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Editorial September 11, 2021: 911, 2001, that fateful day when 2996 innocent people died in an attack on our country.
We all remember where we were that morning in 2001. I heard a news bulletin come over one of our local radio stations. Then to a television to see the horrific event unfold. It shook me to the core thinking of how our country could be attacked. It is a sad commentary that others would try to gain by destroying so many lives. This kind of treachery cannot stand. My thanks to our nation's all-volunteer military for taking up the challenge of avenging 911. Many service members died in the process. Ceremonies are held each year in Brainerd honoring all Americans involved. It is a sobering reminder that the War on Terror is not over. |
Brainerd VFW Post Chaplain Mark Persons
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October 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, take into your protection our service members currently deployed. May you be their comfort and their guide as they live and walk in a foreign land. Give them reassurance that you are a shield around them, an ever-present help in time of need. Here at home, grant us the wisdom to serve our country and our community with integrity in our deliberations at the Brainerd VFW. In Your name we pray, Amen. |
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September 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, this month we observe the 20th anniversary of the 911 attack on our country. We pray for the 2996 people who lost their lives at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and those who died fighting terrorists on a plane that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. We pray also for the servicemen and women returning from the Afghanistan fight. Help us heal their physical and mental wounds. In your name we pray, Amen |
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August 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, we humbly ask that You place Your arms around us. Give us comfort, strength and courage to get through this virus so we can continue the mission of helping veterans and the community. Help us be good shepherds in our dealings at the VFW and elsewhere. We pray also for the servicemen and women worldwide who are fighting for freedom from terror. In Your name we pray, Amen. |
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July 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, in this month of independence, thank You for aiding in the cause of the freedom. We are indebted to you for that. Please help this “Band of Brothers and Sisters” selflessly render community service and aid to veterans in need. We pray also for the servicemen and women worldwide fighting for freedom from terror. God bless them all…. Amen |
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June 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, we thank you for each and every veteran who served our country through the years. Comfort those who struggle in life after war. Help us to honor and care for those who have given so much for us. We pray also for the servicemen and women worldwide fighting for freedom from terror. In Your name we pray, Amen. |
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May 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, we pause to remember and give thanks on Memorial Day to the people who fought and died for the things we have. From the Bible, John 15:13, and I quote, “Greater love has no one than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” God bless them and the troops still serving…. Amen |
Spring flowers
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April 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, we ask for your continued favor on the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Auxiliary. It was April 1864 that “In God We Trust” was added to U.S. coins. This is fittingly so when you watch over us. We pray also that you protect our troops and use their work for the good of our nation and the world. God bless them all….Amen |
Vietnam
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March 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, we ask for your continued favor on the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Help us through this COVID time. March 29th is Vietnam War Veterans Day. We pray for those who did not return. We also pray for the servicemen and women worldwide fighting for freedom from terror. God bless them all….Amen |
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February 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, we ask for your continued favor on the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Please help us through this time of COVID so that we may render community service and aid veterans in need. We also pray that You watch over our service members worldwide in their mission to make this a better world. Amen |
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January 2021 Prayer:
Oh Lord, help us through this COVID time so we can emerge to resume productive lives helping veterans and our community. We also ask that you hold our troops in Your strong arms as they fight for freedom from terror and then bring them home safely. Amen. |
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December 2020 Prayer:
Oh Lord, we ask for your protection as we battle a virus that has taken so many lives. Fill our hearts with firm determination and unflinching courage in this troubled time. We pray also for our troops in harm’s way in faraway lands. God bless them all….Amen |
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November 2020 Prayer:
Lord, thank you for bringing veterans home from foreign wars so we can honor them in this veteran’s month. Help this “band of brothers and sisters” selflessly do community service while aiding veterans in need. We pray also for the servicemen and women worldwide fighting for freedom from terror. Bless them all, Amen |
VFW Post 1647 Chaplain Mark Persons was born April 12, 1947, in Duluth, Minnesota and was baptized as a Presbyterian. Later he became a Baptist and finally a member of the Park United Methodist Church in Brainerd. Mark brings the word of God to all faiths at Post 1647. Some have taken to calling him Father Mulcahy, as in M*A*S*H 4077.
Mark's Story: I joined the U.S. Army in 1966. Basic training was at Fort Polk, Louisiana. I taught electronics and electronic repair of the MPQ-4 and MPQ-10 Weapons Support Radars at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Then it was off to Vietnam to be Sergeant in Charge of an avionics (aviation electronics repair shop in support of the high-tech OV-1 Mohawk Surveillance Aircraft. See: 2018 article.
Back in civilian life in 1969, I worked as a radio broadcast engineer building twelve new radio stations and updated countless others until my retirement in 2018. Brainerd Dispatch Memorial Day story. Paula and I shop local and buy American, especially when it come to cars. The money stays here to help Americans. We are happy and proud to be participating members of VFW Post 1647.
Mark's Story: I joined the U.S. Army in 1966. Basic training was at Fort Polk, Louisiana. I taught electronics and electronic repair of the MPQ-4 and MPQ-10 Weapons Support Radars at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Then it was off to Vietnam to be Sergeant in Charge of an avionics (aviation electronics repair shop in support of the high-tech OV-1 Mohawk Surveillance Aircraft. See: 2018 article.
Back in civilian life in 1969, I worked as a radio broadcast engineer building twelve new radio stations and updated countless others until my retirement in 2018. Brainerd Dispatch Memorial Day story. Paula and I shop local and buy American, especially when it come to cars. The money stays here to help Americans. We are happy and proud to be participating members of VFW Post 1647.
This website was not written by a professional. It is the volunteer work of Mark Persons, Chaplain, Photographer and Webmaster of Brainerd Post 1647. Learn more about the journey into web writing and how you too can do this.
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The story was picked up by Lakeland Public TV on March 12, 2021. Video at: https://lptv.org/brainerd-veteran-receives-recognition-for-stillserving-campaign/
