The Paratrooper’s Prayer

The Paratrooper’s Prayer 1

The Paratrooper’s Prayer was written by Second Lieutenant André Louis Arthur Zirnheld, a parachutist in the Free French Army. While serving with the British SAS deep behind enemy lines in Libya, he was killed in action on July 27, 1942. Found in his officer’s note book was the following prayer entitled “The … Read more

Celebrating Our Military Tradition

Celebrating Our Military Tradition 1

Military musicians have always been an integral part of the American armed forces. However, for the first 100 years, military bands bore little resemblance to the marching ensembles of today. When the British began to colonize the New World, their soldiers brought with them the military instruments they had used at least … Read more

Gratitude: the Memory of the Heart

Gratitude: the Memory of the Heart 1

Gratitude, it has been said, is the most fragile of virtues. This virtue’s feebleness was nowhere more apparent than in the treatment given to American soldiers returning from the Vietnam War. They were sometimes spat upon at airports by fringe groups of hippies. Times have changed. American soldiers returning from the Middle … Read more

The Ideal Soldier

The Ideal Soldier 1

It is not every day that one meets a veteran of World War II much less one who was present during the historic battle for Iwo Jima. But I knew something was different about Norbert Arnold as he approached me during a presentation about Fatima at his cousin’s home in St. Mary’s, … Read more

Tillman’s Tower

Tillman's Tower

In the center of West Point’s historic campus in upstate New York stands a statue of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Below him is a plaque bearing the words of wisdom he once spoke. “On the fields of friendly strife are sewn the seeds that upon other fields, on other days, shall bear the fruits … Read more

A Hero Hollywood Will Never Mention

A Case for Moral Courage: How Colonel John Ripley Exemplified the Trait – and What We Can All Learn from Him

Mediocrity and egoism are engrained in the modern world. Heroism, self-sacrifice, and honor are often unwelcome and seldom given the admiration they deserve. After all, we are taught that comfort, security, and personal advancement come first. How many men are willing to go beyond the call of duty for an ideal greater … Read more

Heroism

Heroism 1

American soldiers face the prospect of serious injury and death with unflinching courage. Their existence within a nation dominated by a self centered “me culture” is yet another paradox which can be found “only in America.” When Todd Beamer boarded Flight 93 on September 11, he never dreamed that terrorists intended to … Read more

American Hand Gun Owners Seek Vatican Recognition

American Hand Gun Owners Seek Vatican Recognition

The right to life of the unborn and that of legitimate self-defense can be seen as two sides of the same coin. Whereas the former is constantly under the spotlight, the latter is not. A recent event in Rome sponsored by the Saint Gabriel Possenti Society, Inc., sought to bridge this gap. … Read more

Soldiers Are Not Terrorists!

Soldiers Are Not Terrorists!

The following letters were sent to President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.   The Honorable George W. Bush President of the United States The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President: On behalf of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family … Read more