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Happy Fourth of July

Elephant

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http://www.ushistory.org/DECLARATION/document/index.htm

While it is important for us all to have a safe and happy time during this holiday with festivities and fireworks, I feel it is imperative for us to remember why we celebrate this day. Tens of thousands of men gave their lives after this declaration was sent to King George 234 years ago. They fought for their Freedom. They died for our Freedom. Let us remember the men and women who gave their lives to create the greatest nation of earth!

Happy Birth Day America! Happy Fourth of July everyone. Be safe!
 
Hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of July. We all are fortunate to live in such a great country.

Thanks to those that signed the Declaration of Independence and all those that have served to preserve what they started.
 
Happy and safe 4th.


http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/



When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
 
Happy 4th to all my friends here. I value the relationships I have made here including calling several of you the best friends I have ever had. I hope I never take for granted what an incredible place we call home, and the sacrifices made by our countrymen to safeguard it.

Btw Jay - I was at the final two 4th of July Beach Boy bashes on the Mall with Marine buddies. We probably brushed shoulders and never even knew it :)

Happy 4th everybody :cheers:
 
Quite probably true John. And I would definitely prefer that thought over the reality of being face to face with a couple of members of the Hells Angels any day. :) Not that that happened mind you. Had a friend of a friend of a roommate..........
 
My first Mall Beach Boys experience...myself and some jarhead buddies had bought 2-3 cases of Molsons beer, which we were enthusiastically enjoying on the Mall in front of the Washington Monument as we watched tens of thousands of people arrive for the big July 4th show. Suddenly, the mirror-shadeded mounted police showed up, riding directly up to where we were sitting on a big blanket. Naturally, the biggest, most intimidating officer among them approaches me.

'Whats that you've got there son?' he asks.

'Cold beer sir. We're United States Marines up here from Camp Lejuene celebrating the 4th in my hometown' I cleverly replied.

'Well - thats just great. I was in the US Army myself (*oh great I thoutht*). You know that DC law prohibits imbibing alcohol from glass containers? Did you know that son? Now, GET RID OF IT' says the officer from behind his mirrored shades.

With much attitude and disrespectful body language, I gather up the several cases of beer in my arms and trudge towards the nearest dumpster.'Yes SIR!' I said in my most non-compliant voice.

Said Police Officer rides past me and stops his mount directly in front of me.

'What in the hell do you think you're doing son?' he asks, staring down at me in a most intimidating fashion.

'I'm "getting rid of it" sir!' I replied with as much attitude as I could muster.

'Son' said the police officer, as he lowered his sunglasses. I could see his icy stare without impediment..... 'I said "get rid of it"....

I didn't say "throw it away". With a smile and a wink and a clatter of DC Police hooves, he was gone.

'Yes SIR!' I replied. And myself and my four Marine buddies commenced to 'getting rid of it'. And that was the start of an unbelievable July 4th, circa 1984....
 
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Military 4th of July stories huh?

25 years ago this Sunday, I went to jail. In England

Now, to set the tone of the story, you first have to know that I was stationed in England, and that British guys hate American guys, because American guys have money and therefore attract English girls. Brit guys end up being left on the curb. Plus, American guys have bigger equipment than Brit guys. At least, that’s what some Navy guy said


Anyway, eight of us scummy controller types lived in an 8 room beach house. There was much beer drinking and general debauchery associated with 20 something military types. In 85, we had a GIANT 4th of July party in 85. Must have been 200 peeps in the house.


I was playing sober host, taking car keys, helping people stand, keeping people from puking in non- regulation areas and generally keeping things running. To help me enforce things, we had a controller from the other crew whose nickname “Cadillac”. I don’t remember his real name, but Cadillac stood about 6’4 and dressed out about 250


Anyway, this thing kicked off around noon. We had a giant American flag hanging from the third story window, which we had borrowed from an Honor Guard friend. The locals didn’t really like it, but they liked the music even less.


Anyway, the day turns to evening. We had had several visits from the local bobbies, noise complaints and such. They were pretty cool guys and I took care of whatever they wanted me to. I had even invited them back for a beer after their shift was over. One of the last times they came back was because some local observed that it was illegal to fly a foreign flag without a host nation flag, to which I pointed out that we did indeed have a Union Jack up with our flag. OK, so it was on a toothpick and came from a drink somewhere. But we had it right on the corner of our Stars and Stripes.



Sometime after that visit, a local guy decided to throwa rock thru our kitchen window. This could be because when locals came up, we were letting the women in, but told the guys to get lost. I’m not sure though;)



Anyhow, Cadillac chased this guy down the street. The local almost escaped, almost. But he made the fatal error of turning to run up a hill and jump a hedge. Cadillac pretty much “Steve Austined” the hedge and caught the guy. He beat him pretty good, took his clothes off and threw him over the hedge into the middle of the road. This necessitated another bobbie visit.


A few hours later, a second team of bobbies showed up

To be continued;)
 
As a former weekend warrior, I feel compelled to apologize to Boone and Sarge for interrupting the bar-room sharing of war stories. But then, I've felt compelled to do many things in my life that I've chosen to ignore. This is no different. ;)

Independence Day is my favorite holiday of the year. Literally. Since my late teen years, it's topped Christmas; and it trumped Easter, New Years, Halloween, and even Grandparents' Day (combined) long before.

I simply cannot put into words how proud, humbled, and grateful I am to be an American. It may have been by simple dumb luck, if you believe in such things, but my very soul is American.

I really take to heart what that means; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How many people the world over still long for those most basic of unalienable rights? How blessed am I to have always enjoyed them?

As we enter this long holiday weekend, I humbly give thanks for all of the men and women who came before us who gave us the opportunity to enjoy it.

A few things really stick out in my head when I think about this country of ours. First and foremost, the flat out balls of our Founders to stand up to the original superpower, and declare this land ours. And the farmers, merchants, and tradesmen who took up muskets, actually believing they'd kick that superpower's ass.

And since then, every time Americans have been called to protect her, or protect the cause of freedom wherever it might be, that bell has been answered. And every last time, we've been the one standing in the end.

But being an American isn't about war. War is a means to an end. Being an American is about embracing, deep in your SOUL, the ideal that those brave men and women fought, bled, and died for. The ideal that "all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are LIFE.....LIBERTY....AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

That's what makes us Americans. We live. We live free. And we use that freedom to pursue what makes us happy. How blessed are we to have that opportunity, that privilege, and that God-given and fellow American-protected right?

I love this country with every ounce of my being; flaws and all. And I know in my heart that while we may not be perfect, we are the greatest and most blessed civilization ever to call this earth home. To all who have ever so much as a lifted a finger to make that statement true, a heartfelt thank you, and an even more heartfelt God bless you.
 
Can't add much to what's already been stated in this thread.

Just have a happy, and safe, 4th of July.

I'll hoist a beer for you!
 
Nice post HH, interrupt away brother! I only wish I could 'blog' non-football posts too :) I'm planning on finding '1776!' on TMC and singing along at some point in the next 24 hours...

Have a great 4th BGO :cheers:
 
Just left the National Harbor in Oxon Hill. I have been there a few times but tonight I really took some time to enjoy it. What a fabulous place to spend some time. I watched the sunset over the Potomac and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, had a nice dinner with my lady and watched some fireworks.

The thing I was most pleased to experience was to hear them play America the Beautiful, 1812 overture and several other Patriotism inducing tunes over the loud speaker. The fireworks were disappointing (the big show is tomorrow night), but I was extremely pleased and a little touched to hear them play America the beautiful at least 3 times while I was there for about 3 hours.

I think I will head to the Mall for the first time ever for the 4th of July. 41 years old, spent 29 here in the DC area, and I have never been to the mall for the 4th of July fireworks.
 
So the second shift of bobbies shows up. They were cool as well...........to a point. One was an old guy, and one was brand new, maybe 20. The trouble started about 9 o'clock when the young bobie asks "What's with the 4th of July?"

Now mind you, Brits don't get taught about the 4th. They know who the king or queen is at points in history, but they don't hear about the Revolution.

Well, about that time, one of my drunken friends comes stumbling out of the house and says, "Thaaaaaaaaaaat's the daaaaaaaaaaaay...........two hundred and nine years agoooooooooooo, that we kicked your sorry Brit asses out of our countwe"

"Shut it down" said the old bobbie.

Well, that was that. About an hour later we had everyone either in cabs or in bed. After all was said and done, I sat back and thought "****, I didn't even get a beer"

So me and a couple of others decided to go to the local pub. We get filled up and wonder around back to the the beer garden, where what do we see?

A couple of the locals we had kicked to the curb...........................burning an AMerican flag


Needles to say, Sarge didn't care for that much. Words ensued. After one of the locals made the comment "We don't want you Yanks here" Cadillac said "Hey, we don't want to be here either, but since you are too big a ******* to keep yor own country safe, we have to be here to do it for you"

Fists flew. And we were doing good, considering there were four of us and 10-11 of them

Then the bobbies showed up..................and started busting everyone with short hair

A bobbie came up behind me and held me with a stick across my chest. That was fine, because I was tired and bobbies can do ninja like things with those nightsticks. It was fine until he and I watched Brit get up off the floor, walk 20 feet across the room and tag me square in the jaw. Damn near knocked me out

THis pissed me off, becasue Sarge HATES being hit in the head.

So once I cleared my head, I sidestepped the bobbie and elbowed him in the gut 10-15 times to make him let me go and kick the Brits ass.

Not good

When all was said and done, all of us were charged with the Brit version of drunk and disorderly. I got the additionale charge of "Assault on a Constable" and spent the whole night in jail due to the fact that our senior guys were at a Sock Hop that night

Did you know that asault on a constable is punishable by 10 years and 10,000 pounds?

Don't do this.

I had to get a solicitor (lawyer) and go to Brit court. THe whole thing ended up costing me around $3000, which I didn't have as a young airman


The morale of the story?

When overseas on the 4th of July, drink, drink, DRINK

At least if you do something stupid, you can say you were drunk!


Happy 4th everyone!
 

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As we enjoy today's conversations, let's remember our dear friends 'Docsandy', Sandy Zier-Teitler, and 'Posse Lover', Michael Huffman, who would dearly love to be here with us today! We love and miss you guys ❤

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