A 21 gun salute

As we stand here looking At the flags upon these graves Know these flags represent A few of the true American brave They fought for their Country As man has through all of time Except that these soldiers lying here Fought for your country and mine As we all are gathered here To pay them our respect Let's pass this word to others It's what they would expect I'm sure that they would do it If it were me or you To show we did not die in vein But for the red, white and blue. Let's pass on to our children And to those who never knew What these soldiers died for It's the least we can do Let's not forget their families Great pain they had to bear Losing a son, father or husband They need to know we still care No matter which war was fought On the day that they died I stand here looking at these flags Filled with American pride. So as the bugler plays out Taps With its sweet and eerie sound Pray for these soldiers lying here In this sacred, hallowed ground. Take home with you a sense of pride You were here Memorial Day. Celebrating the way Americans should On this solemnest of days. Michelle Keim, Memorial Day Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day we spend just a little time to remember those that have fought for and preserved our freedom. Without them, who knows, we might be speaking German right now, and today might be National Hitler Day, or National Fascist Party Day. (Nationaler Tag von Hitler, Nationaler Tag von Faschistisch.) We might all be required to read an exceprt or two from good old Mein Kampf daily. We might all be in green tunics, bowin every day, chanting Heilam Hitler, or Vive Le Moussolini. Well, whatever the, I'm happy being an American, and not sitting around sipping tea and crumpets, and putting the Queen on my money. We are American. Have you ever asked yourself what American truly is? American... A·mer·i·can /əˈmɛrɪkən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-mer-i-kuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective 1. of or pertaining to the United States of America or its inhabitants: an American citizen. 2. of or pertaining to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere: the American continents. 3. of or pertaining to the aboriginal Indians of North and South America, usually excluding the Eskimos, regarded as being of Asian ancestry and marked generally by reddish to brownish skin, black hair, dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones. –noun 4. a citizen of the United States of America. 5. a native or inhabitant of the Western Hemisphere. 6. an Indian of North or South America. 7. American English. 8. a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and no rear truck. Thank you, dictionary.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx But, that says so little. Americans, bluntly put, are the runt of the litter, the garbage that was too dirty for city dumps, the criminals that were too horrendous for the judiciary system. (The English put worst criminals into Georgia, without any restrictions in the 1700's.) This is not true any more, but because of all of this, immigration, forced labor, even slavery, we are who we are today. I am not promoting the practice of slavery, or the actions of many during that time. I am simply stating that, we are Americans. Americans come from a very controversial past. We were a bunch of toddlers with sticks compared to the Royal Navy and Royal Armed Forces in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. We should not have won those wars, but we did, making us who we are. Americans. From the slums of Ye Olde Haarlem, to the booming section of Downtown Manhattan, we are American. Any way you look at it, be it diagonal or vertical. We are Americans, and even though we cannot say we have an official language in this Mixing Pot, we are the strongest country the world has today, and none of that would be possible without our controversial past. None of this would be possible without our Armed Forces. So, in memoriam, let us remember the hurt, the injured, through to the Founding Fathers. We are American.