An Awesome Foreign Policy Statement
USS George Washington

JD and Karen's Excellent Adventure:
USO Gala 2002
The Transylvania Times, April 8, 2002
by
JD Wetterling

A few months ago Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told the press during a briefing on the Afghanistan War, "We have some incredibly gifted young men."  On March 8-9, 2002 Karen and I were blessed to meet some of those young men and women and express our gratitude for their selfless patriotism.  What a joy, what a comfort to know that the defense of our lives and liberty are in the able hands of such talented young people.  I must have mouthed a thousand thank you’s. We were part of thirty guests from the world of literature, film, music and art that the USO invited to the "Salute to America's Military Heroes" gala in Hampton Roads Va., home to so many military units.  We got to meet the brave Navy fighter pilots (just returned) of one of the first squadrons to attack Afghanistan that opening night of the war last fall when no one knew how it would turn out and our media was full of foreboding commentary.  We toured a nuclear submarine and an aircraft carrier and I flew the F-14 Tomcat simulator with Karen in the backseat.  They make simulators realistic enough to give you vertigo these days.  We watched Air National Guard F-16 pilots scramble for real as part of our new homeland defense program.  Thank God it was a false alarm, but quite a show that brought back many chilling memories to this old alert shack denizen.
            The night of the 8th I was one of the speakers at a black tie fundraiser for 700 military and civilian VIP's—soldiers with three stars down to one stripe, politicians from Sen. John Warner (who still wears his WW II ribbons on his suit lapel) on down, and financial supporters large and small of the USO.  I told them we relearned a sad fact last fall--that the devil still roams this world like a raging lion, looking for whom he may devour, and we desperately needed the brave warriors there assembled for our defense.  I praised the courage of eight dear friends from my era who died in the Vietnam War, and told of my gratitude to my Maker for having been allowed to spend a season in the company of such courageous men of honor. My prayer is that God in His mercy will always raise up heroes for America, that our children and grandchildren might likewise breathe the fresh, free air of liberty.
            It was a huge blessing indeed to make new friends among creative artists and America's military men and women, who make up such a patriotic, selfless, noble culture.  God bless ‘em all.