The battles of Lexington and Concord saw the first shots fired by colonists against the disciplined and well-organized militia of Mother England. Lost in the annals of this dark time, upstaged by the midnight ride of Paul Revere, was the actions of 16 year old Sybil Ludington, eldest daughter of colonel Henry Ludington, commander of the 7^th Regiment of the Duchess County Militia. Sybil rode 40 miles through heavy rains, twice the distance ridden by Revere, to alert and muster her father’s militiamen in defense of Danbury, Connecticut which was coming under siege by the British. While the colonials arrived too late to save Danbury from being burned the militia 400 strong joined the Continental Army at the Battle of Ridgefield and repelled the British army sending them in retreat to their ships. Sybil received a commendation from General George Washington for her bravery and service to the country.

Our history is replete with such heroics, of courage in the face of the enemy, of gallantry and valor on the fields of battle. The stories of the men and women, and girls, who stepped forward and donned the colors of our nation in times of war stir the heart. A grateful nation says “Thank you” to these patriots. I believe, though, that throughout all these dark times there were also instances of mirth and humor, patches of delight amidst the darker horrors of war. William Tecumseh Sherman said, “War is hell!” but upholding the better angels of our nature (thank you Abe Lincoln) Mark Twain said, “I never heard a pun I didn’t like!” Well, okay, I made that second part up, but I could see Twain saying such a thing!

This volume of jokes focuses on the military. I do this not to poke fun at our women and men who serve in uniform, but to bring out those moments of mirth and humor from their midst and hopefully cause us a bit of laughter. I believe we need to laugh at ourselves a bit to keep things in perspective. Our women and men in uniform are human with the same foibles and kinks of character that anyone else has, we should be able to laugh at ourselves or things have slid over the lip of civilization and we in our humanity are the less for it.

I asked my grandchildren once again to work with me on some artwork for this volume. They have assisted in each of the previous volumes of puns, and did so again with this volume. I love that they feel free enough to contribute in their way – What more could a grandparent ask than for them to collaborate with me?

Gordon H. Nagai ~ Eugene, OR ~ Fall 2014