Neddy's Palaver

Who Was

• The first president born in a log cabin?
• The first president nominated by a political party?
• The first president to ride on a railroad train?
• The first president victimized by an assassination attempt?
• The only president to find himself an orphan and an only child at the age of fourteen.
• The only president to have been a prisoner of war?
• The only president to have killed a man in a duel.
• The last president who was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Hint, Hint; They were all the same person. The answer is at http://tinyurl.com/djt7q6.

I found this musical creation so beautiful that I had to learn more about it and its meaning. I found it on an album at Amazon, which I just ordered: The Irish Tenors / McNamara, McDermott, Kearns, Tynan.

This is what I discovered about the song entitled “Grace.” Give a listen. (The Video)

“As we gather in the chapel here in old Kilmainham jail,
I think about these past few weeks; Oh, will they say we failed?
From our school days they have told us we must yearn for liberty,
Yet all I want in this dark place is to have you here with me.

[Chorus]
Oh Grace just hold me in your arms, and let this moment linger,
They’ll take me out at dawn and I will die.
With all my love I’ll place this wedding ring upon your finger,
There won’t be time to share our love for we must say goodbye.

Now I know it’s hard for you my love to ever understand,
The love I bear for these brave men, my love for this dear land,
But when Padraic called me to his side down in the G.P.O.
I had to leave my own sick bed, to him I had to go.
[Chorus]

Now as the dawn is breaking, my heart is breaking too,
On this May morn, as I walk out, my thoughts will be of you.
And I’ll write some words upon the wall, so everyone will know,
I loved so much that I could see His blood upon the rose.”

Joseph Mary Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet and leader and planner of the 1916 Easter rising. It was largely his plan that was followed in 1916, which ended in a military disaster. Plunkett was held in Kilmainham Jail and faced court martial. Hours before his excecution by firing squad, at age 28, he was married in the prison chapel on 4 May 1916, to his sweetheart Grace Gifford, a Protestant convert to Catholicism.

Grace remained loyal to the republican movement while earning a living as a commerical artist.She voted against the treaty which divided Ireland and during the civil war she was imprisoned in Kilmainham jail for three months. She died in 1955.

The United States is a warrior nation. It has ever been thus. We cannot continue to exist as a nation without our warriors. War seems to be an embedded particle of all human DNA. We instinctively aim to protect what is our own and we seemingly yearn to project our power and beliefs to others. An ancient Chinese militarist, Sunzi (Sun Tzu), first wrote of the art of war six hundred years before the birth of Christ (600 BC). The technology of war has changed considerably since then, but war, which Sunzi described as evil, seems the same as always. “The Art of War” is a Chinese military treatise written twenty six centuries years ago by a Chinese General. It is composed of thirteen parts, each of which covers one aspect of warfare. Sunzi’s explanations have been long considered as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time. “The Art of War” has had a great historical influence on military planning and has also been successfully applied to business and managerial strategies.”

Once again in our American history, we are at war. Help yourself understand what we are about by listening to “The Art of War” by Sunzi, 600 BC, recorded by Moira Fogarty at LibriVox.org:

• 1 Laying Plans - 2 Waging War
• 3 Attack By Stratagem - 4 Tactical Dispositions
• 5 Energy - 6 Weak Points and Strong
• 7 Maneuvering - 8 Variation in Tactics
• 9 The Army on the March - 10 Terrain
• 11 The Nine Situations
• 12 The Attack By Fire - 13 The Use of Spies

• The e-text book at Gutenberg
• Wikipedia - Sunzi or Sun Tzu
• Wikipedia - Lionel Giles, the English translator
• Wikipedia - The Art of War

“On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive, Who remembers that famous day and year….” ~~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, from “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.”

In honor of this day and the many American patriots who fought for freedom during the years of the American Revolution, I have created a slideshow of some of those patriots’ graves: Patriots of ‘76.

If you would like to listen to appropriate music while viewing the Patriots’ Graves slideshow, click this little arrow to hear America’s Liberation Song, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, and then open the slideshow in a new tab or page. It is music that expresses the spirit that once motivated America, “a giant filled with a terrible resolve, unleashed against tyrants and oppressors.” It was performed at the funerals of Winston Churchill and Ronald Reagan, and at the memorials for the victims of September 11th in Washington, New York and London. This version is sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the language style of the Old Testament of the Holy Bible.

Celebrate Christmas with the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Christmas In The Trenches” by John McDermott

Letter from the Western Front, December 25, 1914

“This will be the most memorable Christmas I’ve ever spent or likely to spend: since about tea time yesterday I don’t think there’s been a shot fired on either side up to now.”

“Some of our chaps went over to their lines. I think they’ve all come back bar one from ‘E’ Co. They no doubt kept him as a souvenir.”

“We can hardly believe that we’ve been firing at them for the last week or two - it all seems so strange.”

In his account of one of World War I’s most surreal moments, the British soldier described in his pencil written letter how German troops placed lights along their trenches before approaching the British lines to deliver Christmas greetings. He described the lull in fighting as soldiers played football, helped each other bury the dead, shared traditional Christmas foods, chatted and smoked peaceably together.

Irish singer Chris de Burgh recently purchased the newly discovered manuscript at auction, paying 14,400 pounds ($27,000) for it, according to Yahoo News.

Christian soldiers stopped killing each other along the Western Front on Christmas Eve of 1914. John McCutcheon wrote a poignant song voiced by one Francis Taliaferro about the Christmas Truce. The songwriter claims that it is based upon the true story of Scotsman Ian Calhoun, who was the commanding officer of the British forces involved. Calhoun was subsequently court-martialed for ‘consorting with the enemy’ and sentenced to death. King George V spared his life, praise be to God.

For more information and the words to the song see “Christmas In The Trenches”.

History News Network:

“They also gave us a few songs so we had quite a social party…

“After breakfast we had a game of football at the back of our trenches! We’ve had a few Germans over to see us this morning. They also sent a party over to bury a sniper we shot in the week. He was about 100 yds from our trench. A few of our fellows went out and helped to bury him.

“About 10.30 we had a short church parade, held in the trench. How we did sing. O come all ye faithful. … fried bacon and dip-bread followed by hot Xmas pudding, then muscatels and almonds, oranges, bananas, chocolate, cocoa and smokes”.

“You can guess we thought of the dinners at home. Just before dinner I had the pleasure of shaking hands with several Germans: a party of them came halfway over to us. So several of us went out to them. O exchanged one of my balaclavas for a hat. I’ve also got a button off one of their tunics. We also exchanged smokes etc and had a decent chat. They say they won’t fire tomorrow if we don’t, so I suppose we shall get a bit of a holiday - perhaps.”

“After exchanging autographs and them wishing us a Happy New Year we departed and came back and had our dinner. We can hardly believe we’ve been firing at them for the last week or two - it all seems so strange. At present it is freezing hard and everything is covered in ice…

“There must be something in the spirit of Christmas as today we are all on top of our trenches running about. Whereas other days we have to keep out heads well down…I had a parcel from B G’s Lace Dept containing a sweater, smokes, under clothes etc. We also had a card from the Queen, which I am sending back to you to look after please.”

“As I can’t explain to everyone how I spent my 25th, you might hand this round please…I never expected to shake hands with Germans between the firing lines on Christmas Day and I don’t suppose you thought of us doing so”.

“So after a fashion we’ve enjoyed our Christmas. Hoping you spend a happy time with George Boy as well. How we thought of England during the day. Kind regards to all the neighbours. With much love from Boy.”

On this Patriot Day, 2006, does anyone still remember Pearl Harbor? I am one who was living at the time, but much too young to remember what was going on. However, September 11th, 2001, happened a few days after my sixtieth birthday and I remember it well. Relive those days of yesteryear when America was attacked in 1941, by listening and thinking of the differences “Between Americans” then and now on this day of remembrance of the Attack Upon America.

From Front Porch Flags by Neddy.

FLY THE FLAG on Patriot Day, September 11th!

Would it not be wonderful if on this coming Patriot Day, Monday, September 11th, 2006, an American flag be displayed in front of every home, apartment, office, shop and store in these United States of America? Would it not be wonderful if every individual American made it his or her patriotic duty to display Old Glory on this fifth anniversary of the Attack on America, in honor of the innocent lost lives from that day. As each of us raises our ensign on high it would be a sign to those who are today continuing to endure the pain and of lost loved ones to the War on Terror. Our flags would show our gratitude to those whose lives are at risk everyday at home and abroad to protect our liberty.

In the days, weeks and months following September 11th, 2001, America our country was profusely decorated with American flags as citizens mourned the great loss and stood ready to fight the enemy. Sadly, some of those flags disappeared. Let’s raise them all again and pin them on our lapels to show that we still stand with those our protectors who risk their all each and everyday to protect our country from another such attack. Let’s show our solidarity and our faith in victory over evil by flying our flag, “Old Glory”.

Take a moment to recall your feelings on that somber day when we were under attack. Display an American flag on September 11th, 2006, in remembrance and in resolution of victory over Islamic terrorism for us and for the freedom-loving world. God Bless America.

Johnny Cash’s “Ragged Ole Flag” tells the story of “Old Glory”, from Alabama DAR.

A friend whose son has just returned home from the war zone after serving a one year tour with the U.S. Army wrote me about his arrival. He first stepped onto American soil in Bangor, Maine, before he was to journey south to Florida.

He telephoned his parents from there on a borrowed cell phone, courtesy of a wonderful group of volunteers at the Bangor, Maine airport. Known as “greeters”, they are always there to bid goodbye or to welcome the soldiers passing through the airport. The Maine greeters make life a bit more comfortable for our soldiers going to or returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as they await their flights. They supply the military men and women with cookies and snacks, newspapers and books, phone cards and they even loan their own cell phones so that the soldiers can phone their loved ones at home. They make snapshots of the young troops going through the airport and then post these pictures on their web site for the families to see. The greeters are dedicated people and they do their best to care for our military personnel. Their website is www.mainetroopgreeters.com.

A Woman of Courage.

A Woman of Another Era
I captured this photograph of my life-long friend Geri in April 2005, at the wedding of her granddaughter in Laughlin, Nevada. Geri was an aviation pioneer. Because of her dedication and sacrifices during World War II, she is now referred to as “a woman of courage” and a wonderful example of “the greatest generation”. She is an inspiration to all who know her.

“This is not a time when women should be patient. We are in a war and we need to fight it with all our ability and every weapon possible. WOMEN PILOTS, in this particular case, are a weapon waiting to be used.” ~~ Eleanor Roosevelt, 1942

Way, way back in the early 1940s, Geraldine Elder, a 20-year-old girl from a silver mining town in northern Idaho, was a new college graduate looking for a job with a bit of adventure. She certainly did find a life of challenges and white-knuckled thrills when she signed on with Jacqueline Cochran, to become a woman pilot flying military planes in the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASP. Geri was in the very first class of woman pilots, trained by the United States military to ferry shiny new “untested” aircraft from the factories to America’s military aviation squadrons. Those airships that survived their maiden voyages were destined to be used by America’s fighting force against the Germans and the Japanese to preserve the free world. She is now an octogenarian living in the Sunbelt, and lecturing at high schools throughout her community on the World War II generation.

The first WASP graduation was held at Avenger Field, Sweetwater, Texas on May 28th, 1943. On this same day in 2005, was held the first ever WASP MEMORIAL FLY IN. The Governor of Texas declared that May 28th, 2005 be known as WASP Day in Texas.

This was originally published by Neddy on 15 May 2005 at “Blatherings”. Updated on 1 July 2007.