May 3rd, 2010

Retired Coast Guard Combat Veteran

coast guard 1 I just donated to this organization because I fully believe in these principles. I served in the USCG as a Radioman 2nd class during the Viet Nam war, and was stationed on a support (LORAN) station in the Pacific for 14 mos. from Aug. 1964 – Oct. 1965. I served my entire 4-year hitch as an RM, after completing basic and RM school.

My ancestor, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr., (5 January 1779 – 22 March 1820) was an American naval officer notable for his heroism in the Barbary Wars (with the Muslim Barbary Pirates) and in the War of 1812. He was the youngest man to reach the rank of captain in the history of the United States Navy and the first American celebrated as a national military hero who had not played a role in the American Revolution.

My father, T. R. Decatur, Jr., served with distinction in the U.S. Navy during WWII (Naval Air Transport Services), and my eldest son, Will, is a decorated combat veteran, having served three tours (two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan) with the U.S. Army 391st Combat Engineers. Our family has a tradition of serving in the U.S. military and would not have it any other way. When we took our Oath, we noted that there is NO expiration date !

Thanks for what you are doing; we’re proud to be a part of it.

Commodore Decatur’s most memorable quote is this one:

“Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.”

This quote has often been misinterpreted to mean that he supported our nation, even when she was in the wrong. That is not what he meant here, however. I interpret this quote to mean that even when our foreign diplomacy or other, even more forceful, actions involving foreign nations are not as sterling as they could be (due to inadequate intelligence or political mishandling), it is not the fault of the people or of the nation, but the fault of those who are ill-prepared to govern her. To, therefore, withdraw support for the Nation due to the inept management of those in charge is to cut off one’s nose to spite one’s face, is it not?

My own quote is this: “It is clearly far past time for us, and for the world, to recognize that the Heart of America is not at all comprised of those who rule her, but Constitutionally, is comprised of the People whose duty and right it is to control those who rule her.”

Ren Decatur

Please donate and support Oath Keepers mission, every little bit helps!

Posted in All, Testimonials | 3 Comments »

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3 Responses to “Retired Coast Guard Combat Veteran”

1
CorbinKale Says:
May 3rd, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Thanks for your service, Ren. Welcome to Oath Keepers.
2
Tim Ray Says:
May 4th, 2010 at 6:32 am
Welcome Ren…fellow Coast Guard Veteran here. I served on an ANFAC station (1981-1985)state side. My service was not memorable, but my oath was as serious as any other. Glad to have you as an Oath Keeper!
3
TJ Says:
May 5th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Welcome from another retired Coasty with MANY years of LORAN (Two LORAN A and Four LORAN C). Glad to see there are other Coasties honoring the oath they took!

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"A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The 'United States of America', for an amount of 'up to and including his life.'" – Author Unknown

If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. -- Thomas Paine

"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” -- Thomas Paine

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Oath of Enlistment

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Officers Oath

I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God

Your Oath NEVER expires! It's time to keep it!

Site Dedication

This site is dedicated to the memory of John William Adams (1925-2006), Marine and Oath Keeper extraordinaire.

John Adams, at the age of 16, lied about his age to join the Marines so he could fight against Imperial Japan in the Pacific. His enlistment date was December 10, 1941, just three days after the attack on Pearl Harbor (see below). As a Marine rifleman, he fought the Japanese from island to island, across the pacific, including at Iwo Jima. We may have good men, but we never had better.

Until his death in 2006, he was a dedicated patriot who still took his oath to defend the Republic deadly serious. May God grant you the courage to do likewise.

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OATH KEEPERS: ORDERS WE WILL NOT OBEY
Click here to read full length version. 1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people. 2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people 3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal. 4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state. 5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty. 6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps. 7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext. 8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control." 9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies. 10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.
Click here to read full length version.

OATH KEEPERS: ORDERS WE WILL NOT OBEY

Click here to read full length version.

1. We will NOT obey orders to disarm the American people.

2. We will NOT obey orders to conduct warrantless searches of the American people

3. We will NOT obey orders to detain American citizens as “unlawful enemy combatants” or to subject them to military tribunal.

4. We will NOT obey orders to impose martial law or a “state of emergency” on a state.

5. We will NOT obey orders to invade and subjugate any state that asserts its sovereignty.

6. We will NOT obey any order to blockade American cities, thus turning them into giant concentration camps.

7. We will NOT obey any order to force American citizens into any form of detention camps under any pretext.

8. We will NOT obey orders to assist or support the use of any foreign troops on U.S. soil against the American people to “keep the peace” or to “maintain control."

9. We will NOT obey any orders to confiscate the property of the American people, including food and other essential supplies.

10.We will NOT obey any orders which infringe on the right of the people to free speech, to peaceably assemble, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances.

Click here to read full length version.

Founder Stewart Rhodes

He is a former firearms instructor and former member of Rep. Ron Paul’s DC staff.

Stewart previously wrote the monthly Enemy at the Gates column for S.W.A.T. Magazine

Stewart graduated from Yale Law School in 2004, where his paper “Solving the Puzzle of Enemy Combatant Status” won Yale’s Miller prize for best paper on the Bill of Rights. He assisted teaching U.S. military history at Yale, was a Yale Research Scholar, and is writing a book on the dangers of applying the laws of war to the American people.