On this episode of Our American Stories, we’re celebrating the 4th of July. The Our American Stories team attended a naturalization ceremony in Memphis, Tennessee and got to hear the personal stories of new U.S. citizens. The famous 4th of July speech at Independence Hall by John F. Kennedy in 1962 when the it was discovered that the Soviet Union planned to instal missiles in Cuba to attack the United States. We hear from long time listener, Dennis Peterson, about his experiences and memories of Independence Day.
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Time Codes:
00:00 - Celebrating 4th of July with Newly Minted American Citizens
25:00 - JFK on the 4th of July
35:00 - OAS Listener tells his life story in 4th of July
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories.
And today, all show long, we're celebrating Independence Day. All
show long, we're celebrating this great country. And we can't
think of any better way to celebrate America than to
report from the great celebrations that mint new American citizens.
Our crew attended a naturalization ceremony in Memphis, which is
(00:34):
about an hour north of US, and seventy people from
over thirty different countries became American citizens. We were blessed
to talk to many of them. Here's our own Monty
Montgomery with a story. Each year, on average, eight hundred
and sixty thousand people across the country become full fledged
(00:55):
US citizens, and they come from all corners of the globe,
enticed by the promise of America. One of those people
was Wilson Echo, a man escaping political turmoil in Nigeria
who actually had his first job right after arriving here.
I came here at two thousand and six September fifteenth.
(01:16):
Actually then the next day I was on Wednesday. The
next day I was already I had my first job
with the roof in the building, he said one of
our church member. He actually I was so happy. You know,
I walked out the very day he gave me one
hundred dollars. He took us to dinner. You know, he
(01:37):
brought me some paints and choose you know how like, wow,
one hundred dollars. Yeah, he was so trailed by the
things I did that there, you know, I put shingles
on my head, carried up to the state, you know,
to the roof. He said, can I do that again?
I put it on my head again, climbed without holding it,
(01:58):
you know, so come back down. Then put it in
bucket of nails on my head without watching it, climbed
off to the roof again, came down. He said, wow,
do you know that you can make money doing this?
Just a little. And Wilson's experience with churches giving him
a helping hand isn't unique to him. Across America. Every
(02:20):
year church's house feed and get immigrants to our country
on their feet. And that's made an impression on Wilson.
I have met great people at the church, in a
school and rock places. You know, you can meet some
bad people, but I would say that I have had
a great and continue to have great people around me.
(02:45):
We next spoke to two Indian immigrants, Robbie and her
daughter Malika, who was the one being naturalized that day.
For Robbie, bringing her family to America was a no
brainer given their circumstances. The time. Place I come from
as Kashmir, there's a little bit of a civil war
going on there. It's kind of scary. We have a
scatter raise kids there. The situation in Kashmir being a
(03:07):
little scary is a little bit of an understatement, to
say the least. Kashmir is a disputed area among three countries, India, Pakistan,
and China, with India and Pakistan going to war with
each other several times over it. Fifty two one hundred
thousand people have died in this conflict, but the exact
number is unknown because so many have gone missing. We
(03:31):
next spoke to Malika about what her aspirations in America were.
I want to serve in the military. I really love
this country and I feel like it's done a lot
for me and I want to give back in like
whatever way I can. And I know that sounds a
little silly, but I also like growing up my dad
(03:51):
every day was basically like Malka, you have to love
this country because like this country has so much potential,
but how does being naturalized feel? From Alika, I kind
of started crying the other night because I was like, Wow,
it's a big day, because like I've always felt like
I've belonged because i came here when i was three,
and I've never really felt like I was an American,
(04:13):
but like to have it on paper, to be able
to vote, I'm so excited to be able to do that.
We next spoke to a man named Isaac James, who
immigrated from Kenya at a young age. Isaac actually partook
in the formal part of naturalization that day, reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance in front of everyone there, something he
(04:34):
was happy to do. So I'm very excited the site
and day. So the Pledge of Allegion is something very
significant to the United States, and I feel as if
to say it means that I'm officially a part of
the United States, and so I'm very excited to say it. So.
I was actually born in the refugee camp in Kenya.
My family is from Sudan, and due to the civil
war in Sudan, we had to seek right fugit Tinya
(04:54):
and so we came over in two thousand and one,
I was four. I don't remember much of it. I can.
I've pictured in the back of my head about just
sort of the atmosphere of it. I remember the huts
and everything. And as a kid, I know, I remember,
you know, walking around naked and just playing around, you know,
just doing kids things and just playing soccer and hanging
out with all the refugee children from different countries. So
(05:16):
that's all I knew, right, That's all I knew that
the world was. And so come to the United States.
I mean, the United States has way more than what
refg capp of Kenya ads, and so it was a
culture shock, it was a society change. It was just
something different. It's something new, something exhilarated that I never
really experienced. We moved so through the United Nations. We
(05:36):
were relocated in Memphis, and then we got involved with
Catholic charities and they really became our foundation. For the
first three to six months. They were the ones that
took my mom and our family to our health appointments.
So they took us to the doctors, they got us
to our appointments with immigration, and so they're the ones
(05:57):
that really set our foundation here on the Ued States.
They continue to check on, check up on us after that,
just to make sure that we were becoming a customed
to the American way and we were developing in our
English and doing well in our schools. Then I'm going
down to Rollins College to get my bachelor's. I'm a
business major, and so I really hope to go back
(06:17):
and impact the area with what I've learned in the
business field and really just take back the skills that
I have and developed that Third world economy. And at
the end of the day, if I could get a
position with the United Nations, and they have like an
economic development department, and I would love to be a
part of that and really just give my life to
serving those that are in refugee camps because I've been there.
(06:39):
They need hope and they need to be giving hope.
And if I can be a part of that's that's
okay with me to give my life to that. How
am I suburn today? I have worked at four o'clock
and you've been listening to voices from all over the
world talking about taking that oath of allegiance. Actually, if
(07:00):
you've ever seen it done, it's a spectacular thing. The
immigrants have to study the country, study the founding documents,
and in the end they declare their independence. We're going
to continue with our Independence Day special, celebrating the declaration
of independence all show long and the way it manifests
itself still today in the lives of everyone who comes here.
(07:21):
This is our American Story. Le Habibi here the host
of our American Stories. Every day on this show, we're
bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories from
our big cities and small towns. But we truly can't
(07:44):
do the show without you. Our stories are free to
listen to, but they're not free to make. If you
love what you hear, go to our American Stories dot
com and click the donate button. Give a little, give
a lot. Go to our American Stories dot com and give.
(08:09):
And we returned to our American Stories in our special
fourth of July edition. Right now, we're celebrating America through
the stories of newly minted Americans in a naturalization ceremony
in Memphis, Tennessee, again just an hour north of where
we broadcast this show in beautiful Oxford, Mississippi. Let's continue
(08:29):
with the story. Although, as you've heard, immigrants come to
the US from all corners of the globe. A very
sizable majority of them come from Mexico, about twenty five
percent to be exact. We spoke with a brother and
sister duo from there, where their dad was a farmer,
and we asked them why they came here here. You know,
(08:53):
you got an opportunity grow and try to be somebody
in and over there you stugged with it. If you've
got a farm, you can make enough to just live
day by day, but you have no future, and then
if you ever have a family, it's gonna be the
same process. And like over there, I feel like it's
just so hard to go anywhere, you know, staying at
a farm because whenever you do have a good crop,
they don't pay you good for it, and when the
(09:14):
crop is high, you don't have enough crop to sell,
you know. So I think it's just it's just so
hard to make a living over there. It turned out
that their family didn't get to come here all at once.
Their dad actually came first, so we asked them what
that experience was like. My dad had come here way
(09:36):
before we did, so he would just go back and forth,
so we didn't see him all the time. He basically
all he did was work. That's all he did when
he was here by himself, because he was gonna work
from pretty much from sunrise and sunset and then go
home or go like they would go to Walmart once
a week get the lunch. If just a bunch of
guys living together, they're pretty much the same thing. It
was them here and their families, so over there. I
think with him, the hardest thing was leaving us. You know,
(09:58):
he would go back three months, come back six making
enough money to go back another the three months because
you know, he was supporting a family, and then thinking
about going back three months without you know, you would farm,
but only making enough to go live. But you know,
you always be thinking about what if one of the
guys in the family gets sick or something. You know,
he has to have enough money to cover that, the
expenses and all this. So it was hard for him
(10:21):
leaving us, I think, and it was hard for my mom,
you know, staying over there and taking care of us
while he was here. But he would be sending money back,
you know, once a week, a certain amount of his
paper check. You know, he was sending back home and
try to save the other one forever whenever he did
to go, you know, just making that trip every year.
It gets expensive, this traveling expenses. Thanks to his sacrifice,
(10:42):
we're here, so we're like, you know, we need to
take advantage of it because you know how many people
would would die for having an opportunity to come to this,
to the place, you know, because it's a great place
to be. Now that we're all here, we all we've
been sticking like a family pretty good. So we've all
worked better to you know, if one of us gets
a lot of money, we try to help all the
rest of them. So that's how we've been. But yeah,
(11:04):
we always thank them or you know, the sacrifice he did,
because it was a big one. We next spoke to
a man named Mohammed who was a physician from Pakistan,
and he said he came here for more opportunity. But
what opportunity do we provide that Pakistan doesn't. I'm a
physician by profession and bys Pakistan do have excellent physicians
(11:27):
over there, but yes, there are the training opportunities are
limited over there. So for me it was an excellent
chance to come and pursue that and to be more
you know, helpful in terms of serving humanity, getting better trained.
But we also offer something else besides opportunity that Mohammed
thinks the world though, there are several things that you
(11:48):
cannot say openly, Like you know, when it comes to
expressing your views about anything made be the religion, made
to be people, you have to be very cautious about
what you're saying because you know, because of the poor
law in order situation over there, you can't take a
risk of your life. But here, as long as you're
not you're obeying the laws, you can express yourself. So
(12:09):
that's what I like about it here. And it's not
that I was afraid of anything, but it's just that,
you know, we need to be more diverse in terms
of respecting other religions. Also, sometimes they don't get that
kind of respect over there, like other religions especially, So
that is interesting to see over here that you know,
people can be from any religion and they're being you know,
(12:31):
encouraged to practice the way they want as long as
they're not harming anyone else. We next spoke to another
Kenyan immigrant and we asked him what he was thinking
about and how he felt about the day, just thinking
about how far We have come from the struggle of
going out and finding food to where you could have
(12:53):
a better job, opportunities to work, and the food is
will around the corners. You have thoughts everywhere where where
I'm from stores of miles away and no transportation. You
literally have to walk twenty thirty miles depending on where
you live at. You know, this is really I'm really excited,
you know, becoming a citizen. Sometimes it gets emotional with
(13:16):
that I'm here, you know, as we spoke with a
woman from Mexico and for her naturalization day was a
family affair. Although she had been naturalized previously, her mother
had not. My name is Adrianna Roman and her name
is Grazila Kaka. She said she tornadd last November. She
(13:36):
loved the country and she's really happy here. So she
don't want to have trouble back and forth because we
have more family in Mexico than she like a back
and forth. So in this way she don't have to
have more issues a bad limited of time. It was
a good experience for the folk family because everybody participates,
(13:59):
even my grandpa participate. Everybody helped her to learn about
the questions about everything, you know, so everybody really exciting
about two day's days. The first time when she's going
to do the test, she passed a question, the city question,
boll and we was everybody surprised because we were suspecting
she felt. But she knew every question. She actually felt
(14:22):
in the personal questions, so we say has possible. But
she was a nervous you know. But the second times
was really nice and easy and she passed. So she's here.
She don't have words to describe because she's still thinking
this is like a dream. I don't think this has
happened to me, you know, but it is happening. So
(14:45):
it's really nice, and I think it's not just my mom.
All these people is here. They go through the same experience.
It is a lot of word to put into to
become a citizen. And she's right, well, the stories of
those who partake in naturalization ceremonies may all be different.
The ceremony itself is the same everywhere. They all take
(15:09):
the same quiz, they all sing our national anthem together,
and they all say the same oath of allegiance. Here
it is. In case you're wondering, raise your right hand
and repeat after me. Please I hereby declare an oath
that I absolutely and entirely renounce an abjuror all allegiance
(15:34):
and fidelity to any foreign prince or potentate state or
sovereignty of whom were which I have heretofore been a
subject or citizen. That I will support and defend the
(15:56):
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America
against all enemies, farn and domestic. That I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the same. That I will
bear arms on behalf of the United States when required
(16:21):
by the law. That I will perform noncombatant service in
the armed forces of the United States when required by
the law. That I will perform work of national importance
(16:41):
under civilian direction when required by the law. That I
take this obligation freely, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
So help me God, congratulations my fellow Americans. And great
(17:13):
work on that storytelling by Alex and by Monty on
the production of that piece. And my goodness, it makes
you cry. And if you've had family members or anybody
in your family witnessed this, I promise you go to
one of these naturalization ceremonies and let your kids hear
it and let your kids talk to these people who've
come from other places, because gratitude, well, it's attitude. It's everything,
(17:37):
their words, not ours. As always here on our American Stories,
we continue with our Independence Day special. More after these messages,
(18:09):
and we continue with our American Stories, and we return
to our Fourth of July's special. Up next, we bring
you a speech given by President John F. Kennedy on
July fourth, nineteen sixty two. Nearly a year earlier, the
US failed to invade Cuba in the Bay of Pigs operation,
shortly after the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall, and
(18:31):
almost a year after this speech, President Kennedy found out
that the Soviet Union began secretly installing missiles in Cuba
to launch attacks on the United States. The times were tense,
and in the middle of all of this, President Kennedy
gave a speech at Independence Hall on this day in history,
(18:51):
on July fourth, nineteen sixty two. Ladies and gentlemen, citizens
of Philadelphia. It is a high owner for any citizen
of the Great Republic to speak at this Hall of Independence,
on this day of Independence, to speak, as President of
(19:15):
the United States to the chief executives of our fifty
states is both an opportunity and an obligation. The necessity
for comedy between the national government and the several states
is an indelible lesson of our long history, because our
(19:39):
system is designed to encourage both differences and dissent, because
it's checks and balances are designed to preserve the rights
of the individual and the locality against preeminent sent from authority.
(20:00):
You and I, governors, both recognize how dependent we both
are one upon another for the successful operation of our
unique and happy form of government. Our system and our
freedom permits the legislative to be pitted against the executive,
(20:23):
the state against the federal government, the city against the countryside,
the party against party, interest against interest. All in competition
are in contention one with another. Our task is to
(20:46):
weave from all these tangle threads a fabric of law
and progress. Others may confine themselves to debate, discussion, and
that all at luxury free advice. Our responsibility is one
of decision, for the governors to choose. Thus, in a
(21:11):
very real sense, you and I are the executives all
the testament handed down by those who gathered in this
historic hall one hundred and eighty six years ago. Today
for they gathered to affix their names to a document
which was, above all else, a document, not a rhetoric,
(21:34):
but a bold decision. It was, it is true, a
document of protest, but protests had been made before. It
set forth their grievances with eloquence. But such eloquence had
been heard before. But what distinguished this paper from all
(21:55):
the others was the final, irrevocable decision that talk to
assert the independence of free states in case of colonies,
and to commit to that goal their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor. Today, one hundred and eighty six
(22:15):
years later, that declaration is still a revolutionary document. To
read it today is to hear a trumpet call for
that declaration unleased, not merely a revolution against the British,
bought a revolution in human affairs. Its authors were highly
(22:38):
conscious of its worldwide implications, and George Washington declared that
liberty and self government were, in his words, finally stated
on the experiment in trustee to the hands of the
American people. This prophecy has been bought out for one
(23:01):
hundred and eighty six years. This doctrine of national independence
has shaken the globe, and it remains the most powerful
face anywhere in the world. Today. There are those struggling
to eke out a bare existence in a barren land,
(23:21):
who have never heard of free enterprise, but who cherished
the idea of independence. If there is a single issue
in the world which divides the world, it is independent.
The independence of Berlin or laos of Vietnam, the landing
for independence behind the Iron Curtain, the peaceful transition to
(23:44):
independence in those newly emerging areas whose troubles some hope
to exploit. The theory of independence is as old as
man himself, and it was not invented in this Halt Party.
It was in this hall that the theory became a practice,
(24:04):
that the word went out to all in Thomas Jefferson's
praise that the God who gave us life gave us
liberty at the same time. And today, this nation, conceived
(24:26):
in a revolution, nurtured in liberty, maturing and independence, ours
nor intention of obdtaining its leadership in that worldwide movement
for independence, tiny nation or society permitted to system out
of German oppression. On Washington's birthday in eighteen sixty one,
(24:55):
standing right there, President Elect Abraham Lincoln spoke at this
hall on his way to the nation's capital, and he
paid a brief but eloquent tribute to the men who wrote,
who fought for, and who died for the Declaration of Independence.
(25:17):
Its essence, he said, was its promise not only of
liberty to the people of this country, but hope to
the world, hope that in due time the weights should
be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that
all should have an equal chance. On this fourth day
(25:40):
of July nineteen sixty two, we who are gathered at
this same hall, entrusted with the fate and future of
our states and nation, declare now all all to do
our part to lift the weights from the shoulders of all,
(26:02):
to join other man and nations in preserving both peace
and freedom, and to regard any threat to the peace
our freedom of one as a threat to the peace
and freedom of all. And for the support of this declaration,
(26:23):
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes,
and our sacred order. And a great job on that
(26:45):
by Joey. A remarkable speech by President Kennedy, indeed one
of the finest orders of the twentieth century, no doubt.
But it wasn't just the manner in which he spoke.
It's the words, and they're inspiring, they're accurate, They describe
properly the context of the Declaration of Independence and what
(27:07):
it unleashed on the world. What it unleashed on the world.
JFK's July fourth speech in nineteen sixty two. We're celebrating
Independence all show long here on July fourth. This is
our American Stories, and we return to our American stories
(27:39):
in our fourth of July special all show long. We're
celebrating the things that make America the special country that
it is. Up next, a story from Dennis Peterson. Dennis
is a writer from South Carolina, and today he shares
with us the stories of memorable experience as he's had
throughout his life. On Independence Day, take it away. John Adams,
(28:04):
our nation's first vice president, wrote to his wife Abigail,
after passage of the Declaration of Independence. He described how
he thought the day should be celebrated by future generations.
It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance
by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought
(28:26):
to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires,
and illuminations from one end of this continent to the
other from this time forward forevermore. Apparently, my father had
never heard about that quotation, because when I was a
(28:48):
kid growing up in East Tennessee, our celebrations of July
fourth were decidedly low key. We never had any fireworks,
not even a solid terry firecracker. Daddy thought fireworks were
too dangerous for us. You'll blow off your fingers or
put out an eye, he direly prophesied. I don't work
(29:12):
hard just so you can blow up my money, he declared.
So July fourth celebrations were quiet, reduced to a cookout
and maybe a few games of badminton in the backyard,
And we kids came through every July fourth with all
fingers and eyes. Intact, fireworks were illegal in Knox County.
(29:36):
One had to go to the fireworks stand just across
the county line in neighboring Union County to buy fireworks.
Regardless of their illegality. In Knox County, fireworks were ubiquitous
all over the county. On July fourth, the police simply
looked the other way, unless someone complained about unruly revelers.
(29:58):
A few times our family would drive into the State
Fairgrounds in Knoxville to watch the officially sanctioned fireworks display
held there every fourth but usually we had to be
content to watch them at home from a Greek distance.
We lived outside the city limits miles from the fairgrounds,
but if it was a clear night, we could see
(30:21):
some of the highest rockets and mortar shells burst on
the horizon beyond the ridges, and we could hear the
delayed booms of the explosions. We saw the color bursts
several seconds before we heard the report. In fact, the
colors often had fallen from view by the time the
sound of the boom reached us. After I was married
(30:44):
and was living in a row home in southeastern Pennsylvania,
the volunteer fire department of the little town sponsored and
conducted an impressive fireworks display at the nearby community park.
We didn't have to leave home to enjoy ninety percent
of the performance. Other townhouses blocked our view of ground displays,
but the aerial displays were just as if we had
(31:07):
been on the launching pad. People from outside our community
crowded into our development hours before dark, staking claim to
any empty parking spaces. As darkness fell, the residents gathered
their lawn chairs and their tiny postage stamp patches of lawns,
or aligned them along the sidewalks to ensure a good view.
(31:28):
And the firemen never disappointed us in the quality of
the fireworks they chose to feature. They always announced the
start of the performance by launching a huge mortar shell
that exploded high, high in the air, showering multicolored sparks
across the entire sky and rattling windows all over the community.
(31:50):
They left no one doubting when the fireworks would begin.
Then they proceeded to launch their featured fireworks for the
next twenty or thirty minutes. Everyone owed and odd at
the beautiful display of colors. Kids screamed with each ear splitting,
chest pounding explosion. Everyone voiced a running commentary of how
(32:14):
great the preceding display had been until the next one
interrupted their opinion, and that when produced an even more
laudatory commentary. They applauded and cheered loudly when the grand
finale was fired, and it was always the loudest, longest, highest,
and most colorful display of the night. But no matter
(32:34):
how long the performance lasted, every spectator was left wanting more,
and the firemen seemed to oblige by providing bigger and
better and longer lasting performances with each succeeding year. But
then one year, it all came to an ignominious end.
(32:56):
The echoes from the shot that announced the start of
the show had barely died away. The fireman had chosen
to begin with several ground displays, so those of us
who lived several blocks from the park couldn't see what
was happening, but we could hear their reports and the
whirrying of the spinning displays, and see their glow above
(33:16):
the rooftops. But then the sound of explosions became a
rolling and rumbling roar, and the glow above the rooftops
suddenly became much brighter, And then that sound was replaced
by an eerie silence. We saw only a dark sky
above us. Then we heard sirens and knew that something
(33:39):
was wrong. Then words spread like wildfire as an eye
witness ran back from the park with the horrifying news
a mortar had fallen over when one of the ground
displays was lit, and it had shot along the ground
right into the cache of combustibles, igniting them and scattering
(33:59):
explosives all over the park. The next day, a curious
youngster was exploring the burnt grounds of the park and
found one of the few fireworks that had not been
ignited by the conflagration. It exploded as he held it,
severing his thumb. After that tragedy, the volunteer fire department
(34:19):
refused to sponsor in another fireworks display. The risk was
too great. That was years ago. Our kids were so
young that I doubt if any of them remembers that event,
But after they were married, had kids of their own
and returned to visit on other fourths of July. I
(34:40):
wanted to give the grandkids a celebration to remember. A
few people in our small subdivision sometimes shot off a
few fireworks every year, but big or small, everyone enjoyed
the private fireworks displays. One year, I decided to join
the performers rather than remain a mere spectator, so I
(35:02):
bought a supply of assortid fireworks and laid out an
area of the backyard to be my launching pad. It
rained the afternoon of the fourth and the humidity remained high.
As darkness approached. Brief periods of sprinkles continued off and on,
but rain or no rain, the show would go on.
(35:24):
I lit the fuse on the first mortar round, designed
to be heard more than seen, and ran. I slipped
on the wet grass and nearly fell. The mortar did
its job, announcing to the whole neighborhood the beginning of
our performance. As we fired more and more of the
power techniques, the smoke got thicker. It got so thick
(35:47):
that I could hardly see the fuses as I tried
to light them in the rays of my weak flashlight.
Coughing and sputtering and slipping on the wet grass, I
kept the performance going. With neighbors also shooting their own fireworks,
our community sounded as though it were waging a small
civil war. One year, my niece Charity and her husband
(36:13):
Brandon visited over the fourth with their newly adopted baby
daughter brand While Brandon and I lit the fireworks, Charity
and my wife Connie watched. Toward the end of the display,
we lit one rocket and ran. The force of the
launch turned over the pad, rocketing the projectile toward the house,
(36:33):
right where the ladies were sitting. Thankfully, they were alert
and jumped aside just in time to avoid catastrophe. I
could just hear Daddy's warning from beyond the grave, you'll
lose a finger or an eye with fireworks. But over
the years, my appreciation for the fourth has grown. I've
(36:55):
realized increasingly what it is that we're celebrating on the fourth.
It's not about loud booms and bright and multicolored sparks.
We are celebrating our independence from government tyranny. We are
celebrating our freedom. That freedom did not come cheaply. It
was bought at a great price. With each crackle of firecrackers,
(37:19):
with each boom of a mortar shell, with every spray
of color and sparkle against the night sky, we should
be heating the advice of John Adams by offering our
thanks for the freedom we enjoy in this nation whose
birthday we're celebrating, and we should do so safely. And
(37:41):
a special thanks to Dennis Peterson for that submission, and
thank you to Monty for the production. And again, if
you have your Fourth of July stories or Independence Day stories,
send them to our American Stories dot com. Our Independence
Day celebration All show long here on our American story.
This is Lee Habib, and this is our American stories.
And today, all show long, we're celebrating Independence Day. All
show long, we're celebrating this great country. And we can't
think of any better way to celebrate America than to
report from the great celebrations that mint new American citizens.
Our crew attended a naturalization ceremony in Memphis, which is
(00:34):
about an hour north of US, and seventy people from
over thirty different countries became American citizens. We were blessed
to talk to many of them. Here's our own Monty
Montgomery with a story. Each year, on average, eight hundred
and sixty thousand people across the country become full fledged
(00:55):
US citizens, and they come from all corners of the globe,
enticed by the promise of America. One of those people
was Wilson Echo, a man escaping political turmoil in Nigeria
who actually had his first job right after arriving here.
I came here at two thousand and six September fifteenth.
(01:16):
Actually then the next day I was on Wednesday. The
next day I was already I had my first job
with the roof in the building, he said one of
our church member. He actually I was so happy. You know,
I walked out the very day he gave me one
hundred dollars. He took us to dinner. You know, he
(01:37):
brought me some paints and choose you know how like, wow,
one hundred dollars. Yeah, he was so trailed by the
things I did that there, you know, I put shingles
on my head, carried up to the state, you know,
to the roof. He said, can I do that again?
I put it on my head again, climbed without holding it,
(01:58):
you know, so come back down. Then put it in
bucket of nails on my head without watching it, climbed
off to the roof again, came down. He said, wow,
do you know that you can make money doing this?
Just a little. And Wilson's experience with churches giving him
a helping hand isn't unique to him. Across America. Every
(02:20):
year church's house feed and get immigrants to our country
on their feet. And that's made an impression on Wilson.
I have met great people at the church, in a
school and rock places. You know, you can meet some
bad people, but I would say that I have had
a great and continue to have great people around me.
(02:45):
We next spoke to two Indian immigrants, Robbie and her
daughter Malika, who was the one being naturalized that day.
For Robbie, bringing her family to America was a no
brainer given their circumstances. The time. Place I come from
as Kashmir, there's a little bit of a civil war
going on there. It's kind of scary. We have a
scatter raise kids there. The situation in Kashmir being a
(03:07):
little scary is a little bit of an understatement, to
say the least. Kashmir is a disputed area among three countries, India, Pakistan,
and China, with India and Pakistan going to war with
each other several times over it. Fifty two one hundred
thousand people have died in this conflict, but the exact
number is unknown because so many have gone missing. We
(03:31):
next spoke to Malika about what her aspirations in America were.
I want to serve in the military. I really love
this country and I feel like it's done a lot
for me and I want to give back in like
whatever way I can. And I know that sounds a
little silly, but I also like growing up my dad
(03:51):
every day was basically like Malka, you have to love
this country because like this country has so much potential,
but how does being naturalized feel? From Alika, I kind
of started crying the other night because I was like, Wow,
it's a big day, because like I've always felt like
I've belonged because i came here when i was three,
and I've never really felt like I was an American,
(04:13):
but like to have it on paper, to be able
to vote, I'm so excited to be able to do that.
We next spoke to a man named Isaac James, who
immigrated from Kenya at a young age. Isaac actually partook
in the formal part of naturalization that day, reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance in front of everyone there, something he
(04:34):
was happy to do. So I'm very excited the site
and day. So the Pledge of Allegion is something very
significant to the United States, and I feel as if
to say it means that I'm officially a part of
the United States, and so I'm very excited to say it. So.
I was actually born in the refugee camp in Kenya.
My family is from Sudan, and due to the civil
war in Sudan, we had to seek right fugit Tinya
(04:54):
and so we came over in two thousand and one,
I was four. I don't remember much of it. I can.
I've pictured in the back of my head about just
sort of the atmosphere of it. I remember the huts
and everything. And as a kid, I know, I remember,
you know, walking around naked and just playing around, you know,
just doing kids things and just playing soccer and hanging
out with all the refugee children from different countries. So
(05:16):
that's all I knew, right, That's all I knew that
the world was. And so come to the United States.
I mean, the United States has way more than what
refg capp of Kenya ads, and so it was a
culture shock, it was a society change. It was just
something different. It's something new, something exhilarated that I never
really experienced. We moved so through the United Nations. We
(05:36):
were relocated in Memphis, and then we got involved with
Catholic charities and they really became our foundation. For the
first three to six months. They were the ones that
took my mom and our family to our health appointments.
So they took us to the doctors, they got us
to our appointments with immigration, and so they're the ones
(05:57):
that really set our foundation here on the Ued States.
They continue to check on, check up on us after that,
just to make sure that we were becoming a customed
to the American way and we were developing in our
English and doing well in our schools. Then I'm going
down to Rollins College to get my bachelor's. I'm a
business major, and so I really hope to go back
(06:17):
and impact the area with what I've learned in the
business field and really just take back the skills that
I have and developed that Third world economy. And at
the end of the day, if I could get a
position with the United Nations, and they have like an
economic development department, and I would love to be a
part of that and really just give my life to
serving those that are in refugee camps because I've been there.
(06:39):
They need hope and they need to be giving hope.
And if I can be a part of that's that's
okay with me to give my life to that. How
am I suburn today? I have worked at four o'clock
and you've been listening to voices from all over the
world talking about taking that oath of allegiance. Actually, if
(07:00):
you've ever seen it done, it's a spectacular thing. The
immigrants have to study the country, study the founding documents,
and in the end they declare their independence. We're going
to continue with our Independence Day special, celebrating the declaration
of independence all show long and the way it manifests
itself still today in the lives of everyone who comes here.
(07:21):
This is our American Story. Le Habibi here the host
of our American Stories. Every day on this show, we're
bringing inspiring stories from across this great country, stories from
our big cities and small towns. But we truly can't
(07:44):
do the show without you. Our stories are free to
listen to, but they're not free to make. If you
love what you hear, go to our American Stories dot
com and click the donate button. Give a little, give
a lot. Go to our American Stories dot com and give.
(08:09):
And we returned to our American Stories in our special
fourth of July edition. Right now, we're celebrating America through
the stories of newly minted Americans in a naturalization ceremony
in Memphis, Tennessee, again just an hour north of where
we broadcast this show in beautiful Oxford, Mississippi. Let's continue
(08:29):
with the story. Although, as you've heard, immigrants come to
the US from all corners of the globe. A very
sizable majority of them come from Mexico, about twenty five
percent to be exact. We spoke with a brother and
sister duo from there, where their dad was a farmer,
and we asked them why they came here here. You know,
(08:53):
you got an opportunity grow and try to be somebody
in and over there you stugged with it. If you've
got a farm, you can make enough to just live
day by day, but you have no future, and then
if you ever have a family, it's gonna be the
same process. And like over there, I feel like it's
just so hard to go anywhere, you know, staying at
a farm because whenever you do have a good crop,
they don't pay you good for it, and when the
(09:14):
crop is high, you don't have enough crop to sell,
you know. So I think it's just it's just so
hard to make a living over there. It turned out
that their family didn't get to come here all at once.
Their dad actually came first, so we asked them what
that experience was like. My dad had come here way
(09:36):
before we did, so he would just go back and forth,
so we didn't see him all the time. He basically
all he did was work. That's all he did when
he was here by himself, because he was gonna work
from pretty much from sunrise and sunset and then go
home or go like they would go to Walmart once
a week get the lunch. If just a bunch of
guys living together, they're pretty much the same thing. It
was them here and their families, so over there. I
think with him, the hardest thing was leaving us. You know,
(09:58):
he would go back three months, come back six making
enough money to go back another the three months because
you know, he was supporting a family, and then thinking
about going back three months without you know, you would farm,
but only making enough to go live. But you know,
you always be thinking about what if one of the
guys in the family gets sick or something. You know,
he has to have enough money to cover that, the
expenses and all this. So it was hard for him
(10:21):
leaving us, I think, and it was hard for my mom,
you know, staying over there and taking care of us
while he was here. But he would be sending money back,
you know, once a week, a certain amount of his
paper check. You know, he was sending back home and
try to save the other one forever whenever he did
to go, you know, just making that trip every year.
It gets expensive, this traveling expenses. Thanks to his sacrifice,
(10:42):
we're here, so we're like, you know, we need to
take advantage of it because you know how many people
would would die for having an opportunity to come to this,
to the place, you know, because it's a great place
to be. Now that we're all here, we all we've
been sticking like a family pretty good. So we've all
worked better to you know, if one of us gets
a lot of money, we try to help all the
rest of them. So that's how we've been. But yeah,
(11:04):
we always thank them or you know, the sacrifice he did,
because it was a big one. We next spoke to
a man named Mohammed who was a physician from Pakistan,
and he said he came here for more opportunity. But
what opportunity do we provide that Pakistan doesn't. I'm a
physician by profession and bys Pakistan do have excellent physicians
(11:27):
over there, but yes, there are the training opportunities are
limited over there. So for me it was an excellent
chance to come and pursue that and to be more
you know, helpful in terms of serving humanity, getting better trained.
But we also offer something else besides opportunity that Mohammed
thinks the world though, there are several things that you
(11:48):
cannot say openly, Like you know, when it comes to
expressing your views about anything made be the religion, made
to be people, you have to be very cautious about
what you're saying because you know, because of the poor
law in order situation over there, you can't take a
risk of your life. But here, as long as you're
not you're obeying the laws, you can express yourself. So
(12:09):
that's what I like about it here. And it's not
that I was afraid of anything, but it's just that,
you know, we need to be more diverse in terms
of respecting other religions. Also, sometimes they don't get that
kind of respect over there, like other religions especially, So
that is interesting to see over here that you know,
people can be from any religion and they're being you know,
(12:31):
encouraged to practice the way they want as long as
they're not harming anyone else. We next spoke to another
Kenyan immigrant and we asked him what he was thinking
about and how he felt about the day, just thinking
about how far We have come from the struggle of
going out and finding food to where you could have
(12:53):
a better job, opportunities to work, and the food is
will around the corners. You have thoughts everywhere where where
I'm from stores of miles away and no transportation. You
literally have to walk twenty thirty miles depending on where
you live at. You know, this is really I'm really excited,
you know, becoming a citizen. Sometimes it gets emotional with
(13:16):
that I'm here, you know, as we spoke with a
woman from Mexico and for her naturalization day was a
family affair. Although she had been naturalized previously, her mother
had not. My name is Adrianna Roman and her name
is Grazila Kaka. She said she tornadd last November. She
(13:36):
loved the country and she's really happy here. So she
don't want to have trouble back and forth because we
have more family in Mexico than she like a back
and forth. So in this way she don't have to
have more issues a bad limited of time. It was
a good experience for the folk family because everybody participates,
(13:59):
even my grandpa participate. Everybody helped her to learn about
the questions about everything, you know, so everybody really exciting
about two day's days. The first time when she's going
to do the test, she passed a question, the city question,
boll and we was everybody surprised because we were suspecting
she felt. But she knew every question. She actually felt
(14:22):
in the personal questions, so we say has possible. But
she was a nervous you know. But the second times
was really nice and easy and she passed. So she's here.
She don't have words to describe because she's still thinking
this is like a dream. I don't think this has
happened to me, you know, but it is happening. So
(14:45):
it's really nice, and I think it's not just my mom.
All these people is here. They go through the same experience.
It is a lot of word to put into to
become a citizen. And she's right, well, the stories of
those who partake in naturalization ceremonies may all be different.
The ceremony itself is the same everywhere. They all take
(15:09):
the same quiz, they all sing our national anthem together,
and they all say the same oath of allegiance. Here
it is. In case you're wondering, raise your right hand
and repeat after me. Please I hereby declare an oath
that I absolutely and entirely renounce an abjuror all allegiance
(15:34):
and fidelity to any foreign prince or potentate state or
sovereignty of whom were which I have heretofore been a
subject or citizen. That I will support and defend the
(15:56):
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America
against all enemies, farn and domestic. That I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the same. That I will
bear arms on behalf of the United States when required
(16:21):
by the law. That I will perform noncombatant service in
the armed forces of the United States when required by
the law. That I will perform work of national importance
(16:41):
under civilian direction when required by the law. That I
take this obligation freely, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion.
So help me God, congratulations my fellow Americans. And great
(17:13):
work on that storytelling by Alex and by Monty on
the production of that piece. And my goodness, it makes
you cry. And if you've had family members or anybody
in your family witnessed this, I promise you go to
one of these naturalization ceremonies and let your kids hear
it and let your kids talk to these people who've
come from other places, because gratitude, well, it's attitude. It's everything,
(17:37):
their words, not ours. As always here on our American Stories,
we continue with our Independence Day special. More after these messages,
(18:09):
and we continue with our American Stories, and we return
to our Fourth of July's special. Up next, we bring
you a speech given by President John F. Kennedy on
July fourth, nineteen sixty two. Nearly a year earlier, the
US failed to invade Cuba in the Bay of Pigs operation,
shortly after the Soviet Union built the Berlin Wall, and
(18:31):
almost a year after this speech, President Kennedy found out
that the Soviet Union began secretly installing missiles in Cuba
to launch attacks on the United States. The times were tense,
and in the middle of all of this, President Kennedy
gave a speech at Independence Hall on this day in history,
(18:51):
on July fourth, nineteen sixty two. Ladies and gentlemen, citizens
of Philadelphia. It is a high owner for any citizen
of the Great Republic to speak at this Hall of Independence,
on this day of Independence, to speak, as President of
(19:15):
the United States to the chief executives of our fifty
states is both an opportunity and an obligation. The necessity
for comedy between the national government and the several states
is an indelible lesson of our long history, because our
(19:39):
system is designed to encourage both differences and dissent, because
it's checks and balances are designed to preserve the rights
of the individual and the locality against preeminent sent from authority.
(20:00):
You and I, governors, both recognize how dependent we both
are one upon another for the successful operation of our
unique and happy form of government. Our system and our
freedom permits the legislative to be pitted against the executive,
(20:23):
the state against the federal government, the city against the countryside,
the party against party, interest against interest. All in competition
are in contention one with another. Our task is to
(20:46):
weave from all these tangle threads a fabric of law
and progress. Others may confine themselves to debate, discussion, and
that all at luxury free advice. Our responsibility is one
of decision, for the governors to choose. Thus, in a
(21:11):
very real sense, you and I are the executives all
the testament handed down by those who gathered in this
historic hall one hundred and eighty six years ago. Today
for they gathered to affix their names to a document
which was, above all else, a document, not a rhetoric,
(21:34):
but a bold decision. It was, it is true, a
document of protest, but protests had been made before. It
set forth their grievances with eloquence. But such eloquence had
been heard before. But what distinguished this paper from all
(21:55):
the others was the final, irrevocable decision that talk to
assert the independence of free states in case of colonies,
and to commit to that goal their lives, their fortunes,
and their sacred honor. Today, one hundred and eighty six
(22:15):
years later, that declaration is still a revolutionary document. To
read it today is to hear a trumpet call for
that declaration unleased, not merely a revolution against the British,
bought a revolution in human affairs. Its authors were highly
(22:38):
conscious of its worldwide implications, and George Washington declared that
liberty and self government were, in his words, finally stated
on the experiment in trustee to the hands of the
American people. This prophecy has been bought out for one
(23:01):
hundred and eighty six years. This doctrine of national independence
has shaken the globe, and it remains the most powerful
face anywhere in the world. Today. There are those struggling
to eke out a bare existence in a barren land,
(23:21):
who have never heard of free enterprise, but who cherished
the idea of independence. If there is a single issue
in the world which divides the world, it is independent.
The independence of Berlin or laos of Vietnam, the landing
for independence behind the Iron Curtain, the peaceful transition to
(23:44):
independence in those newly emerging areas whose troubles some hope
to exploit. The theory of independence is as old as
man himself, and it was not invented in this Halt Party.
It was in this hall that the theory became a practice,
(24:04):
that the word went out to all in Thomas Jefferson's
praise that the God who gave us life gave us
liberty at the same time. And today, this nation, conceived
(24:26):
in a revolution, nurtured in liberty, maturing and independence, ours
nor intention of obdtaining its leadership in that worldwide movement
for independence, tiny nation or society permitted to system out
of German oppression. On Washington's birthday in eighteen sixty one,
(24:55):
standing right there, President Elect Abraham Lincoln spoke at this
hall on his way to the nation's capital, and he
paid a brief but eloquent tribute to the men who wrote,
who fought for, and who died for the Declaration of Independence.
(25:17):
Its essence, he said, was its promise not only of
liberty to the people of this country, but hope to
the world, hope that in due time the weights should
be lifted from the shoulders of all men, and that
all should have an equal chance. On this fourth day
(25:40):
of July nineteen sixty two, we who are gathered at
this same hall, entrusted with the fate and future of
our states and nation, declare now all all to do
our part to lift the weights from the shoulders of all,
(26:02):
to join other man and nations in preserving both peace
and freedom, and to regard any threat to the peace
our freedom of one as a threat to the peace
and freedom of all. And for the support of this declaration,
(26:23):
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes,
and our sacred order. And a great job on that
(26:45):
by Joey. A remarkable speech by President Kennedy, indeed one
of the finest orders of the twentieth century, no doubt.
But it wasn't just the manner in which he spoke.
It's the words, and they're inspiring, they're accurate, They describe
properly the context of the Declaration of Independence and what
(27:07):
it unleashed on the world. What it unleashed on the world.
JFK's July fourth speech in nineteen sixty two. We're celebrating
Independence all show long here on July fourth. This is
our American Stories, and we return to our American stories
(27:39):
in our fourth of July special all show long. We're
celebrating the things that make America the special country that
it is. Up next, a story from Dennis Peterson. Dennis
is a writer from South Carolina, and today he shares
with us the stories of memorable experience as he's had
throughout his life. On Independence Day, take it away. John Adams,
(28:04):
our nation's first vice president, wrote to his wife Abigail,
after passage of the Declaration of Independence. He described how
he thought the day should be celebrated by future generations.
It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance
by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought
(28:26):
to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires,
and illuminations from one end of this continent to the
other from this time forward forevermore. Apparently, my father had
never heard about that quotation, because when I was a
(28:48):
kid growing up in East Tennessee, our celebrations of July
fourth were decidedly low key. We never had any fireworks,
not even a solid terry firecracker. Daddy thought fireworks were
too dangerous for us. You'll blow off your fingers or
put out an eye, he direly prophesied. I don't work
(29:12):
hard just so you can blow up my money, he declared.
So July fourth celebrations were quiet, reduced to a cookout
and maybe a few games of badminton in the backyard,
And we kids came through every July fourth with all
fingers and eyes. Intact, fireworks were illegal in Knox County.
(29:36):
One had to go to the fireworks stand just across
the county line in neighboring Union County to buy fireworks.
Regardless of their illegality. In Knox County, fireworks were ubiquitous
all over the county. On July fourth, the police simply
looked the other way, unless someone complained about unruly revelers.
(29:58):
A few times our family would drive into the State
Fairgrounds in Knoxville to watch the officially sanctioned fireworks display
held there every fourth but usually we had to be
content to watch them at home from a Greek distance.
We lived outside the city limits miles from the fairgrounds,
but if it was a clear night, we could see
(30:21):
some of the highest rockets and mortar shells burst on
the horizon beyond the ridges, and we could hear the
delayed booms of the explosions. We saw the color bursts
several seconds before we heard the report. In fact, the
colors often had fallen from view by the time the
sound of the boom reached us. After I was married
(30:44):
and was living in a row home in southeastern Pennsylvania,
the volunteer fire department of the little town sponsored and
conducted an impressive fireworks display at the nearby community park.
We didn't have to leave home to enjoy ninety percent
of the performance. Other townhouses blocked our view of ground displays,
but the aerial displays were just as if we had
(31:07):
been on the launching pad. People from outside our community
crowded into our development hours before dark, staking claim to
any empty parking spaces. As darkness fell, the residents gathered
their lawn chairs and their tiny postage stamp patches of lawns,
or aligned them along the sidewalks to ensure a good view.
(31:28):
And the firemen never disappointed us in the quality of
the fireworks they chose to feature. They always announced the
start of the performance by launching a huge mortar shell
that exploded high, high in the air, showering multicolored sparks
across the entire sky and rattling windows all over the community.
(31:50):
They left no one doubting when the fireworks would begin.
Then they proceeded to launch their featured fireworks for the
next twenty or thirty minutes. Everyone owed and odd at
the beautiful display of colors. Kids screamed with each ear splitting,
chest pounding explosion. Everyone voiced a running commentary of how
(32:14):
great the preceding display had been until the next one
interrupted their opinion, and that when produced an even more
laudatory commentary. They applauded and cheered loudly when the grand
finale was fired, and it was always the loudest, longest, highest,
and most colorful display of the night. But no matter
(32:34):
how long the performance lasted, every spectator was left wanting more,
and the firemen seemed to oblige by providing bigger and
better and longer lasting performances with each succeeding year. But
then one year, it all came to an ignominious end.
(32:56):
The echoes from the shot that announced the start of
the show had barely died away. The fireman had chosen
to begin with several ground displays, so those of us
who lived several blocks from the park couldn't see what
was happening, but we could hear their reports and the
whirrying of the spinning displays, and see their glow above
(33:16):
the rooftops. But then the sound of explosions became a
rolling and rumbling roar, and the glow above the rooftops
suddenly became much brighter, And then that sound was replaced
by an eerie silence. We saw only a dark sky
above us. Then we heard sirens and knew that something
(33:39):
was wrong. Then words spread like wildfire as an eye
witness ran back from the park with the horrifying news
a mortar had fallen over when one of the ground
displays was lit, and it had shot along the ground
right into the cache of combustibles, igniting them and scattering
(33:59):
explosives all over the park. The next day, a curious
youngster was exploring the burnt grounds of the park and
found one of the few fireworks that had not been
ignited by the conflagration. It exploded as he held it,
severing his thumb. After that tragedy, the volunteer fire department
(34:19):
refused to sponsor in another fireworks display. The risk was
too great. That was years ago. Our kids were so
young that I doubt if any of them remembers that event,
But after they were married, had kids of their own
and returned to visit on other fourths of July. I
(34:40):
wanted to give the grandkids a celebration to remember. A
few people in our small subdivision sometimes shot off a
few fireworks every year, but big or small, everyone enjoyed
the private fireworks displays. One year, I decided to join
the performers rather than remain a mere spectator, so I
(35:02):
bought a supply of assortid fireworks and laid out an
area of the backyard to be my launching pad. It
rained the afternoon of the fourth and the humidity remained high.
As darkness approached. Brief periods of sprinkles continued off and on,
but rain or no rain, the show would go on.
(35:24):
I lit the fuse on the first mortar round, designed
to be heard more than seen, and ran. I slipped
on the wet grass and nearly fell. The mortar did
its job, announcing to the whole neighborhood the beginning of
our performance. As we fired more and more of the
power techniques, the smoke got thicker. It got so thick
(35:47):
that I could hardly see the fuses as I tried
to light them in the rays of my weak flashlight.
Coughing and sputtering and slipping on the wet grass, I
kept the performance going. With neighbors also shooting their own fireworks,
our community sounded as though it were waging a small
civil war. One year, my niece Charity and her husband
(36:13):
Brandon visited over the fourth with their newly adopted baby
daughter brand While Brandon and I lit the fireworks, Charity
and my wife Connie watched. Toward the end of the display,
we lit one rocket and ran. The force of the
launch turned over the pad, rocketing the projectile toward the house,
(36:33):
right where the ladies were sitting. Thankfully, they were alert
and jumped aside just in time to avoid catastrophe. I
could just hear Daddy's warning from beyond the grave, you'll
lose a finger or an eye with fireworks. But over
the years, my appreciation for the fourth has grown. I've
(36:55):
realized increasingly what it is that we're celebrating on the fourth.
It's not about loud booms and bright and multicolored sparks.
We are celebrating our independence from government tyranny. We are
celebrating our freedom. That freedom did not come cheaply. It
was bought at a great price. With each crackle of firecrackers,
(37:19):
with each boom of a mortar shell, with every spray
of color and sparkle against the night sky, we should
be heating the advice of John Adams by offering our
thanks for the freedom we enjoy in this nation whose
birthday we're celebrating, and we should do so safely. And
(37:41):
a special thanks to Dennis Peterson for that submission, and
thank you to Monty for the production. And again, if
you have your Fourth of July stories or Independence Day stories,
send them to our American Stories dot com. Our Independence
Day celebration All show long here on our American story.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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