southernhybrid

Thanks for sharing your dad's letter.

diana

Very moving, Alonzo. Your dad is a helluva man.

Just want to say it's men like your dad who remind me of the elite service members I follow in the footsteps of. I'll do my best to make him proud.

Next time you see him, thank him for me for serving selflessly and leading by example.

And if it isn't too much trouble, buy that man a beer.

d (aka, Lt B, USAF)

JohnR

As a former Recon Marine who served in Vietnam and was wounded at Khe Sanh that is exactly what I am considering doing. Like Alonzo's dad I feel alienated here because I don't believe. Well maybe I will have a more peacefull retirement in some other country.
P.S. A hearty salute to your dad Alonzo!

MOJO-JOJO

Yes, btw, that was an excellent letter your father wrote Alonzo, a man of true character. I keep a little file folder of articles and essays that I want my two children to read when they get into their teen years (to help counter the baptist brain-washing my wife subjects them to when she drags them to church).

Your dad's example is noble, courageous and honorable. I have printed this out and included it in that file for them to read someday.

This would make a great theme for a TV episode of some kind.

The thin man

I agree with the sentiment, great letter.

I, too, served with the corps in Nam. The conservatives here were telling the protesters to "Love it or leave it" in regards to the country. But having sworn an oath to defend the constitution, including the right of free speech, and freedom of religion (which also means freedom from religion), I thought it should be "love it or change it."

Anyone who states there are no atheist in foxholes, doesn't know his ass from a foxhole.

kookiejar

Alonzo, your dad is one of the finest Americans I've ever had the opportunity of learning about. Tell him from all of us that we appreciate his service in defence of our beautiful country and that he is truly a hero in the eyes of many. (And give him a kiss from me, would'ya.)

Jewel

Alonzo,

It would be an honor to have such a man for a father. You are lucky indeed.

-Jewel

Alonzo Fyfe

I passed along your kind comments to my dad who, after the event at the air show, very much appreciated hearing from people who were NOT inviting him to leave the country he fought to defend because he did not believe in God.

Yet, I there must have been others there, like my dad, who did not benefit from these warm responses.

My mind also goes to the atheist firefighters in 911 who are similarly having their sacrifice denigrated by stuff like this.

And the atheist solders that are, today, standing in the soil of Afghanistan, standing in a land where they may fall under attack at any minute, working to keep us safe from another attack, who may likely hear the same words that were read at the air show, without the benefit of the kind words you offered to my dad.

A search on the web shows that the document read at the air show against my dad appears on over 1000 web sites, even though it was written after 911.

My mom reports having had at least a dozen people forward it to her through email.

How do we get our voice heard, telling those who have sacrificed not only to make our lives safer, but the lives of our Theist neighbors, that their work is appreciated, above the roar of people saying that they should all pack up and leave the country?

How can we best get these twits forwarding and posting this nonsense to realize just how shameful their behavior is?

I would like to suggest that one place to start would be with our own web site, where we honor those who served -- those who put their lives at risk even though they believed that no heavenly rewards waited for them if they should fall.

A place where we can send people and say, "Here is one person that you said should leave the country. And here is another. Read their stories and hang your head in shame that you are not half the hero they are."

A place that we can show those who are true heros that we do appreciate what they have done, and what they do today, to make our lives safer, and our world a better place.

Besides, we should know our own heros. And they do deserve our honors.

4th Generation Atheist

I just had time to read through the whole thing.

Very, very sad, especially the public air show part.

I'd say buy your Dad a beer for me too, only he's probably fairly far along by now. But I will say that if he ever wants to come by and see the monuments to soldiers in the foreign wars we have here in D.C., he and his freethinking views are more than welcome in this town, in my book. Come in the spring or fall, maybe during the Memorial Day crowds, but not during the summer if he/you plan to be breathing. No need to listen to anyone else's nonsense then.

Perhaps we should be forwarding that story over the net as a counterpoint to all those others? What does your dad think?

[ August 09, 2002: Message edited by: 4th Generation Atheist ]</p>

Copernic

Any effort to present freethinking heros to the public may be best achieved by working in concert with an organization known as Military Association of Athiests and Freethinkers
<a href="http://www.maaf.info/" target="_blank">MAAF</a>

As a former Air Force Captain myself, it was helpful to know others with a similar worldview (or lack thereof) and to have a resource to tap into when religion knocked hard on my office door almost on a daily basis.

Regards
J