 We're going to start out with the presentation of the colors. The flag will be raised. Any time you're ready, gentlemen, raise the colors. Thank you, Mr. President, and the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Next, we're going to have the singing of our national anthem by Dominic Garfallo. Dominic, please step forward. Brandon, I'm sorry. The F-16 aircraft arrived, who will suspend the program until the flyover is done, and then resume the program after the flyover is finished. The F-16s will be approaching from the west over the Veterans Memorial at about 3,000 feet, flying east over Lake Michigan. The crew will entertain all, observe them as they turn and drop to 1,000 feet. And at 330 miles per hour, in full afterburner, approaching South Pier over their primary target, our Winsa location here. At this unprecedented flyover, it will serve to thank all military members past and present, and also kick off Sheboygan County's Independence Day activities. It will also mark the beginning of the under construction phase of the Winsa Military Heritage Museum and Education Center. I'd like to thank the Naval Ship Association for hosting the ceremony today. This group has already spent many years planning and fundraising to develop this facility and this project. I'd like to ask the Winsa Board President, Larry Hinkelman, for his comments at this time. Larry? Thank you, Mike. As President of the Wisconsin Naval Ship Association, this is fantastic for everybody to be here this evening. We're really looking forward to the flyover. And again, as Mike said, this is really for three things. One, to thank our service men and women past, present, and future to commemorate our National Day of Independence. And not last, not least, but the opening of what we call our under construction phase of our Military Heritage Museum and Education Center. Winsa is working on this building to make it a museum. We're also working very hard to get a ship donated by the Navy so that we can have a floating museum here in the Sheboygan Harbor. We're still working on it, that's all I can say. At this point, I want to thank you all for being here and thank you, Mike. Thank you, Larry. I appreciate all the work that you and your board are doing to make this project a reality. Next, I'd like to give just a little brief rendition about what 4th of July means to me. As kids, we all grew up celebrating the 4th of July and looking forward to the grades, food with family, and fireworks. As a matter of fact, my son, Rob, who was born on the 5th of July for many years, thought that the whole celebration was just part of his birthday. Somewhere in our growing up days, we began to realize the meeting of Independence Day with that awareness, the rebirth of patriotism took place in all of us. July 4th is the birthday of our nation. I believe and I hope that you would agree with me that it's the first day of the greatest nation on Earth. From a speech by Ronald Reagan, it was noted that in 1776, in a little hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a day in which debate raged through ours. The men there gathered were honorable men, hard-pressed by a king who had flouted the very laws that they were willing to obey, but even so, to sign the Declaration of Independence was such an irretrievable act that the walls resounded with the words treason, gallows, and the headman's acts. The issues remained in doubt. Legend says that at that point, a man, Rosen, spoke. He summoned all the energy for an impassioned plea. He cited the grievances that had brought them to this moment. And finally, his failing voice said, they may turn every tree into gallows, every hole into a grave, and yet the words on that parchment can never die. To the mechanic in the workshop, they will speak hope. To the slave in the mines, freedom. Sign that parchment. Sign it. If the next moment the noose is around your neck for that parchment will be the textbook to freedom, the Bible of rights forever. The 56 delegates in that room swept up by his eloquence. Rush forward and sign that document destined to be as immortal as the work of man can be. When they turned to thank him for his timely oratory, he was not to be found, or could not be found. Who knew who he was, or probably had come and gotten through locked and guarded doors. Well, that's the legend. But we do know that for certain that 56 men, a little band so unique that we have never seen their life since, had pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. Some gave their lives in the war they followed, most gave up their fortunes, and all preserved their sacred honor. What manner of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers, eleven were jurists, others were merchants or tradesmen, nine were farmers. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They were not an unwashable rabble. They had achieved security but valued freedom more. Their stories have not been told nearly enough. But they sired a nation that grew from sea to signing sea. This act led to a revolution that changed the very concept of government. Let the Fourth of July always be a reminder that in this land for the first time, we've decided that a man is formed with certain God-given rights, that government is only a convenience that's created and managed by the people with no powers of its own except those voluntarily granted to it by its people. We sometimes forget that great truth. We never should. I want to wish all of you a happy Fourth of July and as you celebrate this week, please remember the sacrifices our founding fathers made to start this revolution and the military volunteers who served to protect our country and our freedoms that they fostered. Thank you very much. I'd like to take this moment to thank the representatives of the different units that are here. Cheboygan Coast Guard, Coast Guard Cheboygan Station. I'll get it yet. Really, I will. Civil Air Patrol, the Sea Cadet, Volrath Division, the Navy, and where did he go? Somebody else was here from the Navy. And that's about all I see here. Yeah, I want to thank everybody and Navy. There he is hiding back there. I want to thank all of you for representing today. Thank you very much. Where's Air Force? Did I miss him? Nope, this is a lift. Okay, we'll take a break. The plane is due over in about two minutes and then we'll resume our program after it's passed over. Thanks for coming today. On behalf of Ron Rowan and the F-16 pilots, I'd like to thank all the military service members, veterans, and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so our nation can continue to celebrate our freedom. A very special thanks to the Naval Sea Cadet Corps, which are led by T.L. Brandon Fraul, and also the effort to demonstrate the importance of joint military operations thanks to Sheboygan County Composite Civil Air Patrol members, which are led by Major Rick Merz. Can you and your personnel please raise your hands and be recognized for your support of the ceremony? All of our service members that are present and their service support, the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps and also the Coast Guard members and Air Force members and veterans, please raise your hands and be recognized for your service. Sheboygan County Board Chairman, our County Assistant to the Administrator, Kay Lorans, and G-I-S Expert, Brett Zimba, for working with Ron Rowan in the planning of this historic flyover for Sheboygan County. Prior to retiring the colors, I would again like to thank everyone for coming, and I hope you have a great 4th of July. Thank you, Mike.