Companions,
At this time we often hear quoted a phase the origin of which I do not recall….” All gave some; some gave all!...” with deep respect for those who have sacrificed in service to these United States of America. In the many years we have struggled through changes in our national identity and missions across the world, the theme has remained the same that these conflicts have all been lessons learned in blood which we must never forget. Since our inception as a nation, over 1 million Americans of every race, religion, gender, and origin have represented our nation in virtually every corner of the globe in support of not only our freedom as a nation, but the fredom and right to self-determination of many others. These soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and merchant mariners went to do their mission and tasks, sometimes as volunteers and sometimes as conscripts but always as Americans. They did not always choose their mission but were trained to give it their best possible effort in conditions that were often a strain which tested their own personal faculties. They sacrificed for the blessings brought to us under the Constitution for All Americans. Each of you, with those with whom you served formed an impregnable wall of freedom and liberty which we will always remember, always celebrate, always honor, and preserve through the recognition of the history and events which brought us to where we are today! God Bless you all; God Bless all those who went before us; and may we continue to commemorate and instill those memories in our Commanderies and Communities throughout this land of Freedom!
For the Good of the Order