Remember Those that Gave Their Lives

[pstlpkr]

I am blown away by the postings in this string.

I am truly touched by the stories and the history that has thus far been shared.

I want to thank everyone for their contributions.
I also want to thank the members of the families that have suffered through the separations from, or the loss of their loved ones who have served for us and with us.

Lastly (the place of honor) I sincerely express my heart felt gratitude to those who have given their lives in defense of the freedom that my family and I enjoy.
I know this post is a bit maudlin. I make no excuses.

I have always felt this way about Memorial Day.

 

[jrtaster]

no apologies for being maudlin needed...as a country we've been blessed in that so many heroes have been willing to serve and defend our values and freedoms.

don't need Memorial Day to remember them...unfortunately, daily the news media provide reminders that young men and women continue to die in service to our country.

my dad served in wwII and received a Purple Heart.

i served during the vietnam "era," but carried loaded weapons only in the streets of newark, nj, during a summer when communities across america erupted in orgies of violence and protest.

never proud of that particular portion of my service, but 40+ years later still believe strongly that serving your country, however you may be called upon to do so, is actually an honor and prvilege.

our country needs to understand that as well and to remember service personnel, returning from wherever they have served, need to be honored and respected, otherwise the ultimate sacrifices of those who will never return would have no meaning.

sounds preachy, i guess, but there it is...

jr/john

 

[pstlpkr]

Thank you Jr.

I served during the Carter Administration, my father served 3 tours in Vietnam. I understand what you mean.

When I volunteered it was "out of vogue" to join the military.

I felt the mistrust and suspicion that was the legacy of the Vietnam era.

The locals targeted us for derision and violence.

I'm glad that the citizenry of this great nation has grown beyond that.

 

[fred]

This is a day of gratitude for me. It was a quarter of a century before anyone outside of my immediate family thanked me for my efforts as a represenative of American Foreign Policy in Southeast Asia. I'm grateful to live in a land where the Free can speak their minds, which is a freedom paid for by the sacrifice of people that you and I will never meet. Regrettably, patriotism becomes vogue whenever there are sacrifices to be made. It is revolting that our Commander-In-Chief cannot pay his respects at Arlington, but then I remember that this is the same man who would have the disabled Veterans pay for their own medical care in order to save money. Welcome home to the men and women that have paid for the liberties that we enjoy.

 

[pstlpkr]

Thank you Fred.

 

[fred]

Thank you pstlpkr.

 

[rlrideoutjr]

I think that these are some of the most moving stories I have ever read. I have served twice in the current "occupation" of Iraq and I guess I never really understood why the general public thinks of us as heroes. Most of us do not see ourselves as heroes, but as people who have to do a job. Every time I rolled outside the wire to go IED hunting, I never thought of it as anything else other than just a means of employment. Now please do not get me wrong, I knew the job was dangerous and not many people want to do it, but it is what it is and it has to be done.

I guess the people that I always consider heroes are the police, fire, first responders, and the doctors around this nation that make sure we are safe on a day to day basis. Maybe I am just a little naive to what the word 'hero' really means, but I do know that I would feel very uncomfortable with that label placed beside my name.

I truly respect and honor those before me and will do the same to those after. There is something great to be said about any man or woman who is willing to give their own lives for the safety of others.

I want to thank all of you that have posted to this thread for taking the time to remember the ones that did this Country of ours a great service and within that service paid the ultimate price for their duty.

 

[pstlpkr]

Thank you Ray.

 

[fred]

Thanks Ray. You are correct... Those of us who went into harm's way, did so because of a sense of duty and knew that it was a job that needed to be done. The real heroes are the ones that didn't come back. Most of us don't talk much about it. Those who have never been there just don't understand, and I'm OK with that. Enjoying the way things are is reward enough. The trick is to leave it be and move on. After all, the freedom to enjoy life is one of the things we worked to preserve.

 

[rlrideoutjr]

You are so right Fred. I agree with you 100%. Thank you.

 

[pstlpkr]

For those of you who haven't seen the blog post; I wish this copy and paste from Silvercloud:

silvercloud said:

Lawrence, Thank You for this tribute. My son Lucas (Star to his comrades) gave his life for us in 2007. He was killed in southern Iraq.

Dear readers, please take a moment and visit the tribute pages of my web site. Go here and click on Lucas V. Starcevich. There are a number of pages and links. He was a real man by the most strict definition, and my hero.

http://www.starcevich.org/

 

[oppie]

All the people who have given their lives for this country breaks my heart. The Vietnam vet specifically touches me deeply. I try to keep them in my prayers as often as I can.

 

[pstlpkr]

Thank you Oppie.

 

[frankryan]

Being the Anniversary of D-Day let us all take a moment today to remember all the men who survived and those who did not survive this day in 1944.

 

[pstlpkr]

Thank you Frank.

 

[dunendain]

My grandfather on my mothers side was in the Pacific theater, and I had family who fought for Germany. That was time when the greatest generation was victimized by a few madmen. I love reading about the war because it brought about so many technological breakthroughs. It was also a time of honor, in a time of horror. God bless all who were there.

A shout out to our boys in service now.

 

[pstlpkr]

I made some inquiries within my family.

"Legend" has it that my family had similar issues as yours did Mick, except it was WWI.
Thank you Mick.

 

[dunendain]

Pistol I have always been fascinated by WW1. When man first met against machines on the battlefield, and chivalry wasn't yet dead. Do you know any really good books on the subject of WW1?

 

[pstlpkr]

Hey Mick,
Their are not so many books other than history books and periodicals from the early 20th that are concerned with WWI that I'm aware of, however their are several good movies. I don't think that the worlds people were concerned with War literature in the early 20th Century as they were following WWII.
Gallipoli

The Blue Max

Aces High

Dawn Patrol

A Farewell to Arms

Lawrence of Arabia
For me Gallipoli is the truest to history and it is truly gripping.

It demonstrates the horror of trench warfare, its futility, and its tragedy.

I don't believe it was made to glamorize war, nor to vilify war, just to portray actual events through the eyes of its participants.

Of all of the movies above, Gallipoli does it for me.

 

[dunendain]

Yeah I've seen those. Idid watch a great WW1 movie on Netflix called The Red Baron. I thought the air to air combat scenes were much better than Flyboys. I enjoyed the heck out it. I think it was made a couple of years ago. I have always thought that the last chivalry that existed in war was between aces of that period. : Your opponent is hit, and has run out of bullets, and he was left. Much like jousting. Never forgetting that war is hell, and those are real people out there dying. Blue Max was a great one. Cheers.