The real meaning of Memorial Day

To me it isn't picnics or bbq unless such events are held with the intent to honor our fallen comrades in arms. It is a time to gather together to share the stories of our comrade's last full measure of devotion and why they died for us. It is a time of sadness and a time of joy. It is a time of celebration in honor of those that have died for our freedom. It is a time to remeber that we must keep their honor and assure their friends and family that their loved ones did not die in vain. It is a day to remember that these brave men and women of our armed forces died for our right to live in peace and liberty. God Bless all of our fallen comrades , their friends and families. I will be thinking of all of you as I watch the Memorial Day Parade in our small community. I am forever in debt to my fallen brothers and sisters.

Just my opinion folks and I would enjoy hearing yours. Here is a web site you might enjoy [url=http://www.ishaah.com/Freedom3.cfm:070fa]http://www.ishaah.com/Freedom3.cfm[/url:070fa]

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Eric "nighthawk"

Your attitude determines your altitude!

Eric,
Colleen teaches 4th grade in a poor small rural district (northern boundary of the Appalachian poverty belt) & they use old school buildings. Her building houses the entire districts' 3rd & 4th grades. Today, for the 1st time, I was able to attend the annual Memorial Day tribute to veterans there which, I think, is in its 7th year. A 4th grade girl sang "God Bless America" (beautifully, I might add), we all sang "THE Star Spangled Banner", did the Pledge of Allegiance, and then the program continued. They played our service branch songs & all us veterans were asked to stand when the pianist played ours. Then we were asked to stand up front, individually go to the microphone & give our name, service branch & what years we served. After a standing ovation, each vet had a student come up & hand us each a round pin with our flag & an eagle printed on it. Then the students stood with "their vet" & we all sang Lee Greenwoods' "I'm Proud To Be An American". I don't think any of us vets sang the whole song...too busy dryin' our eyes!! The best was yet to come....my count was 8 little guys & gals holding up pictures 0f their "Brothers", "Sisters", "Uncles", & "Daddies", while reading poems about how they loved, missed, & were proud of their beloved deployed family members. At that point, you'd have had to have been a statue to have dry eyes.
I WILL be at that program every year! It was a beautiful tribute that I wish all of you could have experienced.

"Through the eyes of a child...."

Mike

Hey Tuber and Eric;
With folks like you, I think we have a chance. Y'all can share my stream anytime and I hope soon.

Mark

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I'd rather be in Wyoming!

The true meaning of Memorial Day. There's nothing like seeing life through the eyes of a child. Tuber... I feel like I was there with you. Great thread Eric.


Mike

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There is no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm.


Patrick McManus

Just reading it makes one puddle. Grand posts. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif
.....lee s.

That was beautiful reading ohiotuber.I would have loved to have been there with my father.He was a Marine Corp Veteran of WWII.One of the local grade schools here on the friday before Memorial Day has the students bring in any of their relatives that are Veterans , and the school and the students honor those vets with a lunch and some kind of a small program put on by the kids.My father was proud to go with his granddaughters.

Rocky

Ohiotuber,

Now thats what memorial Day should be. Bless Coleen and the kids. That ought to go out on the AP for folks to read.

Heard a similar story about not being able to pray in school anymore. Maybe just one of those "urban legends"; but, reads great. Supposedly a high school graduating class of 92 kids wre going through their ceremonies and speeches etc. when one kid comes up to the podium and stands there silently for a few seconds. Suddenly all the kids in the audience loudly "sneeze" and the kid at the podium says,"God Bless You Everyone!" and then walks away to a standing ovation from all assembled there.

God Bless America and out troops!

Hey Mike,

That was a wonderful story. Thanks so
much for sharing it with us. Warm regards,
Jim

mike

took a while for me to be able to see the screen and type this. (eyes under water).

God bless you and every one that shares you views on Memorial Day.

thanks,

mike

Mike, buddy how I wish I could have been there with you! I cried when I read your post. That Colleen is some kind of lady! Please give her a huge soldier's hug from me. My heart is bursting with joy and pride over those children. I know all of our fallen comrades would be very proud of Colleen, you and those great kids!

I have to tell you that the folks on this site are no doubt the salt of the earth. I salute you and may "God Bless you Everyone"!
Have a great holiday compliments of those who gave the last full measure of devotion. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif

If I could show you a picture of the best part of being a soldier this would be the photo: [url=http://www.shadetreemechanic.com/images/mil%20gi%20me%20Five.jpg:20a20]http://www.shadetreemechanic.com/images/mil%20gi%20me%20Five.jpg[/url:20a20]


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Eric "nighthawk"

Your attitude determines your altitude!

[This message has been edited by nighthawk (edited 28 May 2005).]

Folks,
Thanks to all. I wish I could have had you all there with me. BTW--that's an open invitation for next year & I always have room in the house for friends.

Eric....GREAT picture. It says it all, doesn't it?
I DO need to say that the program is the entire schools', not just Colleen's class. She was very involved, as was the entire staff, but the kids did it. I did forget that the last thing we did was walk about 1/4 mile down the road to the town cemetery where the flag was put at 1/2 mast & words were spoken by their Memorial of Military from Waynesburg killed in each war.
Mike

This weekend we have the Bolder Boulder. It is an annual event staged around Memorial Day. A race that has world class runners starting off first, followed by anyone who wants to run or walk the course. It ends up in the football stadium, where they stage a Memorial Day event complete with patriotic music, speeches and a jet fly-over. Thousands attend.

This year a local group, "The Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center", have announced that they plan to stage a big anti-Iraq war protest at the event.

My youngest son, who ran this race a couple of times while in high school, is a Marine who lost both legs to a land mine in Iraq this year. I'm hoping he'll compete in the wheelchair part of the race in future years.

So, needless to say, I'm having a real emotional problem with this group. Memorial Day is not about war, it is about warriors. It is about honoring our citizens who have served in our armed forces, defending our country and serving its interests. Protecting a country that allows the freedom to go out and stage a protest at an event meant to honor them.

Yeah, I'm very angry about this situation!!

Dear oldfrat:
Your post regarding your son deserves more that mere words. Tell him this from me, Thank You. We can never repay either of you the debt we owe. To you, for giving him to us and to him for his sacrifice.

Mark

Brad,
As touched as I was at the program the 3rd & 4th grade students put on for us, I am upset with the situation you describe. Yes, our country allows demonstrations, but the groups conducting them need to show SOME class & judgement about when & where to stage them. They may be protesting a war with which they disagree, but, in this instance, they are also disrespecting many very fine people, and I have a MAJOR PROBLEM with that! Brad, with your sons' injuries, I'm sure you are extremely upset about this. I have been wondering about you & your son, hoping his spirit is high & recovery is progressing as hoped. Please let us know how he is doing.
Mike

For those of us who hold this country dear, who still salute the flag and stand when the National Anthem is played, the protesters seem very wrong.

However, we are in the minority. The protesters are the politically correct ones these days. It's not 'cool' to be patriotic or a flag waving American. It is cool to bash the government, the president, the troops, and everything considered to be "american" - and I'm not talking about the terrorists - this is the American major media and print. Why are those groups able to do such a protest? Because no one stops them...that wouldn't be 'politically correct.'

Is it time to stand up and tell those protesters they are wrong and to go home? It's been time for a long time...we've just looked the other way.

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL

I got the following in an email today and thought it needed to be shared.

Memorial Day is an act of remembrance to celebrate the lives of those who died and allow us to rededicate ourselves to giving back to America in their memory. This act of National Unity is to honor America's fallen whose gift is our freedom and to help put "memorial" back into Memorial Day.

To help Americans re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed in December 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps.

I for one still salute the flag and stand when the National Anthem is played.

Rocky

LF,
Well said!...Maybe we should stage "Pro-America" demonstrations at their gatherings? (although demonstrations have never been my cup of tea).
It's really too bad some folks don't appreciate the rights they have & HOW they got them.
Mike

[This message has been edited by ohiotuber (edited 29 May 2005).]

[This message has been edited by ohiotuber (edited 29 May 2005).]

Mike,

Evan has been making remarkable progress. He's been walking on his two prosthetics with just a single cane. Arm and hand fully recovered. No vision recovered in right eye.

He'll be having more surgeries soon --a thicker skin graft for one leg and plastic surgery around his eye. But his spirits and attitude remain remarkable. And, to top it off, he just got engaged to a wonderful young woman!

Thanks for asking.

Thanks Oldfrat,

Your posting is most encouraging. Your
son sounds like an extroidinary young man.
Our thoughts and prayers as well as sincere
appreciation go to this brave young man.
Warm regards, Jim

Thanks, JC. I was thinking about posting that link, but didn't for reasons you can understand.

My dad was an Army footsoldier in WW-II. Maybe that is why I was rasied to think about Memorial Day the right way.

I have no problem with anti-war protests. Idiots will be idiots.

I have major problems with anti-war protests at Memorial Day observations. This year's Memorial Day means even more to me than the ones before.

Thank heavens I won't be there when they stage their protest in such an inappropriate place and time.. Instead, I'll be on the road on my way to give Evan some help.

Hey oldfrat;
I just accessed the link JC posted. There was a post there by Doug, I believe. Although only words, they spoke volumes and probably contained the essence of all that could be said in faith, respect and gratitude to Evan.
Your corection regarding his rank , two stripes? You must be blind. I see a 5 star cluster. Look again, it's there.

Hey Brad,
Please thank Evan for me for his service to our nation. Tell him I said thanks form an Air Cavalry Trooper. It is the spirit of Evan, Brad and their family that has made America so strong. Ain't no such word as "can't"!

I wanted to let this thread run a little longer before I reponded to the issues of the press and protesting. I have come to realize that most of today's protesting groups don't really care about their cause. Most protest out of pure hate. In doing so they have damaged our nation. Some of these groups go so far as to cause riots and public disorder thus presenting a threat to our constitution.

As for the press, along with freedom of the press comes the resposibility to report the truth and to be unbiased in their reports. Most of the press has fallen way short of their resposibilities for decades. I can think of no greater example of this than the recent newsweek scandal. I seldom watch the news and do not read newspapers. Just my humble opinion. I still salute the flag. I stand and sing the National Anthem.

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Eric "nighthawk"

Your attitude determines your altitude!

Nignthawk.

With all due respect to you and and all of our troops you are being P.C. on the media. This is the problem it needs to stop and the media must do the right thing for America and the Troops. They know the right thing to do I know deep in my soul that people & media within our country know this is the right thing to do: Support the troops always especially when they are in harms way... At any cost $$$ its not about selling papers...

Our troops, yourself included and the Freedom you represent ,fight and die for is to great to treat as all the major media have. I aplogize for the media to all our troops they have done our great country a major dis-service.

Thank you for your Honorable Service to our Country.

May our troops progress always be certain..

Steve Molcsan

JC and LF do what you must with my
post herewith. I know you appreciate and
support Our Troops. I respect each of you
very much!




[This message has been edited by Steve Molcsan (edited 30 May 2005).]

Steve,
With all due respect I think you should read my post again.

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Eric "nighthawk"

Your attitude determines your altitude!

Brad,
Thanks for the update on Evan. I think about him often & I am convinced that God always GIVES more than he takes away. God Bless all of you.

Regarding the press...Where are the pictures of our troops showing compassion to & playing with young children in the Middle East? Let's show ALL sides of the story. Being a Vietnam vet, I have seen AND experienced what one-sided & narrow-minded reporting can do.
Mike

You are a real stand up guy, Steve! I know that as long as we have great folks like you watching out for our men and women of the armed forces that their home front is secure. Mike is right that the press needs to show more pictures like the one I posted of the kid giving the soldier a high five. Most folks don't realize that our military takes great pride in giving humanitarian aid and they should because they are very good at it. Soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines are the most careing people I have ever met. No greater love does a person have than that he would give up his life for a stranger. They are poor yet they would give you their last ration of food, the shirt off of their back or their life. It angers me that the press releases stories that harm our troops and other innocent people. The Constitution gives us the right to freedom of the press so long as we do not use that freedom to do harm to others. A protest against the press is a good idea so long as we do it in a responsible and legal manner. We never want to sink down to their low standards. Rather we should raise them up to ours. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/smile.gif

God Bless and keep you all safe.

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Eric "nighthawk"

Your attitude determines your altitude!

Nighthawk,

I have sent you an email. I wish I could share it with all veterans and active duty
people here but it has several attachements.

For now I just will say thank you. A river
of thanks to our troops!

May your progress always be certain.

Steve Molcsan

Nighthawk,
I did and the groups you refer to in the fist part of your post should include press. And this is quite unfortunate indeed that it must.

And as I stated I appoligize for this. You and the rest of Our Troops deserve much much more from all of us and because the press has such a loud and far reaching medium they as My felow country men also, should know and act correctlly. For this I am ashamed of them, as I feel all Americans here at home should be. There should be portest about the press acting they way they have. This would, I feel truly would be getting us on a true United home front.
United we must stand and act! Common sense
here is all it takes. It is this simply!
We all must stop and think about it. Please you fine people that read this take it for what it is ment to be, total United Support for All our Men and Women in harms way, there is No Time or Place for politics about this ever! PERIOD!

Support the troops or "Shut Up" Leaks are what sinks ships! (I know this is a bit dis-respectfully and I am sorry!)

Again I thank you for your service and post.

Nighthalk and all our active / reserve and veteran troops this post is not meant for any of you you have my total Respect and Support , as I said "Some just won't go home
when they should, and it is these people I mean to address. These people should have a voice but not on Our Nations Front Page nigtht after night. This is wrong! actually this is what is wrong.

Can anyone justify the medias actions?
Freedon of Press - I Don't think so!


Truly with Honor,

Steve Molcsan




[This message has been edited by Steve Molcsan (edited 07 June 2005).]