Today, across this great Nation and around the World, Americans will pause to honor our brave fighting men and women.

For more than 240 years, our Armed Forces have fought with honor, fearlessness and selflessness – risking their very lives, to underwrite the freedoms we hold so dear today. Men and women like:

Sargent Alvin York, United States Army. Sargent York tried to stay out of WWI as a conscientious objector, citing that his religious beliefs forbade violence. However, he was persuaded that his religion was not incompatible with military service, and he joined the 82ndDivision. In France, in 1918, York was one of 17 soldiers assigned to infiltrate German lines and silence a machine gun bunker. Small arms fire killed six of the 17 and wounded 3, leaving York as the highest-ranking soldier able to fight. He took charge and attacked the bunker, dispatching several German soldiers with his rifle before running out of ammunition. Six Germans charged him, bayonets fixed – but fell to York’s pistol. The German officer in charge fired several rounds, emptying his pistol and failing to hit York. The officer then surrendered to York along with 131 German soldiers. Corporal York was promoted to Sargent for his actions and awarded a Distinguished Service Cross which was later upgraded to a Medal of Honor.

John Paul Jones – the Father of the American Navy, first rose to prominence in the Revolutionary War by capturing prize ships and inflicting great damage upon the British Navy. However, his greatest moment came when he sailed into British waters and engaged the Royal Navy. After a particularly vicious engagement that left the American warship about to sink, a British Captain asked Jones if he was ready to surrender. He responded that he had "not yet begun to fight,” and went on to a decisive victory over the British.

John Levitow, US Air Force. Levitow was a loadmaster on an AC47 Spooky gunship during the Vietnam War. In February of 1969, his gunship was engaging Viet Cong guerillas. Levitow and the gunner were deploying flares during a bank, and the plane was hit by mortar fire. The whole crew was wounded by shrapnel, and the gunner dropped a flare. The flare’s fuse was burning right next to 19,000 rounds of ammunition. If that exploded, the gunship surely would not have survived. Levitow, wounded and unable to walk in the 30-degree bank, crawled to the flare, hugged it close to his body and crawled to the rear cargo door, dropping the flare from the plane just before it ignited. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions, and now the top graduate of all Air Force Enlisted Military Education courses receive the John H Levitow award for exceptional performance.

Ida Lewis, keeper of the Lime Rock Lighthouse in Rhode Island. Ida took over as keeper after her father had a stroke and could no longer manage himself. During her 39 years as Keeper, Ida saved 18 lives. She was one of the earliest women in the Lighthouse Service, which later merged with four other services to become the Coast Guard. The Lime Rock Lighthouse has since been renamed the Ida Lewis Light and a coastal buoy tender was named in her honor.

Gunnery Sargent John Basilone, United States Marine Corps. This hard charger was originally in the Army, but he switched to the Marine Corps in time for WWII. He served with distinction in the Pacific Theater and received a Medal of Honor for his actions at Guadalcanal – emplacing two machine gun teams, under fire, and then manning a third by himself – killing 38 enemy soldiers before charging through enemy lines to resupply trapped Marines. He later guided a tank through a minefield while the steel rain of heavy artillery and mortars crashed down around him. It was on this daring escapade that Gunny Basilone was struck with Shrapnel and killed in action.

Today, as we reflect on the blessings of our Liberty, let us not forget the eternal debt we owe to the untold number of American Veterans who chose to set aside their personal ambitions and dreams to assure the well-being of our great nation. We are indeed the beneficiaries of those who made tremendous sacrifices for the advancement of our great Nation, and the surety of our Liberty.

Our next meeting will be an Wednesday, April 10th 2024 at the Elks Club, 1066 Jackson Road, Webster NY 14580.  Dinner is at 1815 with the business Meeting at 1900 hours.  Election time!