Remembering on the 4th of July

Re-enlistment ceremony, Kabul, Afghanistan

The 4th of July is our Independence Day, when we celebrate our 1776 Declaration of Independence, which includes this statement:

We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Make sure you mentally do a little editing to get this phrase correct:

 that all men and women are created equal,

Our military armed forces serve to protect our independence, and women serve in our armed forces, in both support and combat positions. So far, while serving in our armed forces, 111 women have died in Iraq and 28 have died in Afghanistan. We like to have lots of parades on the Fourth of July and I hope your parade includes a section for military veterans, especially the women.

Please remember also those who served and are no longer with us, among them Captain James Clifford McKittrick and Captain Barry L. Brown.

Captain Barry Lynn Brown, Killed in Action, Vietnam, May 5, 1968