Happy 4th of July weekend - keep it going Published July 1, 2008 By Chaplain Tim Hirten 97th Air Mobility Wing ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- In America, often times we say these words but do not reflect upon them. May I invite you to reflect upon these special words and enjoy several verses of this short poem and their notes about it, handed to me personally. Please allow me to share it with you as it was given to me: I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC, FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL! This was given to me and in it they wrote that it was written for all of our military personnel, where ever they may be. They asked me as one of the base chaplains to share their words, so here they are telling us.... "Please support all of the troops defending our country. And 'God Bless' our military members who are protecting our country for our freedom. Thanks to them, and their sacrifices we can celebrate the 4th of July. We must never forget who gets the credit for the freedoms we have, of which we should be eternally grateful. I watched the flag pass by one day, it fluttered in the breeze. A young Marine saluted it, and then he stood at ease.. I looked at him in uniform so young, so tall, so proud, With hair cut square and eyes alert he'd stand out in any crowd. I thought how many men like him had fallen through the years. How many died on foreign soil, how many mothers' tears? How many pilots' planes shot down? How many died at sea. How many foxholes were soldiers' graves? No, freedom isn't free. I heard the sound of taps one night when everything was still, I listened to the bugler play and felt a sudden chill. I wondered just how many times that taps had meant 'amen,' When a flag had draped a coffin of a brother or a friend. I thought of all the children, of the mothers and the wives, Of fathers, sons and husbands with interrupted lives. I thought about a graveyard at the bottom of the sea Of unmarked graves in Arlington. No, freedom isn't free. After you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our servicemen.