I recently received an email that was forwarded to me. Now I never was much for chain letters back in the dark ages before the advent of the internet, and I am even less a fan now that it doesn’t even cost a stamp to send one. However, this email came to me from a family member and so I at least perused it. It caught my eye, but being the skeptic that I am, I set about to verify the truthfulness of this letter. Upon consulting with snopes.com, I found out that this is a rarity in forwarded emails; it is true!
It seems that a retired Navy man living in Hawaii wanted to offer some advice to our President, Barack Hussein Obama. The man’s name is Harold B. Estes and he is a 95 year old, retired Chief Boatswains Mate living in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He evidently dictated this letter, signed it and sent it to Obama.
Snopes.com reports:
Harold B. Estes is indeed a real person, a long-serving veteran of the U.S. Navy: He’s pictured in this issue of Fore ‘n Aft magazine, and the BMC Harold Estes Leadership Award is named for him.
Many readers have encountered the above-reproduced letter to President Obama, attributed to Harold Estes, on the Congress.org web site. However, a representative from that site told us that the letter had been submitted to them not by Harold Estes, but by someone in Florida who had received it via e-mail and reposted it at Congress.org.
We haven’t been able to reach Mr. Estes directly by telephone or e-mail to verify his authorship of the letter, but the publisher of Fore ‘n Aft kindly responded to our inquiry and provided confirmation:
Thank you for your note. The letter is REAL and so is Harold Estes. A retired Master Chief Boatswains Mate, he dictated the letter to a secretary who printed it and Harold has signed it personally. Thus, Harold is the author, a dear friend, a very well known Navy Leaguer and so please do mark this TRUE.
Here is the text of Mr. Estes’ letter, with links at the bottom to snopes.com, and the Naval Magazine he was pictured in.
Dear President Obama,
My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don’t believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.
I enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1934 and served proudly before, during and after WW II retiring as a Master Chief Bos’n Mate. Now I live in a “rest home” located on the western end of Pearl Harbor, allowing me to keep alive the memories of 23 years of service to my country.
One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man.
So here goes.
I am amazed, angry and determined not to see my country die before I do, but you seem hell bent not to grant me that wish.
I can’t figure out what country you are the president of.
You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like:
* “We’re no longer a Christian nation”
* “America is arrogant” – (Your wife even announced to the world,” America is mean-spirited. ” Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)
I’d say shame on the both of you, but I don’t think you like America, nor do I see an ounce of gratefulness in anything you do, for the obvious gifts this country has given you. To be without shame or gratefulness is a dangerous thing for a man sitting in the White House.
After 9/11 you said, “America hasn’t lived up to her ideals.”
Which ones did you mean? Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British? Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man, that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War? I hope you didn’t mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellas I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around, because we stand for freedom.
I don’t think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.
Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man.
Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don’t, I’ll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.
And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more. You mean you don’t want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts, who was putting up a fight? You don’t mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don’t want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.
One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you’re the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you’re not in this fight to win, then get out. The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you’re thinking of.
You could be our greatest president because you face the greatest challenge ever presented to any president.
You’re not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That’s not our greatest threat. Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now.
And I sure as hell don’t want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.
Sincerely,
Harold B. Estes
I can only say Amen to this letter and to Harold B. Estes himself, because this man is a true American Patriot.
Verification on snopes.com
Harold Estes in Fore An Aft Magazine (Harold is pictured on page 2)
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I’m currently engaged in a one man standing ovation. Great post, great letter.
Well done Mr. Estes, and thank you for your service to this nation.
Thanks Matt. When I saw this, I just couldn’t let it go without blogging about it.
That is a GREAT American, I have seen this floating around, I hope it inspires more Americans to stand against the poser in the Oval Office!
TY Fred, this is the kind of thing that more Americans need to be doing.
This letter is filled with so many misperceptions,errors,and faulty conclusions by the poor man that is no wonder that 95 year olds do not have great responsibilities in this country.
I challenge you to name a few of those “misperceptions.” List a couple, and then show how they are wrong, false, etc…
Folks, I let a moonbat comment through, just to remind everyone of how they think. Nice try on Alinsky, but I doubt anyone will bite.
Too late Matt, I already threw down the gauntlet. Let’s see if he has the guts to respond. I doubt it, not without insults and lies anyway.
Outstanding letter from a real American patriot. Gotta love it. Thanks for posting.
I received that email too. It saddens me that many great warriors like this man are passing away. We need them now more than ever.
I’d like to shake Mr. Estes’ hand. “I can’t figure out what country you are the president of”… well put. Neither can I.
To Don:
-Infers that Obama “wants this country to die”-Asinine!Where,s the proof?
-Did not say “no longer a christian nation”.He said we “are not” a christian nation.The Const.recognizes all religions as equal.
-Did not say “America is arrogant”.Said Amer.”has been”arrogant at times.
Anyone with real knowledge of Amer. History would know that.
-Re “the mission”-The mission(goal) has not been determined yet and the
General is not a one-man military.He has several levels above him to
make the final decision.Let the mindless babbling responses begin!
Okay Ajax, I will accord enough respect to allow that you have your own opinion, however that being said why in the world would you speak ill of a brave, 95 year old veteran who fought for your right to call him names?
BTW, I seriously doubt that Mr. Estes watches Hannity or listens to Limbaugh. He might, but really he doesn’t fit the demographic.
Sorry about that, demographic means relating to the dynamic balance of a population, in this case with respect to the average viewers/listeners of the shows you mentioned.
As far as Mr. Estes saying that he thinks Obama wants this country to die, is arrogant or should listen to his Generals – well that is his opinion. And I would be bold enough to say that after serving his country for TWENTY THREE years, including fighting for it in WWII, he has more than enough “political capital” to voice his opinion without you casting aspersions on this fine man.
You say that the mission(goal) has not been determined yet. Funny, I could have sworn Obama announced back in MARCH. Yes, in fact I know he did.
He said, “Good morning,” began the President today. “Today, I am announcing a comprehensive, new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. And this marks the conclusion of a careful policy review, led by Bruce [Reidel], that I ordered as soon as I took office.”
My source? The White House website…
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/27/a-new-strategy-for-afghanistan-and-pakistan/
Now to the point as to if this country is indeed a Christian Nation. First of all, you are wrong. Obama DID say, “…whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmC3IevZiik
Now let me educate you. I will repost an answer I gave on another forum when some well meaning far left loon crowed about separation of church and state and theocracies and no faith being recognized by the government.
“Okay, let me preface my remarks with the caveat that saying America is a Christian nation is by no means the same as America being a Theocracy. It would seem that those on the left and those who detest religion lump the idea that we were founded on Christian beliefs and principles, which makes us a Christian nation, in with the idea that we cannot be a Christian nation because we are a Democratic Republic and not a Theocracy. The two are totally and starkly contrasted from one another. Yet every time someone says we are a Christian nation, there is a chorus of protestation from the left that, “WE ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN NATION!!! GET OVER IT!!!” But when Obama wrongly said we are the biggest Muslim nation in the world, I heard no chorus of similar protests from the left saying, “WE ARE NOT A MUSLIM NATION!!! GET OVER IT!!” Isn’t that odd? It seems to be more fun to demonize the Christians in this country than it is to say anything about, or to the Muslims. Now I am not advocating attacking any group, and to use a phrase from Obama, “Let me be clear” about that.
The idea that the United States of America was founded upon the ideals of Christianity does not threaten me in the least – nor should it threaten anyone else. It is a fundamental truth that we live in a Christian nation that is not a theocracy. It is because of the fact that our Founders saw the results of theocracies that led them to build upon Christian ideals, and resist setting the precedent of establishing a national religion. That is why it is in our founding documents. But to sit and pick apart opinions, ideals and philosophies of the very men who founded our great country, just because you despise religion is very disingenuous.
Yes, America is a Christian nation and no, America is not a theocracy. Iraq is now a democracy, but it is still a Muslim nation. Why? Because the majority of her citizens are of that faith. Does that make Iraq a theocracy? No. So this argument that America is not a Christian nation is really more about the left asserting their beliefs upon the majority of us rather than espousing the truth.”
Now let me suggest something to you Ajax. It would seem that you are more interested in tearing down Mr. Estes for his opinions, than you are admiring him for his life of service to this, the best country on God’s green earth. Why? And more importantly, what does that say about you?
Let me leave you with two absolutes that I learned as a small child:
1. You should always respect your elders.
2. If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything.
Estes-like many others- does not read or think for himself.They let the likes of Sean Insannity,Rash Limbo and Glen Beckerhead misinform, disinform and blatantly lie to them on a daily basis.
Take some basic “Reading to Understand” courses and do it yourselves!!
OK Mr. Elitist, I’ll let Don deal with you, his post and all. Nice attempt at Alinsky Rule #5, but, you are fail.
This is what we are dealing with folks. Lot’s of pinheads like this that think they know how the rest of us should be thinking. Don, kindly destroy him, or I’ll just banhammer him. Let me know how you’d like me to proceed. I think he’s proven what he is all by himself.
Well, I think I covered everything that Ajax brought up Matt.
yes, I think you did. The dude accused Mr. Estes of using talking points…by using liberal talking points.
The hammer shall fall.
Banhammer administered.
Thanks for indulging me. Destroying moonbats is my guilty pleasure.
Thats a great letter and the fact that it came from a real 95 year old vet makes it more telling. This man knows America’s greatness for he has seen it and unlike the current man in the White House he respects this country’s history and accomplishments.
applause applause Matt!!!:)
Should be applause applause Don!!!:D
I just want to say that DON: You are my HERO! (Second only to Mr. Estes).
The way you handled that Ajax guy was awesome. I’d have just told him to “Lay off the Kool-Aid”
@Julie…Wow! I don’t know what to say, except thank you.