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Friends,

Good Morning! Good Morning? I like the line in we were soldiers where Sam Elliot is walking across the field on the side-walk toward the mess hall or away and the young soldier that would seem more inclined to be in a support role passes Sam I forget his name without researching it on wikipedia or putting the disc in the DVD player so as the young soldier walks by he say " Sir it's going to be a beautiful day"! And the Sergeant played by Sam Elliot bellows out "Son how do you what kind of goddamn day it's it's gonna be"?


It reminds me of how some of us get involved in situations that when it comes right down to it and cornered have a hard time answering a direct question and feel like afterwards "10 years from now after it won't do anybody a damn bit of good I would love to sit down and have a tell all straight talk conversation with the person asking the question even if were in some book form!


An example would be the official log and notes of John Paul Jones that were strictly all military and discipline with the leadership confidence almost seeming to be a little on the arrogant side in it's writing as I myself read but at the time didn't realize that very subtle fact.


A few years later or less I came across another version of events years after the Bonhomme Richard made it's famous raid on White Haven during the revolutionary war where in what I feel was an amazing display of honesty and courage John Paul Jones told a different version of events that I assume were authentic but unfortunately I don't have that trail back to the research to so that for a fact it was his actual writing.


John Paul Jones did amaze me as I stated in the last paragraph by explaining the raid had it's lighter moments and a stop by the local Tavern to see old friends and relatives prior to shooting off some fire works at the armory I believe as it would be best described now was quite different than the original version I had read previously but I guess the point is the man made a statement and I'm not sure most of his crews friends and relatives were in much of a condition to put up much of a fight after the stop tavern.


Maybe you'll come across both version and get a feeling of something of the situation as more a "let's a play some quarters" with these folks so no more of them get killed in this attack than is necessary opinion as I did!

No wonder the painting's my father has of the battle that were painted here in Fairhope by the man that lives in a castle and is brilliant in his depiction of two ship lashed together with the fugitive from English Maritime as having possibly murdered a fellow crewman aboard a merchant ship had fled the Bahamas to escape almost certain death regardless of his innocence or not had now become the nightmare to the disciplined and world renowned English men of war that ruled the seas much less lose a sea battle to an immigrant to America that is now considered the father of our navy and replied upon the English ships demand to strike colors "Surrender? By God I have just begun to fight!"

The quotes please keep in mind are unquote as I am just telling this tale of one man's role in rallying morale both in the Colonies and in France where I'm sure Benjamin Franklin was certainly lifted in spirit to hear such tale in a difficult time for a country that had no Navy to compare with even the lowly pirates of Tripoli that we would eventually have to defeat or go broke paying ransom so when you here that famous phrase "I have just begun to fight" you as I may envision almost a sarcastic tone and a grin that may have been from the mind of a man that thought "God damn were gonna sink both of these son-of-a-bitches if we have to and somewhere in the future anyone else that dares claim to be invincible may take notice that there is no such thing as such God damn-it!


Yes it was not a battle that should have been won but it was and on this day in history when in 1942 the Japanese claimed victory in the Solomon Island's and the horror of guadal canal I wonder if those words were thought of and lifted any souls spirits to say "Damn this Navy has seen worse than this and will recover to overcome whatever may lay ahead until it as a Navy with it's very pride at stake not to mention the war in the Pacific far from over even if the Japanese had sucker punched us now again but the rest is history and as for John Paul Jones the thought of not being in the fight eventually led him to volunteer his services to I believe Catherine the Great of Russia quite an individual in her own right.

Today's post has to come to an end with after further reading on Wikipedia much history that you would surely enjoy if you are of Patriotic Spirit and have ever felt that the decision to not surrender but to fight on for a cause be you a member of our Armed forces, former member if their be such or a person as myself that just feels pride in reading how over the annals of time our Nation has held it's high ground as we must as human beings or we may never get a chance to even begin a fight no matter the type!

The battle depicted in "We were Soldiers" is one of my favorite movies of it's kind because the history backs up the story much better than the tale I just have thrown together from memory or a short time reading so the details will matter if you spend some time deep in the true stories of history about individuals are groups of individuals led by great leaders that either were so well studied they were almost impossible to defeat are other's that were just to stubborn and determined to let a cause or an ideal die or for that matter their comrades that we as a nation and individuals proudly proclaim to never leave behind or forget!

Anyway one person's ideals may be found to be in numbers an individual may if persistent particularly as so many of our hero's are in their defense of that high ground or hallowed small area involved in the Bonnhom Richard and Serapis Battle one day turn the tide in some other distant fight for freedom!

God Bless, Peace, Love and Knowledge!

Floyd C. Wooley

P.s.- Watch your scheduling of on-line payments from bank accounts to insure a payment doesn't enter the bank as a debit prior to a deposit even if the bank verbally claims that debits and deposits posted same day are not a cause for an overdraft just as a note of caution. Check the latest guidelines that may have been enacted by the Obama Administration regarding any such official changes to help the public in times such as these when many people may be running tight and have to depend on other than a book keeper to manage multiple accounts. Just considering an issue myself that may or may not be related in relation to my personal and business start-up expenses, etc.