What Do You Think I Fought For at Omaha Beach?

June 2, 2010August 10, 2015 B. John 1217 Views 1 Comment Maine, Iowa All State Orchestra and Chorus, marriage equality, Phillip Spooner, Melissa Dunphy

This entry is part 25 of 35 in the series Gay Marriage

Last Fall, during the unfortunately successful campaign to repeal Marriage Equality in Maine, 86-year-old WWII Veteran Phillip Spooner stood before a packed hall and delivered a stirring call for equality to a Senate Committee. He talks of being raised on a potato farm and being taught that all men are created equal.When asked by a woman at his polling place if he supported equal rights for gay and lesbian people. He tells how surprised he was to even be asked, and said his response was, “What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?” His statement was later set to music by Melissa Dunphy, and was selected as the winning work for the 2010 Simon Carrington Chamber Singers Composition Competition.

His eloquent statement is here.

Jeremy Hooper at “Good As You” has provided the following video. “What do you think I fought for at Omaha Beach?” was performed on May 29, 2010, at Grace and Holy Trinity in Kansas City, MO and First Presbyterian Church in Lawrence, KS. This video is taken from initial footage of the recording session on May 30, 2010, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Kansas City, KS.

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B. John

B. John Masters writes about democracy, moral responsibility, and everyday Stoicism at deep.mastersfamily.org. A lifelong United Methodist committed to social justice, he explores how faith, ethics, and civic life intersect—and how ordinary people can live out justice, mercy, and truth in public life. A records and information management expert, Masters has lived in the Piedmont,NC, Dayton, OH, Greensboro, NC and Tampa, FL, and is a proud Appalachian State Alum.

One thought on “What Do You Think I Fought For at Omaha Beach?”

Lee
June 2, 2010 at 4:58 pm
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Thanks for the post, John,

The Simon Carrington Chamber Singers were delighted to premiere Melissa’s outstanding work. Just a quick correction. The concert video you have is from the Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral performance on May 29th in Kansas City, MO. This link is to the Blessed Sacrament recording session footage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3-IIndibgM

Lee Hartman,
SCCS, Board Member
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One thought on “What Do You Think I Fought For at Omaha Beach?”

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