For John Donovan, It's All About Resolve

In his speech five days after hijacked planes flew into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon and crashed in Pennsylvania, Garden City American Legion commander John Donovan alluded to the fact that Osama bin Laden did not heed Admiral Yamamoto's painful cry after Pearl Harbor: "We have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

Donovan, who served one year in Vietnam, two years in Germany and in Fort Bragg, NC in the 82nd Airborne Division, said he's proud of the "amazing job that our elite troops did to take out bin Laden."

It's not important to him, however, that the al-Qaeda leader is dead. "Soldiers don't need revenge," he said. "They just do the next right thing. They have resolve ... Resolve. That's what it's about."

His words ring true today. "I say that again. On that day, five days after 9/11, I said, 'There will always be those who hate, throwing bombs at little girls walking to school or diving packed planes into buildings full of mothers and fathers. But in America, there will always be more of those who love, racing into crumbling buildings to rescue strangers and fighting armed terrorists in the sky to prevent a plane from crashing into the White House.

"That's what the terrorists will never understand, and why they will never win."

Here's Donovan's entire speech, read Sept. 16, 2001 at an American Legion barbecue:

Ladies and Gentlemen; we of the American Legion thoughtfully considered whether to go on with today’s Bar-B-Q and decided to go ahead and do it.

Today, on the very anniversary of the day in 1919 that the American Legion was incorporated by an Act of Congress – today, we are not forgetting the pain and tears of the American people who have been affected by our national tragedy.

We are not forgetting the wail of bagpipes at funerals, as our fallen heroic people are put to rest.

The American Legion, in keeping with our President’s call to get on with our American way of life, and to be more united than ever by this national tragedy, have not called off our annual get together. We could each be alone and suffer in silence. Instead, it is much better to put our arms around each other and gather our strength together.

We will not allow the cowardly enemy that perpetuated this crime against humanity to be successful in destroying our American spirit and way of life – a spirit and way of life that is the envy of the world. This is a time in our young nation’s history when our mettle is again being tested. This is also a time when we will again show the world, especially this cowardly enemy who sneaks into our life and then hides in a hole, that we are truly "One Nation, Under God, Indivisible – A Nation that will forever endure!”

It is said that those who ignore history will tend to relive it at their peril. Tom Fragale, who helped in the writing of this speech, will speak to you in a moment about how the many war veterans in this post can help young and old alike cope with this past week’s events, and the unknowing trauma yet to come.

However, I will say just a few words about history. It is human nature to take a new or unusual event in our lives and draw a parallel to something we have experienced in the past. But in military battle, that does not always work. As a Viet Nam veteran, I learned the hard way that the traditional front line battles did not apply to a guerilla war fought by motivated fanatics. The war which we are now engaged in is yet another new type of war. This one is being fought by motivated, criminal, murdering fanatics on a worldwide scale.

I know that our military leaders have thoughtfully considered this type of warfare for several years now. I suggest to you that we cannot, as a nation, play defense and wait to be surprised in the dead of night, or on a bright sunny day at 9 AM in the morning. If so, we will be surprised again and again. It is time to turn the tables on the enemy and surprise them. We know much more about them than they can imagine. They actually know so little about us, and it is incredulous that they did not heed Admiral Yamamoto’s painful cry after Pearl Harbor, "We have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

Resolve. That's what it's about.

A lot of things changed for this country forever on Tuesday. But our capitalism, our freedom to pursue opportunity and our resolve to live our lives without fear did not.

There will always be those who hate, throwing bombs at little girls walking to school or diving packed planes into buildings full of mothers and fathers.

But in America, there will always be more of those who love, racing into crumbling buildings to rescue strangers and fighting armed terrorists in the sky to prevent a plane from crashing into the White House.

That's what the terrorists will never understand, and why they will never win.

Our American Legion Post Chaplain, Tom Fragale, will now tell you some things you can do to help your neighbors and friends.