Memorial Day. Remeber these famous words...

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…for they ring true of every fallen comrade in all the wars and actions we have fought.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

President Abraham Lincoln

November 1863

Here is a page you might enjoy. Turn on your audio. [url=http://ishaah.com/index.cfm?action=Freedom3:d97f4]http://ishaah.com/index.cfm?action=Freedom3[/url:d97f4]

Eric “nighthawk”
" All gave some, some gave all. Some stood through for the red, white and blue and some had to fall. If you ever think of me, think of all your liberties and recall, Some gave all". Thanks to Billy Ray Cyrus and all our fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
American veteran and proud of it!

[This message has been edited by nighthawk (edited 27 May 2006).]

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Amen Eric.

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Hey there Eric,
Thanks for your post. President Lincolns words ring true even today. Way over the heads of some “americans”.

Mark

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Yep!..Good post, Eric!..As usual, you don’t speak a lot, but when you do, it’s worth listening (or reading).
Give Amy our love as well.
Mike

You can call me Mike & you can call me Mikey…Just remember that this site’s about sharing!

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Nice post Eric. Seems like many people forget what this holiday is all about. The barbecues and the camping trips are all fine and good ,but lets not forget the men and women who have defended our freedom to allow us to do these things. In all wars and conflicts they have suffered injuries and made the ultimate sacrifice for democracy. May we all treasure the heritage of freedom that all have fought so bravely for. And lets not forget those still in harms way.

Thank you Eric for your service to this great country. And I thank all other men and women past and present who have and are serving the U.S.A. God bless you all.

Rocky

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Here’s a poem by Autumn Parker that fits in here.

“I’ve Got Your Back!”

I am a small and precious child, my dads been sent to fight…
The only place I’ll see his face, is in my dreams at night.
He will be gone too many days for my young mind to keep track.
I may be sad, but I am proud.
My daddy’s got your back.

I am a caring mother. My son has gone to war…
My mind is filled with worries that I have never known before.
Every day I try to keep my thoughts from turning black.
I may be scared, but I am proud.
My son has got your back.

I am a strong and loving wife, with a husband who had to go.
There are times I’m terrified in a way most never know.
I bite my lip, and force a smile as I watch my husband pack…
My heart may break, but I am proud.
My husband’s got your back…

I am a soldier… Serving Proudly, standing tall.
I fight for freedom, yours and mine by answering this call.
I do my job while knowing, the thanks it sometimes lacks.
Say a prayer that I’ll come home.
It’s me who’s got your back.

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Memorial Day!
Always rembember, take time to reflect and give thanks to an active service person and veteran. They more than deserve it, we can be very proud to be Free People.

There is much that has been done by these fine folks and much in the making that will continue to make all life everywhere worth living to it’s fullest! UNITED WE STAND! Show it by Giving a River of Thanks with Honor to our troops!
[url=http://www.oldihc.org/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3113:bc75c]http://www.oldihc.org/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3113[/url:bc75c]

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I watched Saving Private Ryan on TNT last night and Glory on the History Channel today. I don’t know anyone that can watch those movies and keep a dry eye. Gettysburg is about an hour’s drive from our home. 53,000 men fell there in three days of battle. The horrible suffering must have been crushing to all involved in that battle. I thank God everday for the courage of all of our vets, living and dead, for without them I wouldn’t have the liberties I have today. When asked why I joined the U.S. Army I let this be my answer:

Why Are You Marching, Son? I’d really like to know!
Is it because of Valley Forge, or perhaps the Alamo?
Or, “One if by land–two if by sea,”
A trumpet’s call…the will to be free?
And what of a man who stood straight and tall,
Who wept silent tears when he saw brave men fall?
No matter–no difference–the blue or the gray,
All were his brothers…how often he’d pray.
And what of Antietam–that now peaceful stream
Where the water, blood-red, glittered and gleamed?
Appomattox…Chickamauga…Vicksburg…Bull Run…
Cumberland…Gettysburg…and then Washington.
Why Are You Marching, Son?

In Flanders Fields, how proud were they
Whose forms beneath the poppies lay.
Men who saw Verdun…
And died at the Marne…Soissons…
And those who tried the fearful foe at Chateau-Thierry,
Who fought and bled…whose hearts grew weary,
But in whose minds one thought kept churning–
That the torch of liberty keep burning.
Why Are You Marching, Son?

The planes swarmed in, and the rising sun
Glowed fiercely on the evil done
To men whose blood runs through our veins,
Men who died, and whose remains
Lie forever locked in waters deep.
Now, is it right that they should sleep
While the warm sea laps at a twisted hull
And see the torch of liberty grow dull?
Anzio…Cassino…and the Po!
St. Mere Eglise…Le Mans…St. Lo!
Gardelegen…Buchenwald…
On and on the roll is called!
And why?..Why Are You Marching, Son?

Bugles shrilled in the frozen night,
And at first dawn, the awful sight
Of seas of men…row after row,
Left to die on blood-stained snow!
Pusan…Pyongyang…Suwan…Kyongju!
And blood-red ran the swift Yalu!

In South Vietnam the big guns roared,
And once again we fought a war
To honor a pledge our nation gave
To help that little country save
Her people from the certainty
That she’d be ruled by tyranny.

No matter where the big guns roar,
Our fighting men, like those before,
Take the torch we all hold dear
And face freedom’s enemies without fear.
Our fathers died from sea to sea,
And blessed the torch of liberty.
Why?..Why Are You Marching, Son?

Thank you John Wayne. The Armed Forces refused his enlistment because of his badly injured hip. I stand with you and him in honoring our fallen comrades in arms.

Eric “nighthawk”
" All gave some, some gave all. Some stood through for the red, white and blue and some had to fall. If you ever think of me, think of all your liberties and recall, Some gave all". Thanks to Billy Ray Cyrus and all our fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.
American veteran and proud of it!

[This message has been edited by nighthawk (edited 28 May 2006).]