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Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
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smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
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[ QUOTE ]
...And, you've GOT to go see Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers". I saw it last weekend, a very touching, haunting story of the 5 flag raisers at Iwo Jima....
[/ QUOTE ]
There's an old Johnny Cash song - The Ballad of Ira Hayes - that will break your heart. It's the poetic-license (yet true) version of the last years of Hayes's life. Sad.
Just to add my 2 cents' worth overall: I'm a 53-year old Army Reservist. Went on active duty during Viet Nam (didn't go - this was 1972 and drawdowns were about done) and spent 10 years in; came back in after 14 years away. I'm now learning Arabic in order to keep up to speed in this latest shoot-em-up.
I'll say this: While I'm one of those who thinks we need to reinstitute the draft (and I'm a hard-core, left-leaning, bleeding heart liberal) - there's something to be said for an all-volunteer force. On the one hand, these kids today are overweight, underworked, spoiled, and know of discipline as some vague concept somewhere in Webster's. On the other hand, at least 98% of them are here to serve. (College money and bonuses don't hurt, but "volunteer" isn't a literal term so I cut them slack on this.) The spirit is there; it's just undirected.
IMHO, every generation of Americans has the ability to be great. The problem is one that plagues every generation: lack of Leadership. NB: This isn't a political statement, it's an observation of human nature. God willing, our kids won't face what our fathers and grandfathers faced. If they do they'll do what Americans have always done: Prevail.
We owe everything to the WWII generation. It's on us to make sure our own kids know it.
R.
...And, you've GOT to go see Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers". I saw it last weekend, a very touching, haunting story of the 5 flag raisers at Iwo Jima....
[/ QUOTE ]
There's an old Johnny Cash song - The Ballad of Ira Hayes - that will break your heart. It's the poetic-license (yet true) version of the last years of Hayes's life. Sad.
Just to add my 2 cents' worth overall: I'm a 53-year old Army Reservist. Went on active duty during Viet Nam (didn't go - this was 1972 and drawdowns were about done) and spent 10 years in; came back in after 14 years away. I'm now learning Arabic in order to keep up to speed in this latest shoot-em-up.
I'll say this: While I'm one of those who thinks we need to reinstitute the draft (and I'm a hard-core, left-leaning, bleeding heart liberal) - there's something to be said for an all-volunteer force. On the one hand, these kids today are overweight, underworked, spoiled, and know of discipline as some vague concept somewhere in Webster's. On the other hand, at least 98% of them are here to serve. (College money and bonuses don't hurt, but "volunteer" isn't a literal term so I cut them slack on this.) The spirit is there; it's just undirected.
IMHO, every generation of Americans has the ability to be great. The problem is one that plagues every generation: lack of Leadership. NB: This isn't a political statement, it's an observation of human nature. God willing, our kids won't face what our fathers and grandfathers faced. If they do they'll do what Americans have always done: Prevail.
We owe everything to the WWII generation. It's on us to make sure our own kids know it.
R.
