Chattanooga – A Needless Tragedy

Chattanooga – A Needless Tragedy

I cannot imagine the grief of the families of the four Marines killed yesterday by that Radical Islamic

Terrorist. And don't kid yourself, that's exactly who and what that guy was.

All families, especially Mothers and Fathers accept, yet hide deep in their hearts the possibility that they

may lose their beloved son or daughter while serving in the Military, while deployed to a combat

theatre. But no one ever remotely thinks that their son will be killed by an enemy here, within the safety

of the United States and, on a military installation. These Marines survived the horrors and rigors of

combat only to be gunned down on a military base by some radicalized idiot who knew he wouldn't be

facing any return fire because our service members aren't allowed to carry firearms unless special

circumstances warrant it. We better get our heads out of the sand because we are now in a time of

“special circumstances” and we will be for a long time to come unless we truly protect ourselves from

this cancerous blight.

Those Marines, all of them would have jumped in front of a speeding truck to save someone else. They

volunteered to serve and protect this country and those in need fully knowing that they may be called to

give the ultimate sacrifice.

Tomorrow I pick up my son after his graduation from NSCC Boot Camp at USMC Camp Pendleton. He

has been under the care and guardianship of those same Marines, exactly the same as those who were

gunned down – on American soil. I knew and I still know when I dropped my son off for boot camp that

there was no safer place on earth than under the Wings of the United States Marines.

These young men and women, veterans in many cases of life and death combat, are the most

trustworthy and the most capable of using and carrying a firearm. I guarantee if any of those Marines

had been armed there would have been one dead terrorist and no dead American heroes. My prayers

and sympathy goes out to their loved ones. They deserve better. We need to demand it.

Best Regards,

Ernest R. Emerson