Star Spangled Banner Research Paper

The well-known Star Spangled Banner elaborates on the land of the free, and the home of the brave - but why does this free land exist, and who are the brave? The United States Armed Forces are the federal military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. This coalition was founded on June 14, 1755 and the current Minister of Defense is Ash Carter. There are also three general categories of military people; active duty, who are full-time soldiers and sailors, reserve & guard forces, who are individuals who work a civilian job but can be called to full-time military duty, and veterans and retirees, who are the past members of the military. Then there are also the millions of family
Our heroes silently serve, provide aid around the world and defend the quality of life that Americans enjoy. They are proud of their service and rarely ask for anything in return, so they walk among us, often carrying the scars of their sacrifice. These people often do not get the proper recognition they deserve, as many of them lose their life, and sometimes we don't even take a second to think about it as it happens so often, when we should mourn and respect, these righteous heroes. Yet there are people who indeed disagree with this statement saying that not all soldiers should be categorized as heroes. For example, Chris Hayes is the host of All In with Chris Hayes on MSNBC, and three years ago, he stated, “obviously there are individual circumstances in which there is genuine, tremendous heroism: hail of gunfire, rescuing fellow soldiers and things like that. But it seems to me that we marshal this word in a way that is problematic.” Hayes uses the phrase, “genuine, tremendous heroism” which implies that soldiers have to do more than just fight to be heroes. They have to do more than risk their lives and put everything on the line by just going to war. The standard definition of a hero is a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. The phrase that Hayes uses is a subjective phrase, and he uses it’s meaning in a
There heroic adventure tales have often had surprising durability over time, such as Homer’s, Odyssey. Homer’s definition of an epic hero is a person of imposing stature who stands for the ideals of a nation or race and performs deeds of great valor that require extraordinary courage that the average man does not possess. Odysseus truly exemplifies this in Homer’s poem, but so do the members of the United States Armed Forces. These men and women in arms are always fighting for their country in mind, as that is who they are proudly representing on the battlefronts. In fact, only 7.3 percent of all living Americans have served in the military at some point in their lives. This shows that these are not ordinary men who join the army because they are forced in some way, but distinguish themselves by putting their lives on the line to fight for what they believe in, a deed of great valor that requires extraordinary courage. Also, throughout his tedious journey home, Odysseus exemplifies characteristics such as putting everything on the line so that he could save his crew and himself, a prominent characteristic of soldiers. Homer states, “You think we are headed home, our own dear land? Well, Circe sets us a rather different course… down to the House of Death and the awesome one, Persephone, there to consult the ghost of Teiresias, seer of Thebes” (Homer