We celebrate the 4th of July weekend, by acknowledging a True American Patriot. 

John Wayne did well in school both academically and in football. John Wayne was exempted from military service after the attack on Pearl Harbor due to his age (he was 34 at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor) and because of his family status, he was classified as 3-A (family deferment).  By many accounts, John Wayne's failure to serve in the military was the most painful experience of his life. 

He became an American film actor, director, producer, and an Academy Award-winner, Wayne was among the top box office draws for three decades. An enduring American icon, he epitomized rugged masculinity and is famous for his demeanor, including his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height.  John Wayne starred in 142 pictures, primarily typecast in Western films. During the filming of Green Berets, the Degar or Montagnard people of Vietnam's Central Highlands, fierce fighters against communism, bestowed on John Wayne a brass bracelet that he wore in the film and during the filming of all subsequent films. 

John Wayne was a prominent Republican in Hollywood at a time when it wasn’t popular, he supported anti-communist positions.  He lost his battle with stomach cancer in 1979. In June 1999, the American Film Institutenamed John Wayne 13th among the Greatest Male Screen Legends of All Time.

The Duke was a true American Patriot, and didn’t hesitate to support military personnel in combat in Vietnam; my Naval Academy classmates and I appreciated his vocal support for us when we were serving in Vietnam.  I had the pleasure of spending an evening in the Duke’s home in Newport Beach on one evening in 1980; it was a very special evening for me. 

I still subscribe to the Duke’s well held views on American exceptionalism, how he embodied the need for masculine leadership in the military & the Republic, his traditional respect for women, his open honesty regardless of whether it was politically correct, and his unabashed love of the Republic.  Unfortunately, the Duke’s qualities are sorely lacking at the highest levels of government in Washington today, and the country is suffering for it.  You will be able to enjoy the Duke’s 1976 interview aboard the “Wild Goose,” by clicking on the below listed link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgdU1bJSq7Y

John Wayne’s quote on this important weekend, where we “Honor America”:

"Sure I wave the American flag.  Do you know a better flag to wave?  Sure I love my country with all her faults.  I'm not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be!"

We miss traditional and honest American leaders like the Duke; we reject the politically correct philosophy that has been forced upon the US military, and educational institutions.  That politically correctness has been enthusiactically promoted by the left of center liberal media establishment and by elected liberal and leftist politicians who never served in the US Armed Forces.  The politically correct philosophy being forced into the US Armed Forces by Obama’s civilian appointees at the Depatment of Defense, over the last 5 years, has been seriously damaging unit moral, unit cohesiveness, and the Combat Effectiveness of the finest military force ever created.  Those same Obama administration appointees who are destroying the “Combat Effectiveness” of the US Armned Forces look down on John Wayne’s Patriotism and his love of country.  We espouse John Wayne’s well held Patriotic views of the Republic and the American Flag.  May the Good Lord bless the Duke’s noble soul, and keep him.