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It all began yesterday when the Montana Army National presented me with an urgent request for a chaplain. Apparently their chaplain is out of state right now and was not available and since I am the only chaplain of any service close by they called me. It seems that Lt. Col. Oliver North was in town for a breakfast prayer meeting and the American Legion asked him to speak to their members after the prayer breakfast. The American Legion asked the Guard for assistance and the Guard asked me to do the benediction. There were over a hundred and fifty people there, many of them soldiers from the MT National Guard. It was a great pleasure to meet and hear Lt. Col. North, he is a very dynamic speaker. I am pleased to report that my small part of the event went very well, it was the first time that I ever received applause for a very simple prayer. I must admit that I was very gratified that after the event Lt. Col. North took the trouble to seek me out and thank me for my participation and prayer.

NOTES FOR BENEDICTION GIVEN 3 MAY 2010
TO AMERICAN LEGION MEETING
BY MAJ (Ret) Samuel D. Dauer
(Note: Keynote speaker Lt. Col. Oliver North)
BILLINGS, MONTANA

Greetings, my name is Chaplain Sam Dauer and I am with the Montana Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, an auxiliary of the US Air Force. I thank you for inviting me to participate in your assembly this morning. I feel like I must have the toughest job in Montana today. Here I am following Colonel North who is such a gifted speaker and a true American Patriot. Then add to that the beautiful rendition of God Bless the USA that we just heard. How am I supposed to compete with that? I would say that I don't stand a prayer except for one fact. I pray to an all powerful God and with him maybe I stand a chance.

Before I pray I feel compelled to add this preface. In today's society we have a tiny minority who object to public prayer. They cite this (hold up a copy of the Constitution), The Constitution of the United States of America, particularly referring to the First Amendment. I quote, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion," and that is where they like to stop. They do not want to address the rest of that amendment which states, "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech," which is what I'm doing today. This amendment also states that we can peaceably assemble and looking around me I see several of our soldiers from the Montana Army National Guard dressed in their warrior suits, but they seem to be peaceful this morning. If there are any members of the press here today, your unique freedom is also guaranteed in by the First Amendment.

Now, I'm afforded these rights because I'm an American citizen and I can prove it. (Hold up my birth certificate.) This is my birth certificate and I'm proud to show it to prove that I'm an American citizen. This is more than some of our politicians are willing to do. [Note: I received a round of applause and a few HOO YAs when I said this.] Since my birth certificate does not have my picture on it I am more than glad to produce my government issued picture ID. (Hold up my passport.) As the song that was just sung says, I'm proud to be an American and born to be free.

Not only do I have these rights as an American citizen, I figure I earned them. I served this country in uniform for over 31 years. As these pieces of colored cloth on my chest (point to the ribbons on my uniform) attest I fought for my rights, and as this purple ribbon hidden behind this oak leaf cluster (point to the Purple Heart) attests, I bled for my rights. And I can tell you that many of my closest friends died for my rights, (pause), and yours. [Note: I received another round of applause.]

So this morning I am exercising my rights to freely exercise my expression of religion through free speech in this peaceful assembly.

As I pray, those who wish to do so may join me. Those who do not wish to do so, that is your right, all I ask is that you afford me the courteous forbearance due an old, battered veteran.

Lord God in Heaven heed my prayers. Thank you for our military veterans who willingly shouldered a civic duty to defend our Constitution and guaranteed our freedoms.

I thank you for our current generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, who serve at the forefront of our current battles against an enemy who is determined to deny us the right of freedom of religion and free speech, not only to ourselves but also to their own people.

I pray for our military leaders, grant them the insight that they need to lead this battle ethically, grant them not only the physical courage that they need on the battlefield but also the moral courage to not be influenced by political correctness or with intent to further their careers.

I pray for our enemies, open their eyes to the truth of your nature and instill in them a desire to lay down their weapons and live in peace.

I pray for our civil leaders, may they govern us in righteousness and with justice and not be motivated by political popularity or political gain.

[Note: I received another round of applause. Also as the assembly broke up, several attendees came up to me to thank me for both the preface and the prayer. Most meaningful was Lt. Col. North took the trouble to seek me out and give me his personal thanks as well.]