Thank you so much Jim.
Thank you Jim for one of the most poignant and heart tugging memorials I have ever listened to honoring our fallen heroes. Memorial Day has always meant a great deal to me because my father who was a combat infantryman with the U.S. 45th Infantry Division was badly wounded In France in August of 1944. Unbelievably, when he was transported back to southern Italy so his wounds could be better cared for in an Allied hospital the ambulance he was in was struck head on by an Italian truck driver killing the driver and pinning my already wounded father underneath the wreckage. He was given a transfusion while pinned underneath the vehicle and eventually made it to the hospital. He survived his wounds for less than nine years and passed away in June of 1953 as a result of the wounds he suffered in France and Italy. The last years of his life were pain filled and often agonizing. Today in my home we have a makeshift memorial to my Dad consisting of the 48 star flag which draped his casket, his purple heart, his combat rifleman's badge and the American flag which was sewn into his sleeve when he participated in the invasion of southern France in August of 1944. There has not been a day that has passed that I have not thought of my father and the sacrifice he paid so we could all live in freedom.
My father's sacrifice is representative of his entire generation's feelings and actions about duty, sacrifice, honor and love of country. They were willing to risk everything to ensure that the flame of liberty was not extinguished throughout the world. The freedoms that we enjoy and take for granted today exist only because of their willingness to fight and if need be to die to preserve the uniquely American ideals as set forth in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. Today, in this country it would seem that that those feelings which motivated over 350,000 Americans to pay the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of freedom has been lost by a significant portion of the American population and that is a national tragedy.
All gave some. Some gave all.
Thank you for that video. It was needful for me to pause and reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day.
A favorite movie of my brother and I was "The Fighting Sullivans".The story of the five brothers who went down with the U.S.S. Juneau in 1943.If at the end of that movie you don't have a tear in your eye there is something wrong with you.
Thank you!
Richard
Thank you
Nick
Thanks Jim. Very appreciated. A well done narrative of those that do the most for their country seem to get, or perhaps may even just want, no significant recognition for their duty. Pride in a job done for the benefit of all to their best abilities is the reward.
That certainly was the case with my dad, WW II US Navy CPO. A most unassuming, basic, get-it-done correctly, guy I've ever known. Never boasted or bragged once about his years in the service, or why he even joined (under aged). I just have a sense that it was something he believed it was what you were supposed to do. He's passed now, but I'm glad I had enough sense to tell him in his later years, thank you!
And When he gets to heaven,
To Saint Peter he will tell;
One more Soldier reporting, sir.
I've served my time in Hell!
May they all find Peace in God's loving arms.
Frank
I lost men under my command.
I remember their names to this day, the dates we lost them and the looks on their wives' faces.
Though I of course hold this holiday in my heart, those are my Memorial Days.
Frank CNW posted:And When he gets to heaven,
To Saint Peter he will tell;
One more Soldier reporting, sir.
I've served my time in Hell!May they all find Peace in God's loving arms.
Frank
Well said sir.No greater love to lay one life down for his fellow man.
http://red1publishing.com/home.html
Check out the video entitled "Reflections". A nice tribute to some who didn't make the return in one piece.
Hearts in Indochin is a bit different. The young, bulletproof soldiers of years ago eventually mellow out into loving parents and grandparents with no outwards indication of what they once were. From killing to caring as time marches on.
Site was put together by a fellow whose brother was killed in Vietnam in '69. Yup, my smiling face is in there, too.
Hot Water posted:Thanks Jim. ...... As a result I no longer participate in our village "celebration". I grew tired of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts troupes throwing candy to the viewers and having an overall "fun time". THAT is NOT what Memorial Day should be all about, in my opinion. .....
I certainly attended our ceremonies. Every year. Today, all of us in rain.
I'm very proud of our scouts. They help maintain, and improve, our 3 memorials .... our township's, our American Legion's, and our VFW's. Youth/school sports teams, too.
When the community came together to build homes for two residents that suffered very terrible blast injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, the scouts were there each day to do things like bring water around to the other volunteers and do clean-up duty.
SanteFeJim .... thank you very much for your post. Important and powerful.
"For love of country, they accepted death"
It's a evocative reminder that the most overlooked people can do the biggest things. My granddad didn't get a big gathering when he passed - just an ordinary funeral. But that funeral meant the world to me, and I miss him 2 years later. Thank you for this topic, and my upmost respects to those who passed just like him.
That is a powerful video! It caputures the true meaning of Memorial Day. Thanks for posting. And THANK YOU to all who have served!
Hymm To The Fallen - John Williams
