Veterans Day

[WriterDom]

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

- John F. Kennedy



No, freedom isn't free.


Author unkown




I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

 

[MissTaken]

for all of the veterans everywhere.

 

[FreeGal]

It's called Remembrance Day here (which is in fact always marked on the Sunday closest to the 11th), but, whatever name today goes by, I always remember.

For The Fallen ~ Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.


K

 

[Sir_Winston54]

Though I am working today, I have taken and will take moments throughout the day to remember:

* high school classmates who went to Vietnam and came home in body bags,
* classmates who went and returned bent or broken, in body or in soul,
* those I served with - the ones who came home, as well as those who didn't,
* the ones who served after me,
* the ones who went to other faraway lands in the early and mid-20th century to fight against oppression, aggression, cruelty, and evil
* those who serve today from stateside bases to far reaches of foreign soil, to ensure that we continue to have the blessings of this nation,
* and most of all, the many who served in the nearly 200 years before me, who pledged and gave "our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor" to create this nation; to build it; to maintain it through the War of 1812, civil unrest, the Civil War.

Whether we agree with our government or not; whether we feel we are in the right or the wrong in Iraq, Afghanistan or any other place our troops are in harm's way; whether we believe that force of arms is or can be a proper means of interaction with other nations - today is a day to remember and honor those who have served, those who continue to serve, and those who will serve in the future. May they be blessed and protected by whatever powers there are.

 

[catalina_francisco]

For me it is a more difficult day than usual this year.....it just keeps my thoughts on my father and all the raw emotions I find I still have about his death. Sometimes it can be so crippling and destructive and in truth days such as this and ANZAC Day were ones which flooded him with sadness and anger.

Catalina

 

[MissTaken]

It reminds me of my uncles and grandfathers who are now gone.

Also, as I see these young men in the city, on their way to Iraq or Afghanistan, I wonder what their years as veteran's will be like. How will their experiences change and mold them?

It will.

They and all those who have served have my deepest respect and gratitude. It takes strong men and women to lay themselves on the line to serve for our country.

 

[Miss Diva]

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Thank you to all the veterans for thier sacrifice.

 

[graceanne]

Great Uncle Bernie, died in WWII
Grandpa, nearly died in WWII
Uncle Bernie, nearly died in Vietnam
my brother, who might get sent over to Iraq

 

[RJMasters]

http://www.geocities.com/rjmasters2000/tookall.gif

As we honor all those brave men and women
who have serve, and remember them that
never made it home...let us also remember
the families and loved ones of them.

There are many casualties of war... that never saw a battlefield.

 

[lorddragonwolf]

To all who have served and died.
To all who have served and returned.
To all who serve now.
TO all who will serve.

I once was part of the civil air patrol and marched in many parades and participated in many veterens day ceremonies and had to swallow hard and fight for breath each and everytime i heard taps played. I still have a hard time breathinfg when i hear the buglar play taps today.

 

[Sir_Winston54]

<snip> I ... had to swallow hard and fight for breath each and everytime i heard taps played. I still have a hard time breathinfg when i hear the buglar play taps today.

For many of us, that simple piece of music is one of the most uplifting yet heart-rending ever written. It's strange - I can hear it late at night - around 11 o'clock - and it's soothing and restful. At any other time of the day, because I know what it means, it will bring moisture to my eyes and a lump to my throat. If it's on television, as for President Reagan's funeral, I have to mute the sound until it ends. I have to.

 

[AngelicAssassin]

when i hear the bugler play taps today.

i refuse to listen to it, whether by media, or for real, and never will again.

 

[lorddragonwolf]

For many of us, that simple piece of music is one of the most uplifting yet heart-rending ever written. It's strange - I can hear it late at night - around 11 o'clock - and it's soothing and restful. At any other time of the day, because I know what it means, it will bring moisture to my eyes and a lump to my throat. If it's on television, as for President Reagan's funeral, I have to mute the sound until it ends. I have to.

i can understand that . the lump the tears the chills it brings you.

 

[le Dragon Noir]

for all of the veterans everywhere.

Thank You.

And thanks to all who remembered us. It's one hell of a club. Not sure I'd do it again, the dues are a bit stiff. But I got lucky, I guess. I'm still here.

 

[A Desert Rose]

The History Channel tonight, aired a program called The Eleventh Month, The Eleventh Day, The Eleventh Hour.

I think I will have to go to Amazon and order the book.

It's a must see, in my opinion.

Many who I love are Vets. And thankfully, they are all well and alive... even my dad.

But even more, I am thankful they served.

 

[AnelizeDarkEyes]

Three very important vets in my life:

My Dad, USN
My Brother, USN
JM, USMC.

Thank you all for serving, and I love all three of you!

~anelize

 

[AngelicAssassin]

Not sure I'd do it again, the dues are a bit stiff. But I got lucky, I guess. I'm still here.

i would, and without hesitation.

Anything above ground and breathing beats the alternative.

Edited to add: i find it remarkable how many of the same verses appear here as they have on a different place i go. Not a dig, nor applause, just an observation. Good to see thoughts run the same occasionally.

 

[Vixandra]

Aye, thanks to my brothers and sisters and cousins in arms.
Those who've stood beside me, before me and behind.
Those who died and those who lived, thanks.


And I can't listen to taps except at night without wanting to cry.
I've watched soldiers die and watched them pull through against increadible odds.

If I was given a choice to go back in time, I'd still join up again. Maybe not medical but I'd do it again, for sure.