The Fifth of July
The best thing about the Fourth of July being on a Saturday is that you have the Fifth on a Sunday with no commitments for BBQ’s, family or neighborhood gatherings. The 5th on a Sunday gives a whole day to think about the 4th. without having to worry about rain interrupting the fireworks.
I must admit that I had an almost perfect 4th of July. Through a set of unusual circumstances we had events on the 2nd and the 3rd and nothing planned with family, friends or political enemies on the 4th.. I BBQ ed enough chicken to last for several days. An unhurried trip to the fireworks transport center got us to the stadium 2 hours before the light off of the fireworks. We were able to relax and get ready to enjoy the patriotic entertainment. Actual relaxation was short lived. The lead entertainment group was a duo of singer/guitar players who were full time Open Space/ Park Management employees and the local government’s choice to get a crowd of 30,000 people into a patriotic mood. Their opening song was a self composed piece whose message was that we all should join the global movement to reduce carbon emissions. This was part of the Declaration of Independence that I must have missed, but I was not about to protest. I was too far away from the stage to have any effect so I relaxed and waited for the next act .The troop of girls skipping rope was actually enjoyable since rope skipping at a high level of competence is not often seen at a celebration of a nations birth with 30,00 people watching. I did enjoy their performance especially since it postponed having to listen to the carbon emissions songs for a time.
The next act was a trio of local prominent figures who had a few things to promote. The city council woman made it clear that the national celebration was interesting but the important event of the evening was that this was the 150 anniversary of the town founding. The Real Estate guy made it clear that his place was where we should go to buy our next house since they helped finance the evening and the third guy had a message that we should buy tickets to the college team’s football season quickly because the good seats would be gone if we waited.
The local philharmonic orchestra took over and played a few Sousa marches which were quiet good but the director should check out the pieces played by the Boston Pops on the 4th when Fiedler was the director. Arthur Fiedler knew what the 4th was about. The local music directors decision to interrupt the spirit of the evening with a duet singing Gershwin’s – “People Will Say We’re in Love” still has me scratching my head.
The music wound up with a medley of the various military service songs which had the veterans of services stand up when their song was played. When the music signified the Halls of Montezuma I almost didn’t stand up since I had barely recovered from the Gershwin tune. A nudge from my wife got me to my feet and changed the mood of the evening. When I sat I was surrounded by thanks for my service by people sitting around me . It was completely unexpected in this most liberal of towns and also because my service was subjected to very minor peril compared to most Marines. I thank them for their thoughts. I doubt they would completely understand what races through my memory each Independence Day. I don’t expect that they would know that the Blood Stripe on Dress Blues originally stood for the blood shed at Chipultapec and now stands for all Marines who have fallen in battle. What happened at Montezuma or Tripoli or at Iwo Jima or at the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea is probably not known or remembered by most . The 4th to me refreshes my memory of all the things that brave men in not only the Corps but in the other services did to make sure that Independence Day commemorates a continuing Independence for those 30,000 people who were waiting for the fireworks to start last night in Boulder and around the country.
The fireworks were great and I understand that we were not all celebrating the same thing last night. That’s OK but I’ve got to tell you that being a Marine is a very special thing that is part of a life no matter how long you are around and my understanding of the meaning of the 4th remains clear. The love for this country is indelibly wound into that proud group who know that Once a Marine…….
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I got to meet a man this past Sunday July 5th that truly embodied the 4th of July. He was a US Marine who served on Iwo Jima during the battles in WWII that brought us the famous statue. I saw other men wearing their hats signifying them as Vietnam Veterans. I am thrilled that they can finally wear their service proudly since for so many years they were not treated well.
Perhaps because I was also a Marine, I understand that I watch fireworks because of the service of these men and the sacrifices of so many men and women who never returned home.
Our country is 233 years old, but in truth, men and women have been dying for our freedom for more than 240 years because the revolution actually began before 1775 and continued past 1783 when the war officially ended. All of our wars in between then and now have caused us to continually defend our freedom. Today, our men and women still work to defend our freedom in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places around the globe.
On behalf of myself and my family, I would like to thank every one who ever served for their contributions, and I would like the thank the families of those who never returned for their sacrifice. We have an “Independence Day” because of them.