Of Soldiers And Sailors ...

"Freedom is the last best hope of earth."

                               ~ Abraham Lincoln

                                                         ~ 1809-1865

                                ~ 16th President of the United States

                                                          ~ 1861-1865

Valor is celebrated as the Soldiers and Sailors Monument stands in 

the heart of downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania a few days before

Veteran's Day 2015. The statue of a rebel Confederate soldier (second from left) stands

beside a Union soldier with the phrase "One Flag, One Country" imprinted beneath them.

The rebel soldier was included on the monument as a gesture of reconciliation when

it was erected in 1899, only three decades after the Civil War, or the

War Between The States.  It is reportedly the only municipal monument in the North

honoring a Confederate soldier.

An inscription reads: "This column commemorates the valor and patriotism of the

Soldiers and Sailors of the County of Lehigh in the War of 1861-65." 

Salute For The Valiant ...

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them."
                 John Fitzgerald Kennedy 
                         ~ 1917-1963
                35th President of the United States
                                of America
                            ~   1960-1963                        

                            and U.S. Navy Veteran 

With deep gratitude and admiration to our nation's veterans.
By your bravery and courage, we remain the land of the free!

Old Glory waves proudly in chilly, whipping November winds at Leaser Lake, New Tripoli, Pennsylvania.

Leaser Lake's namesake is Frederick Leaser, who in September 1777 with his farm team hauled 
The Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown where it was concealed in Zion Reformed Church. His homestead is located one mile north of the lake.