Essay I submitted for a contest back in 11th grade that I ended up giving as a speech for Valdosta’s Veterans’ Day ceremony. Since last Veterans’ Day, the last living veteran named in the speech, Congressman Charles Norwood, has passed away.
Carl Schurz, Secretary of the Interior under President Rutherford Hayes, best defined the road to freedom when he stated: “If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other.” Our nation’s armed forces value freedom so highly that they not only desire it for their own country but also for all the Earth’s people.
The United States of America first declared its wish for universal liberty with the announcement of the Monroe Doctrine on December 2, 1823. The U.S., in conjunction with the Russian Imperial government and Great Britain, proclaimed that the Western Hemisphere would be off-limits to all foreign nations and that military force would be used against any violators. More importantly, our nation’s military protected U.S. interests at home and abroad.
One of these men who valiantly served his country was Captain James Biddle. Biddle served courageously as a Lieutenant in the War of 1812. In 1818, Biddle led the contingent that secured the Oregon Territory for the U.S. He later protected U.S. shipping interests in the Atlantic Ocean and after retirement from the military, also negotiated the first treaty between the U.S. and China.
Veterans who continue to serve their country after retirement from military service, such as Biddle, are often the most highly regarded in the eyes of the American civilian. General Dwight D. Eisenhower did much to secure freedom for people throughout the world. Eisenhower not only commanded Allied Forces in North Africa during World War II, oversaw military occupation in Germany following the War, served as the Army Chief of Staff and as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces, but also was one of the most distinguished Presidents in the twentieth century.
Captain Biddle and General Eisenhower were both great men. But there are also veterans from our town, Valdosta, who did their part to guarantee our freedom. Congressman Charles Norwood, a retired Army Captain and Valdosta native, served with distinction in Vietnam. Congressman Norwood served in a Medical Battalion with the Dental Corps. By treating patients in forward firebases instead of relocating them to “safer” rear treatment areas, Norwood helped pioneer a new strategy in military dentistry.
Some men pay the ultimate price when securing liberty for our country, as well as other countries. Senior airman Jason D. Cunningham was one of these men. Senior Airman Cunningham was a pararescueman with Moody Air Force Base’s 38th Rescue Squadron. Cunningham and his team crashed under enemy rocket fire during a rescue mission in Afghanistan. Cunningham then transported ten of his fellow serviceman out of the burning aircraft to safety while also providing life saving medical care under the fire of enemy mortar rounds. Cunningham died that day, March 4, 2002, in service to freedom.
Some people would have you believe that freedom is a futile cause…a road not worth taking. Schurz defined the road to freedom, and these men walked it. And why did they walk this road? The Search and Rescue teams put it best in their motto: “So that others may live.”
