Liberals in the town of Littleton, Colorado--true to form--had a problem with a memorial honoring a native son, fallen Navy SEAL Danny Dietz, because the memorial was a sculpture of Dietz with his weapon.
Apparently liberals would rather that a true American warrior and hero be depicted with a cup of Starbucks and a beret. Weapons are so...violent.
"I don't think young children should be exposed to that in that way - unsupervised by their parents or any adults," said Emily Cassidy, one of the mothers.
I wonder if Ms. Cassidy has a problem with her children being exposed to homosexuality "unsupervised" at school. But I digress.
Despite their whining, the memorial was dedicated on July 4--Independence Day. It was fitting to honor Dietz on that day, perhaps our most sacred.
One of Blackfive's readers attended the memorial.
We got to the park just after 9:30 am. Already there were about 100 people there, not including the many Patriot Guard riders who had been standing guard over Danny's statue. As time went on - the park slowly filled up. I took a picture of the covered statue with our Flag standing next to it and a Navy guard alongside. Danny_dietz_memorial_009Something happened to show us all that this day was even more special. Three different times before the 11am ceremony started - 2 Bald Eagles slowly circled around above us. It was if they knew what the gathering was about and they were standing guard as well.
Just before the ceremony I took another picture of a line of the Patriot Guard Riders standing from the corner of Berry and King all the way down the street - at least 2-3 blocks worth. In my mind I termed it the Avenue of Flags because they were all holding an American Flag.
Danny_dietz_memorial_006As the ceremony started - I took a quick look around and estimated an incredibly large crowd had gathered. There were many Navy personnel in attendance as well as a few each of Marine, Air Force, and Army. The crowd was amazing, not one bit of trouble from anyone. Complete respect was offered by all.
The speakers were as follows:
The Honorable Donald C. Winter - Secretary of the Navy
Rear Admiral Joseph D. Kernan - Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command
U.S. Congressman Tom Tancredo
Medal of Honor Recipient Mike Thornton
Tiffany Bitz - Danny Dietz's sisterSecretary Winter spoke very highly of Danny's service and gave thanks to a community and Danny's family for being the kind of people to raise such a man.
Just after Secretary Winter finished - we had a flyover. The timing was excellent and I was glad not only to get a good picture, but that my daughter saw it.
I had the opportunity to edit Danny Dietz's profile for the new book Faces of Freedom, which profiled his life and that of 50 other fallen heroes from each state and Puerto Rico. I was humbled by the caliber of man he was.
...As the crowd dispersed from Berry Park, 12-year-old Zac Hardy of Centennial said Dietz fit his definition of a hero."It's one thing to say you love your country," he said. "It's a whole different level to be willing to die for it. That's a hero."
Kit Lange Jarrell writes at Euphoric Reality.
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