A Tribute to the Armed Services

We watched this performance this morning on Music and the Spoken Word and it brought us back to our Arcadia days when the Southern California Mormon Choir would sing this medley every year at the 4th of July Concert.

   

This is what The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square had to say about the song:

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square perform a medley "A Tribute to the Armed Services," arranged by Lloyd Larson. The medley consists of "The Army Goes Rolling Along," "Marine Corps Hymn," "Semper Paratus," "Anchors Aweigh," "The U.S. Air Force (Wild Blue Yonder)," and "America the Beautiful."

Of course, I think of our family members who have served our country as I listen to the song:  Bryce Jeppson in the Marines. George Magnusson in the Navy.  Kiefer Harris in the Air force.  David Wood in the Army

This is our home in Duarte flying, "The Emblem of the Land We Love".

Click here for the link to watch the whole program.  This the narrative of what was said on the program.

The Spoken Word

“The Emblem of the Land We Love”

The flag of the United States has flown on the earth and the moon, on the home front and the battlefront, in conflict and in peace. Something stirs within us when we see this red, white, and blue “emblem of the land [we] love, the home of the free and the brave.”

For many of us, that stirring is especially deep when we remember those who have died defending what the flag represents. As one unknown patriot wrote, “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” Today we honor the heroic men and women throughout history who have defended our nation. Without their sacrifice, the flag would be little more than a colorful piece of fabric. Because of their sacrifice, the flag continues to proclaim to all the world the principles of freedom, equality, liberty, and justice for all.

Of course, we all know that no nation is perfect. And yet our love and respect for our country seems to deepen as we work to overcome our shortcomings and mistakes, past and present. What makes any country great is the principles of its founding, its boundless potential, and its constant striving to live up to those precepts.

The same is true of each of us. After all, a country is made up of individuals—all less than perfect and all with great potential. In a sense each of us is, like our beloved flag, an emblem of this land we love. Our country is only as strong as each individual who serves and sacrifices for its core institutions: for home and family, for neighborhoods and communities, for church and state.  

And so this Memorial Day when we see the flag of freedom wave, let us remember what it represents—not just a land but a people. It waves for the sons and daughters who gave their all. It waves for the promise of liberty they died to protect. It waves for every patriot who has made this country the land we love. We honor their memories, this day and always.