A Memorial Day Tribute.

Tomorrow we pay tribute to those who gave their lives defending our great country. Whether these war dead were the victim of an unfortunate shell burst or died heroically in hand to hand combat or a cavalry charge, we owe them a few things:

1. We owe it to these brave men to protect the Constitutional freedom that they gave their last breath defending.

2. We owe it to them to NEVER forget their ultimate sacrifice!

The story of Michael Monsoor makes my heart swell to the bursting point with pride: Not only as a Navy veteran, but as an American. The surname Monsoor is an Arabic name. I don't know where his ancestors come from, but Michael Monsoor was PROOF POSITIVE that this melting pot experiment in human freedom that we call America works! From the Orange County Register:

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/monsoor-stone-family-2011226-team-seal

"Monsoor's platoon commander, Lt. Cmdr. Seth Stone, who also spoke at Thursday's event, called Monsoor "the quintessential soldier" who put his country and his fellow soldiers above everything else.
Stone was present during the intense firefight that took Monsoor's life. He was sitting on an adjacent rooftop commanding his team, which was split into two at the time.
He said Monsoor, with his heavy machine gun, was sitting between two other SEALs on the other rooftop.
Suddenly, an insurgent from below hurled a grenade at the rooftop where Monsoor and his teammates were situated. The grenade bounced off Monsoor's chest and fell down.
"Immediately, he knew the danger they were all in," Stone said.
Of all who were present, Monsoor had the best chance to duck behind a wall or get out of that rooftop, he said. He could've even picked up the grenade and tossed it out of there, Stone said.
But he didn't. Instead, in a fraction of a second, Monsoor chose to make the ultimate sacrifice.
"He didn't want to leave anything to chance," Stone said. "He's the best SEAL I've ever met."
He said his team had been involved in at least 35 firefights in the days leading to that deadly incident. Monsoor had shown his courage several times during those missions, Stone said."

Bravo Zulu Michael Monsoor! Well done young man! G-d bless and keep you.