Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The 4th of July is a day to celebrate American Independence. This day set the stage for the founding of our nation on the principles of freedom and liberty. 

From 1776 until now, this day has been recognized as the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation. Before the Declaration was even signed, John Adams envisioned a festival accompanied by fireworks to promote victory of independence.

And as we take part in July 4th festivities, it is important to remember that the freedom we enjoy can at times be easy to take for granted.  It is a great opportunity to connect with our families and friends in backyards, around pools and at the beach, to watch fireworks and enjoy BBQs. 
 

I want to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a great Independence Day.

God Bless America and the state of Connecticut.

Best,

State Rep. Greg Howard

Memorial Day Tribute – It’s About Freedom!
​Pawcatuck VFW – 1000H, Monday, May 31, 2021

Statement by
The Hon. Robert R. “Rob” Simmons

Member of Congress, 2001-2007
Colonel, USAR, Retired
​

In December 1776, Thomas Paine said of the difficulties confronting General Washington’s military forces during the Revolutionary War, “These are times that try men’s souls.” And indeed, the times in which we are now living are “trying” times.
That being said, I believe the strength of a country and a culture is how it deals with adversity. And I give credit to the Pawcatuck VFW for holding this event today. You have not let the disrupting influences of a global pandemic interrupt the time-honored tradition of celebrating Memorial Day and honoring the memory of those who have died serving our great country in uniform.

Some confuse Memorial Day with Veterans Day or Armed Forces Day; but they are not the same. On Veterans’ Day we specifically honor those who have served in the United States Armed Forces in the past. On Armed Forces Day who honor those currently serving. On Memorial Day we honor all those who have died in combat while serving in the Armed Forces of our country.

Memorial Day grew out of a terrible war, a Civil War, a war that divided our nation, pitting brother against brother. Even before the war was over, there were instances of families in the South decorating the graves of their fallen loved ones on the battle fields where they died. That gave rise to the original name for this holiday which was “Decoration Day.”
The outcome of our terrible Civil War was a unified country which has guaranteed the blessings of liberty to its people for another 150 years; a freedom-loving nation that has been willing, in the words of President Kennedy, to:
“Pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

Let me repeat part of what Kennedy said: “…to assure the survival and success of liberty.” Liberty!

On Memorial Day we celebrate the service and sacrifice of those who died in uniform fighting for liberty. A total of 666,441 American men and women have died in 81 wars from 1776 to the present.

But why did they die? What was it for? And the answer is simple. They died for Liberty; for Freedom.

This is the critical message for all of us here today because during this great pandemic, we have lost many of our liberties in the name of public safety.

Think about it. Our freedom of speech was limited by curtailing public events and closing public buildings. Our freedom of religion was curtailed by closing churches. The right of our children to a free public-school education was degraded by closing schools and relying on distance learning.

In Connecticut alone, over 600 restaurants were permanently closed and thousands of private sector jobs were lost due to government regulations about indoor and outdoor dining.

For 19 months the government told us to wear one, two or three masks; and now we are wearing none.
Our right to a representative government of elected peers in the US Congress and the Connecticut General Assembly was replaced by Presidents and Governors ruling by Executive Order.

Our 4th Amendment right to privacy was undermined with government SWAT Teams breaking into the private homes of political rivals like Roger Stone and Rudy Giuliani.

Here today, on this Memorial Day, when we honor those who have died for our freedoms, we have decided not to have a public parade. Some said it was not safe.

Well, Bunker Hill was not safe. Gettysburg was not safe. Neither was the Argonne Woods and the D-Day landing in Normandy, France. The Chosen Reservoir in Korea was not safe, and speaking personally, the TET Offensive in Vietnam was not safe.
The fight for Freedom is NOT safe. It never is. We have fought for freedom around the world. Now we need to fight for it right here at home.

Let me add some thoughts for this Memorial Day Tribute.

Over one hundred and fifty years ago President Lincoln spoke at the consecration of the Soldier’s National Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA, four months after the great Union victory there.

While he spoke briefly about the service and sacrifice of soldiers who had died there, he focused his attention on the living. And he said that it is up to us – to the living – to dedicate ourselves to the “unfinished work” of those who died for the “proposition that all men are created equal.”

Lincoln called for a “a new birth of freedom... so that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”

I place a special meaning on these words because the flu pandemic has NOT provided us with a “new birth of freedom.” Rather, government intervention in our lives, presumably for our own safety, has diminished our freedom in unprecedented ways.

So, the challenge for all of us from now until Memorial Day 2022, is to get back to normal. We must reopen our town, state and country so our people can enjoy their God-Given and constitutional liberties to live, work, speak, pray, vote and gather together once again as Free Citizens of this great country.
Will you join me in a pledge to hold our traditional Memorial Day Parade in Pawcatuck and Westerly next year? Great! Thank you.

As a veteran and a citizen, I thank you for taking a few moments out of your busy lives:
-- To attend this Memorial Day Tribute;
-- To love our country;
-- To respect its flag;
-- To honor our Constitution;
-- To celebrate the freedom it provides; and
--To recognize those who made the supreme sacrifice for our American values.
​
Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless America.

A Proclamation.
Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:
"That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom.
"That the Executive will, on the first day of January aforesaid, by proclamation, designate the States and parts of States, if any, in which the people thereof, respectively, shall then be in rebellion against the United States; and the fact that any State, or the people thereof, shall on that day be, in good faith, represented in the Congress of the United States by members chosen thereto at elections wherein a majority of the qualified voters of such State shall have participated, shall, in the absence of strong countervailing testimony, be deemed conclusive evidence that such State, and the people thereof, are not then in rebellion against the United States."
Now, therefore I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of the United States in time of actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States, and as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing said rebellion, do, on this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and in accordance with my purpose so to do publicly proclaimed for the full period of one hundred days, from the day first above mentioned, order and designate as the States and parts of States wherein the people thereof respectively, are this day in rebellion against the United States, the following, to wit:
Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, (except the Parishes of St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Jefferson, St. John, St. Charles, St. James Ascension, Assumption, Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Mary, St. Martin, and Orleans, including the City of New Orleans) Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia, (except the forty-eight counties designated as West Virginia, and also the counties of Berkley, Accomac, Northampton, Elizabeth City, York, Princess Ann, and Norfolk, including the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth[)], and which excepted parts, are for the present, left precisely as if this proclamation were not issued.
And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.
And I hereby enjoin upon the people so declared to be free to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self-defence; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages.
And I further declare and make known, that such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sorts in said service.
And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution, upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.
In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the Independence of the United States of America the eighty-seventh.
By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN
WILLIAM H. SEWARD, Secretary of State.