Jetjok

On the eve of Memorial Day, let's all take a few minutes and remember those who had their lives taken from them in defense of our country and way of life. For all those still serving, THANKS for your service. For those who served, THANKS for your contribution to our society.

JJ

These heroes are dead. They died for liberty - they died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest. Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace. In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death. I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead: cheers for the living; tears for the dead. ~Robert G. Ingersoll

MaydayMark

I'll second that thought . Like Capt. "O" says, "Home of the free because of the brave."

Ranger

I'm thinking about a few good friends who made the ultimate sacrifice. I'll pay a visit to a couple of them at Ft. Benning in August. Where do we find such men? And now, women.

Rangers lead the way!

Auger In

My deepest heartfelt gratitude to all those who gave their today so we could have our tomorrow.

Long live Nav Air

JetJocF14

AMEN Brother.

Cooter

It is too bad this country's masses who see this as just another day off from work aren't forced to walk through the cemeteries at Arlington, Ft Sam Houston, et al to give them some real perspective and appreciation for this nation's heroes--all who have served.

Auger In

One of the saddest and most disturbing occasions on Memorial Day that I remember happened in south TX (Kingsville). I lived in an apartment complex with hundreds of tenants. Every Memorial Day I would always put up an American flag on my door. It was the first one up and the last one down. The only other flag posted anywhere in the entire apartment complex was my next-door neighbor who was a sim instructor from the base and a Vietnam vet Navy Huey pilot. I walked to the front office of the apartment complex to pay my rent and asked the woman working the front desk if she had any special plans for the holiday. She replied, "What holiday?" Then, I met a family at the mailboxes while retrieving some old mail and asked them if they were staying in town this holiday. They didn't speak English so I asked them in Spanish. They replied, "Holiday? What holiday?" I then went to the super-Wal Mart in town to buy another brandy snifter so I could make a toast that evening. My old brandy snifter broke. When I went to the check out counter and asked the cashier was it an unusually busy day due to the holiday, he replied, "What holiday?" I was really disturbed at what I heard and saw that day... or maybe more so, what I didn't hear or see. All of these people were living less than two miles from a Navy jet training base, which over the decades, trained thousands of young men and women who risked their lives to ensure our freedom and to protect our way of life. Many died doing just that. Yet, none of the folks I talked with that day seemed to care or even know what Memorial Day was or why it was being celebrated. To them it was just a convenient day off from work on a Monday. It was such an appalling example of the lazy, apathetic, and disinterested portion of our society who relish their freedoms and quality of life yet, do not care about honoring those who died or who were maimed fighting for it.

Two weeks later a student pilot and an instructor collided during a formation hop. The student was killed. The instructor ejected but was seriously injured.

I still have that brandy snifter. This evening... I'll be making another toast.

Zapata

I agree with the sentiment of your post. However, I believe that a significant factor in this apathy is the fact that Memorial Day is so commercialized and that we are so bombarded with incessant advertisements. To me, there shouldn't be any "Super Duper Savings Memorial Day Sales Events" et al.

brown snowman

To all the military guys on the board,
a big THANK YOU for your service to our great country.
May God bless you and your family.

FR8Hauler

I went down to 29 Stumps and saw my son off to Iraq with 2/7 a few months ago. When you look at these young steely eyed men that serve our country today it gives you hope.