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The Old Guard, a day in the Life: Drill Team Rehearsal

This is part two of our six part Memorial Day week series entitled: “The Old Guard, a day in the life.”   From practicing rifle maneuvers to guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier, to working burial details at Arlington National Cemetery the 3rd US infantry is the oldest active Infantry Regiment in United States Army and was created in 1784. This is a must watch especially this week for anyone who wants to see what professionalism and dedication and honor really mean.

We hope you’ll join us for the entire series and come away with a greater respect for the men and women in the United Stated Military today and those who we remember honor and celebrate every Memorial Day.  Please watch.

Closer to Home: Remembering the US Marines of the Battle of Tarawa

As Memorial Day approaches FIJ wishes to honor the Fathers of two long-time readers for their service to our Country in WWII.  One Father fought in the horrendous Pacific Battle of Tarawa.

We also wish to honor another long-time reader's Father who served aboard the USS Pope and participated in the capture of German U-505.

 From the video’s description:

On June 4, 1944, an American anti-submarine squadron accomplished an incredible feat, capturing the German U-boat U-505 and all hands. This film celebrates the achievement and explains how it happened. It certainly wasn't a fluke. Commander Daniel Gallery, of the USS Guadalcanal, was convinced he could surface and capture an enemy submarine, and he drilled his crews in the art of boarding. When the aircraft carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) and its destroyer escorts, USS Pillsbury (DE-133), USS Pope (DE-134), USS Flaherty (DE-135), USS Chatelain (DE-149) and USS Jenks (DE-665), got a contact, they worked in close concert to achieve the capture. German submarine commander Herald Lange and his crew were neatly captured, and their boat towed to Bermuda. Today this Type IXC U-boat rests in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, a nice war prize delivered in style by the U.S. Navy.

Now it Can Be Told: U-505 Capture - Part 2

The Old Guard, a day in the Life: Never Falter

“…It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

—President Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863.  

Today we begin a six part Memorial Day week series entitled: “The Old Guard, a day in the life.”   From practicing rifle maneuvers to guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier, to working burial details at Arlington National Cemetery the 3rd US infantry is the oldest active Infantry Regiment in United States Army and was created in 1784. This is a must watch especially this week for anyone who wants to see what professionalism and dedication and honor really mean.

We hope you’ll join us for the entire series and come away with a greater respect for the men and women in the United Stated Military today and those who we remember, honor and celebrate every Memorial Day.  Please watch.

FIJ's Memorial Day Week-long Tribute

On Monday we begin a six part Memorial Day week-long tribute to those who gave their lives to protect and defend the freedoms we enjoy.  The series is entitled: “The Old Guard, a day in the life.”  The mission of “The Old Guard” (The 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment is to conduct memorial affairs to honor their fallen comrades, and ceremonies and special events and to represent the U.S. Army by communicating its story to our Nation's citizens and the world.  "The Old Guard," is the oldest active-duty infantry unit in the Army, serving our nation since 1784.

The Battle of Athens (Tennessee)

A Case Study in Grassroots Restoration of the Rule of Law

By Mark Alexander, The Patriot Post, Thursday, May 3, 2012.

As you will see Alexander’s essay is appropriate and timely with Memorial Day approaching.

"The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation ... forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."

—James Madison, principle author of the U.S. Constitution and fourth President of the United States (1788).

As a direct descendent of Tennessee Patriots who were veterans of every major conflict in defense of American Liberty from the American Revolution forward, I stand in awe of my home state's distinguished list of Patriot sons and daughters. From 19th-century notables like Andrew Jackson, Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, Nathan Bedford Forrest and Sam Davis, to a long list of 20th-century Patriots headed by Alvin York, warriors from the "Volunteer State" have distinguished themselves in battle with honor and courage. Even our state's nickname was earned in recognition of the valiant service of volunteer soldiers during the War of 1812, most notably during the Battle of New Orleans. 

There was a group of lesser-known Tennessee Patriots, however, whose efforts to defend Liberty at home in 1946 were no less noble. This group of World War II veterans took up arms to restore Rule of Law in the quaint east Tennessee town of Athens (McMinn County), between Chattanooga and Knoxville. That fight became known as the Battle of Athens.  Read complete essay…