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Show Let's All Celebrate February 22 is a day of celebration and rededication. In the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico Monday 180,000,000 Americans celebrate the birthday of George Washington, father of his country, and rededicate themselves to the sacred principles of liberty, human dignity and democracy which he revered and for which he and his men fought so gallantly gal-lantly almost 200 years ago. Some 470,000 of our fellow citizens, members of the National Na-tional Guard in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and (Continued on Page Four) f i I Let's All Celebrate (Continued from Page 1) Puerto Rico, today also observe National Guard Muster Day. It is eminently proper that our gallant citizen-soldiers should celebrate National Guard Muster Day on General George Washington's birthday. As a member of the Virginia Militia, the National Guard of his day; commander in chief of the military forces, most of them militia men, that won freedom for and gave birth to this great nation; and first President of these United States, Mr. Washington easily deserves the accolade as the greatest National Guardsman of them all. We won't quarrel with this designation and neither, we are certain, will our readers. This newspaper believes that every American citizen, all 180,000,000 of them, should join their 470,000 fellow citizens in the National Guard in celebrating and observing National Guard Muster Day. For the National Guard belongs to every American just as it is part of all America. The National Guard is our oldest military organization. As the colonial militia it was defending our incioient nation from the earliest pioneer days. With the Bible for divine guidance guid-ance and support, the plow to tame and civilize the wild frontier land, and the rifle to defend it against marauders and enemies who would destroy it, the National Guardsmen of colonial days started the proud tradition of loyal, patriotic service that has continued to this day and will continue so long, as this nation exists. The National Guard has defended and protected and served this nation in war and peace for over 300 years. |