Thank you Veterans!!!

[Aster1]

I would like to give my heart felt thanks to all you that have served in our country or allies on this Veterans Day Holiday to honor you!!! Without you, and those that have served, departed, or fallen in battle, we would have and be NOTHING. I thank you and God Bless You!! Yes, big type as I'm shouting my praises to you on high!!!

 

Aster

[Guest Farnsbarns]

+1. I'd like to remember all those who have died at war, allied or otherwise and thank those who have fought for our freedom

[RevDavidLee]

Amen. My Dad was a Marine in WWII and Korea. He fought valiantly and bravely and even lied about his age to enlist early so he could join the fight. Semper Fi Dad - I miss you. I salute all who have served and thank you for your service and sacrifices to our country.

[pippy]

+1 from here, too.

My Grandfather fought in The Great War - invalided out at Ypres - and my father in WWII and the tales they would occasionally tell made me realise that war is anything but Great.

 

"Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori"? Horace was wrong. Owen was right.

 

P.

[quapman]

Ditto.

 

Lest we forget!

[fretplay]

+1 from here, too.

My Grandfather fought in The Great War - invalided out at Ypres - and my father in WWII and the tales they would occasionally tell made me realise that war is anything but Great.

 

"Dulce et Decorum est pro Patria Mori"? Horace was wrong. Owen was right.

 

P.

 

Small world Pippy. My grandfather served in The Great War also invalided out at Ypres, gassed, he went to Winchester Hospital and returned to France. Lived to tell the Tale. My father also survived, he was in the RAF in the second World War. Thanks to them I've lived a life in peace.

[Aster1]

Amen to our Fathers & Granddads both. War isn't glory filled, or something to relish. Unfortunately, it has been a necessity to stomp evil back into the caverns of Hell where it came from. I'm just so glad that there were our Vets that had the ability & fortitude to overcome GREAT fear (don't know how they did), and awful adversity (ditto on don't know how so many did that either). We're all just blessed that they did, fought the fight and hopefully returned home to recover from the mess it made of their lives. So many didn't return home and God Bless them & their families too for the loss to us all.

 

Aster

[charlie brown]

Yes, Thank You, Veteran's! For keeping our country Free (so, far, anyway)...and,

fighting for all the things we hold dear, even when some take them to extremes,

and beyond all (real) logic!

http://www.tmz.com/2013/11/08/tom-cruise-suri-lawsuit-deposition-afghanistan-war-olympics/

 

"What an arrogant, narcissistic, *Maroon!!" (*Paraphrasing Bugs Bunny, who made more

sense, than Tom Cruise ever did!)

 

CB

[milod]

I hit two Veterans Day programs today, as usual.

 

I think it too easy to combine perspectives of the U.S. "Memorial Day" with "Veterans Day." The former is for those now passed, in service or gone years after returning to civilian life; the latter for those who still serve and those who might still speak of their service.

 

What gets to me personally is how many WWI vets I've known well, and yet now all are passed. That hit me hard today, and made me feel old as well.

 

My last interview with a WWI vet tells the tale of that war as well as any, I think.

 

The guy had received in the late 1990s a somewhat belated French medal for service in WWI to protect France. He told of stacking dead bodies in winter as though they were cordwood in order to hold them until the ground could thaw for burial.

 

Yet... he never left the U.S. His infantry unit was in camp for final training before transport to France when the influenza epidemic hit. Losses as I recall were nearly half his company. Such long has been as much part of military service as battle - it's just not always what folks care to talk about.

 

It's not, as one speaker today noted, just the guys in the actual combat lines who served and who still serve, but all who take on the responsibility to go and do what's needed for the mission, no matter what.

 

I've also heard some tales of wild truck runs in Afghanistan from folks I know who say the manufacturer wouldn't believe their equipment could do - or survive - what it did in the hands of local National Guard soldiers called into national service.

 

Later this year I'll again be invited to a formal military dinner; it's a true honor to be asked to join them.

 

BTW, what folks may not know about today's Army soldier or recent veteran is how much better trained they are on emergency "first aid." We've already heard some tales of soldiers saving lives at highway accidents with that current level of training.

 

m

[Kaiser Bill]

I recently moved from northern Pennsylvania to central Florida. I joined the Del Webb Country Club's Veteran's Assn last week and attended their ceremony yesterday. Quite impressive. A few WW2 vets and lots of Korean War and Viet Nam vets in attendance. I get my name engraved on their tribute wall next month. When I die a star goes next to my name. I thought I was proud to serve until yesterday when I learned what pride is. These folks are the real deal.

[AndyK]

My Grandad also served in the Great War and survived. I know nothing of the details, but a relative has recently been making a record of the family tree and their service, so I may find out soon. His aunt lost three sons. Unimaginably terrible.