A retired army chaplain has shared in a letter why he is opposed to compromising the position that America is an exceptional nation, whether in the Common Core standards or the new Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) framework.
Heidi Wolfgang, a Colorado parent involved in fighting both the Common Core standards and the new APUSH in her state, is the daughter of Chaplain (Ret.) Raymond E. Logan, U.S. Army. Wolfgang told Breitbart News that she recently asked her father if he knew about the APUSH revision discussion that has been sweeping the nation, and how he felt about it.
“When he began to explain in opposition and I could tell he was overcome by emotion by the trembling in his voice, I asked him if he could think about it for a few days and write a letter to the Colorado Board of Education,” Wolfgang shared. “I was planning on attending the Colorado BOE meeting in October and wanted to read his letter to the board members.”
“When my dad called to read me his letter, he was reading it as though he were preaching to me about the importance of his history,” she continued. “My dad’s voice began to crack midway, and by the time he was reading about watching soldiers die, he was crying. And I cried because I was touched by my father’s compassion.”
“His reflection of that time in his life was life-changing for me, and something we had never talked about before,” Wolfgang added. “My dad served 22 years in the army, as a chaplain. He was so inspiring to me because he was always helping others. I learned patriotism from my father and will share that patriot fever with my daughter.”
The letter reads:
October 4, 2014
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
Subject: “Why we cannot allow revisions to our AP History texts”
My comments are in response to the subject under consideration by many supporters on the academic changes being imposed on our school children involving Common Core and the rewriting of our history books and traditions of America. I am vehemently opposed to the removal or compromising of the narrative that has existed in our school system and textbooks for decades that reference America’s Founding Fathers and their contribution to what makes us who we are as Americans. I am further opposed to the removal of any part of our Constitution, Bill of Rights, or any other documents upon which America is founded and exists.
I personally have served this great nation as a military chaplain for over twenty-two years and have stood beside our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, and extended family who have chosen to wear the uniform representing America throughout the world. For decades I have firsthand knowledge that, not only I, but thousands with whom I served stood by their oath of allegiance to our Constitution and [F]ounding [F]ather’s [sic] principles that symbolize the values that have brought freedom and independence throughout America. These traditions and beliefs are the backbone of thousands of our men and women who have given their blood, sweat, and tears, and even their lives, for the preservation of the America that others in this world only dream of … and even risk entering this country illegally to gain what we have possessed for over two centuries. I implore you to give the utmost consideration to what others have given to preserve what some are willing to give away and keep from future generations.
I want you to know firsthand from someone who has been there to hold your loved ones and the loved ones of our neighbors in my arms when they have been taken from the field of battle and shared their last breath, relying on me to communicate with their families their love for them and their love for their country. Without exception they have given their all and stood in the foxholes of destiny hoping and praying their defense of America is going to succeed as they preserve the America and homeland they themselves grew up with, learned about in school, shared with their churches, their sports teams, their hometown Independence Day Parades, and generations to come. Without exception these men and women understood America and what she stands for because they learned in school the struggle of our Founding Fathers upon whose work to assemble and then stand by our Declaration of Independence that could easily have cost them their lives and families. They learned our American heritage from our [Forefathers’] writing and the inclusiveness of fundamental history the authors of our history textbooks continued to faithfully preserve. These are the foundation of America who stand upon the passing of our flag at parades, salute and stand at attention at the playing of [T]aps, and whose coffins are [sic] American flag draped as they are lowered into the grounds embracing our national cemeteries.
These are the people and traditions you represent as you consider preserving our heritage for the current generation and generations to come. Represent us well and keep the integrity and faithfulness of all those Americans who have paid the supreme price that you may sit in your position of responsibility and defend our children and their right to learn the foundation of what has made us a great nation.
We are depending on each of you.
Respectfully submitted,
Chaplain (Ret.) Raymond E. Logan, U.S. Army
“It tears my dad up to know history books are changing to suit agendas that are not patriotic. We all need to be educated about America and how she came to be the greatest nation in the world, so we can protect her,” Wolfgang said. “He cringes at the thought that my child won’t hear the accounts of history as they happened, or as we have studied them.”
“Our family heritage goes back to George Washington and Thomas Rogers of the Mayflower (maternal), and John A Logan (paternal),” she added. “It is imperative that children continue to learn what each of these men did for history, and what our soldiers continue to do to protect us.”
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