Outdoor Odyssey

President Woodrow Wilson designated November 11, 1919 as the first Veterans Day honoring our troops that helped to end, WW I, “the war to end all wars”.  My family has served in almost all of our Country’s wars before and after WW I and we have generations of veterans all the way back to The Revolutionary War!  

All of us were proud to have served our Country, but I, for one, am now concerned at the track that we are on.  Unending wars in the middle east; appeasement and apologies to our enemies, a terrorist attack at Ft. Hood being called a tragedy. Hurricane Ike was a tragedy.   This was murder by an enraged, radical, terrorist!  

When, are our leaders going to wake up and right the ship of state?  Will they ever?  Do they want to?  While our current regime is busy tearing down the capital structure of our Country, our enemies are clappin’ their hands and stompin’ their feet!  Today, our country is on a very, slippery slope!  When are all of us going to wake up, or is it too late?

Have a thoughtful, Veterans Day!

 
Just before WW I ended in 1918, my Uncle, Sgt. E. Jay Bryan, died in France from the flu.  He had been in France for almost a year and had been through the all of the war, but the flu was the worst killer of our young service men!

Uncle E. Jay was a handsome young man as this picture, taken in 1917, just before he shipped over to France, shows!
 
Two years before, E. Jay’s National Guard unit, Company F, 3rd Infantry Regiment, was activated by the Army and served with Gen. Pershing during the Mexican Border Campaign of 1916.  Company F, charged with defense of the Mexico/U.S. border was made up of men from central Texas.
 
Sixty years before, his Grandfather Brinson. M. Bryan, my Great Grandfather, also defended along the border during the Mexican War of 1846/47.  He was part of a Texas Ranger contingent, Bell’s Rangers, also from central Texas.
 
Today, our southern border still remains a real problem area.  It was simple in my forefather’s times, they just closed the border and ran the Mexicans back across.  Things were much easier then before our Country became engulfed with political correctness and the disgusting pandering of our politicians.
  
Going through some of E. Jay’s stuff I came across the following hand written poem with credit given to no poet, perhaps he composed it himself?  It is my pleasure to share it with everyone.

 “TOO PROUD TO LOAF

We’re camping on the Rio Grande with nothing much to do,
But wash our shirts and darn our socks, and darn the insects too.

We want the world to understand we’re not too proud to fight,
But draw the line at loafing here with things that sting and bite.

The Rattlers are a friendly lot and visit us by scores,
Tarantulas prefer our tents to sleeping out of doors.

In napping in our shoes and hats the scorpion persists,
We’ve also learned the Horned Toad is a harmless little oaf,
But we’re not a bit too proud to fight, but how we hate to loaf."

Just like today, most of us, and definitely our military, loves this great country and remains proud to serve her!  But, one thing remains a constant, our country’s freedom is more important than politics or political correctness!
 

My Dad was a good man and a good Dad and he had “seen the elephant”! He was a character, very colorful, a great hunter and fisherman and everyone should enjoy these next few posts about him.

During WW I, when he was 16, my Dad, John Bryan, ran away from home and joined the Texas National Guard. That particular unit had been called up for duty in France. He was loaded on the train in Waco, headed for overseas training, when his Dad, My Grand Dad, Peyton Bryan, appeared and physically drug him off of the train. It took him 5 years and many letters to finally get a discharge from the Guard so he could join the Marines.

John H. Bryan was his name. “What’s the “H” stand for Johnny?” I heard his friends laughingly ask him this many times. Well, when he joined the Marine Corps, the Recruiting Sgt. told him “Son, you have to have a middle initial to join my Corps”. Puzzled my dad replied, “Sgt. my only name is John, but if I need a middle initial make it H, H for hellion.”

Pictured is Pvt. John H. Bryan, aboard the battleship U.S.S. Tennessee, on his first cruise after boot camp. He was one of "The Old Breed" U.S. Marines.

Daddy, as I called him, rose to the rank of Sergeant, E-5, in the Marine Corps and in the 20’s was the Marine, Fleet, middleweight boxing champion. My Dad also had combat experience in Latin America during one of the last “Banana Wars”. He tried to enlist with the Marines on December 8, 1941, but was told, even with his past record, that he was forty years old and too old to serve in the Corps. I remember him being very upset over this!

In the fall 1942 the movie “Wake Island” was released and shown at
the Metropolitan Theatre in Houston. We went to see it on the premier
night because Daddy wanted to see one of his old CO’s from the Corps. I
met the CO, a Lt.Colonel, Chesty Puller, who ended up being the most
famous Marine of WW II. He was on a war bond drive and temporarily back
from Guadalcanal. My Dad would have joined back up that night also.

He finally matured and worked for the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company for 35 years, finally retiring as a mid level Manager.

I
have always remembered one day after a real tough Dove hunt and we
didn't do very good and he gave me some of the best advice I have ever
received. He told me, "Boy, don't worry about today's bad hunt. Just
remember, if it were easy each time out, it would be called shooting
instead of hunting!" Some days we have a world of success and some days
are complete washouts, but the real fun is being out in God's great
outdoors!

On February 12, 2007, I was going through a trove of old Bryan family momentoes and opening a box of keepsakes from my Uncle, E. Jay Bryan, who served in the Army during the Mexican Border Campaign with Gen. Pershing, and died in France during WW 1, well before I was born, I came across the following handwritten poem, author unknown to me.

It is my pleasure to share it with the readers.

E. Jay’s unit was Company F, 3rd Texas Infantry Regiment, Texas National Guard, from Falls County, Texas, charged with border defense.  His Grandfather B. M. Bryan, my Great Grandfather, also defended along the Mexican border during the Mexican War of 1846/47 as part of a Texas Ranger contingent, Bell’s Rangers, also from central Texas.  Today, our southern border still remains a real problem area.  In my forefather’s times they just closed the border and ran the Mexicans back across.

Things were easier then before we became engulfed with Political Correctness and the disgusting pandering of our politicians.   But, one thing remains, our country’s freedom is more important than politics!

Just like today, most of us, and definitely our military, loves this great country and remain proud to serve her!

“TOO PROUD TO LOAF

We’re camping on the Rio Grande with nothing much to do,
But wash our shirts and darn our socks,
And darn the insects too.
We want the world to understand we’re not too proud to fight,
But draw the line at loafing here with things that sting and bite.

The Rattlers are a friendly lot and visit us by scores,
Tarantulas prefer our tents to sleeping out of doors.

In napping in our shoes and hats the scorpion persists,

We’ve learned the Horned Toad is a harmless little oaf,
We’re not a bit too proud to fight, but how we hate to loaf."