I am Matthew D. Kirkpatrick, LtCol USAF (Retired),  and I am extremely honored to have been selected by the joint leadership of those great veteran's organization -- The American Legion andthe V.F.W. -- to speak to you and help celebrate this Armistice day set aside in 1919 by President Woodrow Wilson to remind Americans of the horrors and tragedies of war.  Since l954,  this well deserved holiday has been called Veterans day to honor all United States' veterans. As I said,  I am honored to be here and I am proud that I am a veteran and a citizen of this great town of Bainbridge, Georgia.   As I look out at this beautiful square and at all of you people who came here to celebrate this great day,  I am reminded of when I first came to Bainbridge in August 1954 -- just a short 38 years ago.  I had just graduated from the United States Naval Academy,  just one year after Ross Perot,  by the way,  and my orders said that I was to relocate to Bainbridge Air Base, Bainbridge,  Georgia to commence Pilot Training in Class 55-T.  My first question, naturally was where in the world is Bainbridge, Ga.??   I got my road maps out
though, and sure enough there was a little dot at the intersection of Hwy. 27 and  Hwy. 84 called Bainbridge.  So in August 1954,  I packed my bags and jumped into my brand new 1954 Chevrolet Belair convertible, which was Romany Red and Indian Ivory,

My red Chevrolet Convertible was a big hit in this town because Rich Chevrolets',  Jimmy Partee, called me not long after I arrived and asked to borrow my car to be used in Marvin Griffin's home coming parade.  Marvin had just been elected Governor.  At first I said no,  but he promised to clean it up,  wax it,  fill the tank with gas, and even let me drive in the parade.  So,  I gave in, primarily for the free wax job...  They cleaned and waxed my car until you could see your face in it and put a small sign on it for the Chamber of Commerce.  In the parade,  I drove my car with two chamber members in the back seat,  around town and the square,  and I enjoyed every minute of it.  I only knew about five people in this town,  but I waved at the large crowd like I had been living here all of my life.  After that,  the town grew on me -- I got married to a local girl in Feb. 55 and this wonderful town has been a part of my life ever since.

Now look at me,  here I am thirty-eight years later:  A retired Lieutenant Colonel,  a retired Decatur County school teacher,  and a proud veteran of the Southeast Asian War -- commonly known as the war in Vietnam. That was the war that was run by the politicians.  The military was force to fight that war with their arms tied behind their backs.  That was the war that so many people hated and demonstrated against.  Draft dodgers, radicals, students,  the unpatriotic,  and many well known anti-war activists, like Jane Fonda and Bill Clinton, burned flags, fled to Canada, and held hands with our enemies in North Vietnam and Laos.   In 1969 and 1970 when Bill Clinton was in England and Russia demonstrating against the war and the United States,  I was deeply involved in the war,  flying extremely hazardous combat missions over the Ho Chi Ming Trail in Laos with the 20th Special Operations Squadron (Pony Express) stationed in Udorn RTAFB, Thailand.  I flew the CH-3E  helicopter, " Jolly Green Giant "to some,  for 228 combat missions of which 120 were in Laos primarily in and around the Ho Chi Ming Trail and the Plain of Jars.  I flew with Air America flying indigenous Laotian forces which were recruited, armed, trained and led by the CIA.  I had three different helicopters that I was flying hit by many rounds of automatic weapons fire and there were times that I wondered if I would ever see my wife and family again.  I was 40 years old then,  but I came home... I made it through my year in combat and I am proud of what small but significant part I played in the war effort.  I am also proud of all the other young men and women who put themselves in harm's way for our great country.  As Stephen Decatur said,  "Our country: In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be right; but our country, right or wrong."

The Gulf War has somewhat healed our nation and more importantly,  it has shown the world that the United States military is the strongest  and best in the world.   But,  the cold war is over,  the Berlin Wall has been torn down,  the old Soviet Union no longer exists,  and communism around the world is almost dead.  Latvia,  Estonia, and Lithuania are independent countries again;  Germany is united;  Poland is free as are the other countries of Eastern Europe.  Even Angola and Mozambique in Africa are trying to change from communism.  Sounds great, doesn't it?  We no longer have to fear a nuclear war,  so the first thing all of the politicians want to do is cut the military forces-- cut the military's big budget, so to speak.   But,  we cannot allow our military to become weak. We must make sure they are strong enough to respond to any crises around the world.  There is too much instability in this world -- Ethnic conflicts abound throughout the old Soviet Union.  Look at what is happening in Yugoslavia -- people are dying by the thousands in this ethnic cleansing fiasco caused by Serbia.  There are conflicts and some fighting in a lot of the other republics and even hard-line communists are marching in the streets of Moscow trying to cause the down fall of Boris Yeltsin who is certainly trying to lead Russia to become a democracy with a free market economy.  Thousands of Soviet missiles still remain targeted at the United States and Western Europe.  There are severe problems in countries of Africa -- Ethiopia, Somalia, The Sudan, Angola, and Liberia.

In conclusion then,  we must keep our military strong;  constantly prepared and ready to respond to any crisis anywhere in the world.  We must be consistently ready and willing to fight for freedom and to preserve our heritage. In this fight,  our veterans represent an important segment of America.  Their valor in time of conflict, their loyalty and patriotism,  their willingness to face danger or even give their lives for our country are the most noble attributes that any group can possess.  I salute all of you veterans!!! To me you are the TRUE HEROES of our society!!!!!

Have a good Veteran's Day !!!    Thank you.