Remembering.....

[Annisthyrienne]

In the U.S., it is Memorial Day, a holiday set aside for remembering the sacrifices of our loved ones who have paid the ultimate price in service to our country in various conflicts. Some paid with their lives, some with their health, their bodies, their minds.

Normally this holiday makes me pretty depressed, because it reminds me of my husband's passing, and of how lonely it is without him now. I usually try to keep my mind on other things until the day passes and life forces me to move on again. But this year I wanted to do something different. I wanted to face the memories and acknowledge them. I also wanted to give others the chance to recognize the sacrifice their own loved ones or friends have made.

Although this is an American holiday, I want to invite our friends from around the world to share the spirit of this holiday with us. I know that every country owes their gratitude to their own service members. In some cases, in some countries, perhaps there is reason to be grateful to American service people. In any case, I don't want to make this political; this is about people, not politics.

I invite you to post as much or as little about your loved one, or just your sentiment in general for the holiday.

To start things off.....


I remember my husband, my high school sweetheart, my David, tank crewman, U.S. Army, killed in Desert Storm. I miss him so much!

 

[chris2c4u]

Thanks for sharing Annis. Here in the UK most memorial stuff is in November.

 

[Annisthyrienne]

Thanks for sharing Annis. Here in the UK most memorial stuff is in November.

We have Veterans Day in November, on the anniversary of the Armistice that led to the end of WW1. It is a day to honor all those who serve, not just those who died or were wounded. Memorial Day, if I am not mistaken in my history, was originally set aside to honor Civil War veterans, but now includes all conflicts.

 

[Luna_Wolf72]

My Uncle John~Navy... Vietnam.

My step father Ralph~Army~Vietnam

My bestie Maurice~Marine~Desert Storm

My other Marine~Branson~Desert Storm.

I only lost 1 of the four and not during a war time crisis. However, Memorial Day is for honoring/remembering (FOR ME) all of our Armed Forces, those who went and came back~different, sometimes broken, never completely whole. And those who did not return, though they tried with all their might.

 

[chris2c4u]

Yes I knew you had 2. We've just one tho this is a holiday over here.

 

[marauder13]

For us in Australia, we have ANZAC Day, April 25, and we also remember on Nov 11 as well.

For me, most of my family survived their active service. Only an uncle, John, who died in Vietnam. And he died from friendly artillery fire that was too damned accurate.

But I remember all those other men and women that paid the ultimate price to helping to maintain peace on both of those days.

We will remember them
Lest we forget.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

Milady Thyri,

My tribute is so long I did not wish to take up the space here so I put it in my own thread.

 

[Niriate]

My tribute is a bit of an odd one.. You see, I don't have any family that were/are in the army, but I do have quite a lot of family that made it through WW2.

So, my tribute goes out to everyone that survived the most horrific example of humanity, and continued to life by any means necessary. And believe me.. surviving the '44/'45 Winter with temperatures between 20 and 30 F, that is true survival.

Also, I'd like to tribute the "Heroes of Telemark", a group of Norwegian saboteurs that destroyed a German hydro-power plant, to prevent it from making materials for nuclear weapons.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage if you want to learn more.

 

[yeishia]

It is remembered in November here also.

My parents died when I was very young so I have no idea who might have been involved in the various Wars

My thoughts are...that war is horrific for all those who are forced to live through them in whatever capacity and it matters not the side they have the misfortune to be on.

EDIT: These are my thoughts and not meant to provoke a debate please.

 

[DarkWarrioress]

*decides to bump this up for Thyri*

 

[Mephistophelily]

I grew up in Waterloo, which was declared the official birthplace of Memorial Day. This is a very special day, not only for what it means to my home city, but for the numerous families affected in some way by the armed forces. Every one, in some way, has a tie to someone serving/ having served.

This is the day that reminds us that freedom and our rights are protected by those who love their country, and those idiots who take these rights for granted (WBC for a GIANT one) need to be slapped in the face and sent somewhere that does NOT allow such freedoms.