“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible, With Liberty, and Justice for all.”

This is how it all begins, as a small child starts learning the structure of their country. Some of us grow up to be patriots, working citizens, and others went to war. There were, and are some who just dislike any form of government. Pride of freedom is about what our military men and women have done for us, and the freedom we have today.

The audio CD, “Pride of Freedom”, was created for all military men and women that have served, and are serving our country now, to give them the thanks they deserve, and help them if needed, to use as a tool to sleep and reduce stress, if it be in the field of combat, or at home dealing with their day to day lives. Pride of Freedom CD is a gift from the American People, and it is my intension to provide a CD to all military men and women, at no charge, with our blessing.

For me, this all started before I was born; with my Father. He was a great man that lived a simple life as carpenter and a family man. Before he had a chance to plant his roots in this great country he went to war. My father served in World War II. His path was to make the crossing on D-Day. He survived, and was assigned to General Patton’s Army where he proceeded on to the famous two hundred mile march. He also was there to see Russia take Berlin, as Patton’s army was painfully forced to observe. They were unable to advance because of their lack of fuel. You might say he saw it all; at least all the horrors and victory war has to offer. What he went through is hard to comprehend, and as a typical soldier he kept most of his anguish, and stories to himself. I was fortunate to hear a few of his stories, from his co-workers, and from family members.

There is one story that has stuck in my mind when I think about how horrible war can be. My dad was with General Patten at the time when his platoon had a break in the action. They all had completed digging their fox holes, with a little down time they were waiting for further orders to move on. My dad said he had a lot of nervous energy, and he started to scoop out another fox hole with his helmet. Not being serious about digging, he only managed to scrape out a hole deep enough to engulf half of his body. Then suddenly there was an incoming mortar making a sound with “their number written all over it.” This was too close for comfort, and they were scrambling for their fox holes. My father’s best friend was diving for my fathers fox hole, and pushed my dad out of the way. Fortunately my dad had enough composure to go for the only thing that was left, and that was his partially dug hole. He hit the hole with a prayer in his heart, and anger at his friend. The shell struck close to my father. He was spared! Realizing he was unharmed, he sprung out of all the debris ready to take on his friend for the scare and close call he was given. When my father stood up and looked for his friend, he was nowhere to be found. He then looked down into his fox hole to discover his friend in a pool of blood.

How do you deal with events like that? My dad started out with his first company of soldiers, and was one of three of those men, to live through the war. It still takes my breath away to realize how fortunate I am to be here today. After World War II my father returned home and was blessed to only have an injured shoulder that impaired him for the rest of his life. Unfortunately for our soldiers, when they return to their homes they bring the memory of war with them. Years after my dad returned, and had married my mother; he still had horrible dreams and other after effects from war. My mother told me that after they were married, whenever my dad heard a plane in the sky, he had to see it, and make sure it was not an enemy aircraft. Once he saw the plane, he was fine. With war still bottled up inside, my dad managed to live a fruitful life with deep pride, and love for his country. My father was truly a great man! But, until the day of my father’s death, from time to time, he would have dreams of war.

You may be asking yourself why military men and women hold onto horrifying events throughout their lives. Memory does not have a time line. The key to memory is to organize it into the proper file. When it announces itself you will be able to utilize it in a proper setting. Powerful memories are wonderful to have, but you always need to control them accordingly, to benefit you when needed. When memories get out of control they surface unexpectedly. Have you ever had a horrible tragedy in your life and it keeps coming to the surface from your memory, and you respond with embarrassing or hurtful results? This is what happens to our military personnel when they return from war, except they have a hundred times more earth shaking memories that they have to deal with.

Pride of Freedom CD has many uses that are intertwined with helpful tools that can be used when needed. It becomes most important to be understanding of the tragedy of war, especially events that may have occurred during the service of our men and women. Remember that it was their job, and what happened was part of services performed on behalf of this country, and for the freedom we all share. It was never part of the job description for our military men and women to be blamed or carry the burdens of war, and if they haven’t already released the burdens they carry it is time to give them back to God and their Country.

Pride of Freedom “Sleep and Reduce Stress CD”, is a gift from Americans, like you and me that believe in the freedoms that we cherish. We are grateful for the sacrifice and the services that have been offered by our military, and Thanks for all of those that have served this Great Country. We are forever in their Debt!

How has this CD helped our men and women in the military? Just a word of thanks from people like you and me will go a long way in helping to repay the debt we owe. Pride of Freedom represents all Americans in saying “Thanks for their Service”. I have had the opportunity to work with a Veteran’s Social Worker who made a beautiful statement about this CD given to Veterans. “You are blessed to have validation and reinforcement of your service to this country at your convenience to listen to whenever you choose.” Most comments from Veterans that have received the CD, said it was relaxing and makes them feel better. Some special comments I have received were “The CD is very truthful and it took my mind off of problems.” Another special comment was “The parts where God is in the plan. Letting us know that even with our problems, if we allow God to intervene, our life will be better.” Every Military service man and woman that was able to receive a Pride of Freedom CD was very thankful of their gift and felt that all military personal should have one. I have given hundreds of CD’s, and have yet to have one returned to me.

Most military men and women that I have met are very reserved when talking about personal monsters in their mind. So I would like to share one last story of the wife of a Vietnam Veteran. The very first time she listened to Pride of Freedom CD she experienced even more peace in her life. Her thoughts were to let the peace of God rule in our lives. Anger that had been stored up inside of her was changed into more forgiveness because of what had happened to her as a young girl. She could also have more understanding towards her husband for what he had to experience. She felt like she needed more understanding for her husband, because she could not even fathom what he must have gone through in the Vietnam War.

So how can you honor our Military men and women and just say “Thanks for your service?” If you would like to donate or be apart of a cause greater than ourselves to help our military men and women help themselves.

(Contact John N. Spencer Presdent of Pride of Freedom, motivator and public speaker (979)-676-2321 or e-mail pofreedom@gmail.com)

All copy rights are maintained for John N. Spencer, and Publisher.