Memorial Day...

[red91]

I know it's early but...

Just wanted to let all you who have served, or are serving in ANY MILITARY capacity....THANKS.

For doing a rough ass job, and getting little in return. I never made it past MEPS...got shot down in the physical. But I still have the 7 inch stack of paper that got me that far.

Going to see me dad's spot this weekend in Falls City, Wa. Just got me to thinking about what the day is really all about...and wanted to say I appreciate your sacrifce in making our country a safe, and better place.

atriot:

The Rabbi

 

[bjoehandley]

I know it's early but...

Just wanted to let all you who have served, or are serving in ANY MILITARY capacity....THANKS

Ditto

 

[Glenn B]

Cheers from me to all the Vets, current and past. Including those that stepped up to the plate but did not get in. Civilians backing the Military is a very important thing IMHO.

 

[red91]

Cheers from me to all the Vets, current and past. Including those that stepped up to the plate but did not get in. Civilians backing the Military is a very important thing IMHO.

I still got my dads flag. Vacuum sealed. I will not open it. I hope my son (2.5) understands the commitment behind WHY all of those who stepped up, did.

 

[Glenn B]

I still got my dads flag. Vacuum sealed. I will not open it. I hope my son (2.5) understands the commitment behind WHY all of those who stepped up, did.

Good for you, and your son. I am sure if he pays attention to History in school, he will have a great understanding of what that flag means. Same with 4th of July, etc.... it is not just candy and fireworks and parades. The history is where it is as... as I am sure you know. Preaching to the choir here....
Glenn

 

[red91]

Good for you, and your son. I am sure if he pays attention to History in school, he will have a great understanding of what that flag means. Glenn

Heres hoping its a true history class, and not revisionist history.

 

[Glenn B]

Heres hoping its a true history class, and not revisionist history.

No doubt. I was lucky. After school, and in the Military I was stationed in Nurnberg Germany. I had a very good oppurtunity to visit many (underground) nazi era museums. I travelled to many parts of West Germany, as well as East Germany and a few other Commy places... just for the history. I loved it, and soaked it up like a sponge. That may be part of why I am so FOR taking out hard headed dictators now, rather than later? I lived one block away from where Hitler had planned to have the "world congress" after he took over the world. Seen all of the NAZI footage? Swastika blowing up etc...? I was there. Common uses then were German auto races, and Special Olympics (I volunteered to help every time). 1st FCN stadium was next door.

Great stuff.... for a history buff. Amazingly enough, my 1st wife (a German) told me they NEVER had any history lessons related to the NAZI era. That is not good. You cannot gloss over it and pretend it did not happen by not teaching it.

 

[red91]

No doubt.

Great stuff.... for a history buff. Amazingly enough, my 1st wife (a German) told me they NEVER had any history lessons related to the NAZI era. That is not good. You cannot gloss over it and pretend it did not happen by not teaching it.

He took that page out of the "Handguide to World Domination" by Stalin.

Most history, in most countries, HATE to mention when they did something wrong, beit little or huge.

I have an unlce on my wifes side, that was 13 when Hitler was picking up steam. They wanted him for the Junior Youth program. He and his best friend snuck out of the country, and got to mexico. He tells me these stories with the THICKEST accent I've ever heard. It's tough to watch a 80 Yr old German guy, who works 7 days a week still, cry.

Guy is tough as nails. He said he wished he could go home just to look but has no desire to. His montra was and still is...I'm going to eat whatever I want, When ever I want. Those bastards ( the Germany army) took all the food and left us to starve.

Love him to death. I hope he'll keep telling me the REAL stories of what went on. But, you know, he gets a look in his eyes, and you know he doesn't want to go there.

Sad. But true.

And he is the most grateful person twords any American Military Personel. Always thanking the older vets.

 

[Fergie]

Thanks Dad
Thanks Cabel
Thanks Granddad
Thanks Grandpa
Thanks Gramma


Thank you, to all the Veterans, past and present, and especially to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

"We fight not for glory nor for wealth nor honour, but only and alone we fight for freedom which no good man surrenders but with his life."
-Robert the Bruce, King of Scots, 24 June 1314

 

[woody]

Thanks and thoughts for all the folks who served and are serving in our great nation's military. I'm proud of them all.

Freedom isn't free. It probably never will be either.

Viligance, Prescience, Courage, Tenacity...

 

[skierbri10]

Thanks to all who support us. I know that the people on this board aren't ones to only say thanks on Memorial day.

:us:


Brian----AD3 stationed Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii Squadron VR-51

 

[casm]

Nobody in my family hopes for war, but we still serve.

I respect those who have been able to do the same, and also hold great appreciation for those who do. Two less back injuries and I'd be there as well.

To my Grandfather, John McMillan: rest in peace, and thank you for what you did to preserve freedom in both Germany and Korea.

 

[Yucca-Man]

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can't tell a veteran just by looking.

What is a veteran?

• He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
• He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is out weighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
• She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
• He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.
• He is the Marine Corps drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
• He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
• He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
• He is your next-door neighbor, who endured fierce door-to-door fighting in Fallujah only to see his best friend blown up by a terrorist carbomb while returning from patrol.
• He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
• He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
• He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
• He is a soldier and savior and sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more that the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

Remember Veterans Day and Memorial Day,
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag."

Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC

=============================
Semper Fi, my brothers and sisters. Thank you.

 

[GI-John]

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.

You can't tell a veteran just by looking.

What is a veteran?

• He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
• He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is out weighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
• She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
• He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.
• He is the Marine Corps drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
• He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
• He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
• He is your next-door neighbor, who endured fierce door-to-door fighting in Fallujah only to see his best friend blown up by a terrorist carbomb while returning from patrol.
• He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of the Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
• He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
• He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
• He is a soldier and savior and sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more that the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

Remember Veterans Day and Memorial Day,
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protester to burn the flag."

Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC

=============================
Semper Fi, my brothers and sisters. Thank you.

AMEN!
And may god also bless the families of those who serve.
:us: :us: :us:

 

[ECKSJAY]

In memory of 82W and the 5 friends I lost in July 99. We'll miss you. "Vigilant Hunters!"

PFC Phil M. Marek
US Army Military Police
HSC, 204th MI BN (AR), Ft. Bliss, TX
June 98 - June 00

Vigilant Hunters!
Silently We Defend.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Army releases names of soldiers killed in Colombia crash

July 30, 1999
Web posted at: 9:46 p.m. EDT (0146 GMT)


From CNN Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Army has released the names of the U.S. soldiers killed in the crash of an Army DeHavilland RC-7 reconnaissance plane on July 23 in a remote, mountainous region of southern Colombia.

The seven person crew included, five U.S. Army personnel:

--CPT Jose A. Santiago
--CPT Jennifer J. Odom
--CW2 Thomas G. Moore
--SPC T. Bruce Cluff
--SPC Ray E. Krueger


Sources say the two Army captains, one male, one female, were piloting the plane at the time of the crash. Only four of the seven aboard the plane have been found.

Pentagon officials say all evidence points to an accident in which the plane flew into the side of a heavily forested mountain. No evidence points to hostile fire as a cause of the crash.

The soldiers were assigned to the 204th Military Intelligence Battalion, Ft. Bliss, Texas, and were on a counter-narcotics surveillance mission.

The remains of two of the crew members are scheduled to be brought to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, about 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, where a positive identification will be made.

Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera is scheduled to be at the base when the remains arrive.

A memorial service for families and friends is scheduled to be conducted at Ft. Bliss on Monday, August 2, at 2 p.m. local time (4 p.m. EDT).

 

[XTrmXJ]

In memory of 3 friend that were shot down in Iraq in the HH-60 Black Hawk, I was soppose to be to be in the Chopper that day but I was sent to another.. Saw it go down..

USAF

 

[Infidel_XJ]

YOU STOLE MY THUNDER.......
As some of you know I just got back from Afghanistan.....
Lets all remember also all of the independent contractors over there. They hung burned from a bridge in Iraq and die in Afghanistan..... Over paid....never.....they serve as we all do and deserve our thanks.
And do not forget the families of those who serve.... they deserve it as well.
Driving on the road from Kabul to Herat.....it IS comforting to know that even though not everyone agrees with our presence here............the support is strong and it helps cope with the longing to be home with family and friends....

Thanks to everyone....

I thank all who serve daily that I am still able to break axles on the trail......

 

[Glenn B]

I remember the contractors as well. Some do it to help serve. However some do it for the quick/tax-free money too. Hard to distinguish between the two at times. Of course, most all desire a safe return for all.

YOU STOLE MY THUNDER.......
As some of you know I just got back from Afghanistan.....
Lets all remember also all of the independent contractors over there. They hung burned from a bridge in Iraq and die in Afghanistan..... Over paid....never.....they serve as we all do and deserve our thanks.
And do not forget the families of those who serve.... they deserve it as well.
Driving on the road from Kabul to Herat.....it IS comforting to know that even though not everyone agrees with our presence here............the support is strong and it helps cope with the longing to be home with family and friends....

Thanks to everyone....

I thank all who serve daily that I am still able to break axles on the trail......

 

[Infidel_XJ]

I agree and did IC myself... but after retirement...taxes....health insurance....and lack of "real support" its almost not worth it.......

 

[Glenn B]

I agree and did IC myself... but after retirement...taxes....health insurance....and lack of "real support" its almost not worth it.......

Yeah, I thought hard about the Firefighter gig.... and the Army keeps calling me.... but my body is just to shot anymore (IMHO).