All law-abiding gun owners are outraged and saddened by the crime perpetrated by a madman in Uvalde, Texas.  All of us should join the people of Uvalde, Texas, in grieving for the loss of innocent lives.

The shooter is undoubtedly at fault.  He is not alone.  There are those who have resisted hiring more armed resource officers for schools, refusing to allow qualified teachers and staff to be trained and carry firearms in schools, and refusing to allow active shooter drills in schools.  Also at fault are the politicians who attack law-abiding gun owners and firearms instead of providing funds to schools and requiring them to harden the schools to make them more impervious to attack.

At both the state and national levels of government, we see money wasted on pet projects that help no one except friends of politicians.  We spend billions on foreign aid, phony COVID-19 projects, and who knows what else that doesn’t help the citizens in any way.  The plans on how to harden a school are out there.  All we need to do is pay for them which is a pittance compared to other projects.

The Illinois State Rifle Association stands ready to help police departments, teachers and staff train for such incidents with the resources we have. 

Memorial Day is fast approaching and while it is the unofficial beginning of summer it is much more.  Each year we need to remember the sacrifices of our soldiers who have preserved this nation and its freedoms.  We also need to make sure we take time to teach our children and grandchildren the meaning of Memorial Day. 

This year it is particularly important to attend or take part in Memorial Day activities because of the threats of violence by the left-wing mob who throw tantrums because they do not always get their way.  Our children must understand how great the United States is despite the antics of anarchists who really want to destroy our country.

Memorial Day started out as Decoration Day and was recognized locally by communities in both the North and the South before the end of the Civil War.  The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a northern veteran’s organization that drove politics from after the Civil War until the turn of the century.  The leader of the Grand Army of the Republic at the time was General John A. Logan of Murphysboro, Illinois.  On May 30, 1868, he issued General Order #11 declaring May 30 be recognized as Decoration Day.  One of the reasons General Logan chose May 30 was because spring flowers were plentiful and could be used for decorating graves.  The influence of the GAR was so great that Civil War veterans insisted the date be recognized in their local communities.

May 30 remained know as Decoration Day until after WWI when people wanted to recognize WWI veterans also.  It became more commonly known as Memorial Day.  Growing up, I knew many WWI veterans who still referred to May 30 as Decoration Day because that is what it was called when they grew up.

One of the focal points of military funerals and Memorial Day events is the playing of TAPS.  There are a couple of renditions of how TAPS came to be.  One of those is below.

During the Civil War, in July 1862, when the Army of the Potomac was in camp, Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield summoned Pvt. Oliver Willcox Norton, his brigade bugler, to his tent.  Butterfield, who disliked the colorless "extinguish lights" call then in use, whistled a new tune and asked the bugler to sound it for him.  After repeated trials and changing the timing of some notes, which were scribbled on the back of an envelope, the call was finally arranged to suit Gen. Butterfield and used for the first time that night.  Pvt. Norton, who on several occasions, had sounded numerous new calls composed by his commander, recalled his experience of the origin of "Taps" years later.

"He then ordered that it should be substituted in his brigade for the regulation "Taps" (extinguish lights) which was printed in the Tactics and used by the whole army.  This was done for the first time that night.  The next day, buglers from nearby brigades came over to the camp of Butterfield's brigade to ask the meaning of this new call.  They liked it, and copying the music, returned to their camps, but it was not until sometime later, when generals of other commands had heard its melodious notes, that orders were issued, or permission given, to substitute it throughout the Army of the Potomac for the time-honored call which came down from West Point.

In the western armies, the regulation call was in use until the autumn of 1863.  At that time, the XI and XII Corps were detached from the Army of the Potomac and sent under command of Gen. Hooker to reinforce the Union Army at Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Through its use in these corps, it became known in the western armies and was adopted by them.  From that time, it became and remains to this day, the official call for "Taps."  It is printed in the present Tactics and is used throughout the U.S. Army, the National Guard, and all organizations of veteran soldiers.

Gen. Butterfield, in composing this call and directing that it be used for "Taps" in his brigade, could not have foreseen its popularity and the use for another purpose into which it would grow.  Today, whenever a man is buried with military honors anywhere in the United States, the ceremony is concluded by firing three volleys of musketry over the grave and sounding with the trumpet or bugle "Put out the lights. Go to sleep"...There is something singularly beautiful and appropriate in the music of this wonderful call.  Its strains are melancholy, yet full of rest and peace.  Its echoes linger in the heart long after its tones have ceased to vibrate in the air.

Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.
Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.
Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
'Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
'Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

I have attended many funerals of veterans.  I have heard many long winded eulogies at military funerals.  I don’t know about you, but my mind starts to wander after a while when whoever is giving the eulogy seems to be searching for meaning during the eulogy.  Here is a standard eulogy for a soldier; this poem was written by an Army Veteran named Charles Province.  What inspired him to write were his thoughts about the causalities of war, the killed, the missing, the wounded, soldiers bodies washing up on the beaches of Normandy and Iwo Jima.  It’s called a Soldier’s Poem:

It is the Soldier, not the minister, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to protest It is the Soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
We proudly salute and honor our veterans for their service, bravery, sacrifices and for the freedoms we all enjoy today.
I have mentioned the Big Horn Armory who makes superb lever action rifles.  They have just announced they will be moving to a bigger manufacturing facility because of increased demand.  The new facility is 500% larger than the old facility.

Tidbits:

May 26, 1907 - Marion Robert Morrison is born in Winterset, Iowa and at age six, the Morrison family moved to Glendale, California.  Growing up, Marion worked hard at every job he could get.  He finally got a football scholarship to UCLA.  His coach got him a job as an assistant prop man on a film being directed by the famous director, John Ford.  While working for the movie studio, he often ate lunch with one of the technical advisors, Wyatt Earp.  Marion received a hip injury that ended his football career.  Marion started playing bit parts and when he did, he changed his name to John Wayne (maybe you have heard of him).  John Ford and the other studio people saw something in young John Wayne that he did not see in himself at that time.  He chose his new first name as John because it sounded strong.  For his last name, he chose Wayne because he admired Revolutionary War hero Mad Anthony Wayne. 

John Wayne should have been nominated for more Academy Awards than he received.  There were a couple of problems.  First, he was a conservative in the land of liberals.  Second, the Hollywood types recognized that John Wayne was actually playing himself.  They did not consider it acting.  John Wayne made a movie in the 1950s on land that was used for an atomic bomb test.  Everyone on that film contracted cancer.  John Wayne died of cancer.

May 26, 1942 - The United States Army Ranger Battalion is authorized.

May 28, 1918 - A brigade of 4000 United States soldiers joined British and French Allies in the Battle of Cantigny.  Cantigny is a town in France.  American troops were viewed as inferior by the Germans and also by the British and French.  Cantigny would be their first engagement as a unit commanded by General John J. Pershing.  General Pershing’s nickname was “Black Jack”.  He was an excellent marksman and tough as they come.  The Americans and the allies drove the Germans out of Cantigny.  The Americans were to hold the town against German counter attacks.  General Pershing ordered that not one inch of Cantigny was to be surrendered to the Germans.  The Germans counter attacked seven times in 72 hours.  The Americans didn’t budge.  They fought off the Germans who used everything, including poison gas.  The American brigade suffered 1000 casualties and were finally relieved after three days.  After the Battle of Cantigny, the Germans, British and French changed their minds about the Americans.

May 28, 1837 - James Butler Hickok is born.   Later he became known as Wild Bill Hickok.  He was a remarkable marksman but before his death, he began going blind.  He carried a pair of Colt .36 caliber Navy pistols.  He was shot in the back in the No. 10 Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota.

May 30, 1868 - Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic issues General Order #11.  See above article.

Thanks for being a member!

Upcoming Events:  ISRA Calendar
For more information, visit www.isra.org

Saturday, May 28, 2022
Armed Women of America

Saturday & Sunday, May 28 & 29, 2022
MTG Defensive Rifle Course

Tuesday, May 31 & June 7, 2022
Tuesday Night Irregular Rifle League

Wednesday, June 1 & 8, 2022
F-Class Rifle League
Bench Rest League
Paper & Steel League

Thursday, June 2 & 9, 2022
ISRA Smallbore Prone/F-Class League

Saturday, June 4, 2022
Range Work Day
ISRA Steel Challenge
Guardian Tactics Level 1 & 2

Sunday, June 5, 2022
Bonfield Muzzle Loaders
ISRA 3Gun

Saturday, June 11, 2022
Armed Women of America
MTW Consulting LLC NRA 1^st Step Pistol Seminar
The Great 2022 Shoot-Out

Sunday, June 12, 2022
Rifle/Pistol Training
Marksmanship League
Joe Brown Highpower League/Robert Bishop Match

Gun & Trade Shows

Crown Point Gun Show – Crown Point, IN
Lake County Fairgrounds
Dates: May 28 & 29, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $5.00

Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club Gun & Knife Show – Chillicothe, IL
Chillicothe Sportsmen’s Club
Dates: June 11 & 12, 2022
Hours: Saturday: 8:30-5:00
             Sunday: 8:30-3:00
Admission: $3.00

Pecatonica Gun Show – Pecatonica, IL
Pecatonica Guns, Hunting & Shooting Expo
Winnebago County Fairgrounds
Dates: June 17-19, 2022
Hours: Friday: 4:00-9:00
             Saturday: 9:00-5:00
             Sunday: 9:00-3:00
Admission: $10.00 ($8.00 weekday)