CWLONGSHOT Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 I Salute all our VETS and people currently serving this great country of ours. As you eat the hot dogs, burgers and drink some beers. Take the time to remember all those who have fallen and served to allow us to enjoy this weekend. 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, God Bless you and Thank you. CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 :USAflag: :clapping: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 :USAflag: Great mesage CW! There are far too many people in this country who do not have a clue what Memorial Day is all about. Everybody knows somebody who has served or who is currently serving. Take the time to say, thanks. :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigd44889 Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver88 Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 Very well said, CW. As a veteran myself,though not combat;I feel everyone should support our troops regardless of how you feel about the current conflicts. Remember, it is the people that WE elect that send them in harms way. When I see someone in uniform, I always take the time to thank them for their service( even the Marines :rotfl2: ). We are forever in their debt. :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unglar Posted May 28, 2010 Share Posted May 28, 2010 :cheers: Thank you CW! I just forwarded this in email at my office. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comanche County Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 Right on! :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 I didnt sleep well last night so I'm a little tired. May as well say something controversial. Around our town, (don't know about everywhere else) it seems Memorial day is starting to turn into a holiday to remember lost loved ones. While remembering those folks is a good thing, that is not what it is about. It is about the vets that gave it all for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incommando Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 :clapping: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 to all those that don't care, up yours!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddzz1 Posted May 29, 2010 Share Posted May 29, 2010 Great post CW, but I'm not sure if these two still exist: freedom to assemble. After all, the cops will now break up your Memorial day and threaten to arrest you if you don't. the right to a fair trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 It seems I have to do this every year, but if that's what it takes to keep history alive and accurate, so be it. Memorial Day began informally around 1865, on a local and then a state basis, as a day for remembering those who died in the American Civil War. In many places it was originally known as Decoration Day, so named because the tradition was to decorate the graves of those who died in the war on that day. It became more widely accepted after World War 1, and at that time it came to honor those Americans who died in "The Great War" as well as in the Civil War. The name Memorial Day started being used alongside Decoration day in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The day did not become a national holiday until 1967, when it was officially named Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who died in the defense of the United States of America. It was not intended to honor living veterans, or those who are currently in the military. For the living veterans, there is Veterans' Day. For those currently in service, there is Armed Forces Day. I am a Vietnam veteran myself. This is not intended to in any way belittle the service of those who survived or those who serve today. But ... for the sake of understanding the origin and the intent of the holiday, please let's not spread the idea that it is anything other than what it is. For those who personally wish to also honor the living veterans and the current men and women at arms, that's fine. But please teach your children the true meaning of the day, and let each person decide for him/herself if they want it to mean more to them. http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Great mesage CW! There are far too many people in this country who do not have a clue what Memorial Day is all about. Everybody knows somebody who has served or who is currently serving. Take the time to say, thanks. Yeah. And Memorial Day is NOT about them. If you really want to understand Memorial Day, find out where the nearest national cemetery is. Go there on Memorial Day, walk out into the middle, and look at the sea of white crosses and Stars of David marching into the distance in every direction. Close your eyes and try to imagine what it must have been like storming the beaches of Normandy, or Iwo Jima, or scaling the cliffs of Point du Hoc in Normandy. Try to imagine flights of literally hundreds of DC-3s, spewing out thousands of paratroopers into the night sky over occupied France, men jumping into terrain they didn't know and couldn't even see. Many were killed before they even hit the ground. I've been to Normandy. I walked in the D-Day beaches. I visited several of the cemeteries. I went through some of the D-Day museums. THAT's what Memorial day is about ... not the veterans who lived through it or who are still alive, not the men and women who are in uniform today. As I already posted ... they have their own holidays. Memorial Day is the day to honor those who gave their very lives so that this country would remain free and strong. I think (personally) it dishonors them to dilute the meaning of Memorial Day and treat it as a general purpose salute to all members of the military. Sorry, but I have strong feelings about the issue. Every male member of my family who was of the right generation served in WW2. (That would be my father, four uncles, and at least one first cousin once removed.) My Grandfather volunteered for the Scottish Black Watch regiment before the U.S. even entered WW1. I served in Vietnam. Our family was blessed in that we all made it back, but most of us were in combat or at least combat zones and we all knew men who made a one-way trip. A lot of people did NOT make it back. Please give them the respect they earned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWLONGSHOT Posted May 30, 2010 Author Share Posted May 30, 2010 Eagle, Thank you for the history lesson. The name change from Decoration day to Memorial day is something that's not taught any longer. I remember as a child hearing both names. Be that as it may, and let me be crystal clear, no disrespect in intended. I will continue to show my respect and verbal thanks every chance I get, by thanking every veteran or active service person I meet. Also by such posts as I have done here for those fellows whom I know thru words but have never actually meet. I realize we have other days set aside for living veterans and active personnel. But the way I was brought up, respect is earned and respect should be shown. It brings to mine a saying, "all paid some, some paid all". Respect is not something set aside for certain days or times of the year. It should be shown as often as possible, by holding a door, offering someone else to go first, helping an older person, visiting a cemetery on a "memorial day" and of coarse, by thanking a service person. In my mind, it doesn't take one single iota from one person or another, be they diseased or active or a vet as your self. I will thank every one of you that I meet. I will reflect on those who have passed whom I cannot thank. Simply stated, I am who I am, more over, WE ARE what and who WE ARE because of these peoples sacrifices. Eagle, Thank you for your service. we have what we have solely because of the sacrifice of service personnel such yourself. "All paid some, some paid all." CW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakal Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 cw: you and eagle put it just right. our country is built on the backs of those who toiled for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 ... let me be crystal clear, no disrespect in intended. I will continue to show my respect and verbal thanks every chance I get, by thanking every veteran or active service person I meet. No problem, Mate, I didn't think any disrespect was intended. It's just that if we don't remember what Memorial Day memorializes, it loses its true meaning. Personally, I think we should all thank veterans and those in service every day. It doesn't need a special day for that. My outlook is perhaps colored/tainted by being a Vietnam veteran. I was in 'Nam comparatively early -- 1968. I came home when protests against the war were still ramping up.We returning veterans were universally reviled. Those of you who are too young to remember (or weren't even born yet) may find it difficult to believe, but the stories about veterans being insulted and even spit on are completely true. CW and anyone else from southern New England may know the Stafford Springs raceway. Its a stock car track. My friend normally raced at the former track at Agawam, MA (on the site of what is now Six Flags Amusement Park). Once or twice a year he'd go to "open" events at other tracks, and the first summer after I came home he was racing at Stafford, and I went to watch. We were pretty far up in the nosebleed seats. Some drunk started mouthing off at me during the National Anthem. My brother and another friend pulled me off the guy just before I tossed him off the back of the grandstand. The respect our soldiers (and sailors and flyboys) receive today is a well-deserved change, and should be expressed on a daily basis. That's not to say that for 364 days out of the year we should completely forget that people died in wars. Far from it. But ... Memorial Day has been set aside as THE national holiday to officially remember and recognize them, and I just don't like to see the importance of that recognition get watered down by treating Memorial Day as a day to pay ordinary respect to living veterans and active service people. Enlisting is one thing. Going where they send you and ducking incoming as best you can is one thing. Dieing in the line of duty is something entirely different. Yes, it could happen to anyone who puts on a uniform (look at Lori Piestewa -- she was supposed to be a supply clerk, but she was KIA in Iraq), but some of us luck out. Maybe it's just me, but I think the emotion behind solemnly remembering and honoring those who died is (and should be) different from thanking those who are living. Over and out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildman Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 And, To add one thing.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pioneer Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 :agree: Still one of the most impressive events i have been to, and Arlington Cemetery really takes your breath away when you see it in person :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I must confess I am a little sensative about the subject myself. I think it is the most misunderstood holiday we have (excluding Christmas of course where Jesus shouldnt be mentioned :dunce: ). Went to church on Sunday. The pastor asked the vets to stand up. don't get me wrong, we owe them alot. But it is about those empty pews, those guys that never made it back and because of them, we are not speaking German or Japaneese, Confederate States of America no longer exists, the ones that stormed Normandy and saved all of Europe, tossed Sadam and threw the Tallaban out of Afganastan and so on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpnjim Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 .:USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag:------ :USAflag: -------- :USAflag: :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: .--- :USAflag: ------- :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag:--- :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: --- :USAflag: -- :USAflag:- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: :USAflag: .--- :USAflag: ------- :USAflag: --- :USAflag:--- :USAflag: --- :USAflag:---- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: . :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: . :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: --- :USAflag: .---- :USAflag: ------- :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: --- :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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