Friday, March 20, 2009

A Firefighter Honors his Oath: "In Peace, Firemen. If Invaded, Soldiers"

"In peace, firemen. If invaded, soldiers." Amen!

I am not, nor have I ever been a member of the military. I am not a law- enforcement officer. I am a firefighter. Under state law in California,
this also makes me a "special peace officer."

I took an oath, in March of
the year 2000, to "uphold and defend the Constitutions of the United States of America and the state of California against all enemies, both foreign and domestic, and to bear true faith and allegiance to the same." This oath was administered by my department's governing board, and is legally binding.

I am not issued a weapon in my course of work, but I take my oath seriously.
I study the Founders of our nation, and the documents they produced. My wife and I are teaching this to our children. In our kitchen hangs a plaque that reads, "In peace, firemen. If invaded, soldiers." I hang it there because I believe in it. I view "invasion" to mean the deployment within the United States of any military or paramilitary force that bears the population hostile intent.

Thank you to those of you who have started and
championed this movement. This is much needed by this country. The question of "what will the military do" causes a great deal of anxiety in the general American population. It is good to see some who will not just follow orders. History and the Jewish population can tell us all we need to know about just following orders. Six million murders testify to the folly of just following orders.

I believe that the right to own modern weaponry is the cornerstone on which the rest of our rights exist. I own such weapons, and seek appropriate training for their use. I have found the "Appleseed Program" sponsored by the Revolutionary War Veteran's Association and believe they are very much in concert with you. They teach marksmanship, and the history of April 19th, 1775. You may find more information about them at:

http://www.appleseedinfo.org/index.htm

Again, thank you for making this public stand. Know that you are not alone, and are very much needed. I pray to our Lord God that we will never have to demonstrate our resolve.

Allen M. Gillespie
Fire Apparatus Engineer
Humboldt #1 Fire Protection District


NOTE: Stewart Rhodes wrote a feature article on the Appleseed Program for S.WA.T. Magazine. You can read that article here. Appleseed is a great program, made up of volunteers, and is endorsed and highly recommended by Oath Keepers.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thumbs-up from New Zealnd to all Oath keepers.

Kia Kaha! (Stand Strong in NZ Maori)

Oath Keepers said...

Cool- thanks New Zealand!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, reading about these things are great, as a Canadian (my country is extremely apathetic and myopic)...

Keep it up, patriots worldwide!

Anonymous said...

So many fire-fighters have given their lives for their countrymen. They are as brave as any soldier. Remember on 9-11 when those brave men ran UP the stairs into the towers while everyone else was running down?

And some say the American people have lost their spirit. Bullshit!

Oath Keepers said...

This ones doing alright on Digg, stop by and give Mr.Gillespie and thumbs up

http://digg.com/world_news/Oath_Keepers_A_Firefighter_Honors_his_Oath

Stewart Rhodes said...

Mr. Gillespie,

It is an honor to have you among us as a fellow Oath Keeper. While in Montana, I served on a volunteer fire department (just a rookie) and the men I served with, to a man, were patriots and men of deep courage. Many of them were vets, but vet or not, they were patriots.

Frankly, the volunteer fire department is about the closest thing we currently have to the Founders' ideal of the citizens militia - just average citizens stepping up, as unpaid volunteers, to safeguard their communities, their neighbors, and their own families.

And the paid firefighters are also a shining example of the guardian, always on watch. One of my uncles has served as a firefighter all his life in California. He is quiet, but brave.

The "focus of effort" of Oath Keepers is on the military and police because it is they who will have to refuse orders that violate the rights of the people, but we welcome the active participation of anyone who loves liberty and values our Constitution, and especially those who, by their actions, have shown a willingness to risk all for their fellow man.

Thank you for stepping up, and please do encourage your fellow firefighters to participate and to send in testimonials. We would be most honored to call them brothers.

Stewart Rhodes
Oath Keepers