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Veterans Day 2010- A Thank You |
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rivet
Left BSB in Disgrace Joined: 13 May 2009 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1017 |
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Posted: 11 November 2010 at 10:02 |
To all Veteran's on this day: A singular and proud Airborne Salute from me to you on this day to recognize us, the veteran's. Thank you for your service and your call to duty. From one to another.
I'd also like to share a neat article I ran across today. It fits.
Drew Brees: WWII vets still deserve our attention By Drew Brees
As with many men in their 30s, the demands of building a career and family mean my gaze is focused on what's ahead, not what's behind. I do, however, enjoy reading about history — especially military history. But it took a trip to Okinawa, Japan, to make me realize the deep, if not always visible, connection between America's youngest generations and its "Greatest" one.
In April 1945, Okinawa became the site of one of World War II's bloodiest battles between invading U.S. forces and the defending Japanese. My grandfather, Ray Akins— then a 19-year-old Marine from Brady, Texas — was in the thick of it. As I walked around the island I realized I was walking in his footsteps. I stood at the spot where my grandfather stormed the beach with the 1st Marine Division. I imagined the noise and death surrounding the soldiers as they first set foot on the island. Listen to the vets Suddenly, a rush of emotion came over me, and I had to know what my grandfather was thinking at that moment. So I called him, from that very spot. I told him where I was, and with tears rolling down my face, I asked him to recall that day. "I was 19 years old on April 1, 1945, and my birthday was in May. I was just trying to live to be 20," he told me. I will never forget that conversation, and neither will the future generations of my family. Had a Japanese bullet killed my grandfather, I would not be here. Nor would my sons. When I returned home, my grandfather told me more stories about the war: the surge of patriotism after Pearl Harbor; his boot camp in San Diego; his adventures in China and his encounters in the Pacific. I met more veterans when I joined the board of the National World War II Museum , the New Orleans institution that Congress designated to honor and preserve the stories and deeds of the Greatest Generation for the future. Listening to the veterans' experiences moved me greatly. All Americans should hear them. Especially our kids. But they need to be heard soon. Thank them, too These veterans are leaving us. Now in their 80s and 90s, they are dying at the rate of 797 a day, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. I urge families to seek out these veterans. Thank them for their service. Ask them questions. Let your children listen. They will learn about battles fought in Burmese jungles and on Italian hills. Hear of the heroism displayed on Normandy's beaches and in submarines beneath the Pacific. And it wasn't just the soldiers. Millions of American women streamed into the factories to build planes, tanks and ships so vital to our victory. These women symbolized the "we can do it" spirit of the home front. For me, the most valuable lesson children will learn from WWII veterans is the value of teamwork and the idea that if we all pull together, we can accomplish great things. The Super Bowl victory last year by my team, the New Orleans Saints, pales in comparison with what ordinary men and women achieved 70 years ago. To them, it didn't seem remarkable. But it was remarkable. America's freedom was endangered. They fought for it, and they saved it. And our children need to know it. Our vanishing WWII vets can teach them that a nation, united and working together, can secure any victory. As we celebrate Veterans Day today, visit with a member of the Greatest Generation and invite him or her to share some memories. Sit. And listen. You'll find yourself walking in the footsteps of heroes. Drew Brees is the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. |
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TasunkaWitko
Administrator aka The Gipper Joined: 10 June 2003 Location: Chinook Montana Status: Offline Points: 14749 |
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TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana
Helfen, Wehren, Heilen Die Wahrheit wird euch frei machen |
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Igbo Foo
Administrator .14 Flea Joined: 15 August 2003 Status: Offline Points: 567 |
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Fella's; Yeah, my dad died in 2005 at the age of 85. He was with the 1st Marine division when they invaded Guadalcanal. You could still see the scars from the jungle ulcers on his feet to the day he died. He never complained about 'em though. My neighbor, who's a full-time Air Guard employee came by the house yesterday with his wife. They brought me a Veteran's Day mini flower pot with star-shaped sugar cookies on sticks in it. Big, thick, frosted cookies too! They're gone now. Anyway, the point being that it was one of the very few times I've been thanked for my service that I felt that it was neither just a throwaway statement or lip service. I've gotta think of something like that to do in the future myself. 900F 900F |
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Wombat Snorgging: Australia's mystery perversion, Elvis's secret shame.
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Irish Bird Dog
.416 Rigby Too many Joined: 01 March 2009 Location: Midwest Status: Offline Points: 5511 |
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Thank You... to all you Vets reading this post!
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Irish Bird Dog
NRA Life/Endowment 2nd Amendment Supporter |
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Rockydog
Administrator Joined: 13 June 2003 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 3191 |
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I spent last week visiting my son in California. On Wednesday we went to see the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. I just happened to be walking down the aisle of the Air Force One plane that RR used when one of the guides told us there'd be a moments delay. Seems that two gentlemen ahead of us were reminiscing about WWII. They'd never met before that day. One had served in Patton's 3rd Army the other was flying scouting missions in a Mustang overhead. As I passed through I got to shake both of their hands and thank them for their service. The Aviator served 27 years in the AF and is now a guide at the RR Library. What a great day! Celebrating the Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall at the RR Library with my US Navy Diver son, his wife, my wife and my 3 grandsons and getting to meet a couple of WWII vets besides. RD
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When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
Thomas Jefferson |
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rivet
Left BSB in Disgrace Joined: 13 May 2009 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1017 |
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Igboo, sorry to hear about your dad. He certainly was a hero in the very real sense of the word. He and his buddies did things as a matter of course that are incredible. They certainly deserve rememberance. My dad was an Army machine gunner, who was on the Army follow-on forces in Guadalcanal after your dad took the island. He manned one of the machine gun points on the 4 corners of Lunga Point, later named Henderson Field. By the way, no lie on the jungle ulcers on your dad's feet. My dad still has ringworm scars on his torso from there. Small world, isn't it? Maybe they even met, in passing...who knows? |
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