Restoring, Reinforcing And Remembering The Alamo

As a kid I watched Walt Disney's Davy Crockett at the Alamo on TV starring Fess Parker and I watched John Wayne’s film The Alamo at the movies, which inspired me throughout the years to read a good number of history books on the Alamo's heroic last stand.  

While visiting my daughter and her Air Force husband in San Antonio, Texas a while back I was finally able to visit the Alamo. As a student of history, I could sense and envision the guts and glory of the brave men who gave their lives there as I walked through the compound.   

In today’s Washington Times, George P. Bush, the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, offers a piece on the preservation of that great, historical place.

As a native Texan, as a veteran, and as Texas land commissioner, it is my solemn duty and my great honor to be the caretaker of the Alamo. Who we are as Texans started there and who we can be as Texans and Americans still lives there.

You may have heard or read stories about the Alamo recently. Let’s set the record straight about what we are and are not doing.

We are not changing the Alamo’s name or story. We are seeking new ways to tell that story, and tell it to rising generations, to keep Texas values alive.

We are preserving and protecting the Alamo and the story of the battle. It was the 13 days of siege and battle in 1836 that made this mission sacred, and it’s that same battle that gives us our sacred mission today. Simply put, we want to tell the story of the battle of the Alamo, proudly, purposefully and better than we ever have before.

The beautiful Alamo Church is one of only two buildings that remain from the battle in 1836. At that time there were great walls of stone that made a frontier fortress. There were acequias to bring in water. There were lodgings for soldiers, and a headquarters where Col. Travis wrote his famous letter calling for reinforcements. There was a great gate to the south. But just two structures, the church and the long barrack, are all that’s left. All the rest has been lost to history, lost to the growth of San Antonio, or just lost.

Today these priceless buildings are crumbling before our very eyes. The Alamo must be preserved so future generations can learn its story as we have. We will preserve it.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/nov/16/the-alamo-must-be-preserved-for-future-generations/ 

You can also visit the Alamo website via the below link:

http://www.thealamo.org/