May 26
American Minute for May 26th:
Oscar winning actor Marion Michael Morrison, better known as John Wayne, was born MAY 26, 1907.
Of Presbyterian Scots-Irish descent, his grandfather, Marion Mitchell Morrison, fought in the Civil War.
John Wayne played football for U.S.C. and worked behind-the-scenes at Fox Studios, before being discovered by director John Ford, who cast him in epic western and war films.
A January 2011 Harris Poll ranked John Wayne third among America's favorite film stars.
On MAY 26, 1979, Jimmy Carter said:
"I have today approved...a specially struck gold medal to John Wayne.
For nearly half a century, the Duke has symbolized the American ideals of integrity, courage, patriotism, and strength and has represented to the world many of the deepest values that this Nation respects."
Ronald Reagan said November 5, 1984:
"I noted the news coverage about the death of my friend, John Wayne. One headline read 'The Last American Hero.'...
No one would be angrier than Duke Wayne at the suggestion that he was America's last hero.
Just before he died, he said in his unforgettable way, 'Just give the American people a good cause, and there's nothing they can't lick.'"
Starring in films about World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, such as Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Flying Tigers (1942), They Were Expendable (1945), and the Ford cavalry trilogy: Fort Apache (1948); She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949); Rio Grande (1950), John Wayne had become an icon to all the branches of the United States Armed Forces.
In 1975, when Japanese Emperor Hirohito visited the United States, he asked to meet John Wayne, the symbolic representation of his country's former enemy. In 1979, John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, was named for him.
In his album, America-Why I Love Her, 1977, John Wayne stated:
"Face the Flag, son, and face reality.
Our strengths and our freedoms are based in unity.
The flag is but a symbol, son, of the world's greatest nation,
And as long as it keeps flying, there's cause for celebration.
So do what you've got to do, but always keep in mind,
A lot of people believe in peace...but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms, we may have to fight again.
God forbid, but if we do, let's always fight to win,
For the fate of a loser is futile and it's bare:
No love, no peace...just misery and despair.
Face the Flag, son...and thank God it's still there."
Hide Endnotes
Wayne, John. Rachel Gallagher, B.A., Author, Games in the Street. Rachel Gallagher, "Wayne, John," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/595925, October 9, 2001. "Face the Flag," narrated by John Wayne, Copyright 81973, Devere Music Corporation (ASCAP), Batjac Music Co. (ASCAP), Music: Billy Liebert Words: Bill Ezellpeace, http://www.fromtheheartpostcards.com/ICQ/FacetheFlag.html, http://www.dukelestweforget.com/john_wayne_face%20e%20flag.htm
(Brought to you by AmericanMinute.com)
American Minute for May 26th:
Oscar winning actor Marion Michael Morrison, better known as John Wayne, was born MAY 26, 1907.
Of Presbyterian Scots-Irish descent, his grandfather, Marion Mitchell Morrison, fought in the Civil War.
John Wayne played football for U.S.C. and worked behind-the-scenes at Fox Studios, before being discovered by director John Ford, who cast him in epic western and war films.
A January 2011 Harris Poll ranked John Wayne third among America's favorite film stars.
On MAY 26, 1979, Jimmy Carter said:
"I have today approved...a specially struck gold medal to John Wayne.
For nearly half a century, the Duke has symbolized the American ideals of integrity, courage, patriotism, and strength and has represented to the world many of the deepest values that this Nation respects."
Ronald Reagan said November 5, 1984:
"I noted the news coverage about the death of my friend, John Wayne. One headline read 'The Last American Hero.'...
No one would be angrier than Duke Wayne at the suggestion that he was America's last hero.
Just before he died, he said in his unforgettable way, 'Just give the American people a good cause, and there's nothing they can't lick.'"
Starring in films about World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, such as Sands of Iwo Jima (1949), Flying Tigers (1942), They Were Expendable (1945), and the Ford cavalry trilogy: Fort Apache (1948); She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (1949); Rio Grande (1950), John Wayne had become an icon to all the branches of the United States Armed Forces.
In 1975, when Japanese Emperor Hirohito visited the United States, he asked to meet John Wayne, the symbolic representation of his country's former enemy. In 1979, John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, was named for him.
In his album, America-Why I Love Her, 1977, John Wayne stated:
"Face the Flag, son, and face reality.
Our strengths and our freedoms are based in unity.
The flag is but a symbol, son, of the world's greatest nation,
And as long as it keeps flying, there's cause for celebration.
So do what you've got to do, but always keep in mind,
A lot of people believe in peace...but there are the other kind.
If we want to keep these freedoms, we may have to fight again.
God forbid, but if we do, let's always fight to win,
For the fate of a loser is futile and it's bare:
No love, no peace...just misery and despair.
Face the Flag, son...and thank God it's still there."
Hide Endnotes
Wayne, John. Rachel Gallagher, B.A., Author, Games in the Street. Rachel Gallagher, "Wayne, John," World Book Online Americas Edition, http://www.aolsvc.worldbook.aol.com/wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/595925, October 9, 2001. "Face the Flag," narrated by John Wayne, Copyright 81973, Devere Music Corporation (ASCAP), Batjac Music Co. (ASCAP), Music: Billy Liebert Words: Bill Ezellpeace, http://www.fromtheheartpostcards.com/ICQ/FacetheFlag.html, http://www.dukelestweforget.com/john_wayne_face%20e%20flag.htm
(Brought to you by AmericanMinute.com)
