There was a
day when General Sam Houston "ordered"
that the Alamo Mission be set to the torch. Yet the remnant of the “First
Company of Texas Volunteers” under an azure blue flag emblazoned with the words “God and Liberty” would not "STAND
DOWN." In the days that followed 26-year-old Lt. Col. William Barret Travis with
a nondescript contingency of 20 Army Regulars, cast his lot with those
preferring to "die in these ditches than give up to the
enemy."
On
February 24, 1836, William Barret
Travis Lt. Col. Comdt. of the
Alamo mission pleads:
"I
am besieged, by a thousand.... The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion,
otherwise, the garrison are to be put to the sword.... I have answered the
demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly from the walls. I
shall never surrender or retreat. Then, I call on you in the name of
Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, to come
to our aid.... If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as
long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own
honor & that of his country −
Victory
or Death."
P.S.
The Lord is on our side....
On
March 3, 1836 in his final communiqué, Travis writes "...
if my countrymen do not rally to my relief, I am determined to perish in the
defense of this place, and my bones shall reproach my country for her
neglect.... All the citizens of this place that have not joined us are with the
enemy fighting against us. Let the government declare them public
enemies...."
On
September 11, 2012
retired U.S. Navy SEAL
Senior Chief Petty Officer Tyrone Woods like
Lt. Col
Travis in the name of
Liberty, of patriotism & everything dear to the American character, came to
the aid of his compatriots in the
Benghazi mission.
He would
not "STAND DOWN." When his countrymen
would not rally to his relief, he perished, his bones reproaching his country
for her neglect.
The
words and the acts of the righteous
have a legacy:
At
dawn on the first of March, responding to Travis'
plea, Lt.
George
C. Kimble with his "Immortal 32" fought their way into the
beleaguered mission, never to leave. Unbeknown to the besieged defenders,
that night in Washington-on-the-Brazos, delegates were frantically preparing the
final draft of The
Texas Declaration of Independence. The following day declared, "Here
a Nation was born." Four days later at dawn, the Alamo's defenders ratified it
with their blood.
Within
four fortnights, the Texan militia came to the aid of their "fallen" brethren
charging Santa Anna's far superior forces, to the rallying cry "Remember the
Alamo!" The slaughter that hardly lasted twenty minutes was "frightful to
behold", an overwhelming defeat for the merciless Santa Anna who was later found
cowering among the multitude of prisoners. That evening peace had come to the
commonwealth of Texas.
What is the
legacy of Benghazi?
As coming
days threaten the "Death" of America,
will we "STAND DOWN" or shout the rallying
cry "Remember Benghazi"? Taking no prisoners of those who make "lies"
their refuge, and by their "silence" make a prisoner of Truth? There is but one choice that honor demands,
Truth!
"Victory
or Death."
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