Memorial Day Salute

[U.S.SFC_RET]

What I posted to another board.

Memorial Day
May we never forget those who perished. Those heroes that never came back. May we never forget those who sacrificed their lives for this great country.
I hope that it stays in the foremost of our minds that servicemen and women carry a burden in many forms.
Leaving home they assimilate into a new world and their blood is green.
They are subjected to many environments that are much, much different. Military life is very stressful, Subjected to it 24 hours 7 days a week.

There is nothing like knowing that you are expendable. Knowing the fact that virtually overnight you went from a human being and transformed into a number. You became usable combat power.
There are servicemen I knew who bore rashes, some who died of cancer. Some who bore children with serious birth defects.

I know more than a few servicemen who returned from Iraq changed and shaken to the core. The fear and uncertainty worked into them. They know and live with the ever imposing hammer of uncertainty that will hit them with the order to redeploy.
Some get out of the service only to have trouble adjusting to civilian life. It is estimated that 1/3 of homeless are veterans. The suicide rate for the returning veteran is higher than the civilian population.
Remember the dead and remember the living.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

Thank you to those who serve, have served!

 

[jbkebert]

It is the
VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press

It is
the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is
the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.


It is
the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.



It is
the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the
VETERAN who
salutes the Flag,



Thank you to all that have served this country. Wether they made the ultimate sacrifce or paid the sacrifice of leaving their loved ones and lives behind to secure our freedoms. These men and women have sacrificed more than many will ever know. For that we owe them a great deal of thanks and praise.

 

[Warhawk83]

Very well said prechnhunt, posts 5 and 7 are excellent as well.

I've had uncles and a father in law come back from Vietnam, watching their friends die, only to be spit on.

The new epidemic with young military men is coming back from the sand bowls with mental problems.Many of them find alcohol or drugs and recently I had a family friend come back only to drink and ride a motorcycle, he didn't make it.

Veterans, we all owe you a debt. You have served your country and protected it well. You did what was asked of you and you will be forever affected by what you have seen.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank You!

 

[rocky branch]

Memorial Day is for honoring our fallen.

Us guys who made it back get Veteran's day in November.

 

[psyopspec]

A favor: If someone could, pour one out for the fallen on my behalf. Lest we forget.

 

[Officers'Wife]

Hi Steve 48,

My uncle talked about that kind of welcome when he got home as well. I realize I'm 40 some years too late but welcome home with the thanks of a grateful nation. If you happened to be part of a Marine squad somewhere in the area of a place called DaNang that came to the rescue of some 101st Airborne in 1968 I'll add my personal gratitude as thanks to you my Dad made it home to adopt me.

It's Tommy this and Tommy that can chuck 'im out the brute.
But it's savior of 'is country when the guns begin to shoot.

 

[Polar Express]

thank you

I would like to add my thanks to the military veterans who have served, and the families of those who have served as well. Their families pay a price as well.

I would also like to include the police and fire personell in my gratitude. The way I feel about it, the Military Veterans have fought for us and defended us from threats and forces against our country, while the police and fire put themselves in harms way for citizens here at home.


Thanks to all,

PE

 

[ryoushi]

"I would like to add my thanks to the military veterans who have served, and the families of those who have served as well. Their families pay a price as well."

Amen

 

[jackg]

Thanks for that photo.

 

[mack]

Here is some more information on the above picture:


John Moore recorded an image of Mary McHugh at the grave of her fiance Sgt. James John Regan (who was killed by an IED explosion in Iraq in February 2007) at Arlington National Cemetery, May 27, 2007.

(Click on the image if you wish to view it individually or larger.)

Mary McHugh, the fiancé of a James Regan, moved a thousand mourners to tears with her touching tribute at his funeral. “Jimmy was a hero to many, but he was always very humble,” she said of her beloved. “He always sought team success and not personal glory.”

Regan was to marry McHugh, a medical student at Emory University, when his Army service ended. He was killed in February 2007 by a roadside bomb in Iraq.

“Jimmy and I were so excited to stand up in front of God, our family and friends and declare our love for each other,” McHugh said. ”Only God knows why we were deprived of that opportunity, but it doesn’t change the sentiments I have.”

Regan, an All-American lacrosse player and All-State football scholar at Chaminade High School in Mineola, graduated from Duke University five years ago. He was deeply affected by the 9/11 terror attacks, which claimed many lives in Manhasset, and turned down a position at financial services firm UBS and deferred a scholarship to Southern Methodist University Law School to join the Army in 2004. He had earned a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.

After reading a love letter Regan wrote to her, McHugh said in a passionate whisper, “Jimmy, we never got to wake up next to each other every morning. Jimmy, I will wake up every morning and thank God for the opportunity to love and be loved by you.”

McHugh remembered Regan as someone who always wore a smile and “simply wanted to be happy and make others around him happy.”

Regan’s father, also named James, said his son did just that.

“Last week in Iraq the bell tolled for Jimbo and he gave the ultimate sacrifice,” the grieving father said. “You have done your duty, son, as you saw it. You are a wonderful son.”

 

[leadcounsel]

Proud to serve, and also a 'thank you' to my fellow brothers and sisters in arms.

 

[wishin]

Thanks for the kind words, and a thank you to all who have served. A special many thanks to the families and friends of those who gave their lives .

 

[jeepguy]

i thank all who serrved our great country and paid the utlimate sacrifce with their lives. and to those they left behind. i hope everyone in this country takes a minute to think about this on every memorial day. it humbles me to think why i can live free becuse of their great sacrifice, and the sacrifices of so many more who served. that picture brought tears to my eyes. may God give grace to all those who are grieving the loss of a loved one who chose to serve. my prayers are with you all.

 

[Hillbillyz]

Steve48 one of my closest friends was spit on three days after coming home from his tour in 1970. I can't make up for the past but I can certainly offer my thanks to you and all the veterans that have kept his country free and safe.

 

[mugsie]

From one Vet to all

I too was a Vietnam vet, having served in the 5th Special forces on an A-team in the delta. Our welcome home was terrible, to say the least, but that's in the past now. Now it's our turn to take positions of authority and make damn sure these same injustices don't happen to the men and woman who are serving today. I became active in my local VFW. I try to recruit as many new vets as possible, then we work to make sure they get the benefits our government doesn't tell them they qualify for or ties to downplay their disabilities. We also work with the families of those presently on active duty. For instance, one of my members is being deployed to Afghanistan next Wed. (last time it was Iraq). He leaves behind a wife, a 16 y/o and an 18 y/o. He can go knowing we will be there for his family for whatever they need until his return.

Take a moment today to thank all the vets, men and woman, who have served so honorably in our armed forces, to protect and preserve your freedoms.

Remember, on Thanksgiving we give thanks for what we have. On Memorial Day we thank those who made those things possible.

God bless all our vets and God bless this United States of America.

 

[Clifford]

Thank you to all who have served and to all who gave their lives to protect this country.

 

[Sam1911]

merged

 

[Winter Borne]

http://www.virtualwall.org/ds/SerranoJR01a.htm

Semper Fi Dad.

mk

 

[FruitCake]

To those who have served and serving, Thank You and I think of you all every day. POW and MIA I will never forget.

 

[meytind]

Rest in Peace. You earned it.

 

[Tim the student]

To all the men killed from 5/73 RSTA, 3rd BDE, 82d ABN, especially my medic buddies, and the men killed from Alpha.

RIP Brothers.

All others vets, thank all of you guys.

 

[DammitBoy]

Thanks Dad...

 

[FileEditViewHistory]

 

[jbrown50]

Thanks Dad for your service, for being my hero, and for inspiring me to serve.