Veterans, Thanks for Serving

[Paul McGaha]

Tomorrow is Memorial Day.

Veterans, Thanks for serving.

PHM

[Bruce Wrenn]

Veteran's Day is in November. Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It is to honor those who DIDN"T make it back. Please take a few moments and learn the difference.

[Jim O'Dell]

The sentiment is still there. And in spite of so many that didn't come home, we still have those that have and do serve in our military. And they are still to be thanked for that.
I knew a Paul McGaha back home in high school. You are about the right age if you've been married for 33 years. You're not from Oklahoma are you? Jim.

[Paul McGaha]

Jim,

No I'm not from Oklahoma. I was born and raised in Louisiana. I've lived in Virginia since 1987.

PHM

[Dick Latshaw]

Veteran's Day is in November. Tomorrow is Memorial Day. It is to honor those who DIDN"T make it back. Please take a few moments and learn the difference.

Well, if you want to get picky about it, it was, originally, to honor the Union dead of the Civil War.

[Belinda Barfield]

Well, if you want to get picky about it, it was, originally, to honor the Union dead of the Civil War.

Yesterday I was checking the time for the ceremony today at the Beaufort National Cemetery. Learned the following, which I found very interesting. From the website:

In May 1987, souvenir hunters using metal detectors on Folly’s Island near Charleston discovered the remains of 19 Union soldiers. The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology identified the remains as members of the 55th Regiment and the 1st North Carolina Infantry. Both units were composed of black troops who fought with the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. The 1989 Memorial Day program at Beaufort National Cemetery featured the reinterment of the remains of these 19 Union soldiers missing in action since 1863.

[Mike Archambeau]

This morning I will attend a parade to celebrate Memorial Day. We live in a small town and many people will come out to enjoy the music and sights.

My 9 year old son will wave his flag and salute the veterans who are marching. We are very grateful to those who have served and the freedom they made possible. I am going now to hang our flag on the front porch.

[Dave Anderson NH]

At 0900 this morning I attended the Memorial Day services at one of the 2 veterans memorials in the center of our town Chester, NH. This memorial is next to the village cemetary where flags fly in front to the graves of citizens who served. The earliest are a few dozen graves of the 225 men of Chester who gave us freedom during the Revolutionary War. Our town is fortunate, the newest to have a flag is from Vietnam. Across the street is the statue of the Civil War soldier carrying the names of those who served from 1861 to 1865.

I asked for and was given the opportunity to read aloud the names of the friends I served with who were lost. I was able to avoid crying but by the end of the list I was shaking. The list of my friends who gave all is in the thread Memorial Day- Lest we Forget. Please remember my friends. The price of freedom is high, these men paid your share.

[Michael Mills]

Just to reflect on what our veterans (alive and dead) have given us.
I do know this day is to honor those who gave all.
I did not write this myself.

Veterans

It is the Veteran, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Veteran, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Veteran, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Veteran, not the social organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the Veteran, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Veteran, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

For those veterans who've passed on…
Grant them eternal rest and let perpetual light shine upon them.


This following poem was by a Canadian officer. I remember learning it in the 6th grade. Do schools still teach this?

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

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.