Goblin Squad Member
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I want to wish everyone a happy and safe holiday, the traditional beginning of summer here in the US. It's also a day of more-solemn meaning, though, and I'd like to ask everyone to take a moment to remember those who served in the Armed Forces and gave, as President Lincoln said, "the last full measure of devotion".
It's my personal belief that we shouldn't honour only those who gave their lives in service of their country, but also all men and women who serve. As my father taught me, "all gave some, some gave all"; for all of you who gave of yourselves: thank you.
I hope everyone's summer--or winter for our friends in the other hemisphere--is filled with happiness and other good things...like PFO.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
No offense, Jazzlvraz. Memorial Day is the day to honor the war dead. Veterans Day is the day to honor all men and women who serve.
There seems to be a creeping need to honor those who serve in the military in every occasion: Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving... I'm a military retiree and I find this expanding glorification of the military unsettling.
Let's keep Memorial Day as a memorial for the dead, whether they died in defense of the country, in rebellion, or in our foreign adventures. They all died in service to the people of the country. Whether their own war was just or unjust, they died for us, giving us full measure. We can give them the full measure of a day in return.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
For my father: Rudolph
Birth: Oct. 9, 1925
Death: Dec. 20, 2008
Inscription:
TEC 5 US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
Burial:
Long Island National Cemetery
Farmingdale
Suffolk County
New York, USA
Plot: SECTION 2Q SITE 2428
My father's bravery may have begun with D-Day and may have been honed during the Rhineland Campaign, but it did not end there. He raised four children, and lost one, and he was always a pillar of strength and encouragement. He sent me off to Iraq, and fir the first time spoke to me of his war time experiences. His advice I carry with me today and will re tell it to my own children.
He was laughing with us the night he died, and he told my sister (a RN) he would be fine, an hour before he passed. Brave to the very end.
|
Goblin Squad Member
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
We went to Arlington National Cemetery yesterday. First to the Marine Corps War Memorial, then the Netherlands Carillon, and then to National Cemetery: row upon row of markers, especially white in the afternoon sun. All of them had a small U.S. flag planted in front of them, and some also adorned with personal decorations. Flowers, smooth stones piled on the markers--on one, a Coors Light tall can, stones, and a battered memorial bracelet.
Peace to everyone who's lost someone to these past 13 years.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
No offense, Jazzlvraz. Memorial Day is the day to honor the war dead. Veterans Day is the day to honor all men and women who serve.
There seems to be a creeping need to honor those who serve in the military in every occasion: Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving... I'm a military retiree and I find this expanding glorification of the military unsettling.
I agree, but this isn't the day to be having that discussion.
Today is a day to remember, honor, and respect those who can no longer participate in that discussion. If you also want to remember, honor, and respect someone else .... well, I don't think that respect, honor, and remembrance should be confined to only one day out of the year.
