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American
Legion Post 136 - Mulvane, KS Birthplace of the Patriot Guard Page last updated: July 22, 2008 01:27:09 PM |
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Bet you can't sing all of the National Anthem - - see below:
OUR NATIONAL
ANTHEM....IN GOD DO WE TRUST!
Unless you know all four stanzas of "The Star Spangled Banner" you may find this most interesting.
Perhaps most of you didn't realize what Francis Scott Key's profession was or what he was doing on a ship.
This is a good brush-up on your history.
(Editor's Note- Near the end of his life, the great science fiction
author Isaac Asimov wrote a short story about the four stanzas of our national anthem. However brief, this well-circulated piece is an eye opener from the dearly departed doctor......) I have a weakness -- I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our national anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time."
NO REFUGE COULD SAVE: BY DR. ISAAC ASIMOV
I was once asked to speak at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to sing our national anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said. "That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen staff." I explained the background of the anthem and then sang all four stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me; it was the anthem.
More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my students the story of the anthem and sang all four stanzas.
Again there was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the anthem and not me.
So now let me tell you how it came to be written. In 1812, the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved in an American war. At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy, and they are ours. However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually. New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession. Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to abdicate. Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States, launching a three-pronged attack. The northern prong was to come down Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England. The southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans, and paralyze the west. The central prong was to head for the Mid-Atlantic States and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York. If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then, rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central prong. The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took Washington, DC. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort. On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beans, who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner. Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to the ship to negotiate his release.
The British captain was willing, but the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September 13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start. As twilight deepened, Key and Beans saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag still flew. As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beans stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see the flag?"
After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the events of the night. Called "The Defense of Fort McHenry," it was published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the words fit an old English tune called, "To Anacreon in Heaven" -- a difficult melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons, Key's work became known as "The Star Spangled Banner," and in 1931 Congress declared it the official anthem of the United States.
______________________________________________
Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:
*
Oh! Say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! Say, does that Star - Spangled Banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
*
("Ramparts," in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other elevations that surround a fort.)
The first stanza asks a question. The second gives an answer:
*
On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
in full glory reflected, now shines on the stream
'Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh! Long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
*
("The towering steep" is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed, and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a failure. In the third stanza I feel Key allows himself to gloat over the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably was in no mood to act otherwise. During World War I when the British were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I know it, so here it is:)
*
And where is that band who so dauntingly swore
that the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
a home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
from the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
and the Star - Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
*
(The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling):
*
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
and this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the Star - Spangled Banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
*
I hope you will look at the national anthem with new eyes.
Listen to it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears.
Pay attention to the words. And don't let them ever take it away ... not one word of it.
AND IT'S SUNG IN ENGLISH !!!
______________________________________________
When our country is harmed, there are those that respond.
With honor and duty they’re sent.
In war and in peace, with strength and resolve,
It’s the blood of the soldier that’s spent.
We fight and some die, on those foreign lands.
With freedom and God at our side.
And when our service is done, we need to keep on,
So we join the Legion that rides.
The souls of the fallen and breath of the living,
Bestow Gods blessings on this country’s side.
So with flags held aloft, and the sounds of thunder,
We join the Legion that rides.
When our day is past, and our duty is done
God’s angels will ask, “Have you been a provider?”
“What have you done for your country and man?”
I’ll answer with pride, “I’m an American Legion Rider”
Richard Babinger
Post 136 Mulvane, Ks
______________________________________________
From the revolution through this day, our Veterans are often
viewed
By the world as a group of patriot citizens
With honor and fortitude!
In all conditions, they completed their missions
They gave freedoms’ bell its ring
Across our land, still taking a stand
Vets form the Eagles wing.
Ten thousand graves, marked with stone
Ten thousand footsteps marching home.
Their duty done, no reward they claim
Yet in their heart still burns a flame.
For love of country, sacrifice for peace
No human act can make it cease.
The blood they spilled on foreign shores
From jungles to desert sand
Have forever changed this land of promise,
And made it the promise land.
For people now living in this land of the free
We beg you never forget them.
Because this one nation, under God,
Still stands because of the Veteran.
Rick Babinger
American Legion Post 136
______________________________________________
FOR OUR VETERANS
It’s not the color of your uniform
That turns all eyes your way;
It’s the proud tilt to your salute
As our flag dips and sways.
It’s not the wars you have fought in,
Or whether or not you made it home,
It’s that you served your country proudly
In the foreign lands that you have roamed.
It’s not the trenches you have dug
Or the waters you have sailed;
It’s the pride in your accomplishments
And the reason America prevails.
It’s not about who traveled farther
In a quest to win the wars.
It’s your dedication to perfection
And that you gave your full support.
It’s not the branch of service that you honor
Or the medals pinned to your chest;
It’s the fact that you’re a veteran
That makes you one of our country’s best.
It’s not about who lives or dies—
A veteran’s soul still shines.
As long as there are people like you,
Freedom will stand the test of time.
Rachel L. Oliver
10/13/01
Back to Top
______________________________________________
It was a cold and crisp blue Kansas sky
when we gathered to tell that soldier boy goodbye.
The people didn't show up to disgrace that lad,
but we were there to protect family and friend.
The wait was long but we didn't care
for we all came along to show the respect we shared.
We all stood in reverence that cold bitter day
waiting for that hearse to carry him away.
When someone in the Guard said "look up above"
and there it was, that bird that we love.
It was an American bald eagle, the symbol of our land,
doing lazy circles above that brave lad.
He lingered awhile then went on his way
when someone in the Guard happened to say
"well, he's done his duty - he's taking him home"!
In that blue Kansas sky he's finally back home.
John Harding
______________________________________________
1. Bring a gun. Preferably, bring at least two guns. Bring all of your friends who have guns.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
3. Only hits count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough or using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a long gun and a friend with a long gun.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting standards will be more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the gun. Use a gun that works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when the devil pisses in the flintlock of your musket."
10. Someday someone may kill you with your own gun, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
11. Always cheat, always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
12. Have a plan.
13. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.
14. Use cover or concealment as much as possible.
15. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
16. Don't drop your guard.
17. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.
18. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them.)
19. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
20. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
21. Be polite. Be professional. But, have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
22. Be courteous to everyone. Friendly to no one.
23. Your number one Option for Personal Security is a life-long commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
24. Do not attend a gun fight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with a "4".
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