Happy Memorial Day
By Greg L | 25 May 2008 | Patriotism | 18 Comments
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18 Comments
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This is a beautiful tribute on this special day, and I, for one was brought
to tears. Thank you, Greg, for sharing.
I’ve watched this video at least five times and each time, I cry. It has so much meaning, and it says so much….
Thanks.
Very thought provoking. Lots of tears.
Thanks!!
Another tear jerker is the Annual Memorial Day program on channel 26 (WETA)….which is on right now.
Manassascityresident,
Yes, it is very good, isn’t it. They do a wonderful job each year.
What a gorgeous Memorial Day. My husband and I drove into Northern Va and DC this morning to see Rolling Thunder and a do a short trip by some of the favorite Memorial Day spots. Constitution Avenue and much of the Tidal Basin was closed off but there was access to the Iwo Jima Memorial which is always a good spot for Memorial Day. I guess tomorrow will be even better.
A friend sent this to me Friday afternoon.
Happy Memorial Day to one and all.
I doubt if any of you know Brandon . He’s from a little town called Blue Ash, Ohio . I’ve never been to Blue Ash and I never met Brandon , but wish I had.
Brandon won’t be enjoying barbecue and festivities this Memorial Day because five days ago he gave his life for his country in Iraq . Brandon died in Tikrit , Iraq of wounds suffered when his vehicle was blown up.
He was 21 years old and serving as a private in the U.S. Army.
Think about this just a moment as you turn your thoughts to the weekend. This young man gave his life to keep us safe and free.
And he is only the latest in a list of 1,308,140 individuals who have given everything they had going back to 1775 so that we can enjoy the weekend without fear and as free people.
Here’s what Tim, a third-grader from Madison , Connecticut had to say about it a few years ago:
I think about the people that fought in the wars,
some have died to keep us free.
I think about the men and women,
Who saved lives on land and at sea.
I look at the monuments,
In memory of the brave.
I help plant red flowers
At my grandfather’s grave.
At the parade, I see flags flying,
Red, white and blue.
I watch rows of different uniforms,
Navy, white and brown too.
The soldiers salute with pride.
Memorial Day remembers and honors
those who have died.
See another good tribute at http://TroopsSupport.com
Thank you. That was the perfect start to my Memorial Day.
On Memorial Day, I always think of the young man who should also be receiving all these ceremonial honors but instead rests quietly honored by only a few of the local American Legion on this day. Most Americans don’t know that there was also a Known Soldier chosen to represent those known soldiers who gave their lives in WW I.
Rome, Georgia - “Tomb of the Known Soldier”
Grave site of Charles Graves, the national “Known” soldier, who was killed and buried during World War I in France. His body was later disinterred and moved to the United States, selected to be buried at Arlington Cemetery alongside the Unknown Soldier. His mother refused to let the government have the body and had it brought home to Rome, GA. He was buried in the family plot, but subsequently dug up by American Legion members and reburied at Myrtle Hill Cemetery. His grave is the center of the New Veterans Walk Way at Myrtle Hill Cemetery.
To Steve Grant Young
A hero and a patriot. My friend through thick and thin.
KIA VietNam June 65.
Machine Gunner
1st Cavalry Division
U.S. Army
Met me at the Gates
And to Phil Lee. Long Range Recon Patrol Leader, 101st Airborne, who loved walking around in his bare feet and playing his drums, took an eleven mm in the neck. He could have kept his head down, but he was checking on the rest of us.
OPDitch
Thanks for the great Tribute site.
It’s all heartwarming to see and hear all of this ,especially in these days of turmole in our County.
Sorry about the spelling.
Have a great Holiday. Everyone.
Thanks for the tribute.
Portsmouth holds the oldest Memorial Day parade in the nation. It restores your faith in small town America. I’ve posted some photos
Thanks for posting, Greg. Wonderful video. I spent most of today at Arlington Cemetery visiting my father’s grave (82nd Airborne Officer, WWII, medically retired due to wounds received in Italy; he died when I was 10) and walking the grounds. My father’s grave is close to the Navy’s Submarine Veteran’s memorial at the cemetery and just over the hill from JFK’s grave site. I also reflected on my comrades from my three Vietnam tours, those that came home and those that didn’t make it (one of my friends from my last Vietnam tour died last month at 62). My brother, a year younger than me, was also in Vietnam during one of my tours and we were able to link up in Da Nang after not having seen each other for over a year. He’s on Agent Orange disability (at 60, suffering from diabetes, Parkinson’s, and recovered from bladder cancer surgery a couple of years ago), but the VA is taking good care of him.
God bless all of our veterans.
We wouldn’t have all these veterans of war if Art. 1, Sec. 8, Cl. 10 were invoked….stop snivelling vets. Move out and draw fire.
I guess I have a different feeling about “Memorial Day”. We spent it at a BBQ with other veterans and avoided all the “ceremonies”. IT was a time for quiet reflection to remember those lost and who are never coming home.
It was a day when my husband’s inbox was filled with e-mail messages from people he hasn’t heard from in long time, filled with the usual meaningless platitudes about gratitude for his service, his bravery, etc etc etc (my husband earned a bronze star with combat “V” and combat action ribbon for saving Marines under fire). The sentiments seem to be more about assauging their own guilt than actually memorializing his service to country.
All it does is invoke bitterness. Where were these people when my husband was injured and fighting for his life? Where were the well-wishers when we were struggling to hold on to our home when he was under care for his brain injury and broken back? Even something as simple as mowing the grass in our vacant home would have made a difference. The only ones who stepped forward to help AT ALL were other veterans. Other civilians? Nothing. Nada - except for the occasional query that “everything was okay, right”? It wasn’t.
Based on our experience, Memorial Day now holds nothing but bitter memories and an acknowledgement that the only people we can count on are other veterans.
USMCwife: If I can ever be of assistance to you or your husband, from mowing a lawn to writing an appeal to the VA, please contact me. Greg can give you the e-mail.