What does patriotism sound like? The American Legion Post in southern New Jersey has captured it on compact disc.
The new CD, "American Minutes," contains one-minute patriotic
messages -- interesting historical vignettes that tell the story of,
for example, the origin of the Pledge of Allegiance and how "Taps"
became the saddest song in the military. Hundreds of the disks have
gone out to schools in New Jersey, and the idea is catching on so
rapidly that citizens are starting to ask for their own copies. When
a story appeared in the local daily newspaper, The Press of Atlantic
City, people began calling American Legion Post 254 in Mays Landing,
N.J., to find out how they can get the CD, and it has barely stopped
ringing.
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For now at least, the CD -- funded and backed by the state American Legion -- is only available to schools, radio stations and those in the armed services. The original idea was to help children learn about American history in easily digestible one-minute chunks. But as more people began requesting copies, Campbell began sending copies out to libraries. Now, the U.S. Coast Guard base in nearby Cape May, N.J. -- the only place in the country where the Coast Guard does basic training -- has requested copies to play for its recruits on a daily basis.
"We're reviewing the CD to see where we can work it into our curriculum," said Chief Warrant Officer Bill Carson, who works in public affairs for the Cape May Coast Guard station. "Part of our mission is to teach patriotism, and this should be of great value to us."
And early in June, state American Legion leaders will get together to decide whether the CD will be made available to the public.
It seems that the disk's patriotic tone is resonating.
"It is an amazing surprise, an unexpected surprise and a welcome surprise," said Bob Campbell, a Korean War veteran and a past commander of Post 254, who came up with the idea. "The feedback has been all positive, not negative."
The CDs contain 60 one-minute stories. The information for the stories was gathered and composed by several American Legion volunteers. Source material includes the Internet, the National Parks Service and reference sources.
Why do people seem so hungry to learn about history and patriots?
"People want to hear this because in some cases they're starved for these stories," said Campbell. "They want to know about the country and the people who have done things for their country -- teachers, military people, citizens -- true patriots."
The stories aren't all about war heroes, though there are some inspiring war stories on the CD. As Campbell points out, patriotism comes in many forms.
"Harriet Tubman was a great patriot," Campbell said. "Martin Luther King was a hero and a great patriot. You don't have to be on the battlefield to be a hero for our country."
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