I am a patriot and always have been. I barely remember the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 but that world war fueled my love for our country. I did not know then I would someday pass Pearl Harbor going to and from the Far East. The farming folks in our small but lovely Germany Valley of Rabun County Georgia were patriotic. In the one-room, one-teacher school held in the local Mountain Grove Baptist Church, we students were taught to raise the flag each morning, salute and repeat the pledge of allegiance. A drive was put on to collect all the old metal parts and machinery and send them to be melt down to make ships, planes and shells.
Mother was an avid reader and with her example I became a lover of history from the start. Our teachers in the valley school emphasized the uniqueness of the Constitution and we learned how America was settled and developed into a nation. We learned why our constitutional republic is unique from all other nations in the world. In church and school, we learned God had a major hand in the making of our nation and guided our founders to insert His eternal principles into the Constitution and form of government. Dessie, wife of Jim Parker, a neighbor, had a trunk full of classic books covering ancient and American history, literature, and geography, which I read while growing up. Louise, a daughter and a teacher became a lifelong friend until she died.
After college, I entered the Air Force and married Florine, another student at Truett McConnell College. My service covered 22 years with frequent moves to various posts in the USA. I served in two wars, Korea and Vietnam. I also served three years on Luzon Island, the Philippines. While there, Florine, my wife, and I were led to serve in mission work among poor farmers and villagers in Tarlac Province. Later, on assignments in Des Moines, Iowa, and Denver, Colorado, Florine and I served in churches and missions. Our experiences in education, military service, travel, wars and mission work greatly broadened our experience of life.
I believe if America remains loyal to the Constitution and eternal values supporting freedom for our citizens and others and sets the right example the world will be safer. At this moment in history I believe a critical time is brewing. However, we have been away from the high principles governing our nation and Constitution, and are not obeying those eternal principles that guarantee our freedom. Freedom is not from us but is a guarantee from God if we follow those eternal principles.
