Posted by: "Sandy Hann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Dear Brothers-in-Arms: > > > > > >Friends, Americans, and Countrymen --- Lend me your ears. > > > > > >Here is the deal. Use the link below and then vote. You gotta do this. > > > It > > >is important. > > > > > >When the screen pops up, it will say "Time Person of the Century." > > >There will be a blank in which you type out for whom you cast your vote. > > > > > >You type in "American GI" > > > > > >Then push button for "Submit" to cast your ballot. That is all. If > >there > > >are 600,000 patriots left in this country, then we win the recognition > >that > > >is due the TRUE Person of the Century: The American GI. > > > > > >> >Go to this hyperlink: http://www.pathfinder.com/time/time100/poc/century.html > > >AT this point ELVIS PRESLEY leads the vote count with 15% of votes cast. > > >That amounts to somewhat over 600,000 votes. You would not believe some > >of > > >the other clowns in the vote count. Colin Powell wrote a stirring > > >nomination for the American GI as TIME's Person of the Century which I am > > >enclosing. > > > > > >One more time, stand up and be counted. This is for all those who gave > >it > > >all for the institution this past 100 years. Make sure the younger > > >generations who read TIME realize that we did not forget who got us where > > >we > > >are today. No one did more this century than the American GI to deliver > >us > > >to the world of freedom and opportunity that we now enjoy. The American > > >GI. > > >Help us get him the recognition he is due. > > > > > > > > > > > >________________________________________________________________________ > > >____ > > >____________________ > > >The Warriors > > >The American G.I. > > >>From disparate roots but united by patriotic courage, U.S. soldiers > > >preserved freedom around the world > > >BY COLIN POWELL > > >As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I referred to the men and women > > >of > > >the armed forces as "G.I.s." It got me in trouble with some of my > > >colleagues > > >at the time. Several years earlier, the Army had officially excised the > > >term > > >as an unfavorable characterization derived from the designation > >"government > > >issue." Sailors and Marines wanted to be known as sailors and Marines. > > >Airmen, notwithstanding their origins as a rib of the Army, wished to be > > >called simply airmen. Collectively, they were blandly referred to as > > >"service members." > > >I persisted in using G.I.s and found I was in good company. Newspapers > >and > > >television shows used it all the time. The most famous and successful > > >government education program was known as the G.I. Bill, and it still > >uses > > >that title for a newer generation of veterans. When you added one of the > > >most common boy's names to it, you got G.I. Joe, and the name of the most > > >popular boy's toy ever, the G.I. Joe action figure. And let's not forget > > >G.I. Jane. > > >G.I. is a World War II term that two generations later continues to > >conjure > > >up the warmest and proudest memories of a noble war that pitted pure good > > >against pure evil--and good triumphed. The victors in that war were the > > >American G.I.s, the Willies and Joes, the farmer from Iowa and the > > >steelworker from Pittsburgh who stepped off a landing craft into the hell > > >of > > >Omaha Beach. The G.I. was the wisecracking kid Marine from Brooklyn who > > >clawed his way up a deadly hill on a Pacific island. He was a black > >fighter > > >pilot escorting white bomber pilots over Italy and Germany, proving that > > >skin color had nothing to do with skill or courage. He was a native > > >Japanese-American infantryman released from his own country's > >concentration > > >camp to join the fight. She was a nurse relieving the agony of a dying > > >teenager. He was a petty officer standing on the edge of a heaving > >aircraft > > >carrier with two signal paddles in his hands, helping guide a dive-bomber > > >pilot back onto the deck. > > > > > >They were America. They reflected our diverse origins. They were the > > >embodiment of the American spirit of courage and dedication. They were > > >truly > > >a "people's army," going forth on a crusade to save democracy and > >freedom, > > >to defeat tyrants, to save oppressed peoples and to make their families > > >proud of them. They were the Private Ryans, and they stood firm in the > >thin > > >red line. For most of those G.I.s, World War II was the adventure of > >their > > >lifetime. Nothing they would ever do in the future would match their > > >experiences as the warriors of democracy, saving the world from its own > > >insanity. You can still see them in every Fourth of July color guard, > >their > > >gait faltering but ever proud. Their forebears went by other names: > > >doughboys, Yanks, buffalo soldiers, Johnny Reb, Rough Riders. But "G.I." > > >will be forever lodged in the consciousness of our nation to apply to > >them > > >all. The G.I. carried the value system of the American people. The G.I.s > > >were the surest guarantee of America's commitment. For more than 200 > >years, > > >they answered the call to fight the nation's battles. They never went > >forth > > >as mercenaries on the road to conquest. They went forth as reluctant > > >warriors, as citizen soldiers. They were as gentle in victory as they > >were > > >vicious in battle. I've had survivors of Nazi concentration camps tell me > > >of > > >the joy they experienced as the G.I.s liberated them: America had > >arrived! > > >I've had a wealthy Japanese businessman come into my office and tell me > > >what > > >it was like for him as a child in 1945 to await the arrival of the > >dreaded > > >American beasts, and instead meet a smiling G.I. who gave him a Hershey > > >bar. > > >In thanks, the businessman was donating a large sum of money to the USO. > > >After thanking him, I gave him as a souvenir a Hershey bar I had > > >autographed. He took it and began to cry. > > >The 20th century can be called many things, but it was most certainly a > > >century of war. The American G.I.s helped defeat fascism and communism. > > >They > > >came home in triumph from the ferocious battlefields of World Wars I and > > >II. > > >In Korea and Vietnam they fought just as bravely as any of their > > >predecessors, but no triumphant receptions awaited them at home. They > > >soldiered on through the twilight struggles of the cold war and showed > >what > > >they were capable of in Desert Storm. The American people took them into > > >their hearts again. > > >In this century hundreds of thousands of G.I.s died to bring to the > > >beginning of the 21st century the victory of democracy as the ascendant > > >political system on the face of the earth. The G.I.s were willing to > >travel > > >far away and give their lives, if necessary, to secure the rights and > > >freedoms of others. Only a nation such as ours, based on a firm moral > > >foundation, could make such a request of its citizens. And the G.I.s > >wanted > > >nothing more than to get the job done and then return home safely. All > >they > > >asked for in repayment from those they freed was the opportunity to help > > >them become part of the world of democracy--and just enough land to bury > > >their fallen comrades, beneath simple white crosses and Stars of David. > > >The volunteer G.I.s of today stand watch in Korea, the Persian Gulf, > >Europe > > >and the dangerous terrain of the Balkans. We must never see them as mere > > >hirelings, off in a corner of our society. They are our best, and we owe > > >them our full support and our sincerest thanks. > > >As this century closes, we look back to identify the great leaders and > > >personalities of the past 100 years. We do so in a world still troubled, > > >but > > >full of promise. That promise was gained by the young men and women of > > >America who fought and died for freedom. Near the top of any listing of > >the > > >most important people of the 20th century must stand, in singular honor, > > >the > > >American G.I. > > > > > >General Colin Powell, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is > >now > > >chairman of America's Promise > > ______________________________________________________ > Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com > > "We believe in natural rearing" Sandy H http://ww2.esn.net/~shrado [EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jim & Sandy Hann-Von Shrado Great Danes 1-919-736-3776 Ch. Sommersby, Saffron, Maddie, Delaney, Ch.Jester, Ch. Cherry, Linzi, Tiara, Chip, Rip & AJ 757 Forehand Road Pikeville NC 27863 ICQ# 1292139 Fax# 919-735-3666 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
