Friend, did you ever have the opportunity to wish somebody a happy 372nd birthday?
Well, you do now. Our cherished National Guard, the first line of America’s defense since pre-colonial days, even before we were called America, was born 372 years ago this Saturday.
It had its beginnings in the colonies, when farmers had to drop their plows and pick up muskets to defend their settlements. Of course, when we became a British colony, we had to have defense, and again it was settler/soldiers who volunteered. Paul Revere and many of the signers of the Constitution were themselves members of what became known as our National Guard.
Today, half or more of our fighting men and women, wherever they are deployed around the globe, are still our volunteer soldiers who stop what they’re doing, leave their professions and families, and ship out to defend all of us.
The best way I know of that we can celebrate their 372nd birthday is to have – and give to loved ones – For My Country, The Ballad of the National Guard, complete with the documentary history of our fellow citizens who put it all on the line for our liberties.
Let’s celebrate and commemorate and pay tribute to our National Guard on their 372nd anniversary!
Pat Boone
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