Thank you to those who have gone before us and given their all for us…
Hand Salute!
Ready, Two.
Let me leave you with this:
Who are the Veterans?…”Veterans are Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters, Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Lovers. They are the elderly people who can barely stand but refuse to sit when old glory passes by. They are the people who sit quietly thinking of a plan when everyone else is panicking; the ones who stand up for somebody’s rights even though they may disagree with them. They are the ones who celebrate Memorial Day and Veterans Day everyday of the year. They are the people who keep going when everybody else gives up. They know the meaning of “The Ultimate Sacrifice” and are willing to make it without a second thought. They do not ask for praise or glory, only that you Honor those who have given their all.”
Amen.
+1
You are a fortunate country to be allowed to have this celebration.
My son, also a (US Army enlisted) veteran (4th generation), gets aggravated, a bit, when people offer thanks to him on Memorial Day.
This, in spite of the fact that 7 years ago, the 155mm rocket which blasted him into the wall of a concrete bunker left him 100% disabled “on Afghanistan’s plain.”
He did not, however, have to answer a call to “roll to his rifle and blow out his brains, and go to his God like a soldier.” You see, the women were not coming out to cut up what remained; instead, he was ushering the women (and men), the civilian workers at Shindan Air Base, into safety, inside that selfsame bunker.
But, his father wonders, today, if Memorial Day shouldn’t also carry the precious burden of remembering not only those who gave their last, full measure of devotion, but also those who will never be able to return to what they were.
I realize it’s preposterous to suggest this, when most of America is typically more concerned about sales, or cook-outs. It’s hard enough to get them to acknowledge the day as more than a three-day weekend, the start of summer.
That’s okay. Private memorials also have significance.
Peace be on your household.
Thank you for producing your son.
Amen
Amen
Well said.
Our thanks and gratitude for their sacrifices to keep our families safe.
Salute.
All- Thanks for the comments. Pat- That is a interesting premise… All of us came back from service ‘changed’ in ways that only those close to us know. Many will never know the sacrifice, pain, and memories those people carry who were injured in the fight like your son. I don’t have a good answer other than prayers for him.
Pat – Besides those who lost their lives are those who have lost a big part of them. Not all who come back from war are ‘alive.’ The mentally ‘already dead’ due to some trauma, lost to PTSD or other mental issues or illnesses, those carrying latent cancer that will kill them slowly, those who lost part of their bodies, all casualties. Sometimes the man who dies on the spot has it easier than the survivors.
So, yes, I’ve always included the lost, no matter how they are lost, in my personal prayers and reflections on Memorial Day. At least, ever since I listened to the ghosts at the Arizona Memorial when I was 7.
Well said.
They are the elderly people who can barely stand but refuse to sit when old glory passes by.
Several years ago in Seattle, my kids and I were watching the parade. An older gentleman in a wheelchair tried to stand. No one helped. I pushed my way to the street and then in front of him and helped him to his feet. This was shortly after it was decided veterans could render a hand salute. Must have been an interesting sight. Frail, 5’4″ man discretely held up by a 6′ burly, bearded man, and both saluting. After the colors passed I helped him sit down. Hr thanked me with tears in his eyes. Mine started watering.
As to the crowd along the sidewalk, #$%*’em.
WSF: Bravo Zulu. Dusty in here.
Amen Thank you for your service
Well said