Happy 4th of July!!!

Excerpt from an Independence Day message from Col. Oliver North (Ret.):

"Two hundred and thirty-one years ago this July 4th, a committee of five patriots, headed by a young farmer from Virginia, presented the final draft of the Declaration of Independence to 55 of his colleagues in the Second Continental Congress. After making relatively few changes to Thomas Jefferson’s work and then, pledging “to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor,” all 56 members signed their names to this Declaration of Independence. In so doing, they created something that was then unique on the planet earth: a country based on the concepts of individual liberty, religious freedom, private property and democratic government.

Since then, the people of this nation have taken great risks to offer others the hope of that same freedom.

As Americans celebrate our 231st Independence Day, we do so with more than 150,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen and Marines in Iraq and over 27,000 in Afghanistan. Those who celebrate this Independence Day on lonely outposts in Afghanistan and Iraq are a magnificent reflection of who we are as a people."

Without the sacrifice of these young men and women, we would be unable to enjoy the freedoms that we have and continue to celebrate additional independence days.

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A SAFE AND HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!