 Everyone, this is Chaplain Burson, and this week's thought is on the importance of history. This week is the anniversary of one of the most famous battles of the Revolutionary War. It was a naval battle fought between John Paul Jones leading a severely outmatched merchant ship against a large and heavily armored British vessel. As tremendous damages mounted on the American ship, the British captain asked Jones if he would surrender. With his ship on fire and sinking, he responded, I have not yet begun to fight. Defying the odds, he would go on to win that battle and become the father of the American Navy. Unfortunately, Jones's story took several bad turns, and he died in poverty in Paris in an unmarked grave. But thankfully, the story of the man who wouldn't give up didn't end there. Over a hundred years later, his story still fought on from beyond the grave. For a stronger Navy. You see, his body was discovered and returned with a large naval escort so that he could be buried at the U.S. Naval Academy. President Theodore Roosevelt, who was a student of history and former assistant secretary of the Navy, saw an opportunity to capitalize on this. So he held a large ceremony to honor John Paul Jones. In his speech, Roosevelt used the stories of Jones' tenacity and skill to inspire naval officers. But he also capitalized on the admiration for Jones to build public support for drastically increasing the strength of the American Navy, something he accomplished when he sent the Great White Fleet around the world as a show of sea power. This is why I think history is so important, and a reason why I choose these historical stories for these weekly thoughts. Just like how John Paul Jones was exhumed in Paris, there are many stories in history that lie ready to be unearthed and rediscovered by us as well. And just as Roosevelt uses Jones' story to inspire others, I hope this week that we love and share these stories so that we never forget the bravery, courage, and perseverance that it took to come this far as a nation. And so that we can be inspired to live well and perhaps accomplish our own piece of history. Blessings this week.