The Briefing Room
General Category => Military/Defense News => Topic started by: don-o on May 27, 2016, 06:08:42 pm
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL-xDkxg8pc&feature=youtu.be
-
(https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/memorial-day-remember.jpg)
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glNsybfwoaA
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSCaAx4cs3w
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UG5YoHcCAY
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WzL2Lu6ecE
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJH8EFz_0MU
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmCyWbHpARE
-
Remembering Harriet, the famous bald eagle that helped heal veterans wounded like her
Harriet’s life’s work began after she lost use of her wings.
For years, the bald eagle flew freely in the Wisconsin wild, over sprawling valleys and snaking rivers. That easy existence ended abruptly in 2000, when she was struck by a passing vehicle and left injured on the side of the road, unable to move.
That could have been the end, had Harriet not been discovered by an old friend. Someone called the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to inform them of an injured eagle, and the man who responded was biologist Ron Eckstein.
Eckstein previously banded eaglets for population-tracking, as the birds were threatened by pesticides that caused them to lay eggs with shells too thin to hatch. In the spring of 1981, he climbed an 86-feet tall white pine to reach an eagles’ nest in Vilas County, Wis., attaching tiny bands around the baby eaglet’s legs. Seventeen years later, it was this band that Eckstein immediately recognized when he went out to rescue Harriet.
Back at the office, Eckstein checked his records. Sure enough, Harriet was the same bird he had banded nearly two decades earlier. And just as Eckstein had been present shortly after Harriet’s hatching, so too would he be there for her re-birth.
The vehicle collision left Harriet with a partially amputated left wing, and from then on, she could not fly.
But the injury that almost killed Harriet is also what made her special: She became an ambassador at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn., making monthly visits to the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis to greet veterans who had also suffered life-changing injuries.
Read More At: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/27/remembering-harriet-the-famous-bald-eagle-that-healed-wounded-veterans-when-she-could-not-fly/
The Eagle was put to sleep this past Wednesday at 35 years old.
I don't think this is Harriet the Eagle; in this famous picture at Fort Snelling National Cemetary:
(http://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/eagle.jpg)
--------------
Benjamin Franklin wrote of the Bald Eagle:
You may have seen him perch’d on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk [Osprey]; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/holidays/2013/11/benjamin_franklin_turkey_symbol_why_he_hated_the_bald_eagle_for_the_great.html
I sometimes go back to that quote, not because I believe in it; it's because once I was walking by a river and there perched on some dead tree was indeed an Eagle, young Bald Eagle (head was not totally white yet but the Rangers told me that is what it was and not a golden eagle).
-
I love that photo.. 8888crybaby
-
Powerful. I'm so thankful for all who gave all for our freedom. Let's not give it all away without a fight. :flag:
-
Minneapolis St. Paul built that Metro Line Subway type of train, it goes from the Mall of America to downtown Minneapolis, fairly close to the Mall of America on that Metro-Line is Fort Snelling Cemetery and north of that, the VA Medical Center. Anyway, once I was on that Metro-Line, this man stood up and saluted the whole time we went by the sizeable Fort Snelling Cemetery. Amazing.
-
http://www.ussindianapolis.org/story.htm
-
(http://travelsquire.com/ts/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Normandy-beach1.jpg)
-
God bless and keep our beloved Patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice for the USA. :patriot:
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJO7lJIxG10
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xq3a_7242Lc
-
God bless America.
God bless those who lost loved one's in the defense of this country. For every tear, God grant peace.
Thank you, to every man or woman who served, and gave their last full measure.
God bless those also, who returned, not quote whole after leaving some part of themselves, on the battle field. :patriot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Iu8y2pvuRg
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcRffZTe-ZY
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJH8EFz_0MU
This was a Brit tribute from 2007, but I'm quite happy to honor them as well.
We've had some very good allies. Brits, Poles, plus a few Aussies and Canadians as well. RIP.
-
So my father is 92, he joined the NAvy on 7-8-1941.
He is still alive and kicking these days, pretty sharp, he reads the Providence Journal cover to cover each day, he still loves professional football (big Patriots fan for 55 years Giants prior to that)/ He served on the USS marlin and later the USS IRex. The Irex was in the Panama Canal headed for MIdway when the was ended.
Here is a picture taken in 1946 of the crew of the Irex he left the service in 1947. Obviously most of the crew has passed on now.
(http://uss-irex.info/bin/crew-14.jpg)
He almost died while the sub was going through sea trials lucky for me they didn't sink.
The story of that day:
The Letdown: The Near Sinking of the USS Irex
By Walter Henley EM2(SS), 1945
The tall, lean and lanky sailor stood watch on the port panel of the Maneuvering Room of the practically new submarine. The “Great War” was over now. Sailors were shipping out. The new submarine had been one of the many boats being built right up to the end of the “War to Make the World Safe for Democracy”. It had arrived at Panama Canal Zone and was loading supplies and fuel on August 14, 1945, to depart for the Pacific, when the “Ship's Whistle” blew to signify the end of the war.
The boat was launched on 26 January, 1945. She was commissioned on 14 May, 1945. She made her first dive on 3 June, 1945, in the shade of the scene of the sinking of the USS Squalus. She had put out to sea from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, biding her time while being used as a target for the Cuties, the new homing devices of the Anti-Submarine Warfare of the United States.
Her crew included a Skipper and Exec who were two of the eight survivors who heroically survived the sinking of the unlucky USS Flier on her second patrol. On her first patrol the newly-commissioned Flier bad been attacked by a friendly merchant ship. She was formed to escape in a rain squall. She ran aground in Midway in a bad storm. Both the Flier and the rescue vessel were grounded on the reef. She was finally removed from the reef, but the rescue vessel slid into the sea. The Flier returned to Pearl Harbor for extensive repairs. One of the crew of the new boat was a former shipmate with one of the lost crew of the Flier. After be learned that the Skipper and Exec were from the lost Flier, he requested a transfer from the new submarine, but the request was denied.
More than one of the crew were apprehensive, to say the least. Submariners are a suspicious lot, and for good reason. Which submariner had seen action and been transferred just before the boat went down? Who had not heard the sea stories of the sailor who wanted to get off before the final patrol and was too chicken to ask? Which one of them had not lost one or more very close shipmates to the silent depths?
But the Great War was over now! The crew had celebrated the end of the war by going ashore in Panama in Sections. At least one whole Section was returned on board by the Shore Patrol after a wild celebration.
The boat was returning to her new assignment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when the first event sobered the crew to the risks of the daily living in a submarine. On return from Gitmo, the pump room flooded and killed most of the electrical motors in the lower deck of the Control Room. Three electricians worked around the clock for 72 hours with no more than a catnap at the crew's mess table while digesting the meal they had stopped to eat. The boat remained underway and returned to normal operation after every electrical motor was washed and cleaned with carbon tet. The electricians received commendations at Captain's Mast. One of them was promoted to Chief.
It seemed that the crew was changing daily. Returning to Key West after a Navy Day showing at Corpus Christi, TX, the life of the submariner changed. Wives and girlfriends waited ashore while her sailor went to sea, sometimes returning home every night, but certainly most every weekend. Life in the Navy wasn't so bad. Weekly excursions to Miami and the seacoast were weekend delights! One sailor bought a Buick Coupe and hauled a load of weekenders to Miami and the Coast.
But the submarine made its regular forays to sea. Training and exercises were rigorous and thorough. The test depth of this submarine was 412 feet. Regular dives were made to the test depth. Then came the day!
One day off the coast of Key West, a test dive was made routinely. The submarine had slipped slowly to the teat depth. The lanky sailor stood the Port Watch of the controls in the Maneuvering Room control board. The engines had been killed and the boat was on electric power. As the submarine neared 412 feet, the sea pressure built up to 176 pounds per square inch. Things were quiet and still. The lanky sailor had been working on a correspondence course of high school algebra. The Chief Electrician was on the starboard board, keeping a careful eye on the boards and the watch. The phone man was rigged in the headgear of the phones. He watched and asked questions as the dive progressed.
Then, suddenly, there was a high pressure deluge of sea water straying from the top of the hull near the soft patch, inundating the table, soaking the three man crew of the Maneuvering Room. The lights went out. In the dim light of the emergency lanterns, the operators of the board awaited orders, but none came. The phone man went below and discovered that the leak was from the circulating water water system. A test plug had blown out, releasing a 3/4 inch stream of high pressure sea water that followed the curve of the hull, coming down from the top of the rounded hull.
The submarine suddenly nosed over and took on a steep down angle at the already test maximum depth. No orders came from the Control Room. Finally, the nose inched upward and the boat leveled out and began its ascent to the surface. All breathed a sigh of relief as she shakily maneuvered to the surface.
What happened? The three-quarter inch plug in the circulating water system blew out. It was a hollow plug instead of solid core. The stream of water knocked out the AC-DC panel, killing off lighting and electrical indicators. The operators or Officer-in-Charge in the Control Room apparently thought that the main power was gone and shifted to manual power on the planes. The planes were full power and stuck or remained on hard dive, plunging the submarine toward the bottom.
The Skipper came out of the Wardroom and immediately recognized the problem and blew Negative and changed the planes. All was well except that the Maneuvering Room and AC-DC panel was flooded, killing all AC electricity and the lights.
The crew was relieved, but the awareness of the dangers of the submariner's life was reconfirmed.
During the emergency, a signal was sent to the surface. The wives and girlfriends of the sailors were not notified. When it came time to meet the returning sailors, they came to the base and were denied entrance and were told nothing. The boat was 3 or 4 hours late. They only learned of the accident when the sailors returned.
My dad thinks they went down to 700-800 feet he didn't know for sure.
-
This is a picture of my dad’s best friend “Pinty” (pictured on the left) and a picture of the two of them together (Pinty on the right and my dad on the left) taken in the South Pacific during WWII, just outside of Manila just after the 2nd Battle of Manila.
(http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af8/Karamelgal/19006b4a-707e-4ac5-98c0-43d82b515a27_zps5nvmdqsy.jpg)
They talked of and had made plans together on what they were going to do together after the war. Pinty and my father were both children of immigrants; my father’s parents from Norway and Pinty’s from Finland. My dad told me that Pinty had convinced him that after the war was over, that he should move from New Jersey and come out to Minnesota where Pinty lived and where his family owned a rather large ranch. Together they could do some ranching and then start their own construction business. They had big dreams and high hopes for their futures.
My dad made it home. Pinty didn’t.
Pinty was killed in action and died in my father’s arms.
Memorial Day is the day we remember and honor Pinty and all the other men and women in uniform who made the supreme sacrifice.
FWIW, I’m going to watch the movie “Taking Chance” this weekend as I have now on every Memorial Day for several years. And I will cry my eyes out as I do every time I watch it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgoWMkJw11c
I highly recommend it. It does not convey any political message but is based on the true story of Lt. Col. Michael Strobl of the US Marine Corps and his volunteering to escort the body of a young soldier, PFC Chance Phelps (USMC) back home, to Wyoming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUfpWf45faU
-
(https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13310486_1724147027833722_3717650066805478892_n.jpg?oh=471c0df9622e61f33310d6b76e76a9c1&oe=57C4DE77)
-
Items not excerpted are in the public domain.
In Flanders Fields (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm)
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918), Canadian Army
(http://i.imgur.com/KbZ1Db6.jpg)
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
My Heart's Content (http://www.forbes.com/asap/2000/1002/112.html)
Pat Conroy
(http://i47.tinypic.com/rmvgjo.gif)
From the Other Side (http://www.war-stories.com/from-the-other-side-camunes-1967.htm)
Patrick Camunes
1998
(https://i.imgur.com/zmV36UZ.jpg)
At first there was no place for us to go until someone put up that "Black Granite Wall." Now, everyday and night, my Brothers and my Sisters wait to see the many people from places afar file in front of this "Wall." Many stopping briefly and many for hours and some that come on a regular basis. It was hard at first, not that it's gotten any easier, but it seems that many of the attitudes towards that Vietnam war we were involved in have changed. I can only pray that the ones on the other side have learn something, and more "Walls" as this one, needn't be built.
Several members of my unit, and many that I did not recognize, have called me to The Wall by touching my name engraved upon it. The tears aren't necessary, but are hard even for me to hold back. Don't feel guilty for not being with me, my Brothers. This was my destiny as it is yours, to be on that side of The Wall. Touch The Wall, my Brothers, so that we can share in the memories that we had. I have learned to put the bad memories aside and remember only the pleasant times that we had together. Tell our other Brothers out there to come and visit me, not to say Goodbye but to say Hello and be together again...even for a short time...and to ease that pain of loss that we all still share.
Today, an irresistible and loving call summons me to The Wall. As I approach, I can see an elderly lady...and as I get closer, I recognize her...It's Momma! As much as I have looked forward to this day, I have also dreaded it, because I didn't know what reaction I would have.
Next to her, I suddenly see my wife and immediately think how hard it must have been for her to come to this place, and my mind floods with the pleasant memories of 30 years past. There's a young man in a military uniform standing with his arm around her...My God!...he has to be my son! Look at him trying to be the man without a tear in his eye. I yearn to tell him how proud I am, seeing him standing tall, straight and proud in his uniform.
Momma comes closer and touches The Wall, and I feel the soft and gentle touch I had not felt in so many years. Dad has crossed to this side of The Wall, and through our touch, I try to convey to her that Dad is doing fine and is no longer suffering or feeling pain. I see my wife's courage building as she sees Momma touch The Wall and she approaches and lays her hand on my waiting hand. All the emotions, feelings and memories of three decades past flash between our touch and I tell her that...it's alright...carry on with your life and don't worry about me...
I can see as I look into her eyes that she hears and a big burden has been lifted from her on wings of understanding.
I watch as they lay flowers and other memories of my past. My lucky charm that was taken from me and sent to her by my CO...a tattered and worn teddy bear that I can barely remember having as I grew up as a child...and several medals that I had earned and were presented to my wife. One is the Combat Infantry Badge that I am very proud of, and I notice that my son is also wearing this medal. I had earned mine in the jungles of Vietnam and he had probably earned his in the deserts of Iraq.
I can tell that they are preparing to leave, and I try to take a mental picture of them together, because I don't know when I will see them again. I wouldn't blame them if they were not to return, and can only thank them that I was not forgotten. My wife and Momma near The Wall for one final touch, and so many years of indecision fear and sorrow are let go. As they turn to leave, I feel my tears that had not flowed for so many years, form as if dew drops on the other side of The Wall.
They slowly move away with only a glance over their shoulders. My son suddenly stops and slowly returns. He stands straight and proud in front of me and snaps a salute. Something draws him near The Wall and he puts his hand upon etched stone and touches my tears that had formed dew drops on the face of The Wall...and I can tell that he senses my presence and the pride and love I have for him. He falls to his knees and the tears flow from his eyes and I try my best to reassure him that it's alright, and the tears do not make him less of a man. As he moves back wiping the tears from his eyes,he silently mouths,"God Bless you, Dad..."
God Bless, YOU, Son...we WILL meet someday, but in the meanwhile, go on your way...there is no hurry...there is no hurry at all.
As I see them walk off in the distance, I yell out to THEM and EVERYONE there today, as loud as I can:
THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!
...and as others on this side of The Wall join in, I notice that the U.S. Flag, Old Glory, that so proudly flies in front of us everyday, is flapping and standing proudly straight out in the wind from our gathering numbers this day...
and we shout again,
and...again,
and again...
T H A N K S F O R R E M E M B E R I N G!
T H A N K S FOR R E M E M B E R I N G!
T H A N K S FOR REMEMBERING!
THANKS F O R REMEMBERING!
THANKS FOR REMEMBERING!
General Douglas MacArthur: Thayer Award Acceptance Address (http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurthayeraward.html)
May 12, 1962
United States Military Academy
West Point, New York
"Duty, Honor, Country"
(http://i.imgur.com/Ebctnb5.jpg)
General Westmoreland, General Grove, distinguished guests, and gentlemen of the Corps!
As I was leaving the hotel this morning, a doorman asked me, "Where are you bound for, General?" And when I replied, "West Point," he remarked, "Beautiful place. Have you ever been there before?"
No human being could fail to be deeply moved by such a tribute as this [Thayer Award]. Coming from a profession I have served so long, and a people I have loved so well, it fills me with an emotion I cannot express. But this award is not intended primarily to honor a personality, but to symbolize a great moral code -- the code of conduct and chivalry of those who guard this beloved land of culture and ancient descent. That is the animation of this medallion. For all eyes and for all time, it is an expression of the ethics of the American soldier. That I should be integrated in this way with so noble an ideal arouses a sense of pride and yet of humility which will be with me always: Duty, Honor, Country.
Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail; to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith; to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.
Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they mean. The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule.
But these are some of the things they do. They build your basic character. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense. They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid. They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for actions, not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; to reach into the future yet never neglect the past; to be serious yet never to take yourself too seriously; to be modest so that you will remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength. They give you a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life. They teach you in this way to be an officer and a gentleman.
And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory? Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man-at-arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefield many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then as I regard him now -- as one of the world's noblest figures, not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless. His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give.
He needs no eulogy from me or from any other man. He has written his own history and written it in red on his enemy's breast. But when I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements. In 20 campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people. From one end of the world to the other he has drained deep the chalice of courage.
As I listened to those songs [of the glee club], in memory's eye I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs, on many a weary march from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn, slogging ankle-deep through the mire of shell-shocked roads, to form grimly for the attack, blue-lipped, covered with sludge and mud, chilled by the wind and rain, driving home to their objective, and for many, to the judgment seat of God.
I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death.
They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory.
Always, for them: Duty, Honor, Country; always their blood and sweat and tears, as we sought the way and the light and the truth.
And 20 years after, on the other side of the globe, again the filth of murky foxholes, the stench of ghostly trenches, the slime of dripping dugouts; those boiling suns of relentless heat, those torrential rains of devastating storms; the loneliness and utter desolation of jungle trails; the bitterness of long separation from those they loved and cherished; the deadly pestilence of tropical disease; the horror of stricken areas of war; their resolute and determined defense, their swift and sure attack, their indomitable purpose, their complete and decisive victory -- always victory. Always through the bloody haze of their last reverberating shot, the vision of gaunt, ghastly men reverently following your password of: Duty, Honor, Country.
The code which those words perpetuate embraces the highest moral laws and will stand the test of any ethics or philosophies ever promulgated for the uplift of mankind. Its requirements are for the things that are right, and its restraints are from the things that are wrong.
The soldier, above all other men, is required to practice the greatest act of religious training -- sacrifice.
In battle and in the face of danger and death, he discloses those divine attributes which his Maker gave when he created man in his own image. No physical courage and no brute instinct can take the place of the Divine help which alone can sustain him.
However horrible the incidents of war may be, the soldier who is called upon to offer and to give his life for his country is the noblest development of mankind.
You now face a new world -- a world of change. The thrust into outer space of the satellite, spheres, and missiles mark the beginning of another epoch in the long story of mankind. In the five or more billions of years the scientists tell us it has taken to form the earth, in the three or more billion years of development of the human race, there has never been a more abrupt or staggering evolution. We deal now not with things of this world alone, but with the illimitable distances and as yet unfathomed mysteries of the universe. We are reaching out for a new and boundless frontier.
We speak in strange terms: of harnessing the cosmic energy; of making winds and tides work for us; of creating unheard synthetic materials to supplement or even replace our old standard basics; to purify sea water for our drink; of mining ocean floors for new fields of wealth and food; of disease preventatives to expand life into the hundreds of years; of controlling the weather for a more equitable distribution of heat and cold, of rain and shine; of space ships to the moon; of the primary target in war, no longer limited to the armed forces of an enemy, but instead to include his civil populations; of ultimate conflict between a united human race and the sinister forces of some other planetary galaxy; of such dreams and fantasies as to make life the most exciting of all time.
And through all this welter of change and development, your mission remains fixed, determined, inviolable: it is to win our wars.
Everything else in your professional career is but corollary to this vital dedication. All other public purposes, all other public projects, all other public needs, great or small, will find others for their accomplishment. But you are the ones who are trained to fight. Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory; that if you lose, the nation will be destroyed; that the very obsession of your public service must be: Duty, Honor, Country.
Others will debate the controversial issues, national and international, which divide men's minds; but serene, calm, aloof, you stand as the Nation's war-guardian, as its lifeguard from the raging tides of international conflict, as its gladiator in the arena of battle. For a century and a half you have defended, guarded, and protected its hallowed traditions of liberty and freedom, of right and justice.
Let civilian voices argue the merits or demerits of our processes of government; whether our strength is being sapped by deficit financing, indulged in too long, by federal paternalism grown too mighty, by power groups grown too arrogant, by politics grown too corrupt, by crime grown too rampant, by morals grown too low, by taxes grown too high, by extremists grown too violent; whether our personal liberties are as thorough and complete as they should be. These great national problems are not for your professional participation or military solution. Your guidepost stands out like a ten-fold beacon in the night: Duty, Honor, Country.
You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds. The Long Gray Line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country.
This does not mean that you are war mongers.
On the contrary, the soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.
But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war."
The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished, tone and tint. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears, and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen vainly, but with thirsty ears, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll. In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield.
But in the evening of my memory, always I come back to West Point.
Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country.
Today marks my final roll call with you, but I want you to know that when I cross the river my last conscious thoughts will be of The Corps, and The Corps, and The Corps.
I bid you farewell.
Reveille: A short film starring David Huddleston and James McEachin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-cKxsBapM)
(http://i.imgur.com/0TV4u2M.jpg)
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzUU-hdtxv8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzUU-hdtxv8
-
I have Mansions Of The Lord on my itunes. Can't listen to it.
This Memorial Day, I would like to thank my sons, my four brothers, Mom, my husband, and Grandpa.
At one point fairly recently, I had both sons, 3 of 4 brothers and mom mobilized in war zones. Lots of blue stars.
May God continue to bless them.
As a sometime participant in Patriot Guard, I'd like to offer this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpYVfHTajOg
-
This is my grandpa (on the right). Not sure which country this was, but he was in France, Belgium and surrounding areas and fought in the Ardennes. He was forward artillery. The writing on the back of this picture says "The flag *was* on this house."
[attachment deleted by admin]
-
That's great, @RoosGirl !
-
This one hit me really hard, when I stumbled across it yesterday.
We lived next to Camp Pendleton during the war. Due to the proximity and age of our kids, we "hosted" over 40 young Marines at our home over about eight years. We saw them returning home, leaving on maneuvers, and heading back out to war. My daughter married one of them. Between being a "Navy brat", living where we lived, and her exposure to the Marines, she was in the center of the social scene. My son and I drove by a Marine at 10 PM, stranded in his pickup in the middle of the street, lights out, sitting by himself. He was unable to locate his buddies, so we towed him to our home, my son helped him fix is car, and they played ping pong and video games late into the night. It was just that kind of thing.
So, every time we heard about a death, and it was often, I'd look at the name, dread the possibility, and read the story and obit.
This young man was ahead of my kids by about five years. He was half Filipino (from what I can deduce), as is my son. You could put his picture next to one of my son, and with my poor eyesight, they'd be one in the same. This young hero could have been my son, my son-in-law, or any of their friends we met. The cost of war is frightful. The price we paid for war, Obama and this country freely gave away. This country was not worthy of the sacrifice of this young man, and the men like him.
Cpl Burger, I will not forget you. From this Navy Commander, this is my Salute! :patriot:
Cpl Dale Allan Burger, Jr.
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/hero-profile-photos/uploads/hero/Dale_Burger.jpg)
He and his dad, together at Arlington
(sorry, can't resize linked photo-scroll right)
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/hero-profile-photos/uploads/tribute/Dale_and_Dale_Jr_at_Arlington_-_Updated.jpg)
His platoon (Hero's of Falluja, USMC 1st Div, 3/1)
(http://ak-cache.legacy.net/usercontent/guestbook/photos/2014-11/2014-11-03/89911693.jpgx?w=530&h=390&option=1&fc=000)
(http://ak-cache.legacy.net/usercontent/guestbook/photos/2008-05/2008-05-08/23457215.jpgx?w=530&h=390&option=1&fc=000)
He and his sister, in a picture nearly identical to one I hold of my son and daughter.
(http://img8.fold3.com/img/img?id=311019038&crop=0_0_400_285&width=1200&height=900&ts=1464569820&h=a735871d5bc95348bc338461a809c20a)
Legacy:
(http://img7.fold3.com/img/img?id=311019057&crop=0_0_165_248&width=1200&height=900&ts=1464569304&h=2ff5fbf2bfa9b02b38b9bd00732fa7b0)
(http://img4.fold3.com/img/img?id=311019044&crop=0_0_960_1280&width=1200&height=900&ts=1464569304&h=57a34a6835edfe4f5429a22e7cb94b89)
Home:
(http://ak-cache.legacy.net/usercontent/guestbook/photos/2008-07/2008-07-09/24767712.jpgx?w=530&h=390&option=1&fc=000)
-
A special Memorial Day salute to the WWII vets. Those still alive are all over 90 years of age. That doesn't leave too many of these heroes left.
On this occasion I would hope everyone would make a contribution the the Honor Flight program to pay a tribute to these elderly veterans.
https://www.honorflight.org
-
Very moving OldSaltUSN you brought me to tears
-
Very moving OldSaltUSN you brought me to tears
Same here, @OldSaltUSN .
My son was with the unit that came in after this one. (3/5, I think, but it's been a while) He said the guys who were there before his unit had a very bad time, but they took care of most everything so his tour was not very eventful. At least that's what he told mom. He went back to Fallujah one more time after that.
God bless you. Marines can be a prickly bunch. Thank God for them.
-
Who allows protesters to burn our flag?
Posted By Bill Federer On 05/29/2016 @ 6:22 pm In American Minute,Diversions,Education,Faith,Front Page | No Comments
Tomb of the Unknowns
Southern women scattered spring flowers on graves of both northern Union and southern Confederate soldiers of the Civil War in which over a half-million died.
Many places claimed to have held the original Memorial Day, such as:
Warrenton, Virginia
Columbus, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
Boalsburg, Pennsylvania
Waterloo, New York
One such place was Charleston, South Carolina, where a mass grave was uncovered of 257 Union soldiers who had died in a prison camp.
On May 1, 1865, former slaves organized a parade, led by 2,800 singing black children, and reburied the soldiers with honor in gratitude for their freedom.
In 1868, General John A. Logan, commander of the Civil War veterans’ organization “The Grand Army of the Republic,” called for a Decoration Day to be observed annually on May 30.
President James Garfield’s only executive order was in 1881 where he gave government workers May 30 off so they could decorate the graves of those who died in the Civil War.
What do YOU think? What does Memorial Day mean to you? Sound off in today’s WND poll.
During World War I, a Canadian Expeditionary gunner and medical officer, John McCrae, fought in the Second Battle of Ypres near Flanders, Belgium. Describing the battle as a “nightmare,” as the enemy made one of the first chlorine gas attacks, John McCrae wrote: “For seventeen days and seventeen nights none of us have had our clothes off, nor our boots even, except occasionally. In all that time while I was awake, gunfire and rifle fire never ceased for sixty seconds. … And behind it all was the constant background of the sights of the dead, the wounded, the maimed, and a terrible anxiety lest the line should give way.”
Finding one of his friends killed, John McCrae helped bury him along with the other dead in a field. Noticing the field covered with poppy flowers, he composed the famous Memorial Day poem, “In Flanders Fields”:
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
After World War I, in 1921, President Warren Harding had the remains of an unknown soldier killed in France buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery. Inscribed on the tomb is the phrase: “Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.”
Since 1921, it has been the tradition for presidents to lay a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknowns, which is guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The number 21 being the highest salute, the sentry takes 21 steps, faces the tomb for 21 seconds, turns and pauses 21 seconds, then retraces his steps.
Memorial Day grew to honor all who gave their lives defending America’s freedom, including soldiers from:
The Spanish-American War
World War I
World War II
Korean War
Vietnam War
Desert Storm
War against Islamic Terror, and up to current conflicts
In 1968, Memorial Day was moved to the last Monday in May.
At the Memorial Day ceremony, May 31, 1993, President Bill Clinton remarked: “The inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier says that he is ‘Known only to God.’ But that is only partly true. While the soldier’s name is known only to God, we know a lot about him. We know he served his country, honored his community, and died for the cause of freedom. And we know that no higher praise can be assigned to any human being than those simple words. … In the presence of those buried all around us, we ask the support of all Americans in the aid and blessing of God Almighty.”
In 1958, President Eisenhower placed soldiers in the tomb from WWII and the Korean War.
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan placed a soldier from the Vietnam War in the tomb. DNA test later identified him as pilot Michael Blassie, a graduate of St. Louis University High School, 1966 and the U.S. Air Force Academy, 1970, whose A-37B Dragonfly was shot down near An Loc, South Vietnam. In 1998, Michael Blassie was reburied at Jefferson Memorial Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri.
Discover more of Bill Federer’s eye-opening books and videos in the WND Superstore!
In his 1923 memorial address, President Calvin Coolidge stated: “There can be no peace with the forces of evil. Peace comes only through the establishment of the supremacy of the forces of good. That way lies through sacrifice. … ‘Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'”
Charles Michael Province, U.S. Army, wrote the poem:
It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
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 freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
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.
In his Memorial Day address, May 31, 1923, President Calvin Coolidge said: “Settlers came here from mixed motives. … Generally defined, they were seeking a broader freedom. They were intent upon establishing a Christian commonwealth in accordance to the principle of self-government. … It has been said that God sifted the nations that He might send choice grain into the wilderness. …”
Calvin Coolidge continued: “They had a genius for organized society on the foundations of piety, righteousness, liberty, and obedience of the law. … Who can fail to see in it the hand of destiny? Who can doubt that it has been guided by a Divine Providence?”
An anti-slavery politician during the Civil War was Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of state, William H. Seward. The same night Lincoln was shot, an accomplice of John Wilkes Booth broke into Seward’s home and wounded him in an attempted assassination.
Born May 16, 1801, William Henry Seward had been governor of the state of New York, 1839-43; and U.S. Senator 1849-61. Seward was secretary of state during the War between the States, 1861-65, and during reconstruction under President Andrew Johnson, 1865-69.
William Henry Seward stated: “I do not believe human society, including not merely a few persons in any state, but whole masses of men, ever have attained, or ever can attain, a high state of intelligence, virtue, security, liberty, or happiness without the Holy Scriptures; even the whole hope of human progress is suspended on the ever-growing influence of the Bible.”
Seward stated in his oration, “The Destiny of America”: “Shall we look to the sacred desk? Yes, indeed; for it is of Divine institution, and is approved by human experience. The ministers of Christ, inculcating Divine morals, under Divine authority, with Divine sanction, and sustained and aided by special cooperating influences of the Divine Spirit, are now carrying further and broadly onward the great work of the renewal of the civilization of the world, and its emancipation from superstition and despotism.”
William Henry Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia, which would not have happened had it not been for the Crimean War near the Black Sea.
The Crimean War was memorialized in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, “The Charge of the Light Brigade” when a mistaken command sent British cavalry riding directly into Russian cannons.
Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!
‘Charge for the guns!’ he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
‘Forward, the Light Brigade!’
Was there a man dismay’d?
Not tho’ the soldier knew
Someone had blunder’d:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred …
After over a half-million deaths, the Crimean War ended with the British alliance defeating the Russians in 1856. Many wounded were cared for by Florence Nightingale, pioneer of the nursing profession. She was known as “the Lady with the Lamp” for making her rounds at night to check on the soldiers.
After losing the Crimea, Russia feared Britain would try to expand their North American territory of British Columbia into Alaska. Rather than let Britain get Alaska, Russia sold 586,412 square miles to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million – about two cents per acre.
Alaska was the second largest land purchase in history – the largest being the Louisiana Purchase of 828,000 square miles in 1803, and the third being the Mexican Cession of 520,000 square miles in 1848.
Alaska was thought to be of no value so the purchase was called Seward’s Folly since secretary of state William Seward had negotiated the treaty. Only after Alaska was discovered to be rich in natural resources was appreciation shown to William Seward.
William Seward served as vice president of the American Bible Society, stating in 1836: “I know not how long a republican government can flourish among a great people who have not the Bible; the experiment has never been tried; but this I do know: that the existing government of this country never could have had existence but for the Bible. And, further, I do, in my conscience, believe that if at every decade of years a copy of the Bible could be found in every family in the land its republican institutions would be perpetuated.”
URL to article: http://www.wnd.com/2016/05/who-allows-protesters-to-burn-our-flag/
-
This one hit me really hard, when I stumbled across it yesterday.
We lived next to Camp Pendleton during the war. Due to the proximity and age of our kids, we "hosted" over 40 young Marines at our home over about eight years. We saw them returning home, leaving on maneuvers, and heading back out to war. My daughter married one of them. Between being a "Navy brat", living where we lived, and her exposure to the Marines, she was in the center of the social scene. My son and I drove by a Marine at 10 PM, stranded in his pickup in the middle of the street, lights out, sitting by himself. He was unable to locate his buddies, so we towed him to our home, my son helped him fix is car, and they played ping pong and video games late into the night. It was just that kind of thing.
So, every time we heard about a death, and it was often, I'd look at the name, dread the possibility, and read the story and obit.
This young man was ahead of my kids by about five years. He was half Filipino (from what I can deduce), as is my son. You could put his picture next to one of my son, and with my poor eyesight, they'd be one in the same. This young hero could have been my son, my son-in-law, or any of their friends we met. The cost of war is frightful. The price we paid for war, Obama and this country freely gave away. This country was not worthy of the sacrifice of this young man, and the men like him.
Cpl Burger, I will not forget you. From this Navy Commander, this is my Salute! :patriot:
Cpl Dale Allan Burger, Jr.
(http://s3.amazonaws.com/hero-profile-photos/uploads/hero/Dale_Burger.jpg)
I thank God that this great man lived and that you were privileged to know him!!
(http://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2013/05/iStock_000009510083XSmall1.jpg)
-
Thought you and others would enjoy this video .....
Two Army Rangers, First Lt. Andrew Yacovone and First Lt. Justin Wright, who are deployed in Afghanistan also form a country music band called “Interstate 10″. .....While on deployment they wrote, recorded, and edited this music video to Honor Memorial Day......
Andrew began writing the song back in 2013 before the two even met, but after their unit lost soldiers during their first deployment, they say the song took on a whole new meaning.
Despite being stationed 40 miles away at different bases for their second deployment, they were determined to finish the song.
“We’re like, ‘Dang it, we aren’t going to be together for this deployment,’” Andrew said. “But we have Skype and ways to connect.”
The pair even managed to shoot pieces of the music video in Afghanistan.
…
“Most of our music is written on deployment,” Justin said.
http://youtu.be/HZvUAD0wGOc
(http://www.redstate.com/uploads/2016/05/interstate-10.jpg)
fixed your youtube video
-
Sat and cried through this video... 8888crybaby
-
(https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13310486_1724147027833722_3717650066805478892_n.jpg?oh=471c0df9622e61f33310d6b76e76a9c1&oe=57C4DE77)
That certainly speaks the truth!......
My Dad and Uncle gave their life for this country.....I was just 4 yrs. old when I lost my father.....but I have two sons who served this
country as well ...One in the Marines the other Airforce...... One continues now in the Veterans Administration and has been active
saving tax payers millions of dollars and was awarded for doing so......
NASA HONORS OUR TROOPS AND THE FALLEN...
......'OER THE LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE'.......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cjto3wrWkAEoK4x.jpg)
-
...AMAZING PHOTO OF OUR NATIONS BALD EAGLE 'STANDING WATCH' OVER A MILITARY CEMETERY.......…
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjlBkH6UoAA-Sin.jpg:large)
-
..............AND 'STILL' THEY SERVE.......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ci2S0EHUkAAQOh7.jpg)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgKzvIbVAAI-Gyf.jpg)
-
..............AND 'STILL' THEY SERVE.......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ci2S0EHUkAAQOh7.jpg)
Amazing photo, @WAC !
-
...SAME MEN SAME PLANE....THANK YOU!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdTjpU7UEAAuhE3.jpg)
-
As we know........
...."Our flag doesn't fly because the wind blows, ....it flies with the last breath of every soldier who died defending it."......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdIAX94UYAEw13o.jpg)
-
........PERSPECTIVE............
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdDqwY0UMAAOC5-.jpg)
-
(http://i414.photobucket.com/albums/pp221/drw509/arlington.jpg)
-
(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/3dc78a0edb21995101515da43e4f3bc1a8f32329/c=21-0-620-450&r=x404&c=534x401/local/-/media/2016/05/30/INGroup/Indianapolis/636002007166712282-053016-copy.jpg) (http://www.indystar.com/story/opinion/columnists/varvel/2016/05/30/cartoonist-gary-varvel-memorial-day/85153194/)
-
Very moving and beautiful tributes from all here. Men don't cry; guess it's just a little smoggy out today. :patriot:
-
(http://patriotden.com/fotki/star/mem-gcapitolhalfstaffforPresReagan-vi.jpg)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjtZlo9WYAAvH9H.jpg)
-
....True Americans don't forget the cost......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjJdeIkXEAETc4K.jpg)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CinFj-XUkAAmkvX.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cink4x7WEAAxKTg.jpg)
-
..........WWI VETS WERE 'ARCHITECT AND SCULPTOR' BEHIND THE TOMB OF THE UNKNOWNS.............we honor them today....
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjtfXmrVAAA3caQ.jpg)
-
.........Nato Troops honoring the fallen in Kabul Afghanistan....
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjkzDOpWUAEjI4m.jpg)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjaziKzUYAEST8t.jpg)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CinFj-XUkAAmkvX.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cink4x7WEAAxKTg.jpg)
Love that photo of the poochie jumping.
-
Amazing story......
94 year old WWII B-17 gunner revisits England where he dies while touring at the Battle of Britain Bunker......
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Melvin Rector long carried England in his heart after he helped defend it during World War II, but 70 years passed without him stepping foot back in the country.... finally decided to leave his home in Fla., to visit Britain earlier this month. ....."He planned it for like the last six months," Rector's stepdaughter stated... "He couldn't wait to go."
On May 6, Rector stepped foot on British soil for the first time in 71 years. ......... Rector toured 'Battle of Britain Bunker', an underground command center where fighter airplane operations were directed during D-Day. .....After climbing back into the sunlight, he told Jowers he felt dizzy. ....She grabbed one of his arms, and a stranger grabbed the other.
....There, just outside the bunker where Winston Churchill famously said,.. "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few," ......Rector died quietly......."He couldn't have asked for a better way to go," she stated "It was quick and painless."
"He walked out of that bunker like his tour was done," ...Mission accomplished!
Before repatriating his remains to the United States, a small service for the fallen hero was planned in Britain. It did not remain a small
service............................word of Rector's war record reached the American and British Armed Forces. The American Embassy donated a
flag to drape over his coffin, and the room filled with servicemen and women and London historians who had never met Rector but
wanted to pay their respects to their spiritual brother in arms.
Rector's five other children, will have the opportunity to pay their respects on June 9 at First Baptist Church of Barefoot Bay. Rector's
remains were repatriated to the U.S. on Tuesday.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the aircraft on which he served as a gunner was the Memphis Belle, the first heavy bomber to complete its tour by flying 25 missions with its crew intact.
It went on to have a post-war career raising morale and money for the U.S. Army. Writes historian John Buescher of the warplane:
"After both crew and plane completed their respective 25th mission, the crew received the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross. They were then ordered in June to fly the Memphis Belle back to the United States for a cross-country tour, the aim of which was to increase morale back home and to sell War Bonds. . . . When the Memphis Belle completed its tour (the first heavy bomber to do so), it was a joyful event, not only for the crew, but also for the entire air command and the American public."
The B-17 Flying Fortress garnered such attention that not one but two films were made about it: a documentary in 1944 and an eponymously titled drama in 1990, starring John Lithgow, Matthew Modine and Harry Connick, Jr.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjY-692WsAQ9WGs.jpg)
-
That is an amazing story, @WAC!
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjtRYa8UgAEtjSv.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjtqidSUYAAk99e.jpg:large)
-
.......Perth Australia's hosts USA Memorial Day2016 at ceremony in Kings Park .....
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cjr_oJ7UUAEIZ6m.jpg)
-
That is an amazing story, @WAC!
Makes you wonder doesn't it.....to think the guy finally returned there but then to die so peacefully touring the bunker he remembers so well......just an amazing story to be sure!
-
........FORT HOOD SOLDIERS RUN TO HONOR AND REMEMBER THE FALLEN.....
(Annual 10K/5K run commemorates fallen service members...Several Soldiers from the 79th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion ran the 5K while wearing 75-lb bomb suits.)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CimcKnbU4AAktDX.jpg)
-
........HONORING ALL THE THE ANGEL NURSES WHO GAVE THEIR LIFE FOR FREEDOM.....HERE ARE THE NURSES AT BATTAN......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CiRNrN-UUAANFNT.jpg)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjuvvBFWEAAEMXe.jpg)
-
Thanks for all the posts WAC...hope others here take the time to read this thread.
-
....HARDER DAY FOR SOME THAN OTHERS......REMEMBERING TOO THOSE WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LOVED ONES......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjupKCsWsAEoj2k.jpg)
-
Thanks for all the posts WAC...hope others here take the time to read this thread.
I'm a photo buff so I do love posting them.........they often speak what words can't say.....and tell stories often without words...
or reveal truth when falsehood rules the media.
I hope others visit the thread too. For me it's very moving in so many ways.....and I'm so humbled when I think of my petty problems!
Our lives and history rests on the pillars of those who bled and died.......and it goes way back in time!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjuflIkXIAARWog.jpg)
-
I'm a photo buff so I do love posting them.........they often speak what words can't say.....and tell stories often without words...
or reveal truth when falsehood rules the media.
I hope others visit the thread too. For me it's very moving in so many ways.....and I'm so humbled when I think of my petty problems!
Our lives and history rests on the pillars of those who bled and died.......and it goes way back in time!
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjuflIkXIAARWog.jpg)
It goes back to the very beginning.
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjubdssWsAEzoND.jpg)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjubX1EUUAEt7j5.jpg)
-
It goes back to the very beginning.
Yes..... and these soldiers follow another who gave his life to set us free...forever!
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cju1LegXEAATEc3.jpg)
-
....Beirut 1983 ......
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cjuz6NuXEAAvA2p.jpg)
-
6 yr old from Pa. sits next to his fathers's grave on Memorial Day in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday. His father Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan P. Schmidt, died Sept. 1, 2012, in Batur Village, Afghanistan, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.
(http://www.tampabay.com/resources/images/blogs-photo/rendered/2016/05/memorial16_8col.jpg)
-
...Some remember ore than others.........
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjuT-wiWEAEe8hK.jpg:large)
-
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjsYqcFUoAA8MTO.jpg)
-
An estimated 41 million Americans have served in the U.S. military during conflicts and wars since 1776.
That amounts to about 7 percent of the total population preserving the liberty and freedoms of the other 93 percent of us.
Between April 1861 and April 1865, at least 2.5 million men served in the Union Army, the majority volunteers.
Today....According to the Def. Manpower Data Center, approximately 1.4 million people are serving in the U.S. Armed Forces — about
one half a percent of our population.
(http://triblive.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=KC9pdCFAU6bMyaZcLCu8I8$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYtJFFDflHYartR6i5Eg0xyIWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_CryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg)
-
.....for those who will never feel their homeland beneath their feet again. .....We honor your service for our freedom....
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CjjGcbCWgAABiGW.jpg)
-
Dover AFB to honor fallen ... Dignified Transfer: United States Marine Corps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVb0egBpLH0
8888crybaby
-
This is so rich...and full of unspoken meaning....this is the real "Pause" every American should take and watch...
What Gentle Giants of Men these fellow Soldiers are to those fallen...to the very end......stunning gentleness and respect ... I was
more than moved as well...thank you for posting this.....
Dover AFB to honor fallen ... Dignified Transfer: United States Marine Corps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVb0egBpLH0
-
...To the Thousands of Brave and Honorable Soldiers of the Vietnam War.....may you all have peace of heart, mind and soul.....
(http://www.turtletrack.org/Issues01/Co11172001/Art/Brothers.jpg)
(http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M65c3198e9ede57a2fdcdd46d032dce90H0&w=300&h=157&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0)
(http://tse3.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.Md972dca2b82a2a6aa243fdb7ea23220eo0&w=268&h=178&c=7&rs=1&qlt=90&o=4&pid=1.1)(http://tse1.mm.bing.net/th?&id=OIP.M87091b58ae75b02eeac167a2fde915b7o0&w=300&h=199&c=0&pid=1.9&rs=0&p=0&r=0)
-
Dover AFB to honor fallen ... Dignified Transfer: United States Marine Corps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVb0egBpLH0
8888crybaby
Did you notice the second group of soldiers, though they all walked softly, when it came time to reach for the casket they REALLY
stretched as if taking their fellow soldier from those who had first taken care of them?
The quiet and careful theatrics in your video is stunning......
-
....IN HONOR AND RESPECT TO THE WAR MEDICS WHO RUSH TO SAVE LIFE AND OFTEN LOST THEIR OWN IN DOING SO.....
(http://www.viewzone.com/ptsd.wounded.jpg)
June 1967. Medic James Callahan tries desperately to save a badly injured soldier during a battle north of Saigon.
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YYMeAu4i7gA/TE7h4CykCMI/AAAAAAAAIRg/0ec6OEdewnw/s640/VIETNAM-WAR-RARE-INCREDIBLE-PICTURES-IMAGES=PHOTOS-HISTORY-015.jpg)https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/1f/99/0f/1f990f4ace8950deb1db51f6404a3b62.jpg(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/3a/9d/c5/3a9dc5b369377061b1148770a39683c0.jpg)
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCVyeND0b90
-
Did you notice the second group of soldiers, though they all walked softly, when it came time to reach for the casket they REALLY
stretched as if taking their fellow soldier from those who had first taken care of them?
The quiet and careful theatrics in your video is stunning......
That second group were Marines, honoring a fellow Marine, on his way home.
Semper Fi, Marines
Bravo-Zulu, from the Navy. :patriot:
I'm not sure why, but this has been a more difficult Memorial day that most. I'll leave it at that. No words work, really, when speaking of young hero's. There have been too many.
-
That second group were Marines, honoring a fellow Marine, on his way home.
Semper Fi, Marines
Bravo-Zulu, from the Navy. :patriot:
I'm not sure why, but this has been a more difficult Memorial day that most. I'll leave it at that. No words work, really, when speaking of young hero's. There have been too many.
Memorial day is the most difficult day of the year for me and seems to get worse as I get older.
-
Memorial day is the most difficult day of the year for me and seems to get worse as I get older.
Same here.
I think when we're young we don't appreciate the loss as much as we do when we're older and realize how much life and experiences we were able to have that our friends didn't...and then wonder how we got so lucky.
-
Thank you all, especially WAC, for making this a beautiful thread dedicated to our fallen heroes...
-
Thank you all, especially WAC, for making this a beautiful thread dedicated to our fallen heroes...
Sincerely a pleasure.....mystery-ak....a great and humbling privilege indeed to honor our troops and it's never enough... really.
My favorite was actually the video another poster posted here of the profound transitioning of the fallen by the military. .....the pause of heart and mind and soul that video touches has no words to describe. I have seen and witnessed others but that, done in the darkness of the night and soooo private (made public) left me in awe...it will not be forgotten.
-
That second group were Marines, honoring a fellow Marine, on his way home.
Semper Fi, Marines
Bravo-Zulu, from the Navy. :patriot:
I'm not sure why, but this has been a more difficult Memorial day that most. I'll leave it at that. No words work, really, when speaking of young hero's. There have been too many.
Yes I agree for some reason this Memorial Day was heavy hearted for me as well..... ...especially since I reviewed many of the war videos and photos of these wars in action. They truly are our hero's and define what one is.
-
This is my grandpa (on the right). Not sure which country this was, but he was in France, Belgium and surrounding areas and fought in the Ardennes. He was forward artillery. The writing on the back of this picture says "The flag *was* on this house."
Oh wow....that's like touching history right there, especially since he was your direct relative....you can be soo proud of course.
I enjoy looking at war photographs, even the ones of the fighting and deaths for this is the only way I can touch the real meaning
of war as I have never been in one... we can surely thank our soldiers for that!