The epitome of an American hero if there ever was one.
I have an LP I picked up at a yard sale made in 1973 by John Wayne entitled, "America, Why I Love Her" On the back he wrote this:
"All my life I've felt privileged to have good friends around me, privileged to have been able to do the kind of work I know and love the best, and to have been born in a country whose beauty and grandeur are matched only by the greatness of her people.
For a number of years I have tried to express a deep and profound love for these things; to be able to say what I feel in my heart. And, now, in this album, I've had the chance to do so.
I know most of you feel the same as I do about our country. Now we gripe about some of her imperfections, but sometimes that good. Especially if it gets us working together to make things better. It seems to me we often take too much for granted, and have a tendency to forget "The Good Things About America."
My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for. May we nuture her strengths and strengthen her weaknesses so that she will always be a "Land Of the Free, and Home Of The Brave."
Sincerely,
John Wayne
Here are the titles of the tracks on the record:
Why I Love Her
The Hyphen
Mis Raices Estan Aqui (My Roots Are Buried Here)
The People
An American Boy Grows Up
Face the Flag
The Good Things
The Pledge of Allegiance
Why Are You Marching, Son?
Taps
Dee