"NUTS!" - An old vet keeps the Oath

Gun confiscation in America? In the words of General Anthony Clement McAuliffe, "NUTS!"

Brigadier General McCauliffe was in command of the 101st Airborne Division and other Army forces at the key town of Bastogne, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. German forces surrounded the outnumbered defenders, cutting them off from supply and reinforcement. But the scrappy American troops rebuffed every attack and held on through two days of fierce battle. Knowing the Americans were low on supplies, the German commander offered McAuliffe the chance to surrender. McAuliffe's one-word reply was "Nuts." This became arguably the most famous single statement in World War II and a symbol of the determination to defeat Nazi Germany.

An old vet keeps the Oath
by Robert Muchnick
USN vet

FINALLY, Americans taking a stand for what is right. I have been looking for you for years.

I am a Vietnam era U.S. Navy veteran, long since discharged from service. Unlike many of the distinguished folks who've posted their testimonials here, my service was less than remarkable, but I did serve, during a time of undeclared war, and volunteered to boot.

When you're eighteen, you maybe believe the "fighting for freedom" and "keeping the world safe for democracy [sic]" stuff because you don't know any better. In the decades since my oath of service, I learned the difference -- painfully -- between "government" and the Constitution; they aren't the same, and are often antithetical to each other. Back in the days of 'Nam, we were ostensibly fighting against a Fascist/Communist tyranny. Now it looks as if we've become one.

I took the oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. I never renounced it and it didn't have an expiration date. It also said nothing about the President, the Congress or the Supreme Court. It said the Constitution because it is that greatest of political documents which enshrines the freedom that was America.

The right of defense of oneself, one's family and way of life is a right inherent in all creatures and flows from Nature herself. It is not a right emanating from a benign "government" which can be bestowed or withdrawn by it on a whim. The right of defense exists prior even to the Constitution itself. The same can be said of liberty because liberty without the right of defense is an illusion. The Founding Fathers knew that government can grow to be the enemy of the people's freedom and so put in place measures for "the security of a free State."

There is conflict brewing on the near horizon for this country, of that there can be no doubt. I may be slower and not as strong as I was four decades ago, but I will stand with anyone here to defend freedom and our Constitution for the people of this nation, by whatever means are necessary. The citizen soldier built this nation and the loyal members of the armed and police forces defended it, and we the people will now save it from destruction.

Gun confiscation in America? In the words of General Anthony Clement McAuliffe, "NUTS!"

Molon Labe!

Robert Muchnick
USN vet