did 8 years in the Air Force Reserves after retirement.
As for me, I grew up in a military family as an Air Force "Brat." It was a good life. I was too rebellious to join the military when I became old enough to do so. I later served my country in many other ways, including law enforcement and EMS. I was a Boy Scout too.
One of my sons is a Navy Corpsman embedded with the Marines, which is essentially a Marine who can treat the wounded while shooting back at the enemy. I'm very proud of him.
James IV, King of Scotland is my 13th great grandfather. Diana, Princess of Wales is a distant cousin. So is Queen Elizabeth II.
I'm a lifetime student and lover of history, and ancestry.... my heritage. I know all about this country, the people who shaped it and the ways in which they did, including Thomas Paine. His works, "The American Crisis" and "Common Sense" are must reads to stir the Spirit of '76 in your heart... if you have it in your heart. I certainly do.
My mom's side are more recent immigrants form Germany and the Netherlands. Would you like to know their contributions to the United States and their history going back hundreds of years, or are we done here with this distraction so we can continue discussing the topic of this thread?
PS: Never assume a guy or gal participating in a thread in a web forum doesn't have a grasp of the topic at hand or the world in general. I know all about what's going on with the NRA. I agree that many people don't, but I'm not one of those people. I don't repeat talking points. My opinions are not shaped by popular media. I have my own mind and I speak my own thoughts from it.
BTW: It's the left leaning anti 2nd crowd who are now looking with disdain and contempt at America's Founding Fathers and other great leaders and philosophers who inspired the Revolution . Those people are taking down their statues, same as they have defiled sacred Confederate memorials of our brothers in The south.
Whose side are you on?
~Beck