One of the great things about America is the Freedom of Speech. Here are some interesting things that people have written that we would like to pass on because they can touch your life. At the bottom there are two links. One takes you to three poems that may cause you to stop and think and the other link is to a great story we found a year or so ago written by a soldier at Christmas time. If you love writings, and your country, you will really enjoy this section of CycleQuest.com

To Our Soldiers of Yesterday A letter from 220th Transportation Co.

The Salute Respect for the President

The Bugle A great story from Master Sergeant

A 'Thank You' Letter From an 'Operation Freedom Bird' Member

Senators Chat... Senators Glenn & Metzenbaum

The Movie 'We Were Soldiers' This is a letter from a cousin serving in the military that was touched by the movie to another cousin that served in the region where this film took place.

This pic is Courtesy of Michael Bouyea-Click to Enlarge

 A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

 When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

 About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he
 was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly. He often talked about you, and your love for art." The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted
 you to have this."

 The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in sweat the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He
 thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture. " Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift".

 The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.

On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence. Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous
 paintings. Skip this one." But the auctioneer persisted. "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?" Another voice shouted angrily. "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh's, the Rembrandts. Get on
 with the real bids!" But still the auctioneer continued The son! The son! Who'll take the son? Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting. Being a poor man, it was all he
 could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?" "Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters." "$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their
collections.

 The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!" A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection. The auctioneer laid down his gavel. "I'm sorry, the auction is over."

"What about the paintings?"

"I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate,
 including the paintings. The man who took the son gets every thing!"

 God gave His son 2,000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: "The son, the son, who'll take the son?" Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

William J Eves on 12/13 at 08:37 AM
Received this one from a friend and thought it worth forwarding...

Richard, (my husband), never really talked a lot about his time in
Vietnam other than he had been shot by a sniper. However, he had a
rather grainy, 8 x 10 black & white photo he had taken at a USO show
of Ann Margaret with Bob Hope in the background that was one of his
treasures.

A few years ago, Ann Margaret was doing a book signing at a local
bookstore. Richard wanted to see if he could get her to sign the
treasured photo, so he arrived at the bookstore at 12 o'clock for
the 7:30 signing. When I got there after work, the line went all
the way around the bookstore, circled the parking lot, and disappeared behind a parking garage.

Before her appearance, bookstore employees announced that she would sign only her book and no memorabilia would be permitted. Richard was
disappointed, but wanted to show her the photo and let her know how much those shows meant to lonely GI's so far from home.

Ann Margaret came out looking as beautiful as ever and, as 2nd in line,
it was soon Richard's turn. He presented the book for her signature and
then took out the photo. When he did, there were many shouts from the
employees that she would not sign it. Richard said, "I understand. I
just wanted her to see it".

She took one look at the photo, tears welled up in her eyes and she
said, "This is one of my gentlemen from Vietnam and I most certainly
will sign his photo. I know what these men did for their country and I
always have time for "my gentlemen". With that, she pulled Richard
across the table and planted a big kiss on him. She then made quite a
to do about the bravery of the young men she met over the years, how
much she admired them, and how much she appreciated them. There weren't
too many dry eyes among those close enough to hear. She then posed for
pictures and acted as if he was the only one there.

Later at dinner, Richard was very quiet. When I asked if he'd like to
talk about it, my big strong husband broke down in tears. "That's the
first time anyone ever thanked me for my time in the Army", he said.

Richard, like many others, came home to people who spit on him and
shouted ugly things at him. That night was a turning point for him. He
walked a little straighter and, for the first time in years, was proud
to have been a Vet. I'll never forget Ann Margaret for her graciousness
and how much that small act of kindness meant to my husband. I now make
it a point to say Thank You to every person I come across who served in
our Armed Forces. Freedom does not come cheap and I am grateful for all
those who have served their country.

If you'd like to pass on this story, feel free to do so. Perhaps it will help others to become aware of how important it is to acknowledge the contribution our service people make.

We the People

"WE THE PEOPLE" ... is how our Declaration of Independence begins, and for such a small phrase it literally speaks VOLUMES about what America is all about.

This Declaration is one of the greatest documents to have ever been written, and often times we as Americans take it for granted, and I am one of them.

I apologize to you all, for I too have been remiss in my appreciation for such a finely worded document, But it's not really the words that make the document so great... IT'S THE PEOPLE for whom the document was written that makes it so great!

I'm truly proud to be one of those people for whom the document was written... you see... I wasn't actually born in this country. Korea was my home until an American Soldier found me in an orphanage and adopted me. Growing up as an "Army Brat" I was taught to LOVE MY COUNTRY... RESPECT MY FLAG... SAY THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO DEFEND MY COUNTRY... and NEVER FORGET THOSE WHO DIED IN DEFENSE OF MY FREEDOM!

I want to say to my Dad... I'M SORRY... for allowing myself to become so busy in the daily routines that I sometimes forget these things things you taught me... until Tuesday September 11, 2001. I WILL FOREVER be thankful that you chose me to be a part of your life, and THANK YOU for laying it all on the line for me by defending MY COUNTRY.

I want to say THANK YOU, and WELCOME HOME to the hundreds of thousands of veterans who have fought in far off lands, countries which today have little regard for the United States. Countries that will never really know the freedoms of which I speak.

I will forever be in debt to the hundreds of thousands who have died in defense of MY COUNTRY, and MY FREEDOM. Words can't even begin to explain the pride I feel when I sing the National Anthem. I hope that each one of you reading this will someday have the privilege of crying with your chest swelling with pride as you hold back the tears long enough to choke out those last beautiful strains "... oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the FREE, and the home of the BRAVE!"

It's "WE THE PEOPLE" that makes America so great!
 
It is so literal in it's meaning...

"WE THE PEOPLE" will survive this tragedy, just as we have survived countless other tragedies in our young life as a Nation.
 
"WE THE PEOPLE" survived a fight for Independence which gave birth to a country founded on the ideals of equality, and freedom for all.

"WE THE PEOPLE" survived a Civil War which split our Nation "down the middle", pitting brother against brother, and when it was all over "WE THE PEOPLE" came back together as Brother and  Brother again.

"WE THE PEOPLE" survived a devastating sneak attack that hurled us into a war that was supposed to be "...the war to end all wars...", and we prevailed.

"WE THE PEOPLE" stick together in the face of adversity... neighbor helping neighbor when an earthquake levels our neighbor's house, or a torrential flood threatens a neighboring town.

"WE THE PEOPLE" line up together to donate blood whether it's a National Tragedy, or to save the life of a little child on the other side of town.

"WE THE PEOPLE" cast ballots on election day to choose the direction in which we want our country to go, rather than leave the decisions up to a Tyrant.

"WE THE PEOPLE" will prevail! We have so many times in the past, and we will always prevail. Good always prevails over Evil!

It's time for "WE THE PEOPLE" to rally around the Flag, and say "enough is enough". The evil, despicable acts against us will NOT go unpunished!

"Vengeance is mine sayeth The Lord..."

JUSTICE is ours sayeth "WE THE PEOPLE"

Tim Yarborough
Hacienda Harley-Davidson

Jobs - America

Subject: REGARDING JOB LAYOFFS IN THE USA

Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2001 10:19:36 -0400

Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN 
JAPAN for 6 a.m.  While his coffeepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he
shaved with his electric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG).  He put on a
dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE)
and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his
new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA), he sat down with his calculator
(MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today.  After setting
his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his
car (MADE IN GERMANY) and continued his search for a good paying
AMERICAN JOB.  At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless
day, Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE
IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of wine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned
on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a
good paying job in.....AMERICA!
Keep this circulating.....

TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES This, from a Canadian newspaper, is worth sharing.

America: The Good Neighbor. Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a Canadian television Commentator. What follows is the full text of his trenchant remarks as printed in the Congressional Record:

"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the earth. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States. When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. I was there. I saw it. When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries in to help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes. Nobody helped. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent, warmongering Americans. I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon - not once, but several times - and safely home again. You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at home to spend here. When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both are still broke. I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake. Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of those." Stand proud, America! Wear it proudly!!

This is one of the best editorials that I have ever read regarding the United States. It is nice that one man realizes it. I only wish that the rest of the world would realize it. We are always blamed for everything, and never even get a thank you for the things we do. I would hope that each of you would send this to as many people as you can and emphasize that they should send it to as many of their friends until this letter is sent to every person on the web. I am just a single American that has read this, TRIBUTE TO THE UNITED STATES

Story from John McCain

Subject: FLAG story from John McCain Date: 10/31/01 7:05:43 PM US Mountain Standard Time

As you may know, I spent five and one half years as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. In the early years of our imprisonment, the NVA kept us in solitary confinement or two or three to a cell. In 1971 the NVA moved us from these conditions of isolation into large rooms with as many as 30 to 40 men to a room. This was, as you can imagine, a wonderful change and was a direct result of the efforts of millions of Americans on behalf of a few hundred POWs 10,000 miles from home. One of the men who moved into my room was a young man named Mike Christian. Mike came from a small town near Selma, Alabama. He didn't wear a pair of shoes until he was 13 years old. At 17, he enlisted in the US Navy. He later earned a commission by going to Officer Training School. Then he became a Naval Flight Officer and was shot down and captured in 1967. Mike had a keen and deep appreciation of the opportunities this country, and our military, to provide for people who want to work and want to succeed. As part of the change in treatment, the Vietnamese allowed some prisoners to receive packages from home. In some of these packages were handkerchiefs, scarves and other items of clothing. Mike got himself a bamboo needle. Over a period of a couple of months, he created an American flag and sewed it on the inside of his shirt. Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang Mike's shirt on the wall of the cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important part of our day now, but I can assure you that in that stark cell, it was indeed the most important and meaningful event. One day the Vietnamese searched our cell, as they did periodically, and discovered Mike's shirt with the flag sewn inside, and removed it. That evening they returned, opened the door of the cell, and for the benefit of all us, beat Mike Christian severely for the next couple of hours. Then, they opened the door of the cell and threw him in. We cleaned him up as well as we could. The cell in which we lived had a concrete slab in the middle on which we slept. Four naked light bulbs hung in each corner of the room. As said, we tried to clean up Mike as well as we could. After the excitement died down, I looked in the corner of the room, and sitting there beneath that dim light bulb with a piece of red cloth, another shirt and his bamboo needle, was my friend, Mike Christian. He was sitting there with his eyes almost shut from the beating he had received, making another American flag. He was not making the flag because it made Mike Christian feel better. He was making that flag because he knew how important it was to us to be able to pledge our allegiance to our flag and country. So the next time you say the Pledge of Allegiance, you must never forget the sacrifice and courage that thousands of Americans have made to build our nation and promote freedom around the world. You must remember our duty, our honor, and our country. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

In A Diner after the Attack

To all, This was sent to me by an old buddy, jet driver and POW in Viet Nam, AJ Myers. I thought ya'll would like to hear that many of us feel the same way about protestors and some will continue to stand up against such "things." Another example of what the cancer of the unearned does to the taxpayer subsidized University minds & its professors making thousands a month for a few hours of drivel in front of minds full of mush. The result of this story should happen in every place in America, evil progresses when good men do nothing. Thankfully these men stood up to the ignorant & mentally challenged.

Subject: OK in Idaho I arrived in Moscow, Idaho (Home of Idaho University one block from Best Western) and went to dinner at Best Western. About 85-100 people were in the Restaurant. I'm at a table for about 5 minutes when this "Group" comes in (20 people). They have Anti-War Picket Signs with them. It appears that two of these demonstrators are Professors. They all sit at a large round table behind me and begin to talk very loudly about US atrocities in Afghanistan. One of the "Professors" stands up and gives a brief talk about how the "US is famous for atrocities" and Afghanistan will be no different. One of the students asked a question about Viet Nam POW's. The "Professor" makes a comment about how that was only US propaganda about poor treatment of POW's. OK - I'm really mad now and I jump up and go over to their table. (In retrospect - Over the entrance to the Restaurant is a huge American Flag. On each table is an American Flag and a small hand painted sign "United We Stand") I excuse myself and ask the Professor if I can ask him a question. He says yes. I said that he appears to be of age to have served in Viet Nam, and asked him if he had served. His answer was, "NO - I defended this Campus and told the truth to the students. I then asked if he remembered what he was doing on February 16, 1969. When he answered, "Of course not - that was too long ago," I responded, "Really, I remember what I was doing. That was the second day of my capture and I had been standing in a bamboo cage for 24 hours with water up to my chest". I then said "Sir, your comments about how POW's in Nam were treated are a lie and I personally say to you, you are a ******* liar, as you never were there. I was a POW and they did not treat our POWs humanly. The only other person I have ever heard make the statements like you have is Jane Fonda. Is she telling the truth and not me?" He stood up and after about 10 seconds said, "Jane is a great patriot and I cannot visualize her lying." With that, I reached over and grabbed the small American Flag and United We Stand sign and said, "I'm taking this back to my table where it can be appreciated". No one said a word to me as I started to walk back. However after a few seconds, people started standing up and applauding all around the restaurant. Two men got up from a table across the room and walked over to me. The first identified himself as former US Marine Lieutenant Flynn and the other man was former Gunnery Sergeant Graboski. In a loud voice after introducing themselves, Lt. Flynn said they were former Marine Guards at a US Embassy. He then said, "We are over at this table to defend the US Flag from all foes, both foreign and domestic." They then sat down and asked their Waitress to bring their meals over to my table. A few more minutes went by with loud comments from the "Anti-War" table. All of a sudden, "Gunny" Sergeant Graboski stood up and in a loud voice said "All of you heard what the President said the other night. You are either with the United States or you are with the terrorists." He then said, "Please stand and join me in God Bless America." As he started singing, people all around the restaurant stood up and joined in. Several of the students at the "Anti-War" table also stood up half way through the song and joined in. Both Professors and the majority of the students remained seated and refused to sing. At the end there was a great ovation. The Manager came up to my table. (He and his staff came out from the kitchen and sang). He thanked me for what I started and then went over to the Anti-War table and asked them to leave. "I will pay for what you have had so far but I cannot in good conscience serve you - get out now!! One of the Professors then made a remark "Well, we are not going to pay one dime for how shabbily we have been treated." As they were leaving, one customer stood up and said, "Manager, here is $5 towards their bill, anyone else willing to chip in to get this scum out of here?" All over the restaurant, people stood up reaching for their wallet and saying, "I'll chip in" The Manager, in tears said, "My family is from Poland, I am now a citizen and am so proud of what I see tonight." He started crying and a couple of the waitresses helped him into the kitchen. The two Marines and I were there for about another 20 minutes and finished our meal. The Hostess came up and showed us more than $100 dollars that all the other tables had told their Waitresses to give towards our bill. I thanked her but said I could not take the money. Lt Flynn suggested donating it in the Restaurant's name to the New York Relief Fund, so I guess that's what will happen. I just can't believe how Americans are coming together now. Just thought you would like to hear how the rest of the country is reacting to what happened!!!
--- Bart Fure

Sick of Politically Correct

THIS SAYS IT ALL!!!!!
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma School officials remove "God Bless America" signs from schools in fear that someone might be offended. Channel 12 News in Long Island, New York, orders flags removed from the newsroom and red, white, and blue ribbons removed from the lapels of reporters. Why? Management did not want to appear biased and felt that our nations flag might give the appearance that "they lean one way or another". Berkeley, California bans U.S. Flags from being displayed on city fire trucks because they didn't want to offend anyone in the community. In an "act of tolerance" the head of the public library at Florida Gulf Coast University ordered all "Proud to be an American" signs removed so as to not offend international students.

I, for one, am quite disturbed by these actions of so-called American citizens; and I am tired of this nation worrying about whether or not we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Americans. However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled in New York and Washington D.C. when the "politically correct" crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America. In fact, our country's population is almost entirely comprised of descendants of immigrants; however, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some native Americans, need to understand. First of all, it is not our responsibility to continually try not to offend you in any way. This idea of America being a multi-cultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. As Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language, and our own lifestyle. This culture, called the "American Way" has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom. Our forefathers fought, bled, and died at places such as Bunker Hill, Antietam, San Juan, Iwo Jima, Normandy, Korea, Vietnam, We speak English, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society - learn our language! "In God We Trust" is our national motto. This is not some off-the-wall, Christian, Right Wing, political slogan - it is our national motto. It is engraved in stone in the House of Representatives in our Capitol and it is printed on our currency. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation; and this is clearly documented throughout our history. If it is appropriate for our motto to be inscribed in the halls of our highest level of Government, then it is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. God is in our pledge, our National Anthem, nearly every patriotic song, and in our founding documents. We honor His birth, death, and resurrection as holidays, and we turn to Him in prayer in times of crisis. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture and we are proud to have Him. We are proud of our heritage and those who have so honorably defended our freedoms. We celebrate Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Flag Day. We have parades, picnics, and barbecues where we proudly wave our flag. As an American, I have the right to wave my flag, sing my national anthem, quote my national motto, and cite my pledge whenever and wherever I choose. If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. The American culture is our way of life, our heritage, and we are proud of it. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don't care how you did things where you came from. We are Americans, like it or not, this is our country, our land, and our lifestyle. Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion about our government, culture, or society, and we will allow you every opportunity to do so. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, the right to leave. If you agree, pass this onto other Americans!! It is time to take a stand!!

Senators Chat...

A Thank You Letter

The Bugle

To Our Soldiers of Yesterday