Gunner's Blog

I am Rev Ernie (Smiling Hawk) Tucker, I am a Vietnam veteran and served over twenty-three years as an Airborne Infantryman in the United States Army. I am the Chaplain of the Aaron A. Weaver Chapter 776 of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. With your permission, I would like to give you this old soldiers view of the event known as "A Gathering of Eagles."

 

On Saturday, March 17, 2007, I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Gathering of Eagles in Washington, DC. This event provided more healing for the mental pain, frustration, and anger then all the counseling I have gone through for many years.

 

As I stood there on the stage and looked out at a sea of American flags waving proudly in the cold brisk March winds a long absent sense of pride returned to my spirit. I went down off the stage to find my boots once again in the mud as walked among strangers without fear or trepidation for the first time in almost forty years. Because even though I did not know any of the men and women gathered there, I knew them intimately. They were my Combat Brothers and Sisters. These were the men with whom I had shared the life and death struggle known as "Combat." Many of the women there had been the Nurses that tended my wounds and calmed my fears as I lay in the hospital wondering if I would ever walk again, much less return to my unit and the brave young men I had come to love as my brothers.

 

Not everyone at the gathering was a Vietnam veteran, although we made up the majority of those there. We had come to stand silent guard over "our memorial." However, there were W.W.II veterans as well as Korean War veterans in attendance also. For me the high light of the day was when a W.W.II veteran got on stage, looked us Vietnam veterans in the eye and said, "Your fathers and grandfathers thank you for your service and sacrifice." Here was a member of "The Greatest Generation the World had ever known" saying "THANK YOU." Thank you to a group of men and women, who for almost forty years, had been neglected, spat upon, and vilified by not only our government, but our countrymen as well. I could not hold the tears back. As I looked around I saw I was not the only Vietnam veteran that his words had touched deeply. There were tears in many of the combat hardened eyes there that day. Those two little words had strengthened our resolve to not only guard our memorial, but theirs as well. We did just that, we stood in silence, a human shield around the three memorials erected to honor the service and sacrifice of Americans of three generations.

 

The protest organizers and the media "Claim" that their numbers were small because of the winter storm that swept through the North east the evening before the rally. I find it very ironic that this same storm did NOT prevent Eagles from Canada, Maine, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania from arriving in DC. I think it is more likely that these no show protesters knew that for the first time they would be facing more then an out numbered police force, and the welcoming arms of the main stream media. They would instead be facing the cold steal eyes of combat hardened veterans and "TRUE PATRIOTIC" Americans. And that is something they did not want to do.

 

The main stream media, the communist and jihadist backed protesters, and even the leadership (and believe when I say, I'm using the word "Leadership" loosely) think they can ignore the "Gathering of Eagles" consider this. There are SEVENTY-MILLION veterans in the United States of America. Our current President was elected with sixty-million votes. We represent TEN MILLION more people than elected the President. God help the media, the protesters and this nations "leadership" if we ever get on the same sheet of music.

 

Yes, our numbers were small on March 17th, and even though the media totally ignored the FACT that we out numbered the anitwar/anti America crowd however, this gathering was just the beginning. A ripple that will grow into a tsunami that will sweet the country clean of the left wing America haters, and a media that supports them. It will also clean out that domed building at the other end of the mall of those who vote for "non binding resolutions." Resolutions that do IN FACT give aid and comfort to the enemies of this great nation.

 

In short, the "SILENT MAJORITY" will be silent NO MORE.

 

Just one old soldier's view of the Gathering of Eagles.

 

Rev Ernie (Smiling Hawk) Tucker

Chaplain Aaron A Weaver Chapter 776 MOPH

Scout/Sniper 198th Light Infantry Bdge

Vietnam 68-69

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