It is the 70^th anniversary of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. Thank God we have living Americans still among us who remember that terrible morning.  Cherish them, and if you have access to any of them, ask them about it.  While you still can.

Of the many enduring lessons of December 7, 1941, none resonates more than the importance of preparedness.  As a nation, we must remember that constant vigilance is not just the price of freedom, but the price of survival itself.

As individuals, we can practice that in microcosm.  As I mentioned in my last entry, my sweetheart’s grandson is with us for the week. He’ll be going through Marine boot camp this coming year, and we’re trying to give him a running start on the small arms side. Great warriors of WWII, from Col. John George in the Pacific Theater to Audie Murphy in the European, owed much of their success (and their survival!) in combat to the fact that they had both been serious shooters before the events of 12/7/41 put them in uniform fighting for their country.

In the last few days, the grandson has been briefed on the takedown, reassembly, and assorted subtleties of the M16/M4/AR15 platform by a recently retired Command Sergeant Major of the US Army Special Forces, and a Navy vet Colt armorer. They did the same for him with the Beretta M9 pistol, and shared their wisdom as to successful military life. A top Class III weapons specialist got the kid up and running with full auto.  So far he has qualified, though not yet made Expert and earned a Rifleman patch, at an Appleseed rifle event.  I tender my personal, deepest thanks to all who helped.

He shot a 588 out of 600 on a pistol course today with the Beretta and military ball ammo, extraordinary for someone new to the gun, but the kid is a quick study and implements instructions remarkably well.  The AR15 is already becoming an extension of his hands, and he is putting the 5.56mm NATO bullets where he’s told to put them. I have a couple more days with him, and the already four-figure count of spent brass is going to multiply on the long range shooting bays here.

In macrocosm for nations, in microcosm for individuals, the rule holds true: bad things are less likely to happen to those prepared to deal with those bad things. The warning of Santayana remains valid: those who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.

It’s a good time to hug an American who wore, or wears, our nation’s uniform, and to say the never-trite, “Thank you for your service.”

The young man gets his first taste of full auto fire with HK MP5 submachine gun, courtesy of a local Class III dealer.

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A pleasant senior citizen couple living out the remainder of their golden years in a quiet, bucolic place.

A madman.

Bad combination. See the link below, sent to me this morning by a nationally respected police chief.

http://www.king5.com/news/Elderly-Humptulips-man-was-shot-with-crossbow-wife-attacked-with-axe-133395258.html

I am reminded of the two teen thrill killers who conned their way into the home of a beloved couple in Hanover, New Hampshire some years ago. Google “Zantop Murders.” The little fiends butchered that good man and woman like Jack the Ripper.

Not long before the atrocity, the same pair had surrounded a home in nearby Vermont, cut the power lines, and attempted the same thing. This time, though, they were met by a dad who protected his kids with a Glock drawn from his ever-present holster, and fled like the cowards they were.

There is, I submit, a lesson in this.

It’s why I carry a handgun at all times when on my own rural property. When a sudden, unprovoked attack comes, there won’t be time to run to the gun safe.

Condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. May others learn from their sacrifice, that it may not be repeated.

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On 9/11/11, my old friend Tom Gresham dedicated his radio show “Gun Talk” to the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on our country. He brought in many of us to comment. I made my contribution from a cell phone at the Harrisburg Hunters & Anglers Club, where I was teaching, and mentioned the fact that this region had just been hit with what the newspapers were calling a “hundred year flood,” and “The Great Flood of 2011.”

It was a microcosm of the spirit that pervaded America in general and the city of New York in particular after the atrocity of a decade before.  People working together and helping each other. As in the incident of ten years ago, transportation had been shut down. Some of the students couldn’t make it to the class; some roads into Harrisburg were closed by the flood.  Flying in from the east coast, I’d been stranded in Philadelphia during the massive rainstorms that caused the flood, and had to rent one of the last cars available at the airport to drive to Harrisburg through solid downpour.

The class still went on, as life went on after 9/11/01.  Thousands of people had to be evacuated as the Susquehanna River rose.  Countless homes were ruined.  There were injuries and deaths. The inconvenience most of us suffered was, by comparison, insignificant.

Yet, coming at the time of the somber anniversary of The Atrocity, it showed that the resilience of American spirit was alive and well.  People helping people…helping neighbors, helping strangers.

We have among us senior citizens who remember The Great Depression.  Who remember World War II, from which a generation returned from the horrors of man’s inhumanity to man to create “golden years” of peace, prosperity, and productivity.

Their spirit still lives, and it’s something of which all of us in this great nation can be proud.

 The threat of terrorism still hangs over our nation, as seen in this headline in the days before the anniversary of 9/11…

…and when the flood devastated the area along the Susquehanna, neighbors helped neighbors and even strangers, in the best American tradition…

 …below is the Harrisburg Hunters and Anglers range where  I was teaching, the high water on the trap range visible beforehand and the flooded practical pistol range in the background behind the trees. Volunteers are already repairing it.

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History repeats itself. Monster commits mass murder in the most cowardly ways. Bomb in building, because there might have been armed police and security nearby if he had tried to kill the innocent one on one. THEN goes to an island where he knows there are no armed police OR armed citizens, and shoots helpless young people like the proverbial fish in a barrel…and surrenders as soon as armed protectors arrive, even though they’re too late to stop the horror.

Proving once again that “gun free zones” are places where only those who laugh at the law will be armed…”zones” that might better be called hunting preserves for psychopathic killers.

This never would have happened in Israel. After the Maalot Massacre of schoolchildren decades ago, Israel adopted a program wherein volunteer school personnel and adult family members of students were trained by the civil guard, and placed – discreetly armed with concealed 9mm pistols – in the schools and among the chaperones of off-campus youth activities.  Every subsequent attempt by terrorists to mass-murder children was cut short by these armed citizens.  Mass murders at schools ceased to be the terrorist strategy of choice in Israel. The same protective strategy has been employed in Peru and in the Philippines.

History shows us that evil people with weapons can only be stopped from murdering the innocent by good people with weapons.  We saw it in macrocosm in World War II. We see it in microcosm every time an armed citizen beats and armed criminal at his own game.

And, had there been even ONE armed protector on that helpless little island, we might have seen it in Norway last Friday, and the lives of countless innocent victims might have been saved.

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When I was a little kid, it never occurred to my classmates and I that some crazed adult might burst into the elementary school and attempt to murder us. Back in that day, the people likely to do that were institutionalized in the state asylum for the insane.
My friend and student Tony Rodriguez, a street cop and SRO (School Resource Officer, a law enforcement assignment that has sadly become necessary today), offers us the sobering reflection that follows. Thanks, Tony!

Hello All:

I hope this e-mail finds you blessed and safe.

I am sending this e-mail to all my brothers and sisters in public safety, education and ministry because I think this is relevant to all three areas.

I wanted to share a quick story with you about a conversation I had a few days ago with an 8 year old. Sadly, it showed me how times have changed and how our present day violence has impacted the lives of even our youngest children for the worse.

On Thursday I was asked to help at our after school program because several of the normal staff came down sick. These kids range in age from 6-10 years old. They are used to seeing me in an “officer” role (in uniform) all the time since I stop in and see them at least once a week.

This time, it was my day off and I came in regular dress. Immediately, this little girl says “Hey! Where is all your cop stuff!” At first I thought she was trying to be funny/cute as kids are at that age. I told her that, even I get a day off and wanted to come in just to spend it with them for fun! (Even though you guys know I carry enough stuff to give a metal detector a stroke!…wasn’t going to tell them that)

That’s when she took the conversation in a direction that I wasn’t expecting:

She proceeded to ask me how I was going to protect them (the entire group) if someone came in and was a “bad person” I told her that I didn’t think she had to worry about it and that if something came up the adults would handle it.

In the best sarcastic tone I’ve ever heard out of a kid she said: “How can you handle it! You don’t have your police gun or even your handcuffs!”

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I asked her why she was so worried about it…she simply said “people shoot kids all the time now!”
That started an entire conversation in the group of kids about their fears of violence.

After talking about it for 10-15 minutes with them, I was shocked at how well (unfortunately) they understood the concept of school and societal violence as a whole at that age.

These issues were NEVER a consideration when I was growing up, yet today, this is THEIR REALITY and they are keenly aware of it.

This entire experience made me reflect on just how much our society has changed, even in the last 10 years. I was talking with the 5th grade teacher I work with during my D.A.R.E. sessions and she reminded me of a simple fact that I think we often forget. We have been at war continuously for the past decade defending ourselves and fighting for our Nation’s survival. War and conflict is all these children have known.

I’ve said all that to simple say:

Take care of the babies! They shouldn’t have to live in this kind of world. Whatever profession you are in, fight to make it better for them. I believe that one of the best ways to bless our world other than straight out evangelism is to love our children more than we love even ourselves. That should be one of our primary witness tools to others.

That is all for now.

Keep your faith strong and your mind focused
Blessings to all,
Antonio

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