19July06

As we were concluding an Advanced Urban Rifle Program in WY last weekend, one of my students was having a terrible time passing our test, which requir ed him to switch shoulders as he engaged multiple, steel targets. I consider the ability to shoot rifles "left-handed" a critical skill. In the end, he was unable to pass, despite heroic effort. He is Jewish, and his personal lineament was wounded, though he hid it well.

During our closing ceremony, he asked to briefly speak to all of us. Permission was, of course, instantly granted. He indicated that his family had come to this Country from Russia several generations ago, like so many, fle eing religious persecution. Many Jewish families never made it! He told us abo ut the "knock-on-the-door-in-the-middle-of-the-night," which p ortended the murder of so many. He went on to say that his ancestors, the few who survi ved and the many who didn't, were mostly unarmed and, more to the point, had no

practical weapons skills. They, like so many other betrayed innocents, wer e defenseless and helpless when remorselessly murdered.

"Since in America," he went on, =80=9Cmy family and I hav e made it a personal mantra to be well armed, well skilled, and fundamentally unapologetic about

refusing to be victims of criminal violence. The ' knock-on-the-door-in-the-middle-of-the-night' may be coming for all of us, and maybe sooner than any of us imagine possible. I may have missed here this afternoon during my test, bu t I won't miss then, nor will I hesitate!"

Tears flowed down his cheeks as his voice trailed off. The rest of us stoo d in silence as we were all reminded that moment of what this Country stands for. America is a shining beacon, a ray of hope to billions who live in virtual slavery and whose lives are routinely and casually snuffed out at th e insouciant whim of thoughtless potentates.

In ancient times, each warrior was known by the unique design on his shield . During close-quarter fighting, it became virtually impossible to know frien d from foe without an intimate knowledge of shield designs. For example, all

shields carried by Spartan Hopolites bore the Greek symbol Lambda, (^) or "L," which stood for Laconia, the area in southern Greece where, in the Ten th Century BC, their ancestors (and ours!) had settled and founded the city-st ate of Sparta.

Derived from the Semitic letter, "Lamedh" (ox-goad), lambda is the eleventh

letter in the Hellenic Alphabet and the basis for our letter "L." Originally a picture-symbol for scales, the letter eventually took on the abstract meaning of "balance." Lacedaemonians (Spartans) painted upper-case Lambdas on their shields, symbolizing not only their fierce unity but also their belief that the demands of the state must never interfere with the freedom and independence of the individual citizen. Thus, it is, even today, the upper -case lambda ( ^ ) that is painted as chevrons on our armored vehicles, represent ing warriors who balance duty with honor and freedom.

Let us never forget that we Americans bear the onus of our proud, Western Heritage, so nobly earned in 480 BC at the pass of Thermopylae by King Leoni das and his Army of three-hundred Spartans. Because of their bravery, audacity , and determination, and that of many others in generations since, the =9C knock-on-the-door-in-the-middle-of-the-night" has not been part of o ur lives, at least not yet!

/John