'We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Ours'

Cannon smoke choked Lake Erie and the fight looked like it was done for. I walk you through the mess. The USS Lawrence was smashed. Four out of five men on board were dead or hurt. The ship was sinking. Oliver Hazard Perry would not quit. He lowered a rowboat and rowed right through the chaos toward another ship. I tell you how he wrapped himself in his battle flag. He climbed aboard the Niagara and took command. He moved the ship straight at the enemy. Blow after blow, he pushed until the British gave up. I read the note he scribbled on an old envelope. It said, "We have met the enemy and they are ours." You feel the grit there. The line is short and flat, but it carries a hard truth. We close with the host signing off, calm and brief. You get a tight story about one sharp act of courage. The language is simple. The mood is steady. You leave knowing the basic facts and the punch of that famous message.

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