Please allow me to share some deeply personal thoughts about Constitution Day, which we recently celebrated on Monday, September 17.
On May 30, 1990, I took the following solemn oath of office: I, Stephen Lambert, having been appointed a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter, so help me God.
Since May 30, 1990, thirty-one officers and graduates of my alma mater have been killed in combat giving their last full measure in honor of the oath they took on graduation day to defend the Constitution.
Liberty is a fragile thing, and as President Reagan once said,
“[It] is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have had freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.”
Our school’s mission and purpose is deeply connected to preserving our Constitution, for as James Madison said in his defense of the Constitution, our republic requires a virtuous and knowledgeable citizenry. It is our school’s highest goal to grow such citizens.