We Salute Those Who Protect Our Freedom

Here at Ao4 Headquarters, we celebrate Independence Day and our nation's birth by honoring those who fought for and continue to fight for our freedom. Today, we'd like to share a wonderful article with you, brought to us by our banking, investment and insurance company - USAA. They granted us permission to post it here on the Ao4 Digest. (Thank you, USAA!!)

As a lead in, we give you a short video Mom shot off our deck with her iPhone 4.

Fireworks!

We Salute Those Who Protect Our Freedom ~ from USAA

While most Americans spend this Fourth of July with their loved ones, members of the U.S. military remain on duty to guard against tyranny and stamp out injustice around the globe. They stand for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, carrying on the vision set forth in the Declaration of Independence itself. On this Independence Day, we at USAA salute those who protect our freedom to celebrate.

The Nation's Beginning Independence Day is designated as the day the 13 original colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, establishing the United States as a separate nation, free from the rule of Great Britain. In reality, the adoption of the declaration took place over a series of meetings. The most appropriate date to celebrate is often debated by historians. In fact, founding father John Adams predicted a different day in a letter to his wife Abigail: "The Second Day of July 1776 will be the most memorable Epocha in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding Generations as the great anniversary Festival."

With the Revolutionary War still far from over, the earliest citizens of our young nation celebrated the first anniversary of the Declaration in Philadelphia, then the capital city. A 13-gun salute, musical acts and fireworks helped to establish the familiar traditions we still enjoy today.

In 1870, the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. It wasn't until 1938, more than 162 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, that the Fourth of July became an official paid federal holiday.

Honoring Those Who Serve On Independence Day, we celebrate our freedom as a unified nation. We give thanks to those long ago who envisioned and fought for our land of liberty. And we honor the men and women who still fight to keep America standing strong.

Many thanks for those wonderful words and for letting us share them.

One more video of the fireworks that are shot off at the assisted living place behind our house.

More fireworks!

Disclaimer: We would like to add that we are not fans of fireworks & firecrackers that are shot off all over our neighborhood at all hours of the night and day. Public displays like the one in our videos, however, have a start and stop time, and the remnants (strings, parachutes, cement weights, sticks, and cordite-laced cardboard, to name a bit of it) aren't strewn all over our yard and the streets and sidewalks. Some of us (and we won't say who) just can't resist trying to snarf it all up, then get sick and horka. And then there is the noise...! End of Ao4 disclaimer. ☺

Wishing all of you a safe and happy Independence Day.

The Army of Four