0:06 Who [music] are you and where are you going? [music] What do you want? Hello and welcome to this special edition of the the Way to Wow shows. I'm Kevin Bemel, your host. And today, whereas normally on Monday at 10:00 a.m., uh, I have my show Trust and Estates Weekly. Uh, this today is Navy Day, the 27th of October. And being a a
0:43 Navy man myself, I and and see I've got my my blue, gold, and silver tie [laughter] on, which are the three main navy colors. So, I felt like uh you know, even though this is a somewhat little known holiday, I have to honor my service branch and and and bring to you the word of Navy Day. So,
1:04 >> [snorts]
1:04 >> uh here we go. Uh by by the way, I hope you have your flag out. And if you don't, [laughter] uh if it if you're watching this live, um afterwards, go put your flag out. I'm flying my flag today. Uh the fact of the matter is I I look for, you know, reasons to fly my flag. I have a beautifully made flag from uh I think it's called Alliance Flag. They're they're made here in the United States. The craftsmanship is superb. The maple uh staff on which it's mounted with with
1:39 grommets that um that allow it to spin in the breeze and not get all wadded up on the staff is is is just wonderful. And uh for what it's worth, Alliance Flag uh also are big supporter of the American of of the American military and of veterans in particular. So there's a free plug for for Alliance Flag. Uh so today, as I said, is is Navy Day [snorts] and um give you, you know, some history as I always do on on these special editions. Give you some history of the
2:15 day. And then I have a couple of readings uh that I want to do. One in particular is it's I think it's the most powerful reading that's done in any Navy ceremony. It's it's typically done when a chief petty officer retires. So we'll get to that in a minute. So um in the years after World War I, uh the United States emerged as a global naval power. So throughout the uh 19th century, the 1800s, really starting with the War of 1812,
2:51 and if you saw my show, Business Lessons from the Military, I believe it was last week, I talked about the victory at on Lake Erie by Oliver Hazard Perry. So that that victory by Perry demonstrated to England or Great Britain, which was far and away the dominant naval power of of the 19th century, that at least with within the North American realm, the United States Navy could go toe-to-toe
3:26 with the British Navy, with the Royal Navy, I should say, and and win, Right. And so but but then with after the end of World War I, so the United States, which really was the signal uh the signal factor in the victory of the allies. So it emerged as a as a global power, albeit I think somewhat of a reluctant global power, but in in for sure a global naval power. And as the United States started
4:01 stretching her economic reach and ex becoming even more of an export economy than than she'd ever been before. So having a global navy was very important. Uh the US Navy had grown exponentially during World War I. It had more than 750 ships in commission. by uh by comparison today that's more than twice the number of ships in commission. So it had over a half a million sailors and marines uh
4:37 which is um roughly comparable may maybe maybe about 20% more. I think there's roughly 300,000 sailors and 120,000 marines I want to say. So maybe about uh 20% more in terms of of personnel uh today than there was post World War I. So after after the war, public enthusiasm for the Navy remained high. Um most Americans were proud of our naval strength. Uh and um uh but there
5:15 were there were few official ways to recognize it. And so, um, the Navy League, which was founded in 1902, and you know, full disclosure, uh, I am the [clears throat] president of the Beverly Hills chapter, uh, um, of the of the Navy League of the United States. Um, you you some sometimes uh, you see the commercials for the Beverly Hills Navy League on uh, my show, Business Lessons from the Military. I don't do commercials on this show. So, um, so you won't see it today. I thought about playing it, but it's not it's not in
5:51 keeping. But in any event, so it was founded in 1902. It was a civilian organization designed to create interaction between uh people in the Navy, especially naval leadership and civilians so they could better understand what the Navy was about. And it and its its main interest was to promote sea power. And so it took up the cause of creating a national day of recognition for the United States Navy and its personnel. And in the event the first Navy day was hap occurred on
6:28 October 27th, 1922. And the reason for the date was twofold. Number one, or I'm sorry, not not twofold, I'm sorry. The reason for the date was that October 27th was the birthday of Theodore Roosevelt who lived from 8 1858 to 1919. And he was the 26th president of the United States and a former assistant secretary of the Navy. Now, you may be
7:04 saying, "Wait a minute, no, no, it was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was an assistant secretary of the Navy. Both Roosevelt presidents were assistant secretaries of the Navy. And in fact uh when uh Rose Teddy Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt was president. Among other things, he championed the Great White Fleet. It was a world cruise from 1907 to 1909 demonstrating US naval power. It was called the Great White Fleet because the ships were painted white. Um, in from 1898, I'm sorry, from
7:41 1897 to 1898 as assistant secretary of the Navy, Theodore Roosevelt had vigorously supported the modernization and readiness of the Navy with things like larger ships, more powerful power plants for ships and and larger guns for ships. all all of the innovations um that became part of the Navy in the ensuing uh couple of decades. And his policy as president was to transform the United States Navy into a
8:16 first rate global force. And so in uh choosing a day for Navy Day, the uh Navy League of the United States decided to make October 27th the day. And that way the public could directly connect the Navy with its its biggest advocate uh of recent times um and and learn about the importance of sea power in terms of national defense and uh com the support of commerce business right uh of the
8:52 United States. [clears throat] Excuse me. So as I mentioned the first Navy day was on October 27th 1922. It was celebrated nationwide. There was enormous enthusiasm for the day. President Warren G. Harding presided over the main event in New York City, reviewing a fleet of more than 50 warships that were anchored in the Hudson River. So, you know, the there's been controversy of late over sort of these um military parades and and and
9:27 sort of demonstration of US military power. uh you know these used to be pretty common uh in the certainly in the uh uh late 19th and into the early even mid 20th century. So uh there's nothing new about this. Uh I I I understand some people feel that it's perhaps go or worse, but but indeed this has been a part of American history and and in particular American uh naval and military history uh for for a long long time. So the battleships uh Maryland,
10:03 Colorado, and Tennessee were among the ships on display. Um, they were among the most advanced ships in the United States Navy at that time and in ports across the country or really I should say on the two coasts of the country, right? Navy ships were open to the public. They could tour them. Naval bases held tours and ceremonies. Communities hosted parades and patriotic gatherings. It was not unlike um kind of a miniature Independence Day celebration only in this case it was honoring the United States Navy and her sailors officers and
10:40 sailors um as as opposed to the nation as a whole. So President Harding issued a message to the nation emphasizing the Navy's role as the uh sure guardian of peace and a symbol of national honor. Again there there's I think controversy today over this idea of peace through strength. People think that uh President Ronald Reagan created this idea. No, it was around for, you know, decades and decades, if not a century, before uh Ronald Reagan uh adopted it as part of
11:17 his platform, which isn't to um diminish uh what what President Reagan did in promoting peace through strength and in so doing having a hand in ending the cold war. uh only that this is part of again the history of the United States and certainly of the United States Navy. So in the inter war years, the 1920s and 1930s, um the NA Navy Day served as both a recruiting tool and a public relations event. So, as you might imagine, back in those days, there was no Top Gun to
11:53 excite young people about becoming naval aviators the way it did for decades after the movie was released in the 1980s. Uh, so Navy Day kind of filled that bill. Um and and each October 27th, uh you know, naval vessels were made open for tours in major harbors like New York, Norfolk, which is a huge naval presence even then. San Diego, the same thing. Pearl Harbor, the same thing. Um New York had the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It had a much much larger naval presence uh
12:28 back in the 20s and 30s than it does uh today. Even though um there is a there is still is a fleet week in New York and ships are are docked in in the port there for people to to visit. So in the mid30s uh the day had become an unofficial national holidays recognized by uh civic leaders and schools and veterans organizations. heading into World War II and its peak popularity. Of course, World War II, the United States officially entered the war on December 7th, 19 or December 8th,
13:04 actually, 1941, although we were pretty heavily involved for at least a year and a half or so uh before that. And and of course, it ended in uh 1945 with victory over Japan in August of that year. So uh with the onset of World War II, Navy, uh Navy Day took on patriotic significance. So Navy Day 1941, October 27th of that year, took place roughly six weeks before the attack on Pearl Harbor. And the uh Navy
13:41 League of the United States um used the day to emphasize readiness and preparedness. Most most people who were following world events understood that at some point the United States was going to end up involved in World War II. It wasn't it wasn't if, it was when. And although uh Pearl Harbor came as a surprise in terms of it actually happening, that that the United States entered into World War II was understood. And there were there were lots of preparedness and readiness programs going on in 1940 and
14:17 1941 that were looking toward that that seemingly inevitable date. Um, Navy date 1945 was perhaps the most famous uh, observance. Uh, President Harry S. Truman, who of course had assumed the presidency upon the death of, uh, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. uh early in 1945 uh shortly after he was u inaugurated for his fourth term. He reviewed the fleet in New York Harbor in celebration of the Allied victory in World War II.
14:53 Over 50 warships and 25,000 sailors and officers uh participated in that ceremony. And when one considers uh the role the United States Navy played uh dominantly in the Pacific theater of operations, but also in the in the uh European theater of operations, in particular in the D-Day invasion of of Norway in in on June 6th, 1944. Um I I don't think there's much doubt that the United States uh would would
15:31 not have prevailed but for the strength of the United States Navy. Uh so in his remarks uh Truman praised the Navy's role in victory and he reaffirmed the United States's commitment uh to maintaining a strong maritime defense in the new atomic age. There were advocates at that time that were claiming that with the advent of uh the the atomic bomb um and and uh the dominance of aviation especially in the European
16:07 theater or not the dominance I should say but the um the uh what was thought to be the effectiveness of aviation in especially the European theater operations. But um in in the Pacific theater of operations, naval aviation was indeed dominant and and the it it it confirmed that the battleship was no longer the uh most powerful naval weapon. Indeed, the aircraft carrier was. So there were a there were a number
16:42 of of of people uh advocating for the shrinkage if not the dismantling of the Navy and the Marine Corps. They were outmoded because the air forces would be dominant. And and of course we we've come to find out that the the bombing campaigns the air bombing campaigns in Europe were not nearly as effective as they were thought to be during World War II. number one. And number two, there's no evidence to support that a war can be won merely from uh merely by exercising
17:20 air dominance or air combat. Inevitably, it takes uh you know, boots on the ground to do so. Uh so uh you know uh President Truman I essentially confirming that the the United States Navy and and by extension because they're so closely related to the United States Marine Corps would remain central to America's defense posture uh signaled good news for the concerned admirals and Marine Corps generals. So, uh, Navy Day 1945 was a massive public success.
17:57 Newspapers across the country devoted front page coverage to the event. Could you imagine something like that today? I don't think I just don't think it would ever happen. So in the post-war transition and the re and the rise of armed forces day 1946 to 1949. So um the the so navy day started it its its impact started to wayne. So after World War II the United States military underwent a significant reorganization and reform. So the National Defense Act
18:32 of 1947 created the Department of Defense unifying the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Army and the newly created in independent and created department of the Air Force under one overall cabinet level uh department, the D the DoD. Okay. the the uh United States Marine Corps uh remained part of the department of the Navy. So in 1940 uh so so in in in view of the formation
19:08 of the department of defense the um uh some of the independence of the individual service branches uh was was lost is as they it one of the things that World War II did is it showed how much more effective the US military could be through joint operations meaning uh for example in the Pacific theater when the Navy, Marine Corps and Army worked together in various an
19:43 amphibious operations and invasions of of islands. So it's thought that the many people think that the Marine Corps was the only amphibious force. know there were army units uh especially under uh General Douglas MacArthur who took part in an in amphibious uh operations and so there was a lot more joint activity in World War II than there had ever been before. And and that was I think one of the reasons why the Department of Defense was created to embed that doctrine in national defense
20:21 strategy and to more effectively train uh for that. Now, you know, creating a a cabinet department doesn't automatically bring something in into being. And as I talked about um in an episode of Business Lessons from the Military, when I talked about the invasion of Grenada, which took place in the 1980s um when uh President Reagan was president, there was terrible coordination um between the Marine Corps and and and and the Navy
20:57 and and other units. um and and it that really became the impetus for uh for uh building and creating truly joint operations. So in um 1949 um Louis A Johnson who was the secretary of defense under President Truman he he announced the establishment of Armed Forces Day to be held the third Saturday in May. It was a single um uh uh holiday
21:33 to celebrate all of the service branches in the military. So um the new holiday was intended to replace Army Day, Air Force Day, and Navy Day. Uh and in fact um and and I've I I've talked about this on on Veterans Day and uh um and also on um um Memorial Day. So there are three national holidays to honor people who have or are involved in the military.
22:09 Memorial Day honors those who have died in the service of their country while in the military. Uh, Armed Forces Day honors those currently on active duty in in the US military and Veterans Day honors those who have served but are no longer serving in the United States military. And so, um, while the Department of Defense recognized Armed Forces Day as the sole military appreciation holiday, um, the Navy
22:44 League continued to observe August 27th as Navy Day, keeping alive the connection between Theodore Roosevelt and um, early 20th century naval heritage. So um um moving on from the 1940s into succeeding decades in 1972 the chief of naval operations Admiral Elmo R Zumwalt directed the United States Navy to officially celebrate its founding on October 13th marking the day
23:20 in 1775 when the Continental Congress established the Continental Navy. And so the US Navy's birthday continues to this day to be celebrated on October 13th. And October 27th remains a traditional Navy Day still observed by the Navy League and veterans groups and maritime museums and some local communities. So uh um um you know the na the Navy Day
23:55 therefore is not an official uh federal holiday. Uh, nonetheless, it is an opportunity um, especially for those of us in the Navy and who hold the Navy near and dear in our hearts to take a day to celebrate our tradition, uh, our, um, our love of the Navy, uh, h how close we feel to our shipmates, uh, without the other extraneous, uh, events that might go on on Armed Forces Day clear the confusion between
24:32 Memorial Day and Veterans Day and all these other things. So, and it's also an opportunity to honor a great leader, Theodore Roosevelt, who was largely responsible uh on the civilian from the civilian side of ushering the United States Navy into not just modern u um a modern idiom of how ships operate uh but also into uh the global dominance
25:08 and key role it plays to this day in keeping sea lanes open so that international commerce can move most efficiently and and that's all due to not all due but it's it's the president theore Roosevelt's leadership that drove that in the early in the earliest uh uh years of the 20th century and that then continued on after that. So, um, in some years, the president or the secretary of the Navy issues a
25:44 proclamation or a statement on October 27th honoring the Navy's role um, in defending the nation. I I I I don't believe one was issued this year. Um, and and and that's that's a shame. Um, but uh, you know, look, that's that's the way it goes. So, okay. So, um in in in to honor Navy Day, I'm going to do two readings. Um the first is Theodore Roosevelt's address um at the
26:19 Naval War College that took place on June 2nd, 1897. Okay. The US Naval War College is located in Newport, Rhode Island. In fact, when I went through officer training and chaplain school back in 2006, it was on Naval Base uh Newport and and uh well, I don't think I ever went into the Naval War College. I didn't have um reason to do so. I I saw it there and I was on that base. Um and um President I'm I'm sorry u um Theodore
26:55 Roosevelt had been appointed assistant secretary of the Navy just three months earlier by President William McKinley. He was 38 years old at the time and the United States was in a period of transition. It was emerging from isolation toward global engagement. Tensions with Spain over Cuba were mounting and American interest in overseas trade and even in some small colonial uh possessions uh was was growing. So the the Naval War College
27:30 had only been f founded a little over a decade before in 1884. It was the intellectual center of the US Navy and in particular the development of US naval strategy. It had been heavily influenced by Captain Alfred the May man May man May man May man May man May man May man May man May man May man Mayan [snorts] um whose 1890 book the influence of sea power upon history uh Roosevelt had read and uh enthusiastically promoted uh and and Mayan's book remains influential to this day uh 135 years later so Roosevelt's
28:11 address uh reflect refcted his belief that America's future greatness depended on sea power, preparedness, and moral strength. Now, I'm going to read this is really a summary. The the entire address would be much too long to read. So, this is kind of a a series of excerpts from the speech that were put together. Uh, you know, chat GPT did this for me. It did an excellent job. And and so, like I said, I'm going to read this uh this this sort of uh excerpt, if you will,
28:47 from um from President Roosevelt's uh um address, and then I'm I'm going to uh I'm going to come back and talk about um some of some of the themes and ideas um and the legacy of it. A century has passed since Washington wrote, "To be prepared for war is the most effectual means to promote peace." We paid to this maxim the lip loyalty we so often pay to Washington's word words,
29:22 but it has never sunk deep into our hearts. Indeed, of late years, many p persons have refused it, even the poor tribute of lip loyalty, and prayed about the iniquity of war, as if somehow that was justification for refusing to take the steps which can alone in the long run prevent war or avert the de the dreadful disasters it brings in its train. The truth of the maxim is so obvious to every man of really far-sighted patriotism that its mere statement seems trit and useless. And it
29:59 is not overcredible to either our intelligence or our love of country that there should be as there is need to dwell upon and amplify such a truism. In this country, there is not the slightest danger of an overdevelopment of warlike spirit. And there has never been any such danger. In all our history, there has never been a time when prepared preparedness for war was any menace to peace. On the contrary, again and again, we have owed peace to
30:34 the fact that we were prepared for war. And in the only contest which we have had with a European power since the revolution, the war of 1812, the struggle and all its attendant disasters were due solely to the fact that we were not prepared to face and were not ready instantly to resent an attack upon our honor and interest. While the glorious triumphs at sea which redeemed that war were due to the few preparations which we had actually made. We are a great
31:09 peaceful nation, a nation of merchants and manufacturers, of farmers and mechanics, a nation of working men who labor incessantly with head or hand. It is idle to talk of such a nation ever being led into a course of wanting aggression or conflict with military powers by the possession of a sufficient navy. The danger is of precisely the opposite character. If we forget that in the last resort we can only secure peace
31:44 by being ready and willing to fight for it, we may someday have bitter cause to realize that a rich nation which is slothful, timid or unwieldy is an easy prey for any people which still retains though most those most valuable of all qualities, the soldierly virtues. We but keep to the traditions of Washington, to the traditions of all great Americans who struggled for the real greatness of America. When we strive to build up those fighting
32:19 qualities for the lack of which in a nation, as in an individual, no refinement, no culture, no wealth, no material prosperity can atone. Preparation for war is the shest guarantee for peace. Arbitration is an excellent thing, but ultimately those who wish to see this country at peace with foreign nations will be wise if they place reliance upon a firstass fleet of firstass battleships rather than on any arbitration treaty which the
32:56 wit of man can devise. Nelson said that the British fleet was the best negotiator in Europe and there was much truth in the saying. Moreover, while we are sincere in and earnest in our advocacy of peace, we must not forget that an ignoble peace is worth is worse than any war. Peace is a goddess only when she comes with sword girth on thigh. The ship of state can be steered safely only when it is possible to bring
33:32 her against any foe with her leashed thunders gathering for the leap. A really great people, proud and high-spirited, would face all the disasters of war rather than purchase the base prosperity which is brought at the price of national honor. All the great masterful races have been fighting races. And the minute that a race loses the hard fighting virtues, then no matter what else it may retain, no matter how skilled in commerce and
34:07 finance, in science or art, it has lost its proud right to stand as the equal of the best. Cowardice in a race, as in an individual, is the unpardonable sin, and a willful failure to prepare for any danger may in its effects be as bad as cowardice. The timid man who cannot fight, and the selfish, short-sighted or foolish man who will not take the steps that will enable him to fight stand on almost the
34:43 same plane. This nation cannot stand still if it is to retain its self-respect and to keep unddemed the honorable traditions inherited from the men who with the sword founded it and by the sword preserved it. No nation should ever wage war wantingly, but no nation should ever avoid it at the cost of the loss of national honor. A nation should never fight unless forced, but it should always be ready to
35:18 fight. The mere fact that it is ready will generally spare it the necessity of fighting. If in the future we have war, it will only almost certainly come because of some action or lack of action on our part in the way of refusing to accept the responsibilities at the proper time or failing to prepare prepare for war when war does not threaten. An ignoble peace is even worse than an unsuccessful war. But an
35:53 unsuccessful war would leave behind it a legacy of bitter memories which would hurt our national development for a generation to come. So uh it's uh it's interesting to note and and I think uh this is not well known. uh Theodore Roosevelt wrote a number of books um including a history of the war of 1812. So he was uh on a scholarly
36:28 level uh very knowledgeable about kind of the turning point when the United States Navy as I mentioned at the beginning was able to take uh take on the role of defending the United States against the great of greatest naval power of the early 19th century the Royal Navy. So he had that background among others among other aspects that allowed him to speak credibly on this topic. So the themes of of his address uh peace through strength, right? A good
37:04 navy is not a provocation to war. It is the shest guarantee of peace. Um the moral obligation of readiness. The moral obligation of readiness. It is foolish and wrong to shrink from doing our duty in peace or in war. The shest way to invite disaster is to be un ready to meet it. Okay. the Navy as an instrument of character, national character um as well as civic virtue and the individual character of not only the
37:42 sailors and officers who serve in the navy but the citizens of the country. So he saw the kind of the the he saw the na naval service as a forge for discipline and courage and that civic virtue about which I just uh spoke. Uh he critiqued complacency. No triumph of peace is quite so great as the supreme triumph of war one for a righteous cause. Okay. and righteous cause from from Roosevelt's standpoint was the defense of liberty,
38:20 not the wararmongering conquest that was not uncommon among European powers. And finally you can see the Mahanian influence in the talk when Roosevelt talks about uh the when when when he talks about control of the seas as as equal to control of the destiny of a nation. So all of these were themes that he developed. uh the re the reception and impact of his address. Of course, it was
38:56 warmly received by the officers at the Naval War College who admired Roosevelt's energy and his intellect. It was published in naval journals and newspapers, calling national attention to his words and his views on preparedness. Within a year, uh, the SpanishAmerican War in 1898 would vindicate Roosevelt's call for readiness. The US, the United States's Navy's swift victory at Manila Bay, and Santiago uh, demonstrated the truth of his warnings. And of course, Roosevelt
39:32 himself resigned his civilian post to form the R rough writers uh enhancing his national reputation and paving the way to the presidency in 1901. The legacy of Roosevelt's 1897 address is it really it really marks the foundational the philosophical foundation of American naval power, American sea power linking deterrence, moral uh moral purpose and global engagement all in one overall ideal. So
40:09 the um institutional legacy of of the speech, it led to the building and and world crews of the great white fleet which I mentioned earlier 1907 through 1909. It expanded the Navy's size, its professionalism, its global presence. new uh base, new naval bases were built um and along with coing stations so that uh the United States Navy, which was now a steamshipbased navy and coal was the fuel that was used to power it um in the
40:45 early 1900s, was built and again it cemented America's role as a maritime power um and um even you know it can so I Roosevelt's address, while it certainly continues to be studied at the Naval War College, it remains relevant today um because of its uh strategic realism, its moral leadership and the its idea of a continuity of duty that every generation stands the watch for
41:22 succeeding generations. And it's it is this idea with which I'm going to close by reading a traditional uh naval reading called the watch. Um rarely do I get through this without tearing up. I' I've heard it read a number of times at retirement ceremonies for chief petty officers in which I've participated or in in which I've been a at which I've been a guest. It is an enormously powerful reading. Uh I don't think as as an a naval officer I can
41:57 quite give it the justice that a chief petty officer can. Uh so with apologies to all my chief petty officer shipmates out there. This is this is is is done to honor the United States Navy. uh what's known as the goat locker, which is the all the chief petty officers in the Navy and indeed all of our shipmates. And so I'm going to close with a reading of the watch. [snorts] Uh oh, I'm I'm sorry. I just real
42:32 quickly. So it the uh before I do the reading, so its origins are uncertain, but it was likely it likely dates to the Cold War era, the 1950s or60s. And of course um it it captures the Navy's sense of duty and continuity. Okay. So I'm going to end today's show with a read with this reading of the watch. For 20 years, this sailor has stood the watch. While some of us were in our
43:09 bunks at night, this sailor stood the watch. While some of us were in school learning our trade, this shipmate stood the watch. Yes, even before some of us were born, this shipmate stood the watch. In those years when the storm clouds of war were seen brewing on the horizon of history, this shipmate stood the watch. Many times he would cast an eye ashore and see his family standing there
43:45 needing his guidance and help needing his hand to hold during those time hard times. But this sailor stood the watch. He stood the watch for 20 years. He stood the watch so that we, our families and our fellow countrymen could sleep soundly in safety each and every night knowing that a sailor stood the watch. Today we are here to say, shipmate,
44:22 the watch stands relieved. Relieved by those you have trained, guided, and led. Shipmate, you stand relieved. We have the watch. Bzan, stand by to pipe the side. Shipmate going ashore. Didn't make it through that time either. I thank you so much for joining me on this Navy Day. I hope that you will fly your American flag with pride and think
44:58 about all of those, all of my shipmates who have served the United States Navy with honor, with distinction, with the intention to do just what the watch speaks about, to protect and defend our country so that you, our fellow citizens, could live quiet, safe, decent lives. So, thank you. Thanks again for joining me. Wishing you a wonderful rest of the
45:34 day and signing off as I always do. Marie, darling, you are my bell. Courage and