To be an American: Hard-earned freedom

Kenneth Salazar, Las Vegas

Thursday, July 4, 2013 | 2 a.m.

Last week we asked you what it means to be an American. We received a great response. Here are some of the letters and comments. We’ll publish more in the coming days.

Ever since the American Revolution, through the trial of the Civil War; from the trenches of World War I to the beaches of Normandy and the island battles in the Pacific of World War II; from the frozen mountains of Korea to the sweltering paddies of Vietnam; from Grenada and Panama to the sands of Kuwait and Iraq and on the plains and sharp mountains of Afghanistan, common Americans, your neighbors and mine, have been silent heroes sacrificing so much so that we may live in a country that allows us all to enjoy it from sea to shining sea.

Politics aside, it is wonderful to wake up each morning free to choose what we want to do, free of fear and uncertainty like we all felt on Sept. 11, 2001. The red, white and blue still stands for something, so let all come together again and celebrate being American for 237 years of hard-earned freedom.