Bishop Buddy Scrapbook 1941-1945

Friday, December 26, 1941.

Patriots In Action Today, in the far-flung battlefield of the Pacific, prayerful benedictions of loyal Americans do follow that noble body of patriots gone down to the sea in ships of America's First Line of Defense. Their smil- j ing, cheering presence will be remembered on the sidewalks of our cities until they return in glorious victory. Every American sailor is a patriot m every sense of the ancient philosophy, "Dulce et decorum pro Patria mori." They are steeled against those ever-pres- ent subversive elements that would disrupt our destiny as the greatest Democracy in the history of nations. Service in the Navy seems to bring our officers and men under the same emotional ardor, as the illus- trious John Paul Jones was when he wrote these im- mortal lines: "That flag and I are twins . . . We cannot be parted in life or death. Today, we have a vast construction program of Naval bases, submarines, surface ships and aircraft, the expression. of appreciation. of our people in the Navy's glorious past, its high purposes and its determination 1 to be prepared at all times to defend American homes and that sacred Liberty so dear to every American heart. Happy and contented are state and community with such a strong and intelligent police force. Pros- perous and victorious can be the United States so long as it maintains a powferful, defensive Navy. * * ·l!- The Cross and The Flag Stout-hearted met1 they are, who face unflinchingly the terrors of the briny deep, whether in the hazardous battles of the Navy; guarding their country's shore and rights; the passing ships from port to port; or in the ship of mercy that brings comfort to the sick and dying. Beyond the power of armament is the God of all. There is nothing so dear to Christians in America than the realization that the flag of the United States has never lowered to any nation or power save one-the eternal power of God. Sunday morning finds the men 'of the fleet on deck saluting the flag of God at full mast. The vesting priest will be for them a Liturgy of new significance. The vesture prayers and their accom- panying acts speak of Naval service; the perils of the flight, the striving for safety of spirit, and the import- ance of sustained morale. A helmet fit to ward off the darts of the enemy; an Alb of silver mail indicative of the valor of a clean, patriotic heart; a Cincture for holy endeavour, seeing that loins as well as heart must stay strong in the battle; the.Manipile, to remind them of the burdens to be borne; the Stole hints of steady advance upward and onward to glorious victory; the Cross sheathed in a Chasuble, earnest of the bloody and bitter battle. Officers and men of the United States Navy, rev tly, in this hour of battle-we salute you-we bless I So long as we can float, we shall float together. If we must sink, we shall go down as one."

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National Defense Anyone who glances through the records of the .:onventio which framed the federal constitution will be amazed at the amount of discussion that was there devoted to the subject of war, including the declaration of war, appropriations for the Navy, the control of the State Militia; . and the machinery for bringing wars to a close. In the end no fewer than nine specific grants of war power were given to Congress. The power to declare war, to raise and support armies, to provide and maintain a Navy, and many other needful build- ings. Among the 18 clauses of the constitution which enumerat8: the powers of Congress, therefore, a very substantial portion deal with the various branches of military authority. * * * Our Navy Theodor Roosevelt once wrote, "A good Navy is not a provocative of war. It is the surest 'guaranty of peace." We, in California, with our h~ndreds. of miles of shore-line, are singularly blessed m havmg exceptionally close,, contact with the Navy and its per- I We in San Diego know the Navy first hand sonne . , ' l D · through the establishment of the Eleventh Nava is- trict; through the home basing of the fleet; through the Naval and Marine Corps bases; through the wo:ld- attracted attention to Naval aviation f ~r~es operating from North Island; and through association of me~- , bers of the Chaplain Corps with our churches and their congregations. Therefore, we_ cons_ider it our duty and our privilege to appraise our First Li1:-e of Defense, hon- oring the deeds of a national service that has never known defeat. . . , Our Navy is determined to be an ~rganizati~n of self-expression, not one of self-a_ggrandizement; ~t d:· · th t the citizens of the United States examine it sires a . • • N closely, even with a view to the severest crlidttchism. . o other Naval force in the history of the wor as given more to humanity, science and invention than the ~-avy of the United States. None has been more efficient as a diplomat and a keeper of international peace. * * * . .

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