May 27, 2002 - The Atlanta Jounral Constituion: Mongolia RPCV Nathan Bumore joins army to share expertise on Central Asia

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By Admin1 (admin) on Wednesday, May 29, 2002 - 1:36 pm: Edit Post

Mongolia RPCV Nathan Bumore joins army to share expertise on Central Asia





Read and comment on this story from the The Atlanta Jounral Constituion on RPCV Mongolia Nathan Burnore who is now in his first week of basic military training at Fort Sill, Okla. because he believes his interest and expertise in Central Asia could be of value to his country at:

Honor those who defend the ideal of freedom *

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Honor those who defend the ideal of freedom

By now, it is cliché to observe that our world has changed monumentally since we observed Memorial Day last.

But there is truth in cliché. Our world has changed in ways that sadden our hearts and inspire us to discover anew the heights of nobility and courage, of patriotism and sacrifice, to which a determined people will rise.

We see those values in the likes of Nathan Burnore, a young man whose deeds have not yet earned him fame or glory. He is an ordinary American patriot, 26 years old, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Mongolia who until a week ago was a research associate at the Southern Center for International Studies in Atlanta.

Today, he is in his first week of basic military training at Fort Sill, Okla. He has interest and expertise in Central Asia that, he believes, could be of value to his country. With the age cutoff for new recruits looming, and despite a new baby at home, Burnore took the oath.

We see those values, as well, in Sgt. Gene Arden Vance Jr. of Morgantown, W. Va., a member of the 19th Special Forces Group of the West Virginia National Guard. Vance made the supreme sacrifice a week ago while on patrol in Afghanistan. Newly married, Vance canceled his honeymoon last fall when he was put on notice that he would be called to active duty.

With his death, 37 American military personnel and one CIA officer have been killed in Afghanistan since the conflict began.

Vance's death is a tragic reminder of the extent to which the nation has grown dependent on its citizen soldiers -- men and women who, in the finest tradition of the Minutemen, suspend their personal lives and careers to respond to the nation's call. Almost half of the nation's military force is now in the National Guard and Reserves.

In 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, 265,322 reservists were called to active duty. Since Sept. 11, more than 81,000 reservists have been called to duty, including Vance's unit. Vance, in fact, is the second member of his Special Forces group to die in Afghanistan.

Patriots such as Vance and Burnore stand as symbols of the values that are the essence of freedom and democracy. Because of their selflessness and devotion to duty, we are reminded of those principles and obligations that are non-negotiable.

Ronald Reagan said it well on Omaha Beach on the 40th anniversary of D-Day. "One's country," he said, "is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man."

President Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed a similar sentiment more than a half-century ago. We stand today strong, he said, not primarily because we have the weapons or resources or the leadership needed to wage war, though all are necessary, but because of an ideal. It is the ideal of freedom founded on the rights of the common man, on the dignity of the human being, on the conception of the state as the servant, and not the master, of its people.

On this day, we honor that ideal, as well as the men and women -- Vance and Burnore among them -- who stand ready to defend it.



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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; What RPCVs are doing; COS - Mongolia

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