Thank you to all Veterans of the United States Armed Forces

[JonathanDunbar]

Well,

Its another Memorial Day coming up and the Military Channel is putting on some nice programmig. I will be watching all day long; the parades, the documentaries, and the special, 'The Making of Adolf Hitler'. All on Monday, all day long.

https://military.discovery.com/

I watched a program yesterday about service men who stormed the Normandy beaches and their return to the beach some 60 years later. These men were old, frail, and with one foot in the grave...

... but they were men, they were Warriors. Some of them broke down having never before discussed their experiences for over 60 years. One Warrior, searched the American cemetery for a paratrooper that died on D-Day. He found his dead friend's grave and placed a coin on top of the white America facing cross ... I teared up.

I don't say these things to make you think better of me, I say them to honor those who risked and sacrificed all for Democracy; for the chance that people can make decisions for themselves... what a concept, that isn't the case today.

I won't go into the state of our modern day society because that is political and most Americans are scared to look themselves in the mirror, but I will say this:

Thank you for all that have served. I don't care if you were a clerk in a depot, a cook 500 miles behind friendly lines, or the man or woman who never came home, who was never found. The price of freedom is blood. The blood of people who will never know me nor I them. For those of you who understand the true price of freedom and the responcibilities associated with it and who have served or had a family member serve, God Bless You and God Bless our Warriors!


I make it a point that when I travel and I see a uniformed Warrior, I approach them and thank them for their service for America ... and you want to know a deep secret of mine? I really do believe it when I tell them thank you.

Jonathan
USAF - A3C Crew Chief C-141b Starlifters and C-5b Galixies - Inactive

 

[Shade]

Thank you and thank you for your service.

Ron Lemke
USN - DC2(SW) 1985-1991
Desert Storm August 1990 - March 1991
Just another tin can snipe (for those who understand )

 

[KennB]

As always, my thanks to all who have served our country. Especially this weekend, the honored dead.

And thanks to luke for not making this another political thread (well, at least for half a posting anyway).

 

[JonathanDunbar]

As always, my thanks to all who have served our country. Especially this weekend, the honored dead.

And thanks to luke for not making this another political thread (well, at least for half a posting anyway).

Ken,

I know I know ... politics bad, but damn it, EVERYTHING we do has politics involved. Wether it be at the National level or in the home. We all have rules, doctrines, and charters that we run our lives by. I thinks its completely illogical to try and seperate the two (life/politics).

Enough politics. Like I said, this thread was to thank American Veterans.
That is all!

Jonathan

 

[Fred22]

Like many Canadians My family has both American roots and relatives. Many of these Have served in America's Armed Forces some paying the ultimate price. To them and all of America's vets past and present I wish to express my deepest respect and gratidude.

 

[n5wd]

To the folks I served with... and to our absent comrades.



Wayne
USAF 1969-1976 (Vietnam 70-71)
TxArmyNG 1978-1981

 

[BigRiJoe]

For the Vietnam Vet that thanks is belated I have "fond" memories of walking down a tarmac, being pelted with eggs and spit, and called a "baby killer." Not a lot of "God Bless The Troops" in 1972. Not being bitter, just observant amd honest

 

[Shade]

For the Vietnam Vet that thanks is belated I have "fond" memories of walking down a tarmac, being pelted with eggs and spit, and called a "baby killer." Not a lot of "God Bless The Troops" in 1972. Not being bitter, just observant amd honest

How you were treated is unexcusable. I have a friend from Malaysia, he was
glad we did what we did in VN, because of You and all who served in VN, the
communists never made it to Malaysia.

 

[Viperfixr]

For the Vietnam Vet that thanks is belated I have "fond" memories of walking down a tarmac, being pelted with eggs and spit, and called a "baby killer." Not a lot of "God Bless The Troops" in 1972. Not being bitter, just observant amd honest

Completely shameful behavior from fellow Americans (supposedly); I am amazed you held your composure--not sure I would have. Luckily, I think we've learned from that and now it seems we're finally getting it right this time around. It warms my heart whenever I walk into a tent or pre-fab and see a banner from school kids back home.

A few minutes ago I talked to a USAF Public Affairs officer that was a few yards from an indirect fire impact here at Kandahar--his hearing is still screwed up, but he escaped major injury. The same can't be said for some others a little closer.

The price for our freedom and that of others is still being paid daily.

 

[KDRaven]

I would like to thank all the Veterans that were before me and those who are after me. THANKS.

Keith Ravenstein
USN, ET2 1983 -1992
Desert Storm

 

[RimfireJim]

This happens every year about this time, and not just on TRF: confusing the meaning of Memorial Day and Veterans Day. The purpose of the former is to honor the war dead; the latter, all armed forces veterans, living or dead. I commend ya'll's appreciation for all veterans, but IMHO doing so as part of Memorial Day diminishes the significance of the holiday.

(Shade - I know what a tin can snipe is I was on an AOE.)

 

[Zeus-cat]

Good post RimfireJim.

A salute to all of our fallen heroes.

 

[o1d_dude]

For the Vietnam Vet that thanks is belated I have "fond" memories of walking down a tarmac, being pelted with eggs and spit, and called a "baby killer." Not a lot of "God Bless The Troops" in 1972. Not being bitter, just observant amd honest

Sounds like you landed "back in the World" at the Oakland airport. I'd like to think California had more class than that but it's what I saw, too.

The prejudice against VN vets is still there today. Go to a Veteran's Day parade and look at all the nice WWII and Korean vets marching in uniform and such. They are inevitably followed up by a route step group of VN vets.

A lot of those guys never got a chance to wind down. They were just sent home when they rotated out.

"In 72 hours I went from a free fire zone to the Twilight Zone."

Needless to say, a lot of them didn't do very well back on the block and there was no help for them then and not much today. They either made it or they didn't.

I used to work with a guy who was a trip wire vet. Lived out in the woods for years before he finally came in out of the bush and got help. He became a Veterans Representative at one of our Employment Services offices and his job became bringing folks like himself "home".

Sad state of affairs, innit?

 

[GaryT]

Much! Respect goes out to all the men and women past present and future who have served, sacrificed and died for our country.... Thank you.

 

[bradycros]

Thanks to those who have gone before me.
Thanks to those I have served with.
Thanks to those who are now defending my freedom.

Todd Brady
USAF NCO, Retired 1980-2000
Electronic Security Command
Air Intelligence Agency
National Security Agency

 

[Shade]

(Shade - I know what a tin can snipe is I was on an AOE.)

AOE, seeing you guys always made us warm and fuzzy.

 

[Evo666]

Thanks to all those who is serving, served, or lost their lives.



Army C 5-52 ADA 2000 - 2004

 

[ScrapDaddy]

One man has said it better than anyone else in history, a speech that began like this:

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 battle-field 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. - Abraham Lincoln :clap:

SD

 

[stantonjtroy]

To all I served with. In particular to those no longer with us:
My Grandfather William Stanton Sr. 1st ID Battle of the bulge WWII. He came home but was never the same.
Cpl. Matthew Wallace. US Cavelry Scout killed in Iraq when his Bradley was hit with an IED. He was 22.
Maj. Ed Murphy. Killed in Afghanistan when his Helicopter went down. He was 36.

May our sons and daughter never know what war is.

J. Troy Stanton, Ktrp 3/3 ACR 1989-1994

 

[karlbaum]

Thanks to all the missile warriors. A special thanks to the Glickem warriors. Thanks that we never had to go toe to toe with the Soviets. I never thought I'd see the day.

 

[nukemmcssret]

I also want to thanks all of you for serving our great country. Idid for 20 yrs. In the USN Submarines.
Nukemmcssret