[StBernard] Where Do We Get These Men and Women?

[Westley Annis]

Where Do We Get These Men and Women? 
By Newt Gingrich 

This Veterans Day, I am reminded once again of the wonderful line at the end
of the movie adaptation of James Michener's The Bridges at Toko Ri. 


A Navy Admiral is reflecting on the sacrifice of airmen given the mission of
destroying a group of heavily defended bridges during the Korean War. The
men were successful, but at the cost of their lives, leading the Admiral to
famously ask: "Where do we get these men?" 

Today, the question is "Where do we get these men and women?" and last week,
the answer was Killeen, Texas. 

Answer: Killeen, Texas

Killeen is the home of heroes this Veterans Day; men and women who prove
that our servicemen and women don't leave their bravery and selflessness
behind on the battlefield. 

Killeen was also the site of terrorism last week; proof that we are not
immune from Islamic extremism inside our borders, even on our military
bases. Killeen is the home of Sgt. Kimberly Munley, a Department of Defense
civilian police officer and an Army veteran. 

Sgt. Munley was nearby getting her car tuned-up when the 911 call came in.
Without waiting for backup, she was the first law enforcement official to
arrive on the scene at Fort Hood. 



"She Fired Until He Dropped. The Killing Ended."

Much has been written about Sgt. Munley's heroism, but few have described
her behavior in the heat of a confrontation with the Fort Hood shooter
better than the editorial writers at the Las Vegas Review-Sun
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3588638:5194048930:m:1:1536358
81:A40192FED5A30B8AA95C95C9105ACC9B> . 

"Could Sgt. Munley, hit in the wrist and both thighs, really be blamed if
she'd ducked for cover? She didn't. From all reports, she stood her ground
under fire, calmly reacquiring her sight picture, putting four rounds right
where she wanted, in the advancing murderer's center of mass. She fired
until he dropped. The killing ended." 

The Heroes Who Brought Down the Berlin Wall

This Veterans Day week also marks the celebration of another set of American
heroes: The men and women who put their shoulders to the Berlin Wall and
pushed - until it finally fell 20 years ago this Monday. 

Where did we get these men and women? From all across America and everywhere
freedom and human dignity are valued. 

For although the revolution in Eastern Europe occurred without a shot being
fired, countless Americans - not to mention Britons, Germans, Poles, Czechs,
Slovaks and Hungarians - sacrificed for that day. 

Before there was a wall in Berlin, there was the Berlin blockade in 1948,
when the Communist regime in Moscow tried to literally starve West Berlin to
death. President Harry S. Truman ordered an airlift to feed West Berliners
and resist Soviet aggression. Seventy-one American and British servicemen
lost their lives. 

And before there was a victory for freedom, 20 years ago this week, there
were unflinching advocates for freedom in Eastern Europe like Ronald Reagan
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3588640:5194048930:m:1:1536358
81:A40192FED5A30B8AA95C95C9105ACC9B>  and Pope John Paul II
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3588641:5194048930:m:1:1536358
81:A40192FED5A30B8AA95C95C9105ACC9B> . 

These are the heroes we honor today. 

Washington Seems More at Home with International Dictators Than America and
Its Heroes

"Hero" is not a word we use a lot these days. We have a media dedicated to
destroying, not showcasing, greatness. We have popular culture determined to
celebrate victimhood rather than heroism. And we have a regime in Washington
that seems more at home with international autocrats and dictators than
America and its heroes. 

But the inescapable fact of America is this: Ours is a country founded and
defended, not by conciliation and sophisticated diplomatic gestures, but by
honor, bravery and sacrifice. 

Our heroes are not incidental to our nationhood but an essential part of it.
Why? Because America is not, contrary to what our President believes, merely
a nation among nations. We are, on our best days, closer to what Ronald
Reagan believed: A shining city on a hill. 

Take the Time Today to Thank a Veteran For His Service

The heroes of our city on a hill stretch back from Killeen, Texas, through a
bloody 20th Century and a great Civil War, all the way to our founding. 

They are the men who left a trail of blood in the snow of Northern
Pennsylvania on Christmas night, 1776
<http://paracom.paramountcommunication.com/ct/3588642:5194048930:m:1:1536358
81:A40192FED5A30B8AA95C95C9105ACC9B> . 

They are the men and women who serve today in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

So make sure you take the time today to thank a veteran for his or her
service. Take the time to remember and honor a hero. 

Because in doing so you are answering the Navy Admiral's question at Toko
Ri. 

Where do we get these men and women? From a nation that remains worthy of
their sacrifice. 
 	 

  Your friend,
   Newt Gingrich