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Show lient Carroll N. Madsen Gives Farewell Talk in Church Honoring Battery D. Following is a talk given last Sunday by Carroll N. Madsen, oecond Lieutenant of Battery D, the Mt. Pleasant North ward apel during Sacrament meeting: meet-ing: dear brothers and sisters: It is with appreciation and midity that I stand before you tjday to try to expound and ex-P'ain ex-P'ain to you some of the things "at are happening in your very "ast. Some of you have boys, some of you, brothers or relatives a military organization and 'J. are much concerned about )"-lr welfare. You are wonder-what wonder-what is going to happen to tm in the next year. You feel 'fi keenly the pangs of lone-"ess lone-"ess in your heart. You tender just how you are going. 7.M along without them. You aer whether or not this is go- to be a good experience fori ''W- You are very anxious for assurance tlmt they will return ns .-'tire m heart and body us wnon ou lot thoni U-iive you. Today wo, the Amoncsm people, nro l.v-"K l.v-"K in a democracy; one of the ow remaining loft in the world- Bovornmont by the people and -or the people; a land where a ..'orson can think, say and do as :e wishes if he treads not on -'.her people's civil rights; a land ,'1KV ami Plenty; a nation with opportunities for all who are willing to strive and work, a nation with free education for our offspring; a strong nation of peace -.ovmg people. 1. m my short span of life have enjoyed the blessings and priv-Hjtes priv-Hjtes ol this beloved America of nme, anything in my power that 1 can do to help America remain to my loved ones as it has been 0 1S, nt too great a sacrifice. Only by being strong can we n any way, hope to remain at peace. We have been strong bt--ore in emergencies as a nation we are becoming strong today in order that we might again main-ai main-ai what our forefathers fought and bled to save. We, the young men of America, will again do our part in preserving what to us s sacred our freedom. I know only of one thing greater than giving niy all for my country, -hat would be giving my all for uod. . My country has called me. It .las cailed your sons and broth-ors. broth-ors. your husbands, your rela-tives. rela-tives. We are marching forward . w r Know noi. 5ut this we do know: we are march-ng march-ng with our heads high, our eyes "ixed on a goal that we will give our all for. We beseech you, who we leave behind, not to feel too badly about our going. We need your support in order that we may do a good job of what we .lave set out to do. We know you are going to feel lonely. We, .oo, will miss our loved ones. We, oo, will be lonely, but we will work all the harder to overcome our loneliness, and endeavor to make those we leave behind jroud of us. I have heard some mothers say, "My boy cannot go in the army, whether the country needs him or not." I can appreciate how the mother feels, but I still say with ail the emphasis at my command, .hat the family who will not sup-jort sup-jort and fight for the blessings of freedom that they enjoy in -his great country of ours, is not entitled to its privileges. Every mother's son is one of her dealest deal-est possessions, but it must be remembered that to keep wnat we now possess every mother's oon no.v .must make an effort for a future mother's son. Selfishness Selfish-ness cannot ma.ntain what we nave; sacrifice for everyone is our only salvation. To ail Latter Day Saint mothers moth-ers and fathers I say: You need ,.ot worry about how your son will conduct himself. He is now i man, and with the religious eacungs you have given him, I am positive that he will not in any manner disgrace you. You .hink that because he is leaving .lorae and going into strange areas he wiu meet with greater .emptations. But, I say he has always met with temptations, he .ias so overcome them up to this .ime that his character has been moulded so that even greater temptations, if there be any, can aso be overcome. God be praised prais-ed for the teachings that you nave given your sons; for the ' .a.th and love you have shown .hem, for the confidence you nave in them. No son with such a background can fail a mother or fatner even though he be far away from them. My religion has always been I to me just what gravity is to tne physical world; the element and .he power that has held me from aoing many things that are wrong. I am happy beyond expression ex-pression that I have had the re-l.gous re-l.gous trainng that I have had. It is to me a governing power that saves me from many temptations. temp-tations. . The meetings, the church paries, par-ies, which have been given in our honor have been an inspiration inspira-tion to me. My mind has been quickened and my reflections upon the counsel and pleasant associations will be many in my time away from home. Allow me in my closing remarks, re-marks, to give a bit of advice or counsel to mothers and fathers, or wives, or relatives of those who are going away within the next few weeks. Don t say, He a good boy." Say, "Son, you are now a man. We have confidence that you will take advantage ot every opportunity that comes your way. We have done our best to teach you what is right and wrong. We love you dearly, we have faith in you, your judgment judg-ment is sound and your mind is clear. Do what you think is best, -we will be in there rooting for you all the time." . I feel very strongly in my heart and soul that your love wi hu de us, your sacrifices will make us successful, and your ni avers will save us. . With a prayer of thanks in my heart for my associations witn such loyal people, I say with a" humbleness, God bless you all! |