This 4th of July has a special meaning for me. My son Ben will be discharged from the Army on July 16th. I can't help but reflect on my last three 4th of July's while he was in the Army serving his, no make that our country. I especially remember the 4th of July when he was in Iraq. It is hard to explain but feeling about patriotic things like the flag and the Pledge of Allegence change when you have someone serving in the military. I am so proud that my son Ben volunteered to serve... I am also proud to have him home.
I could not help but find the following piece that I found somewhere. Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?
· Five were imprisoned by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
· Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
· Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
· Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
· They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.
· Five were imprisoned by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.
· Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.
· Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.
· Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.
· They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.
What kind of men where they?
· Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
· Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
· Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.
· Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
· Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.
· At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr. noted that British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.
· Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife and she died within a few months.
· John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.
As my son said to me when he was on leave from Iraq, "freedom is never free."
