A tradition of service

7 comments to A tradition of service

• Marine6

  April 6, 2008 at 6:13 am

  The McCains are not the only family with four generations of service, but they certainly do represent all of us who have taken the oath in the best possible way.

  My wife (who often “doesn’t get it”) recently said at the dinner table “John McCain isn’t a hero because he was a POW.” You are right, I replied, he’s not a hero because he was a POW. He’s a hero because of what he did while he was a POW.

  I hope that his message gets across to a sufficient number of voters, and that they “get it” and understand that character does, indeed, count.

• Byron Audler

  April 6, 2008 at 6:56 am

  That’s the kind of class act you just can’t teach. It has to be bred into the bones, one generation to the next. Honor indeed.

• GEO6

  April 6, 2008 at 7:52 am

  What greater fidelity to one’s nation than to give your son to its service. It is a greater sacrifice than one’s own service.

• Jim C

  April 6, 2008 at 10:11 am

  The young McCain (Jimmy McCain — Marine — that must have raised dad’s eyebrows) is truly impressive. He could have had any number of favors being the son of a Senator and Presidential candidate. Instead, he steadfastly refuses to take any preferential treatment whatsoever… Just like his dad. Both honorable men.

  Jim C

• CT II Raven

  April 6, 2008 at 11:07 am

  Jim C
  His dad also chooses not to make his son’s service an issue in his campaign. My experience with real heros is that they often d0o not speak of their exploits. Other, wannabe heros brag a lot, often with great embelishment, opr “seraing” memories.

• ASM826

  April 6, 2008 at 1:40 pm

  “If I had ignored some of the less important conventions of the Academy,” as a demerit-prone midshipman, Mr. McCain said Wednesday at the United States Naval Academy, “I was careful not to defame its more compelling traditions: the veneration of courage and resilience; the honor code that simply assumed your fidelity to its principles; the homage paid to Americans who had sacrificed greatly for our country; the expectation that you, too, would prove worthy of your country’s trust.”

  Spoken like a true sheepdog.

• MaxDamage

  April 6, 2008 at 10:22 pm

  Modest, has skin in the game, I wasn’t much interested once I read McCain-Feingold, thought he’d lost sight of this oath to sign on to such a contradiction…

  But the man has class and honor. And skin in the game.

  I can vote for that. Just, you know, amend that act that shares your good name, that the name is not tarnished down the road.

  “You got it from your father,
  It was all he had to give,
  So it’s yours to use and cherish,
  For as long as you shall live,

  If you lose the watch he gave you,
  It can always be replaced.
  But a black mark on your name, son,
  Can never be erased.

  It was clean the day you took it,
  And a worthy name to bear,
  When he got it from his father,
  There was no dishonor there

  So make sure you guard it wisely,
  For when all is said and done,
  You’ll be glad the name is spotless,
  When you give it to your son.

  Fair winds and seas, Senator. And to your son. Just do me a favor and think of him and us before you sign. Oaths are not to be taken lightly, and believe you’ve done so once to appeal to others.

  Hint: If they ask you to give up principles, they’re not in this deal for anything else.

  – Max