It's Memorial Day weekend.
Thread Rating:
May 22nd, 2020 at 12:51:10 PM
permalink
Please take a few moments to remember our war dead, without whom we wouldn't be here.
" Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men died to win them" FDR
" " As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them" JFK
If you truly wish to honor the Fallen, be the kind of American that is worth dying for.
Stay safe, and enjoy.
" Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men died to win them" FDR
" " As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them" JFK
If you truly wish to honor the Fallen, be the kind of American that is worth dying for.
Stay safe, and enjoy.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
May 22nd, 2020 at 1:51:37 PM
permalink
Quote: billryanPlease take a few moments to remember our war dead, without whom we wouldn't be here.
" Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that men died to win them" FDR
" " As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter the words, but to live by them" JFK
If you truly wish to honor the Fallen, be the kind of American that is worth dying for.
Stay safe, and enjoy.
As someone who is just young enough to have been of age when there was no draft, I cannot imagine those just a few years older than me being sent to Vietnam to risk their lives so the rest of us did not have to.
I want to thank all that gave the ultimate sacrifice of their life. And the rest of you who served who just were lucky enough to survive.
Whenever I come in contact with a Veteran that I am aware of, I ALWAYS thank them for their service.
So thank all my WoV friends who served!
May 22nd, 2020 at 9:25:29 PM
permalink
I was drafted into the U.S. Army in February 1969 and spent two years on active duty. The conflict in Vietnam was still running rather hot at that point, while there were continuing domestic protests at home. Several of my hometown friends had excruciating experiences in Asia during that period, and at least one of them did not return. Another had decades of emotional difficulties drawn from his experience.
However, I was never in a combat environment during my term of service, and the only occasions I left the country at all were free-time trips across the border into Juarez, Mexico for an afternoon/evening of entertainment. Except for the first few months after being drafted, I was able to have my wife living with me in conditions that were quite acceptable. Thus, my time in the military was nothing of the sort of sacrifice for which we typically express our thanks to those veterans. My attitude at the time focused on the disappointment that I could have been serving both my country and the U.S. Army much better if I had been allowed to continue in my civilian capacity with a government contractor developing missile propulsion systems.
For decades, I tended to avoid standing when veterans were invited to rise and be recognized, because I had never earned such a place. My service time was a delay to my career and an imposition on me financially, but it was nothing compared to others who served in the same period. I have only recently stooped so low as to use "Veterans Only" parking spaces at such places as the grocery store and Lowe's.
However, I was never in a combat environment during my term of service, and the only occasions I left the country at all were free-time trips across the border into Juarez, Mexico for an afternoon/evening of entertainment. Except for the first few months after being drafted, I was able to have my wife living with me in conditions that were quite acceptable. Thus, my time in the military was nothing of the sort of sacrifice for which we typically express our thanks to those veterans. My attitude at the time focused on the disappointment that I could have been serving both my country and the U.S. Army much better if I had been allowed to continue in my civilian capacity with a government contractor developing missile propulsion systems.
For decades, I tended to avoid standing when veterans were invited to rise and be recognized, because I had never earned such a place. My service time was a delay to my career and an imposition on me financially, but it was nothing compared to others who served in the same period. I have only recently stooped so low as to use "Veterans Only" parking spaces at such places as the grocery store and Lowe's.
