Pennsylvania sailor George Stembrosky was just 20 years old when he was killed at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
Entering our 14th year, we have annually shared a 4th of July message, or remembrance, over why this holiday sets America, and Americans, apart from the rest of the world. This year, we turn to our readers and the site’s two senior writers to say it even better.
I really don’t know how many individual readers have logged on to this site since its inception in 2010, but we know that it’s millions.
And among those millions there is a special group who have read it from day one, and still read every day…as a tribute to the effort, or as one puts it, “Dependable as the sunrise.”
Press Pros Editor/publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and the Buckeyes for Press Pros Magazine.
We’ve always stepped away from sports on the 4th of July to simply pay respect to our country and our privilege – for freedom of speech, expression, and to honor those who’ve paid for all of this with their lives.
This year, we’ll do it differently, as we’ve invited some of those loyal readers, as well as our two senior-most writers and former Reds beat writers, Hal McCoy and Greg Hoard, to share their own thoughts about life, liberty, and their 4th of July experience.
We’ve received contributions from all kinds – people from every walk of life. Truly, there is something for everyone in this response from the readers of Press Pros. We hope you’re moved to appreciate…just how good it is to be an American.
“I appreciate the 4th of July because I was born on the 4th, I was married on the 4th, and my cousin was killed on July 4th, 1968, fighting in Vietnam. So I have both good and bad memories. My dad always told me that if you work hard and keep your nose clean you can become anything you want because you’re free to do it. I was close to my cousin, who was older, and when I think of people who gave their life for the privilege of living as a free American I don’t have to think far, or question the cost. The 4th of July is truly a personal day for me.” … Danny Huff
“It’s easy for me to love and appreciate the 4th of July. Everything I have I owe to the privilege of being an American. Who can possibly ask for more?” … Tom Killilea
“July 4th simply makes me feel grateful for all I have, and the freedom I have to enjoy it.” – Dianne Pfennig
“As a child the 4th of July meant watching our small-town parade with my family, my dad cheering and waving to everyone he knew. As a grownup it meant celebrating the day at my in-law’s huge party, a favorite family tradition. As a young parent it meant indulging my husband’s love of fireworks, ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ at the colors in the night-time sky. Now, as a mom whose kids are grown with their own families, the significance of Independence Day doesn’t involve where or how I spend it. Instead, July 4th simply makes me feel grateful for all I have, and the freedom I have to enjoy it.” … Dianne Pfennig
“I’m 77 years old and truly blessed to be an American. I served my country in the United States Army and sometimes feel guilty about the ones I knew who paid with their lives so that others could become whatever they want. It’s not always easy, but it’s easier than dying for someone who cheats the privilege. I cannot thank enough those who paid forward for someone like me.” … Thomas Lovejoy
(Ed. Note: Tom Lovejoy was a fifth grade classmate, a homeless orphan who lived through the graciousness of individuals in the community who gave him food and a roof over his head…until it was time for him to move on. We never knew at the time that he was six years older than everyone else in the class. He survived Vietnam to start a trucking company, rising to enormous personal success in the Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia tri-state. His story is as inspiring as any I’ve ever known.)
“Every Independence Day, I think of my father and the hundreds of thousands who fought and gave their lives…..” – Hal McCoy
“For far too many Americans, the Fourth of July is a paid day off work and a family picnic to set off fireworks while eating brats, metts and apple pie. To them it is not Independence Day (What’s that?), it is the Fourth of July, a day to hit the beach, not knowing what hit the beach really means. It hits me hard. When I was five years old my father came home from World War II, where he hit the beach in the Philippines and it had nothing to do with catching rays. He and his fellow soldiers caught ‘hello’. He fought for our freedom against those who would take it away. Every Independence Day, I think of my father and the hundreds of thousands who fought and gave their lives so we can set off fireworks, eat metts, brats and eat apple pie – not only on Independence Day, but every day.” … Hal McCoy
“It’s an honor to give thanks for the millions of Americans who died so that people like me could live free, make a living, and watch my family grow to become happy and successful. And I can’t say enough how little I care for those who take more from America than they give, and don’t appreciate the price paid for their selfish existence. God bless America, and every life given to make it the greatest country in the world.” … Harvey Butcher
“To me the 4th of July means I can live every day with optimism. Every day is an opportunity to do more and do better thanks to those who died to ensure our independence and right to self determination. There’s nothing really like it in the rest of the world. God bless America.” … Jeffrey Lower
“I didn’t know [back] then how scarred [my dad] was. I appreciate the 4th of July, but it’s hard…maybe you understand.” – Greg Hoard
At first, Dad was okay, but as the fireworks grew louder and the explosions more powerful I noticed that he was grabbing the blanket we sat on, clenching it in his hand and squeezing my mother’s hand so tightly she cried out. I didn’t know then that Dad was a highly-decorated veteran of World War II. I didn’t know that he had earned five major battle stars, including D-Day. I didn’t know then how scarred he was without being physically wounded. Back then I was five, and I didn’t know. But I learned about all of it, eventually, and it hurt. It still does. But it never hurt me as much as it hurt Dad. He’s been gone 25 years. I appreciate the 4th of July, but it’s hard. Maybe you understand.” … Greg Hoard
“The proper name for the 4th of July is Independence Day, as it was on this day in 1776 that the founding fathers declared our independence from the tyranny of King George the III of England. And the key thought that should permeate the minds of all Americans ‘is’ freedom. And as I think about this freedom I’m reminded of the greatest freedom of all, found in the Gospel…from which every true believer takes his or her refuge. As much as we Americans should cherish our early freedom in our nation and guard it with our lives, we who believe in and trust Christ should cherish and guard even more our eternal freedom. The Apostle Paul wrote that we should stand fast, therefore in the liberty wherewith He has made us free. May God continue to bless America.” … Pastor Bill Parker