Why They Fight

December 7th, 1941. The date which has lived in infamy.

Fast forward 66 years, and the United States finds itself again at war.

The enemy may be different, but in their own way, no less dangerous.

As we observe the anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and honor those who died there, it is important also to remember all those others who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Throughout our nation's 231 year history, young men (and women) have heeded their nation's call, donned its uniform, and risked life and limb to defend our right to live our lives in freedom and liberty.

From Lexington and Concord to Valley Forge and Yorktown. From Antietam and Gettysburg, Cold Harbor and the Wilderness, to Belleau Wood and the Western Front.

Bataan, Iwo Jima, Normandy and Bastogne. Pork Chop Hill and Khe Sanh. Fallujah and Baghdad.

At all of these places, and more, with strange names many of them barely knew, our young men and women in uniform have suffered and died, to preserve our way of life.

Two words - freedom and liberty. Simple words, yet they mean so much, and so many have given their lives to defend them. So many still risk everything to obtain them.

With all of our problems, the United States remains a beacon of freedom and liberty to the rest of the world.

And like their fathers and grandfathers before them, today's service members continue to risk their lives to defend our way of life.

Some of these military members are touring the country telling their fellow Americans why they serve and why they fight. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-12-05-whyweserve_N.htm

In contrast to the steady drumbeat of negative press these last 4 years, the positive, eyewitness accounts of these young Iraqi veterans are a refreshing change. These young men and women should make all Americans proud, and dispel the notion that our military members do not serve willingly nor know what they are fighting for.

They know, and they believe in their mission.

It's time to put aside the partisan in-fighting and give our service members the support they deserve.

TFC