Military Support Group of Central Baptist Church

07/31/2023

More Ideas @ https://recycledcraftsy.com/crafts/creative-diy-wood-log-projects-and-craft-ideas/

09/28/2022

I’m going to close the group by 09/30/2022. Btw, it doesn’t look easy to do.

09/24/2022

Honor, Respect & Remember

The last Sunday in September is Gold Star Mother's and Family Day. To all surviving family members, thank you. A grateful nation is forever in your debt.

09/17/2022

09/16/2022

🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: POW/MIA Recognition Day: Louis Zamperini: The Ultimate Survivor of World War II

"For forty-seven days Louis Zamperini drifted idly in the Pacific Ocean. Armed with a few small tins of drinking water, a flare gun, some fishing line, and a couple of Hershey D-Ration candy bars, Zamperini and two other soldiers struggled to stay alive. Their struggle was exacerbated by vicious sharks, blistering heat, treacherous swells, and Japanese fighter pilots. For most people, this experience would undoubtedly be the most challenging of their lives. For Zamperini, it was not even the most difficult of the war." - US National Archives December 24, 2014

Louis Zamperini, was the son of first generation Italian immigrants born on January 26, 1917 in Olean New York. When Louis was a toddler the Zamperini family relocated to Torrance, California. Growing up in Torrance, Louis was noted for a lot of things and running was one of them.

Zamperini became known as the "Torrance Tornado" - taking after his older brother Pete who was already a track star Louis began to break records for long distance running. His talent awarded him a scholarship to the University of Southern California. At the age of 19 years old he qualified for the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin Germany. He would compete in the 5000 meter race and place 8th overall but his impressive finish garnished the attention of many spectators.

After the Olympics, Zamperini returned to USC where in 1938, he set a national collegiate mile record that stood for 15 years.

In September of 1941, Louis Zamperini enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces serving as a bombardier on the B-24 Liberator "Super Man" with the 372nd Bomb Squadron.

After flying several missions, on May 27, 1943 his aircraft went down due to mechanical failure. Stranded for 47 days in the Pacific Ocean, Zamperini and the only other surviving crew member ,Pilot Russ Philips, were captured by the Japanese Navy after their raft reached the Marshall Islands.

According to the Veterans Administration: "The then-75 pounds Zamperini was held for six weeks on Kwajalein Atoll and transferred to multiple interrogation centers and Prisoner of War camps. For two long years he suffered psychological and physical abuse at the hands of cruel prison guards and the sadistic Sgt. Mutsuhiro “The Bird” Watanabe. He was declared dead to his parents in a June 1943 telegram. Meanwhile, the former track star, Watanabe’s “number one prisoner,” was spared from ex*****on but served as a propaganda tool. When he refused to comply after being forced to make radio broadcasts at the Ofuna interrogation center, he was immediately sent back to Watanabe on the mainland and subjected to more abuse."

"Liberation finally took place in September 1945. After years of malnourishment and torture, Zamperini could not be a runner anymore. After finding solace in Christianity at a Billy Graham sermon, however, he returned to Japan as a missionary in 1950 and forgave his former captors imprisoned at Sugamo. Watanabe, one of the top 40 war criminals in Japan sought by America, refused to meet him. Zamperini later travelled across the US as an inspirational speaker and established the Victory Boys Camp, a wilderness camp for troubled youths. Fifety years after breaking the National High School mile record, Zamperini made a triumphant return to the Los Angeles Coliseum to carry the Olympic torch in 1984. In 1988, he ran a leg of the Olympic torch relay at the Nagano winter games."

"Zamperini recounts his story in two autobiographies, both titled Devil at My Heels, published in 1956 and 2003. His story was also documented in Laura Hillenbrand’s biography Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption and the 2014 film Unbroken directed by Angelina Jolie. The University of Southern California dedicated the Louis Zamperini Plaza in honor of the “Torrance Tornado.”"(VAntage Point November 14, 2019)

Captain Louis Silvie Zamperini passed away on July 2, 2014 at the age of 97 years old. Thank you Louis for a lifetime of service to a grateful Nation. You over came adversity and will be remembered as being 'Unbreakable." Lest We Forget.



WWII uncovered©️ Original description and photos sourced by the US National Archive Louis Zamperini: The Story of a True American Hero publication date December 24, 2014, VAntage Point November 14, 2019, Ancestry Database (Fair Use Photos)

06/09/2022

"I am sure there never was a people, who had more reason to acknowledge a interposition in their affairs, than those of the United States; and I should be pained to believe that they have forgotten that agency, which was so often manifested during our Revolution, or that they failed to consider the omnipotence of that God who is alone able to protect them." George Washington, Letter to John Armstrong, March 11, 1792

Compliments of George Washington Society

05/31/2022

More than 651,000 United States military service members have been killed in combat, defending our nation and our freedoms. We remember and honor them today. Freedom comes at a high cost. May we treasure and fiercely guard the precious liberties that have made America the greatest place on earth to live. In God we trust.

05/28/2022

Memorial Day, first called Decoration Day, began as a response to the carnage of the Civil War. After the war ended in the spring of 1865, Americans began holding springtime tributes by reciting prayers and decorating with flowers the graves of countless fallen soldiers. It was a way to remember those who had given, as President Abraham Lincoln beautifully said, “the last full measure of devotion” to defend their nation.

Three years later, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic issued an order to set aside a unique day for Americans to place flowers on the graves of war heroes, and on May 30 of that same year, the first Decoration Day was held at Arlington Cemetery.

After World War I, this special day was amended to include all men and women from our armed forces who gave their lives serving our nation. The name “Memorial Day” became more common and in 1971, Memorial Day became an official federal holiday.

If we do not intentionally remember, then we will forget. If we do not preserve the memory of what once was, we lose meaning, the lessons learned and the victories won.

For example, a recent survey revealed that a shocking number of Millennials and Generation Z do not have adequate knowledge of the Holocaust. When we fail to remember the tragedies, victories, and sacrifices of those who have gone before us, we not only do a gross disservice to their legacies, but we also set ourselves up for compounded failure and even deeper, devastating tragedy.

In the words of George Santayana, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We forget at our own peril.

There is an important biblical principle to train our children in the importance of remembering. Jews and Christians understand the crucial importance of remembering in a unique way. They are “memorial people” because the whole of their faith depends upon remembering.

From the stones at the waters of the Jordan to Passover and continuing throughout the Bible, God sets up memorials. For Christians, the greatest memorial to mark our freedom in Christ is the Lord’s Supper. Every time we participate in communion, we hear Jesus’ words, " “Do this in remembrance of me.”

I believe God’s call to remember is more for our future than it is for our past. And the future of the United States depends in large part on how well we collectively remember and cherish what liberty really is – God's hand of blessing upon us and freedom from the terror of tyranny. There is a high cost to forgetting.

On this Memorial Day, I pray that as you take time to remember the valor of those who have given their lives in service to our nation, you would also remember the goodness of God in your own life and his many blessings upon our nation. I pray this would cause you to cherish your liberty in the United States, and more importantly in Christ, and this would give you boldness and hope for the future.

Apostle John writes, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). May God bless you and these United States of America. But more importantly, may God bless and comfort the loved ones of the brave men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion to this great nation.

----
Written by Lt. Col. Allen West (Ret.), a National Spokesperson for My Faith Votes.