Memorial Day

[Terry Bond]

Coming soon - Never forget.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Terry Bond (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Thank you Terry, and thanks to all of those that made the USA what it is today 'Land of the free and home of the Brave. "

Thanks to all who still continue to keep our homelands safe.

Walt

[Lebowski]

May all of these heroes rest in peace....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Lebowski (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

Mr. Lebowski, your pictures are very moving.

I wish I could "like" them more than once.

[rocketraider]

Something I have really missed this year is the Memorial Day flag display downtown near the river walk. Local businesses and individuals sponsored a flag and last year there were over 200 of them.  I guess the virus squashed it.

[Morgansdad]

Once we forget history, we tend to repeat it. I'm U.S. Army retired and I've seen what this new generation is doing to our history. Thank you all who have lost Dads, Moms, Brothers Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Grandfathers or Grandmothers to this . God bless you all.

[John S.]

God Bless all our Veterans , and Thank You for your Service!

[Dandy Dave]

Memorial Day. To all who serve, and to those who have served. I salute thee. Thank You for your service. Today is a day to remember the real Hero's. The ones that went forth in the face of danger and did not come home. The ones who laid down their lives whither on the battlefield, in the air, or on the sea. Today is a day to reflect on their sacrifice to keep the American Idea of Freedom alive and spread that idea throughout the world to free enslaved nations from tyrants where ever they may be. Remember, All gave some, and Some gave all. All so we could have this day, and this Great Nation we live in. Thank You.

[kings32]

I served Vietnam ,We left so many Brothers on the battle field I remember them every day . Thanks to all that serve still .Howard

[Trulyvintage]

 

Jim

[Dandy Dave]

The Story of Uncle Sam. It all started in a City about 30 miles north of me.  

.

[JACK M]

3 hours ago, Dandy Dave said:

The Story of Uncle Sam. It all started in a City about 30 miles north of me.  

.

 

Interesting story.

Thanks all for your service.

[STEVE POLLARD]

[Lebowski]

In case anyone is interested, here's more info on James John Regan whose grave is pictured in the "not BBQ day" photo I posted earlier. He died in Iraq in 2007....

 

 

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jjregan.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pfeil]

A buddy and fellow ex serviceman sent me this today;

 

As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car, and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.

 

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and took a few steps towards him.

 

I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something.

The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade.  He then turned back to the old man.  I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying: "You shouldn't even

be allowed to drive a car at your age."  And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.

 

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief, and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine.  He then went to his wife and spoke with her; he appeared to tell her it would be okay.  I had seen enough, and I approached the old man.  He saw me coming and stood straight, and as I got near him I said, "Looks like you're having a problem."

 

He smiled sheepishly, and quietly nodded his head.  I looked under

the hood myself, and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking around, I saw a gas station up the road, and I told the old man that I would be right back.  I drove to the station and went inside. I saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them, and related the problem the old man had with his car.

I offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife.  When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help.  As the mechanics  diagnosed the problem (overheated engine), I spoke with the old gentleman.

 

When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too.  I nodded and asked the usual question, "What outfit did you serve with?"

 

He said that he served with the first Marine Division at Guadalcanal,

Pelieliu, and Okinawa.  He had hit three of the worst ones, and retired from the Corps after the war was over.  As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me.  I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.

 

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it, and I stuck it in my pocket.  We all shook hands all around again, and I said my goodbye's to his wife.

 

I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station. Once at the station, I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man.  I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me.  One of them pulled out a card from his pocket, looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me.  Both of the men told me then that they were Marine Corps Reserves.  Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me.  I said I would and drove off.

 

For some reason I had gone about two blocks, when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time.

The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was written: 
"Congressional Medal of Honor Society"

I sat there motionless, looking at the card and reading it over and over.

I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage, and an honor to have been in his presence.

 

Remember, as we approach another Memorial Day, OLD men like him gave you, and all of us, FREEDOMfor America.

 

Thanks to those who served and still serve, and to all of those who supported them, and who continue to support them.

America is not at war. 

The U.S. Military is at war.

America is at the Mall.

 

 

If you don't stand behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them!  Remember, Freedom isn'tFree. Thousands have paid the price, so that you can enjoy what you have today.

[Marty Roth]

MEMORIAL DAY-

 

SOME GAVE ALL,

 

Not much I can add to the expressed sentiments, other than to include the following,

which was included as part of the "TAPS ACROSS AMERICA" today at 3:00 PM local time.

Our grandson who graduated college Magna Cum Laude on May 8th sounded TAPS in Natchitoches, Louisiana 

as he prepares to start graduate school at Western Illinois University where he has been awarded the position of Graduate Teaching Assistant while working toward his Masters Degree:

 

TAPS ACROSS AMERICA - May 25, 2020 1 3:00 PM CST

Marty Roth - (and emotion affected quality of play)

HONORING THOSE FALLEN IN THE DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY

ALL GAVE SOME- SOME GAVE ALL

Thankful for my father Albert Roth’s safe return from WWII Pacific Theater while while others were not spared-

Remembering Albert Roth

SeaBees- 6th Special Battalion 1943-1946

 

 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[nick8086]

1952 stuff..

[jaxops]

At the Tidewater Veterans' Memorial, Virginia Beach.

[Mark Gregory]

You might like this about a famous singer from WW2 

 

[Robert G. Smits]

On 5/25/2020 at 9:58 PM, Marty Roth said:

SOME GAVE ALL,

Marty that was FANTASTIC

[brasscarguy]

I pay homage to Memorial Day as my wife is a military  brat and he father was a full bird cornel in charge of medivac hospitals in the middle east. I now have a much better understanding of what that day stands for.

 

My wife has also got involved with the Wreaths across America where volunteers on December 7th each year place wreaths on military head stones in cemeteries. This ceremony starts with  a invocation, taps and then directions on how to properly honor our military members no longer with us.   

 

This was started a few years ago and we only had about 300 wreaths. As the years moved on the number of wreaths grew last year we placed 2500. Our goal this year is to place 6000 wreaths which would mean 1 wreath for each head stone.

 

The decorum is to read the name rank and birth and death dates and thank them for their  service, then place a wreath up against their head stone.  This effort has been partially undertaken by the Seahawks volunteer group the 12's of which my wife is a board member of this organization.. We purchase the wreaths and make sure they are at the ready for the ceremony. Last December we had about 200 people of all ages including my 12 year old granddaughter. There were younger children as well as retired military members plus widows and widowers.  This is a very serious and patriotic endeavor to honor those that served.  It is active all over the US and you can google "Wreaths across America" for information in your area. 

 

brasscarguy