THE UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL

Take out a one dollar bill, and look at it.
The one dollar bill you're looking at first came
 off the presses in 1957 in its present design.
 This so called paper money is in fact a cotton
 and linen blend, with red and blue minute silk
 fibers running through it. It is actually material.
 We've all washed it without it falling apart.
A special blend of ink is used, the contents we
 will never know. It is overprinted with symbols
and then it is starched to make it water
resistant and pressed to give it that nice crisp look.

If you look on the front of the bill, you will
see the United States Treasury Seal. On the
top you will see the scales for a balanced budget.
 In the center you have a carpenter's square,
 a tool used for an even cut. Underneath is the Key
to the United States Treasury. That's all pretty
easy to figure out, but what is on the back
of that dollar bill is something we should all know.

If you turn the bill over, you will see two circles.
 Both circles, together, comprise the Great Seal
of the United States. The First Continental Congress
requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group
of men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to
 accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved.

If you look at the left-hand circle, you will
see a Pyramid. Notice the face is lighted,
and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning.
 We had not begun to explore the West or decided
 what we could do for Western Civilization.
The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we
 were not even close to being finished. Inside the
capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol
for divinity. It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it
alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything.

"IN GOD WE TRUST" is on this currency. The Latin above
 the pyramid, ANNUIT COEPTIS, means,
"God has favored our undertaking."

 The Latin below the pyramid,
 NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM,
 means, "a new order has begun."
At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776.

If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it
 carefully, you will learn that it is on every
National Cemetery in the United States. It is also
 on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell,
 Florida National Cemetery, and is the centerpiece of
 most hero's monuments. Slightly modified, it is
the seal of the President of the United States, and it is
 always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people
 know what the symbols mean.

The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for
 victory for two reasons: First, he is not afraid
of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to
 soar above it. Secondly, he wears no material crown.
 We had just broken from the King of England. Also,
notice the shield is unsupported. This country can
 now stand on its own. At the top of that shield you
 have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor.
We were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle's
beak you will read, "E PLURIBUS UNUM",
 meaning, "one nation from many people".

Above the Eagle, you have thirteen stars,
representing the thirteen original colonies, and any
 clouds of misunderstanding rolling away.
Again, we were coming together as one.

Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds
 an olive branch and arrows. This country
wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight
to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face
 the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze
 turns toward the arrows.

They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number.
This is almost a worldwide belief. You will
usually never see a room numbered 13, or
 any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think
about this: 13 original colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of
Independence, 13 stripes on our flag, 13 steps
on the Pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin above,
13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum", 13 stars above the Eagle,
 13 bars on that shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch,
13 fruits, and if you look closely, 13 arrows. And,
 for minorities: the 13th Amendment.

I always ask people, "Why don't you know this?"
Your children don't know this, and their history
teachers don't know this. Too many veterans have
 given up too much to ever let the meaning fade.
 Many veterans remember coming home to an
America that didn't care. Too many veterans
never came home at all.