This is the original commission into the Continental Army of my 4th great grandfather, Capt. Sylvanus Smith. It is signed by John Hancock. I have it hanging on the wall in my living room. He and his 3 brothers answered the call at Lexington and Concord. He went all the way. He ended with Washington at Yorktown. Memorial Day is for the dead. If any of my direct ancestors died in battle, I likely wouldn’t be here. However, I CAN remember how THEY honored the dead, and let that be an example of the importance of doing so. Sylvanus was an original member of the Cincinnati and until he died in 1830, he was active in honoring his fellow patriots who paid the ultimate price for freedom.

Fast forward 166 years from 1775, my Dad and his 3 brothers “suited up” after Pearl Harbor. Pop always flew the flag. On July 4th, he would play patriotic music all day long. Dad never took me hunting, and I wondered why he didn’t hunt like a lot of the other dads. Pop hit the beaches on D Day, fought in the hedgerows in Normandy and led a company of men during the Battle of the Bulge. Although he never stated why he didn’t hunt, I later learned it was because he had seen enough killing during the war. There were certain foods he didn’t eat because it reminded him of the bloody carnage he had witnessed. Dad would always stand and sing the Star Bangled Banner, even for games on tv with his hand over his heart. He always said he wanted to be buried in a simple pine box like that of his fallen comrades.

My Uncle Max (William Massie Smith) was a Marine officer at Iwo Jima. He never ate hard or soft crabs because he witnessed dead Marines floating in the surf with dozens of crabs gnawing on them. Uncle Max was a big, strong senatorial looking fella. I remember being at the ACC Tournament in 1976 and the Marine color guard walked onto the court. Uncle Max stood ramrod straight, I mean didn’t move a muscle, and a saw the tiniest trace of a tear in his eyes. I was moved. He was honoring his fellow patriots.

I NEVER heard my father or my uncles whine about anything. My guess is they appreciated being alive in the greatest county in the history of the world, and to whine or complain about any of life’s inequities would have been DISHONORING the memory of their brothers in arms. By the way they lived their lives, everyday they honored the lives of those who perished.

I am boiling in rage at this Cancel Culture horse shit. Fuck these people. We are at war to protect all that is decent and honorable and to preserve our republic from barbarian ignorance. Time to rise up!