Rushmore (LSD 47) - Naval Cruise Book

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S16 kit' K Z, , A 4 eg K+ av ,f,A lpn! ji'0m the Editor Whenever anyone would :wk my dnd why he served in the militu1'5' he would answer. ko my lyidk won't hziye to. The world has changed inueh kinee then :md l um sure than thzinks to him. and those like him. my kids won't have to pratetiee nuelezir zittztek drills in elementary sehool its I onee did. Unfortunately, without the eonktimtly looming thrent of at planet eontrolled hy eommunikm. Ameriezmk olten forget the lkiet that there ure. :ind 1llVv'2lyS will he. those individunlk who spend their lives protecting those very people who eurry out their daily lives without giving their proteetork ai keeond thought. 'l'hztt however. is to provide. i On September l lth. 2lltll..iust ten dnyk :alter the Rushmore returned from zz live-month deployment. the nzition wus shaken hy the most deadly terrorist zittziek in the history ol. our eountry. The United States moved into :ietion with ai lirm resolve than nothing like this would ever hzippen signin. not inside our horders or anywhere else. A ehziin ol events liaid been plueed into aietion that would elimzix for us. the erew ol' the Ruxhmore :md our Marines. on January 6 '. 2003. if the privilege thzit we. the Amerienn men :md women in uniform. live

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justifii.'aitioit ol' their aictionx.. Simply put, l'nr going todo w E.. AS mt. meg gootllwycx new w.ntl. thi' laixt kisws hlown and onlythctirsttt-riixlwt-y.ii1 to t.ill, or lu'g.'iiii to lnlly rr-nlifg than the time to do our 'oh h.nl troniv Iwi-n thonyh nothing hzttl hc wid--U1'1'ir-tally, vu'knuu nt- twat- Qttlllp' lo win' in lrziq. 'lhtg reason vias soinctlnng thin vonltl. irntl wonltl, ht- tlclmtctl hy people grqi'm.s thc vonntry tnitl mr-in within our own converkginorix. There ix gin olil tnilitiiry gulgigfv thin says, t mrs is not to reason why... While rlliixlintiiig thc tliwiplinc ol' the inilitzir it hints Lit the ttritlwlyiiip nu-il prcscnt in till people lor you tell inc hccgitiw think :ny jolt, lint just xo l caan lcel UK about it. l'il like to know xxliyf' Upon arriving in thc .Xiurlmiii C lull, l still tlitln't know lor myselfcxaictly why we were tlit-rc. 'lliv rcnkons l haul heard on the news iliiln't xntixly int- xo l ri-gully inxt tricil not to think about it. lt wnxn't until our Mnriiirs rvtnrncil in Mary that it ull Came together tor nic. While hrowxing through the niziny photos they brought hack with thcin, l canric across at photo ol tl little girl tirniilly hiding, hcr lncc hclnntl at waiter hottle she had been given by the Mni'inck.. With than iningc, the rcuson hurl suddenly hecoinc clcnr, ., My tlnil haul longht to protect his kids S0 that they could light to protcet cvvryoiic clwfs. HI'lfI1l1lif1'lllx'4lIf4'. I 'r11lt'il.N'ft1IrwMlm' hut