09.12.09: They march to honor those who fought for our freedoms

One of the reasons I have so enjoyed being part of the grassroots in the SWAC area is getting to know neighbors and friends, people who have the same principles and beliefs that I have, folks who believe in America.

While coordinating buses going to Washington, DC, on September 12, I have met new friends while working with familiar faces ... and I am amazed at the stories I hear, the reasons for spending a long day standing up for this country and the freedoms that are under attack.

One of those is Connie who sent an email and, with her permission, I am reprinting it here. She was one of the first to sign up for the bus trip and, when asked if she would be okay that day, she responded:

I don't know how I am going to handle it, but I hope I can. I have had a major loss of energy since the two major surgeries in the past 3 years and finding cancer twice, but this has got to be one of the most important causes I have stood up for.

I want my children, grandchildren, and new great-granddaughter (arriving in September) to have a future and a country that is still a Republic, and I will do anything and everything to make sure that happens.

My father fought in WW I and was wounded three times, and I am now trying to have him honored for his bravery in the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor in upstate NY. The problem is all of the records were burned and I have to search everywhere to verify he received his purple heart which I am doing aggressively. This is another cause I am putting my whole heart into.

I am making this trip for him as well. He deserves to be honored and my family deserves to have the country he fought so bravely and valiantly for.

Even my eighty-something parents wanted to make the trip -- they of that World War II generation who saw this country saved from communism and socialism in the 1940s and are appalled at what is happening now. Health issues will probably prevent them from being there in body but they will definitely be there in spirit.

Join us on September 12 as we take our message to Washington, DC. Buses are filling up fast ... starting from Staunton with pickup points along I-81.

Together ... we WILL make a difference!