May 26, 2025 • 31 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
President Trump gave a very moving speech. If you haven't
heard it, you're about to. In twenty twenty was at
Fort McHenry on Memorial Day. The Battle of Fort McHenry,
you'll recall, was immortalized by Francis Scott Key in the
Star Spangled Banner, so I found this as a rather
appropriate place for this speech to be delivered. This was
around the time that pro athletes were still kneeling for
(00:24):
the anthem, and a little history lesson about our anthem
and its meaning was important. It was a long speech,
but trust me, it's worth the listen.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I stand before you at this noble fortress of American
liberty to pay tribute to the immortal souls who fought
and died.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
To keep us free.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Earlier today, the first Lady and I later wreath then
their sacred honor at Arlington National Cemetery. Now we come
together to salute the flag they gave their lives to
so boldly and brilliantly defend, and we pledge in their
cherished memories that this majestic flag will proudly fly forever.
(01:07):
We're joined for today's ceremony by a number of service members,
and veterans of the armed forces. The dignity, daring, and
devotion of the American military is unrivaled anywhere in history
and any place in the world. In recent months, our
(01:28):
nation and the world have been engaged in a new
form of battle against an invisible enemy.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Once more.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
The men and women of the United States Military have
answered the call to duty and raced into danger. Tens
of thousands of service members and National Guardsmen are on
the front lines of our war against this terrible virus,
caring for patients, delivering critical supplies, and working night and
(01:57):
day to safeguard. Since as one nation, we mourn alongside
every single family that has lost love once including the families.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Of our great veterans.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Together we will vanquish the virus, and America will rise
from this crisis to new and even greater heights. As
our brave warriors have shown us from the nation's earliest days.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
In America, we are the captains of our own fate.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
No obstacle, no challenge, and no threat is a match
for the sheer determination of the American people. This towering
spirit permeates every inch of the hollow soil beneath our feet.
In this place More than two hundred years ago, American
patriots stood their ground and repelled a British invasion in
(02:54):
the Battle of Baltimore during the War of eighteen twelve.
Early on September morning in eighteen fourteen, the British fleet
launched an assault on this peninsula. From the harbor, some
thirty British warships attacked this stronghold. Rockets rained down, bombs
(03:14):
burst in the air, and the deck of one ship
A gallant young American was held captive. His name was
Francis Scott Key. For twenty five hours, Key watched in
dismay as fire crashed down upon this ground. But through
(03:36):
torrents of rain and smoke and the din of battle,
Key could make out fifteen broad stripes and fifteen bright stars,
barraged and battered, but still there. American forces did not waiver,
They did not retreat. They stared down the invasion and
(03:59):
the held that they had to endure. The fact is
they held like nobody could have held before.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
They held this fort.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
The British retreated, independence was saved. Francis Scott Key was
so inspired by the side of our flag in the
battle waged that the very grounds that he fought on,
became howled, and he wrote a poem. His ageless words
became the anthem of our nation.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
The Star Spangled banner.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Every time we sing our anthem, every time its rousing
chorus swells our hearts with pride, we renew the eternal
bonds of loyalty to our fallen heroes. We think of
the soldiers who spend their final heroic moments on distant
battlefields to keep us safe at home. We remember the
(04:56):
young Americans who never got the chance to grow old,
but whose legacy will outlive us all. In every generation,
these intrepid souls kissed goodbye to their families and loved ones.
They took flight in planes, set sail in ships, and
marched into battle with our flag, fighting for our country,
(05:21):
defending our people. When the cause of liberty was in jeopardy,
American warriors carried that flag through ice and snow to
victory at Trenton. They hoisted it up the mass of
great battleships in Manila Bay. They fought through hell to
raise it high atop a remote island in the Pacific
(05:44):
Ocean called Ewajima. From the Philippine Sea to Fallusia from
New Orleans to Normandy, from Saratoga to Saipan, from the
Battle of Baltimore to the Battle of the ball Americans
gave their lives to carry that flag through piercing waves,
(06:06):
blazing fires, sweltering deserts, and storms of bullets and shrapnel.
They climbed the top enemy tanks, jumped out of burning airplanes,
and leapt on live grenades. Their love was boundless, their
devotion was without limit, Their courage was beyond measure. Army
(06:31):
Green Beret Captain Daniel Eggers grew up in.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Cape Coral, Florida.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Determined to continue his family tradition of military service, and
it was a great tradition. He attended the legendary Citadel
Military College in South Carolina. Soon he met a beautiful cadet, Rebecca.
They fell in love, married and had two sons. In
two thousand and four, Daniel left for his second deployment
(07:00):
in Afghanistan. On the morning of May twenty ninth, Daniel
and his team were courageously pursuing a group of deadly
terrorists when he was killed by an improvised explosive device.
This week is the sixteenth anniversary of the day that
Daniel made the supreme sacrifice for our nation. He laid
(07:22):
down his life to defeat evil and to save his
fellow citizens. At the time of his death, Daniel's sons,
Billy and John were three and five years old.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Today they have followed.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
In Daniel's footsteps, both students at the Citadel, planning to
serve in the military. Their amazing mom, Rebecca, has now
served more than twenty three years in the US Army.
Everywhere she goes she wears Daniel's gold star pin on
the lapel of her uniform. Colonel and her two sons
(08:01):
are here today along with Daniels.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
Father, Bill and mother Margot.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
To the entire Eggars family, your sacrifice is beyond our
ability to comprehend the repay. Today we honor Daniel's incredible
life and exceptional valor, and we promise you that we
will treasure his blessed memory forever.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Thank you very much for being here. Thank you very much. Please,
thank you, thank you great family. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
As Michael Very Show continues, this is the second part
of President Trump's Memorial Day speech at Fort McHenry in
twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
And yes, we had to split it up. I want
you to hear it all.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
To every gold Star family here today and all across
our land. Our debt to you is infinite and everlasting.
We stand with you today and all days to come,
remembering and grieving for America's greatest heroes.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
In spirit and strength, and.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Loyalty and love, in character and courage, they were larger
than life itself.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
They were angels sent.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
From above, and they are now rejoined with God in
the glorious Kingdom of Heaven. Wherever the stars and stripes
fly at our schools, our churches, town halls, firehouses, and
national monuments, it is made possible because there are extraordinary
Americans who are willing to brave death so that we
(09:40):
can live in freedom and live in peace. In the
two centuries since Francis Scott Key wrote about the stirring
sight of our flag in battle, countless other American patriots
have given their own testimony about the meaning of the flag.
One was War World War two veteran Jim Kribbs from Sunbury, Ohio.
(10:05):
Jim and his twin brother Jack, fought side by side
in General Patton's Third Army at the Battle.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Of the Bulge.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
The twins volunteered for a dangerous mission together they took
out four enemy tanks, two machine gun nests, and a
mother position that was very powerful loaded up with mortars.
Jim's brother, Jack was mortally wounded. Jim held his dying
brother in his arms, praying together as his twin passed away.
(10:36):
Jim fought to victory and came home to build a
great American life. He married, had children, became an electoral engineer,
and taught young people about war. As an old man,
Jim was asked what about the American flag and what
it meant to him.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Jim said, the flag to me.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Is as precious as the freedom that the flag stands for.
It's as precious to me as the thousands of lives
that have been lost defending her.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
It's that important to me.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
It gave me a value of life that I could
have never gotten any other way. It gave me a
value of my Lord, my family, my friends, loved ones,
and especially my country.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
What more could I ask?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Last month, Jim died peacefully at his home at the
age of ninety four. This afternoon, we are greatly honored
to be joined by his grandsons Andy and Ron. Please,
thank you very much, Thank you very much, Thank you
very much.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
For being here.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Today as we remember the sacrifice of Jim's brother Jack.
We honor jim service and we are moved by his
beautiful words. Andy and Ron, thank you for being here
to remember your grandfather and his brother and what they
did for us all and most importantly, what they stood for.
From generation to generation, heroes like these have poured out
(12:14):
their blood and sweat and heart and tears for our country.
Because of them. America is strong and safe and mighty
and free.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Because of them.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Two centuries on, the Star Spangled banner still proudly waves.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
For as long as our.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Flag flies in the sky above, the names of these
fallen warriors will be woven into its threads. For as
long as we have citizens willing to follow their example,
to carry on their burden, to continue their legacy, then
America's cause will never fail and American freedom will never
(12:53):
ever die. Today we honor the heroes we have lost.
We pray for the love war ones they left behind,
and with God as our witness, we solemnly vow to protect, preserve,
and cherish this land they gave their last breath to
defend and to defend. So proudly, thank you God, bless
(13:18):
our military. God bless the memory of the fallen. God
bless our gold Star families, and God bless America.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
You're listening to.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
The Michael Berry's show.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Brigadier General John Dragon Tiger is the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary
of the Air Force International Affairs Department of the Air
Force Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He delivered a powerful keynote address
at the Memorial Day Service at the Bakersfield National Ceremony
back in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
So the poppies in southern California this year have been
absolutely stunning. It lived up to the hype of being
a super blue and those poppies covered fields, and they
covered hillsides, and they even covered the desert floor. But
about a century ago there was another super bloom in
Western Europe, and in that case, in the midst of
(16:03):
World War One, our soldiers found that poppies grew over
the battlefield in the midst of conflict, and sometimes over
those hastily created gravesides for our fallen. There was a
soldier named Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae who recognized this phenomenon
(16:23):
as a soldier there in the midst of World War
One in nineteen fifteen, and he wrote the following poem,
In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow between the crosses, row
on row that mark our place, and in the sky
the larks still bravely singing fly scarce heard amid the
(16:43):
guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago we lived,
felt dawn, saw sunset, glow, loved and were loved. And
now we lie in Flanders Fields. Take up our quarrel
with the foe to you from failing hands. We throw
(17:04):
the torch be yours to hold it high. If he
break faith with those who die, we shall not sleep
though poppies grow in flanders Field. John McCrae wrote that
with a very distinct and stark challenge from the dead
to the living, and the challenge was this hold high
(17:28):
the torch that they have passed to us, carry on
their incredible legacy. Fifty years later, General Douglas MacArthur gave
what is known as his farewell speech on May twelfth,
nineteen sixty two, at West Point, his alma mater, the
United States Military Academy, and he charged those cadets with
(17:49):
something similar to what was described in Flanders Fields, and
in part this is what he said. The long gray
line has never failed us. Were you to do so,
a million ghosts in olive, drab, in brown, khaki, in
blue and gray would rise from their white crosses, thundering
(18:14):
those magic words duty, honor Country. General MacArthur described exactly
the same thing. It is our responsibility to live up
to their legacy, the long gray line, those who have
gone on before us, and to remember them best of course,
(18:34):
by honoring them by our words, but more importantly, honoring
them by our actions, by carrying the torch for them.
Fifty years prior to Flanders Fields, our President Abraham Lincoln
stood on another battlefield, this time on this side of
the Atlantic Ocean, in a place known as Gettysburg in Pennsylvania,
(18:55):
and he gave a very poignant speech that started out
reminding us that words could not consecrate their actions any
better than their actions could, and indeed anything that we
say would fall short of what they have already done
to consecrate that place, that battlefield, and that cemetery. But
then he went on to challenge us with these words,
(19:17):
similar to the others, it is for us the living,
rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which
they who fought here have Thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to
the great task remaining before us, that from these honor
(19:37):
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we
here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died
in vain. President Lincoln's charge to us is to carry
on their unfinished work, to live up to their amazing
(19:59):
leg See what is that legacy? It was described brilliantly
by our president in nineteen forty four, President Roosevelt. We
are a few days away from the seventy fifth anniversary
of D Day, the invasion by Allied forces of Mainland
Europe on June sixth, nineteen forty four, and by the
(20:21):
end of that day, over one hundred and fifty Allied
troops set foot onto the soil of France to start
the cause of liberation in Mainland Europe during World War Two.
That evening, our President, on live radio, led this nation
in prayer, and in part this is what he said
about our legacy. They fight not for the lust of conquest.
(20:47):
They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate, They
fight to let justice arise and tolerance and goodwill among
all thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle,
for their return to the haven of home. On a
day like today, Memorial Day, and frankly throughout the calendar year,
(21:09):
it is absolutely right for us to honor those in
places laid to rest, like Flandersfield, like Gettysburg, like the
beaches of Normandy, like Bakersfield National Cemetery. It is right
to remember those fallen. But really, the best thing that
we can do to honor those fallen is to live
up to the legacy of justice and freedom and liberation
(21:33):
and tolerance and goodwill. And the best way that we
can serve them and to honor them is to carry
on their legacy, to hold their torch high though poppies grow.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
You're listening to the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 6 (21:53):
I read the news that day.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Our run O Reagan gave many famous and great speeches
as present. This is one of them. The deference that
he gave to the Vietnam veterans in this speech was
very important. The memorial was just four years old. It
had been surrounded by controversy when it was built. Everything
from the shape of the wall to the color was scrutinized.
The wounds of that war were still rather fresh. Ronald Reagan.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen
heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have
to die for us again. It's a day of thanks
for the valor of others, a day to remember the
splendor of America and those of her children who rest
in this cemetery and others. It's a day to be
(22:41):
with the family and remember. I was thinking this morning
that across the country, children and their parents will be
going to the town parade, and the young ones will
sit on the sidewalks and wave their flags as the
band goes by. Later, maybe they'll have a cookout or
a day at the beach. And that's good, because to
(23:02):
day is a day to be with the family and
to remember. Arlington, this place of so many memories, is
a fitting place for some remembering. So many wonderful men
and women rest here, men and women who led colorful,
vivid and passionate lives. There are the greats of the military,
(23:26):
Bull Halsey and the Admiral's Leahy father and son, black
Jack Pershing, and the Gies General Omar Bradley. Great men,
all military men but there are others here known for
other things. Here in Arlington rests a sharecropper's son who
became a hero to a lonely people. Joe Louis came
(23:49):
from nowhere, but he knew how to fight, and he
galvanized a nation in the days after Pearl Harbor when
he put on the uniform of his country and said,
I know we'll win because we're on God's side. Audie
Murphy is here, Audi Murphy, of the wild, wild courage.
(24:11):
For what else would you call it? When a man
bounds to the top of a disabled tank, stops an
enemy advance, saves lives, and rallies his men, and all
of it single handedly. When he radioed for artillery's support
and was asked how close the enemy was to his position,
he said, wait a minute, and I'll let you speak
(24:32):
to them. Michael Smith is here and Dick Scobe, both
of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Their courage wasn't wild, but thoughtful,
the mature and measured courage of career professionals who took
prudent risks for a great reward in their case to
advance the sum total of knowledge in the world. They
(24:55):
are only the latest to rest. Here they join other
great explorers with names like Grissom and Chaffey. Oliver Wendell
Holmes is here, the great jurist and fighter for the right.
A poet searching for an image of true majesty could
not rest until he seized on Holmes's dissenting in as
(25:16):
Sordid Age. Young Holmes served in the Civil War. He
might have been thinking of the crosses and stars of
Arlington when he wrote, at the grave of a hero,
we end not with sorrow at the inevitable loss, but
with the contagion of his courage, and with a kind
of desperate joy, we go back to the fight. While
(25:37):
all of these men were different, but they shared this
in common. They loved America very much. There was nothing
they wouldn't do for, and they loved with the sureness
of the young. It's hard not to think of the
young in a place like this, for it's the young
who do the fighting and dying when a peace failed
(26:00):
and a war begins. Not far from here is the
statue of the three Servicemen, the three Fighting Boys of Vietnam.
It too has majesty and more. Perhaps you've seen it.
Three rough boys walking together, looking ahead with a steady gaze.
There's something wounded about them, a kind of resigned toughness.
(26:23):
But there's an unexpected tenderness too. At first you don't
really notice, but then you see it. The three are
touching each other as if they're supporting each other, helping
each other on. I know that many veterans of Vietnam
will gather today, some of them perhaps by the wall,
and they're still helping each other on. They were quite
(26:47):
a group, the boys of Vietnam, boys who fought a
terrible and vicious war without enough support from home boys
who were dodging bullets. While we debated the efficacy of
the battle, it was often our poor who fought in
that war. It was the unpampered boys of the working
class who picked up the rifles and went on the march.
(27:10):
They learned not to rely on us, They learned to
rely on each other. And they were special in another way.
They chose to be faithful. They chose to reject the
fashionable skepticism of their time. They chose to believe and
answer the call of duty. They had the wild, wild
(27:31):
courage of youth. They seized certainty from the heart of
an ambivalent age They stood for something, and we owe
them something. Those boys, we owe them first a promise that,
just as they did not forget their missing comrades, neither
ever will we. And there are other promises. We must
(27:53):
always remember that peace is a fragile thing that needs
constant vigilance. We owe them a promise to look at
the world with the steady gaze and perhaps a resigned toughness,
knowing that we have adversaries in the world and challenges,
and the only way to meet them and maintain the
peace is by staying strong. That, of course, is the
(28:15):
lesson of this century, a lesson learned in the Pseudanan Land,
in Poland, in Hungary, in Czechoslovakia, in Cambodia. If we
really care about peace, we must stay strong. If we
(28:42):
really care about peace, we must, through our strength, demonstrate
our unwillingness to accept an ending of the peace.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
We must be.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Strong enough to create peace where it does not exist,
and strong enough to protect it where it does. That's
the lesson of this century, and I think of this day,
That's all I wanted to say. The rest of my
contribution is to leave this great place to its piece,
a piece it is earned. Thank all of you, and
(29:14):
God bless you and have a day.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Phillip Hnders.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
If your life the Michael Berry Show and Podcast, please
tell one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a
nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions, and interest
in being a corporate sponsor and partner can be communicated
directly to the show at our email address, Michael at
(29:39):
Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our website,
Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry Show and Podcast
is produced by Ramon Roeblis, the King of Ding. Executive
producer is Chad Knakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director.
(30:04):
Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLean.
Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily Bull is our
assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated
into our production. Where possible, we give credit, where not,
(30:27):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple
man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD. Call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(30:52):
a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free
counseling
The Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
President Trump gave a very moving speech. If you haven't
heard it, you're about to. In twenty twenty was at
Fort McHenry on Memorial Day. The Battle of Fort McHenry,
you'll recall, was immortalized by Francis Scott Key in the
Star Spangled Banner, so I found this as a rather
appropriate place for this speech to be delivered. This was
around the time that pro athletes were still kneeling for
(00:24):
the anthem, and a little history lesson about our anthem
and its meaning was important. It was a long speech,
but trust me, it's worth the listen.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
I stand before you at this noble fortress of American
liberty to pay tribute to the immortal souls who fought
and died.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
To keep us free.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Earlier today, the first Lady and I later wreath then
their sacred honor at Arlington National Cemetery. Now we come
together to salute the flag they gave their lives to
so boldly and brilliantly defend, and we pledge in their
cherished memories that this majestic flag will proudly fly forever.
(01:07):
We're joined for today's ceremony by a number of service members,
and veterans of the armed forces. The dignity, daring, and
devotion of the American military is unrivaled anywhere in history
and any place in the world. In recent months, our
(01:28):
nation and the world have been engaged in a new
form of battle against an invisible enemy.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Once more.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
The men and women of the United States Military have
answered the call to duty and raced into danger. Tens
of thousands of service members and National Guardsmen are on
the front lines of our war against this terrible virus,
caring for patients, delivering critical supplies, and working night and
(01:57):
day to safeguard. Since as one nation, we mourn alongside
every single family that has lost love once including the families.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Of our great veterans.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Together we will vanquish the virus, and America will rise
from this crisis to new and even greater heights. As
our brave warriors have shown us from the nation's earliest days.
Speaker 4 (02:26):
In America, we are the captains of our own fate.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
No obstacle, no challenge, and no threat is a match
for the sheer determination of the American people. This towering
spirit permeates every inch of the hollow soil beneath our feet.
In this place More than two hundred years ago, American
patriots stood their ground and repelled a British invasion in
(02:54):
the Battle of Baltimore during the War of eighteen twelve.
Early on September morning in eighteen fourteen, the British fleet
launched an assault on this peninsula. From the harbor, some
thirty British warships attacked this stronghold. Rockets rained down, bombs
(03:14):
burst in the air, and the deck of one ship
A gallant young American was held captive. His name was
Francis Scott Key. For twenty five hours, Key watched in
dismay as fire crashed down upon this ground. But through
(03:36):
torrents of rain and smoke and the din of battle,
Key could make out fifteen broad stripes and fifteen bright stars,
barraged and battered, but still there. American forces did not waiver,
They did not retreat. They stared down the invasion and
(03:59):
the held that they had to endure. The fact is
they held like nobody could have held before.
Speaker 4 (04:07):
They held this fort.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
The British retreated, independence was saved. Francis Scott Key was
so inspired by the side of our flag in the
battle waged that the very grounds that he fought on,
became howled, and he wrote a poem. His ageless words
became the anthem of our nation.
Speaker 4 (04:32):
The Star Spangled banner.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
Every time we sing our anthem, every time its rousing
chorus swells our hearts with pride, we renew the eternal
bonds of loyalty to our fallen heroes. We think of
the soldiers who spend their final heroic moments on distant
battlefields to keep us safe at home. We remember the
(04:56):
young Americans who never got the chance to grow old,
but whose legacy will outlive us all. In every generation,
these intrepid souls kissed goodbye to their families and loved ones.
They took flight in planes, set sail in ships, and
marched into battle with our flag, fighting for our country,
(05:21):
defending our people. When the cause of liberty was in jeopardy,
American warriors carried that flag through ice and snow to
victory at Trenton. They hoisted it up the mass of
great battleships in Manila Bay. They fought through hell to
raise it high atop a remote island in the Pacific
(05:44):
Ocean called Ewajima. From the Philippine Sea to Fallusia from
New Orleans to Normandy, from Saratoga to Saipan, from the
Battle of Baltimore to the Battle of the ball Americans
gave their lives to carry that flag through piercing waves,
(06:06):
blazing fires, sweltering deserts, and storms of bullets and shrapnel.
They climbed the top enemy tanks, jumped out of burning airplanes,
and leapt on live grenades. Their love was boundless, their
devotion was without limit, Their courage was beyond measure. Army
(06:31):
Green Beret Captain Daniel Eggers grew up in.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Cape Coral, Florida.
Speaker 3 (06:36):
Determined to continue his family tradition of military service, and
it was a great tradition. He attended the legendary Citadel
Military College in South Carolina. Soon he met a beautiful cadet, Rebecca.
They fell in love, married and had two sons. In
two thousand and four, Daniel left for his second deployment
(07:00):
in Afghanistan. On the morning of May twenty ninth, Daniel
and his team were courageously pursuing a group of deadly
terrorists when he was killed by an improvised explosive device.
This week is the sixteenth anniversary of the day that
Daniel made the supreme sacrifice for our nation. He laid
(07:22):
down his life to defeat evil and to save his
fellow citizens. At the time of his death, Daniel's sons,
Billy and John were three and five years old.
Speaker 4 (07:36):
Today they have followed.
Speaker 3 (07:38):
In Daniel's footsteps, both students at the Citadel, planning to
serve in the military. Their amazing mom, Rebecca, has now
served more than twenty three years in the US Army.
Everywhere she goes she wears Daniel's gold star pin on
the lapel of her uniform. Colonel and her two sons
(08:01):
are here today along with Daniels.
Speaker 4 (08:03):
Father, Bill and mother Margot.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
To the entire Eggars family, your sacrifice is beyond our
ability to comprehend the repay. Today we honor Daniel's incredible
life and exceptional valor, and we promise you that we
will treasure his blessed memory forever.
Speaker 4 (08:25):
Thank you very much for being here. Thank you very much. Please,
thank you, thank you great family. Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
As Michael Very Show continues, this is the second part
of President Trump's Memorial Day speech at Fort McHenry in
twenty twenty.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
And yes, we had to split it up. I want
you to hear it all.
Speaker 3 (08:53):
To every gold Star family here today and all across
our land. Our debt to you is infinite and everlasting.
We stand with you today and all days to come,
remembering and grieving for America's greatest heroes.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
In spirit and strength, and.
Speaker 3 (09:09):
Loyalty and love, in character and courage, they were larger
than life itself.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
They were angels sent.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
From above, and they are now rejoined with God in
the glorious Kingdom of Heaven. Wherever the stars and stripes
fly at our schools, our churches, town halls, firehouses, and
national monuments, it is made possible because there are extraordinary
Americans who are willing to brave death so that we
(09:40):
can live in freedom and live in peace. In the
two centuries since Francis Scott Key wrote about the stirring
sight of our flag in battle, countless other American patriots
have given their own testimony about the meaning of the flag.
One was War World War two veteran Jim Kribbs from Sunbury, Ohio.
(10:05):
Jim and his twin brother Jack, fought side by side
in General Patton's Third Army at the Battle.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
Of the Bulge.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
The twins volunteered for a dangerous mission together they took
out four enemy tanks, two machine gun nests, and a
mother position that was very powerful loaded up with mortars.
Jim's brother, Jack was mortally wounded. Jim held his dying
brother in his arms, praying together as his twin passed away.
(10:36):
Jim fought to victory and came home to build a
great American life. He married, had children, became an electoral engineer,
and taught young people about war. As an old man,
Jim was asked what about the American flag and what
it meant to him.
Speaker 4 (10:56):
Jim said, the flag to me.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Is as precious as the freedom that the flag stands for.
It's as precious to me as the thousands of lives
that have been lost defending her.
Speaker 4 (11:12):
It's that important to me.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
It gave me a value of life that I could
have never gotten any other way. It gave me a
value of my Lord, my family, my friends, loved ones,
and especially my country.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
What more could I ask?
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Last month, Jim died peacefully at his home at the
age of ninety four. This afternoon, we are greatly honored
to be joined by his grandsons Andy and Ron. Please,
thank you very much, Thank you very much, Thank you
very much.
Speaker 4 (11:48):
For being here.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Today as we remember the sacrifice of Jim's brother Jack.
We honor jim service and we are moved by his
beautiful words. Andy and Ron, thank you for being here
to remember your grandfather and his brother and what they
did for us all and most importantly, what they stood for.
From generation to generation, heroes like these have poured out
(12:14):
their blood and sweat and heart and tears for our country.
Because of them. America is strong and safe and mighty
and free.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
Because of them.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
Two centuries on, the Star Spangled banner still proudly waves.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
For as long as our.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Flag flies in the sky above, the names of these
fallen warriors will be woven into its threads. For as
long as we have citizens willing to follow their example,
to carry on their burden, to continue their legacy, then
America's cause will never fail and American freedom will never
(12:53):
ever die. Today we honor the heroes we have lost.
We pray for the love war ones they left behind,
and with God as our witness, we solemnly vow to protect, preserve,
and cherish this land they gave their last breath to
defend and to defend. So proudly, thank you God, bless
(13:18):
our military. God bless the memory of the fallen. God
bless our gold Star families, and God bless America.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
You're listening to.
Speaker 4 (15:16):
The Michael Berry's show.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Brigadier General John Dragon Tiger is the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary
of the Air Force International Affairs Department of the Air
Force Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. He delivered a powerful keynote address
at the Memorial Day Service at the Bakersfield National Ceremony
back in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
So the poppies in southern California this year have been
absolutely stunning. It lived up to the hype of being
a super blue and those poppies covered fields, and they
covered hillsides, and they even covered the desert floor. But
about a century ago there was another super bloom in
Western Europe, and in that case, in the midst of
(16:03):
World War One, our soldiers found that poppies grew over
the battlefield in the midst of conflict, and sometimes over
those hastily created gravesides for our fallen. There was a
soldier named Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae who recognized this phenomenon
(16:23):
as a soldier there in the midst of World War
One in nineteen fifteen, and he wrote the following poem,
In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow between the crosses, row
on row that mark our place, and in the sky
the larks still bravely singing fly scarce heard amid the
(16:43):
guns below. We are the dead. Short days ago we lived,
felt dawn, saw sunset, glow, loved and were loved. And
now we lie in Flanders Fields. Take up our quarrel
with the foe to you from failing hands. We throw
(17:04):
the torch be yours to hold it high. If he
break faith with those who die, we shall not sleep
though poppies grow in flanders Field. John McCrae wrote that
with a very distinct and stark challenge from the dead
to the living, and the challenge was this hold high
(17:28):
the torch that they have passed to us, carry on
their incredible legacy. Fifty years later, General Douglas MacArthur gave
what is known as his farewell speech on May twelfth,
nineteen sixty two, at West Point, his alma mater, the
United States Military Academy, and he charged those cadets with
(17:49):
something similar to what was described in Flanders Fields, and
in part this is what he said. The long gray
line has never failed us. Were you to do so,
a million ghosts in olive, drab, in brown, khaki, in
blue and gray would rise from their white crosses, thundering
(18:14):
those magic words duty, honor Country. General MacArthur described exactly
the same thing. It is our responsibility to live up
to their legacy, the long gray line, those who have
gone on before us, and to remember them best of course,
(18:34):
by honoring them by our words, but more importantly, honoring
them by our actions, by carrying the torch for them.
Fifty years prior to Flanders Fields, our President Abraham Lincoln
stood on another battlefield, this time on this side of
the Atlantic Ocean, in a place known as Gettysburg in Pennsylvania,
(18:55):
and he gave a very poignant speech that started out
reminding us that words could not consecrate their actions any
better than their actions could, and indeed anything that we
say would fall short of what they have already done
to consecrate that place, that battlefield, and that cemetery. But
then he went on to challenge us with these words,
(19:17):
similar to the others, it is for us the living,
rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which
they who fought here have Thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to
the great task remaining before us, that from these honor
(19:37):
dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which
they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we
here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died
in vain. President Lincoln's charge to us is to carry
on their unfinished work, to live up to their amazing
(19:59):
leg See what is that legacy? It was described brilliantly
by our president in nineteen forty four, President Roosevelt. We
are a few days away from the seventy fifth anniversary
of D Day, the invasion by Allied forces of Mainland
Europe on June sixth, nineteen forty four, and by the
(20:21):
end of that day, over one hundred and fifty Allied
troops set foot onto the soil of France to start
the cause of liberation in Mainland Europe during World War Two.
That evening, our President, on live radio, led this nation
in prayer, and in part this is what he said
about our legacy. They fight not for the lust of conquest.
(20:47):
They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate, They
fight to let justice arise and tolerance and goodwill among
all thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle,
for their return to the haven of home. On a
day like today, Memorial Day, and frankly throughout the calendar year,
(21:09):
it is absolutely right for us to honor those in
places laid to rest, like Flandersfield, like Gettysburg, like the
beaches of Normandy, like Bakersfield National Cemetery. It is right
to remember those fallen. But really, the best thing that
we can do to honor those fallen is to live
up to the legacy of justice and freedom and liberation
(21:33):
and tolerance and goodwill. And the best way that we
can serve them and to honor them is to carry
on their legacy, to hold their torch high though poppies grow.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
You're listening to the Michael Berry Show.
Speaker 6 (21:53):
I read the news that day.
Speaker 2 (21:58):
Our run O Reagan gave many famous and great speeches
as present. This is one of them. The deference that
he gave to the Vietnam veterans in this speech was
very important. The memorial was just four years old. It
had been surrounded by controversy when it was built. Everything
from the shape of the wall to the color was scrutinized.
The wounds of that war were still rather fresh. Ronald Reagan.
Speaker 6 (22:20):
Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen
heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have
to die for us again. It's a day of thanks
for the valor of others, a day to remember the
splendor of America and those of her children who rest
in this cemetery and others. It's a day to be
(22:41):
with the family and remember. I was thinking this morning
that across the country, children and their parents will be
going to the town parade, and the young ones will
sit on the sidewalks and wave their flags as the
band goes by. Later, maybe they'll have a cookout or
a day at the beach. And that's good, because to
(23:02):
day is a day to be with the family and
to remember. Arlington, this place of so many memories, is
a fitting place for some remembering. So many wonderful men
and women rest here, men and women who led colorful,
vivid and passionate lives. There are the greats of the military,
(23:26):
Bull Halsey and the Admiral's Leahy father and son, black
Jack Pershing, and the Gies General Omar Bradley. Great men,
all military men but there are others here known for
other things. Here in Arlington rests a sharecropper's son who
became a hero to a lonely people. Joe Louis came
(23:49):
from nowhere, but he knew how to fight, and he
galvanized a nation in the days after Pearl Harbor when
he put on the uniform of his country and said,
I know we'll win because we're on God's side. Audie
Murphy is here, Audi Murphy, of the wild, wild courage.
(24:11):
For what else would you call it? When a man
bounds to the top of a disabled tank, stops an
enemy advance, saves lives, and rallies his men, and all
of it single handedly. When he radioed for artillery's support
and was asked how close the enemy was to his position,
he said, wait a minute, and I'll let you speak
(24:32):
to them. Michael Smith is here and Dick Scobe, both
of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Their courage wasn't wild, but thoughtful,
the mature and measured courage of career professionals who took
prudent risks for a great reward in their case to
advance the sum total of knowledge in the world. They
(24:55):
are only the latest to rest. Here they join other
great explorers with names like Grissom and Chaffey. Oliver Wendell
Holmes is here, the great jurist and fighter for the right.
A poet searching for an image of true majesty could
not rest until he seized on Holmes's dissenting in as
(25:16):
Sordid Age. Young Holmes served in the Civil War. He
might have been thinking of the crosses and stars of
Arlington when he wrote, at the grave of a hero,
we end not with sorrow at the inevitable loss, but
with the contagion of his courage, and with a kind
of desperate joy, we go back to the fight. While
(25:37):
all of these men were different, but they shared this
in common. They loved America very much. There was nothing
they wouldn't do for, and they loved with the sureness
of the young. It's hard not to think of the
young in a place like this, for it's the young
who do the fighting and dying when a peace failed
(26:00):
and a war begins. Not far from here is the
statue of the three Servicemen, the three Fighting Boys of Vietnam.
It too has majesty and more. Perhaps you've seen it.
Three rough boys walking together, looking ahead with a steady gaze.
There's something wounded about them, a kind of resigned toughness.
(26:23):
But there's an unexpected tenderness too. At first you don't
really notice, but then you see it. The three are
touching each other as if they're supporting each other, helping
each other on. I know that many veterans of Vietnam
will gather today, some of them perhaps by the wall,
and they're still helping each other on. They were quite
(26:47):
a group, the boys of Vietnam, boys who fought a
terrible and vicious war without enough support from home boys
who were dodging bullets. While we debated the efficacy of
the battle, it was often our poor who fought in
that war. It was the unpampered boys of the working
class who picked up the rifles and went on the march.
(27:10):
They learned not to rely on us, They learned to
rely on each other. And they were special in another way.
They chose to be faithful. They chose to reject the
fashionable skepticism of their time. They chose to believe and
answer the call of duty. They had the wild, wild
(27:31):
courage of youth. They seized certainty from the heart of
an ambivalent age They stood for something, and we owe
them something. Those boys, we owe them first a promise that,
just as they did not forget their missing comrades, neither
ever will we. And there are other promises. We must
(27:53):
always remember that peace is a fragile thing that needs
constant vigilance. We owe them a promise to look at
the world with the steady gaze and perhaps a resigned toughness,
knowing that we have adversaries in the world and challenges,
and the only way to meet them and maintain the
peace is by staying strong. That, of course, is the
(28:15):
lesson of this century, a lesson learned in the Pseudanan Land,
in Poland, in Hungary, in Czechoslovakia, in Cambodia. If we
really care about peace, we must stay strong. If we
(28:42):
really care about peace, we must, through our strength, demonstrate
our unwillingness to accept an ending of the peace.
Speaker 5 (28:50):
We must be.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Strong enough to create peace where it does not exist,
and strong enough to protect it where it does. That's
the lesson of this century, and I think of this day,
That's all I wanted to say. The rest of my
contribution is to leave this great place to its piece,
a piece it is earned. Thank all of you, and
(29:14):
God bless you and have a day.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Phillip Hnders.
Speaker 2 (29:18):
If your life the Michael Berry Show and Podcast, please
tell one friend, and if you're so inclined, write a
nice review of our podcast. Comments, suggestions, questions, and interest
in being a corporate sponsor and partner can be communicated
directly to the show at our email address, Michael at
(29:39):
Michael Berryshow dot com, or simply by clicking on our website,
Michael Berryshow dot com. The Michael Berry Show and Podcast
is produced by Ramon Roeblis, the King of Ding. Executive
producer is Chad Knakanishi. Jim Mudd is the creative director.
(30:04):
Voices Jingles, Tomfoolery and Shenanigans are provided by Chance McLean.
Director of Research is Sandy Peterson. Emily Bull is our
assistant listener and superfan. Contributions are appreciated and often incorporated
into our production. Where possible, we give credit, where not,
(30:27):
we take all the credit for ourselves. God bless the
memory of Rush Limbaugh. Long live Elvis, be a simple
man like Leonard Skinnard told you, and God bless America. Finally,
if you know a veteran suffering from PTSD. Call Camp
Hope at eight seven seven seven one seven PTSD and
(30:52):
a combat veteran will answer the phone to provide free
counseling
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