Only in America

His name is William “Spanky” Gibson. He had just flown in from overseas and had a good reason for being present at the ceremony honoring Michael Monsoor. He lost his left leg during a firefight in Iraq six months before and it was Michael Monsoor who provided cover in a rooftop overlook that contributed toward saving his life. It would be hard to find someone more worthy of that sacrifice than William Gibson.

After an 818 mile drive from Pennsylvania to Georgia, eleven TFP Student Action volunteers reached Fort Benning. The purpose of the trip was to honor the troops at God Bless Fort Benning Day. On the same weekend of November 22, my colleagues and I witnessed a disturbing leftist protest lead by the School of the Americas Watch.

Little did I know when I boarded Flight 3332 out of Kansas City, Mo., what a memorable trip it would be. As I seated myself for the three-hour flight, a screaming, hysterical little boy wearing glasses sat opposite me and used adult reasoning to explain to his mother the fear he had of air travel.

The family and friends of Col. John Walter Ripley said their final goodbyes during a moving funeral ceremony on November 7, 2008 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. He was laid to rest with full military honors in a ceremony that left most attendees either teary-eyed or speechless.