Cal Thomas: The Spirit that Will Win the War

Cal Thomas | Syndicated columnist | Published: Sep 12, 2002

Cal Thomas: The Spirit that Will Win the War

Coming back from Texas a few days ago following a speech commemorating September 11, I read in the Austin newspaper a letter from Bill Welch. He's a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. His letter is too long to read to you, but its essence was that he is not afraid of terrorists and is willing to die in defense of freedom.

Here's his last paragraph: "I could be killed in this fight (he's speaking of a possible war), and like every American, I could be killed in a terrorist attack. But I promise this: if I should perish, I will do it as a free and proud American. I intend to keep standing up for my civil liberties and celebrating freedom and democracy. I intend to defy evil and terror at every encounter. This is what I tell my son, Michael, today: "I'm not afraid of those terrorists either. In fact, I'm not going to sit and worry about them getting us. Instead, I'm gonna go get them."
 
That's the spirit that built and defended America all these years. That is the spirit that will help us win this war, whatever the cost.

Cal Thomas: The Spirit that Will Win the War