Recently in Armed Forces Category

Today's observance of Memorial Day in Chatham was very well attended, even better than last year's. 300 would be our guess of those who followed the parade from place to place.

The total time for the parade and stops at the various memorials was just 1 and 1/2 hour.

At each memorial there were short prayers for the dead, gunfire salutes and the playing of taps.

The first at 10 a.m. was at the World War I memorial in front of what is now the Community Center.

To Oyster Pond for a wreath laid in the waves for those who died serving at sea and a wreath at the Korean-Vietnam Memorial.

Then to Sears Park at Main and Seaview for the Civil War observance highlighted by a stirring rendition of the Gettysburg Address by Scott Hamilton. (Imagine: Chatham with a population of just slightly over 2000 sent 263 men off to fight for the Union.)

The final stop was at the rotary where the Veterans Memorial is at the center of the rotary. There were short speeches; patriotic songs sung by We are the Men choir and a wonderful playing of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. The parade was led by veterans (including Finance Committee Chairman Jo Ann Sprague in full uniform), Coast Guard personnel, police and fire personnel, boy and girl scouts, cubs and browies, the high and middle school bands and the high school music director and selectmen Roper, Seldin and Sussman.

It was quite moving. Thanks to the Public Ceremonies Committee. Well done.

Chatham had a simple but moving observance of Veterans' Day today at the Veterans Memorial at the Main Street entrance to "downtown." Veterans of WWII to those currently serving in the Armed Services were there. The Chatham High School and Midschool band played, taps were sounded on a bugle, Amazing Grace on the bagpipes and a gun salute all performed in honor of those living and dead who served to keep America free. We all sang "God Bless America."

Obama has slashed defense spending at a time of growing peril. North Korea and Iran are both determined to menace the U.S. and the world with nuclear-armed missiles. China is building a modern navy to rival the U.S. at a furious pace.

Mitt Romney says the Adminisration is putting the country in grave danger.

June 1, 2009
Romney: President putting country in jeopardy
Posted: 09:07 AM ET

From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

Romney will deliver a speech focused on missile defense on Monday.'
WASHINGTON (CNN) — Mitt Romney, eyeing a run at the presidency in 2012, is taking another step in fleshing out his foreign policy portfolio with a Monday speech to the conservative Heritage Foundation on the topic of defense spending.

According to excerpts of the speech provided to CNN, Romney will call the Obama administration's plan to trim more than $1 billion from missile defense programs a "grave miscalculation" that will put America at risk, especially given North Korea's nuclear provocations.

Romney says that Obama should push for "comprehensive, regime-crippling sanctions" against North Korea and "immediately reverse his recent decisions and strongly support completing our ballistic missile defense system."

In the speech, entitled "The Care of Freedom," Romney will also call on the administration to increase the modernization budget by $50 billion per year and to lock in total defense budgets at no less than four percent of GDP. But the military budget has been endangered, Romney argues, by the administration's domestic spending programs.