Here are some of the speeches I wrote for others.
I feel that of all the speeches I have written for others in my career, this one is my favorite. I had a new motivation for my career, and the fact that this was a historic event that would be captured forever, I wanted to make sure this speech captured the feeling of the moment.
During the pandemic, we needed a moment of inspiration. I hope those that hear the speech, can feel the emotion and visualize the imagery I put in. Add the impromptu moments and great delivery from Colonel Michael Zuhlsdorf, and I think you can understand why I am proud of this speech.
This one was for Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling’s 9/11 Remembrance
September 11, 2020.
This one was written for Memorial Day 2021, but unfortunately the event was not recorded. It was given by a wonderful speaker and friend at a location I was not able to record at.
Dear Tooth Fairy…will you please leave my tooth under the bed one more night so I can take it to school and share with my friends? I promise to bring it back tomorrow night. Thank you, Brittany.
That was a short and sweet letter a young girl from St Petersburg, Florida wrote. Like so many girls her age, she was always thinking about sharing with others – even if it was her teeth.
Almost 16 years after writing that letter, 24-year-old Army Specialist Brittany Gordon lost her life when a suicide bomber killed her and a group of soldiers delivering furniture in Afghanistan on October 13, 2012.
She will remain forever young.
From every state and every territory of our nation, men and women have heard he call to serve and answered. They serve with pride of family and dedication to service, with honor, dignity, and integrity.
Those who have seen the ugly side of war during their service are forever changed.
Those who never return from war, forever change us.
We hear the stories of heroes who have died in battle. And every hero deserves for their story to be told and to be heard many times over. We owe it to the heroes that died and to the loved ones left behind to make sure their sacrifices are remembered and their service to this great nation is honored.
And as our nation grows in our diversity and inclusion, our military services follow suit. We now see that those that gave the last full measure of devotion are as different as they are the same. They may be married or single; black or white; gay or straight; male or female. But every one of them is a hero.
No matter who they were, every one of them have stories that deserve to be known.
One such story is that of First Lieutenant Sharon Lane. Though women were exempted from the draft in 1968, Sharon volunteered and entered the Army Nurse Corps because she was committed to caring for the heroes fighting the war in Vietnam. She was where she felt she was called to be.
On June 8th, 1969, First Lieutenant Lane became a sad mark in history as the only female nurse to be killed by enemy fire during the Vietnam War. A 122-millimeter rocket blasted through her ward killing her and a 12-year old Vietnamese girl.
In a previous letter home to her mother, she wrote of a recent attack, “We got all of the patients we could under their beds, and those we could not, we put mattresses over them. Very interesting place, but hardly anyone here is scared. It is just – part of the job.”
At 25 years old, Sharon Lane, died even though her job was to make sure others lived.
But there is no Wikipedia page for her. She does not have medals that you can see posted in any history books. There is no movie telling her story. Yet she is nothing less than a hero.
Even when serving on humanitarian missions that peacefully benefit people all over the world, we have lost brothers and sisters in uniform.
On April 4th, 1975, the first official flight of Operation Babylift, an effort to bring thousands of orphaned Vietnamese children to the United States for adoption by American families, took off from Saigon. On board was Air Force Captain Mary Klinker. She was a flight nurse stationed at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Fifteen minutes after takeoff, the back doors of the C-5 Galaxy blew out taking many on board out of the holes that quickly caused the giant airplane to crash.
Captain Klinker, who was on board to make sure the children received health care if needed, was one of the 230 people who boarded the plane, but unfortunately one of the 180 who died. She was also the only active-duty female to perish in the flight.
Even though it was a peacetime mission, her life was lost so others would know opportunity and freedom.
And as we think of our recent history, no one would ever fathom the concept of going to work on a Tuesday morning, and being killed because the building you work in and the uniform you wear, symbolizes the never-ending fight for freedom.
Often joining the military is a family tradition. Jamie Fallon from nearby Towson Maryland, proudly followed in her father’s footsteps and joined the United States Navy. In only her fifth year of service to our nation, while assigned to the Navy’s Command Center in the Pentagon, Petty Officer Third Class Fallon was one of three active-duty women – all of whom were under the age of 27 – to be killed on September 11th, 2001.
Her zest for life, cut short at the age of 23.
Every fallen hero we honor has a story to tell. They are not just statistics. They are real people – with real families left behind.
Spouses left without partners.
Children left without parents.
And maybe the worst pain of all, parents who grieve for their child laid to rest before them.
The American heroes we remember every Memorial Day were not exclusive to any gender, race, orientation, religion, color, or age. Like those of us who have served or are serving, they were a diverse group wedded to the common core belief that our county and its citizens are worth dying for.
To all the families of those lost, we will think of you always.
And to the heroes who have fallen, we can only say thank you.
Well done good and faithful servant.
Well done.
Brady McCarron 