Memorial Day

[NutmegCT]

One of the absolute best things I've ever read about Memorial Day, written by someone who lost many friends. They didn't "give" their lives; their lives were taken from them.

* * * * *

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day we have set aside to honor by remembering all the Americans who have died fighting for the thing we like the most about our America: the freedom we have to live as we please.

No official day to remember is adequate for something like that. It's too formal. It gets to be just another day on the calendar. No one would know from Memorial Day that Richie M., who was shot through the forehead coming onto Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, wore different color socks on each foot because he thought it brought him good luck.

No one would remember on Memorial Day that Eddie G. had promised to marry Julie W. the day after he got home from the war, but didn’t marry Julie because he never came home from the war. Eddie was shot dead on an un-American desert island, Iwo Jima.

For too many Americans, Memorial Day has become just another day off. There's only so much time any of us can spend remembering those we loved who have died, but the men, boys really, who died in our wars deserve at least a few moments of reflection during which we consider what they did for us.

They died.

We use the phrase "gave their lives," but they didn’t give their lives. Their lives were taken from them.

There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity - war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people.

Because I was in the Army during World War II, I have more to remember on Memorial Day than most of you. I had good friends who were killed.

Charley Wood wrote poetry in high school. He was killed when his Piper Cub was shot down while he was flying as a spotter for the artillery.

Bob O'Connor went down in flames in his B-17.

Obie Slingerland and I were best friends and co-captains of our high school football team. Obie was killed on the deck of the Saratoga when a bomb that hadn’t dropped exploded as he landed.

I won’t think of them anymore tomorrow, Memorial Day, than I think of them any other day of my life.

Remembering doesn’t do the remembered any good, of course. It's for ourselves, the living. I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future if we don’t find some new way - some new religion maybe - that takes war out of our lives.

That would be a Memorial Day worth celebrating.

Written by Andy Rooney, 2005.

* * * * *
Monday is Memorial Day. Let us all remember its purpose.
Tom

 

[terriphill]

Thank you! Truer words cannot be written.

 

[SteveTR]

Nutmeg,

I must disagree. Andy Rooney was quite a writer before appearing on the liberal show "60 Minutes". He was allowed to fly with the 8th Air Force in raids over Germany in WW II. Mr. Rooney has a better grasp of English than I, but I differ with the idea of giving and taking. I too have served, and I too have lost friends that were destined for Major League baseball and PTA meetings, and all the in between. My friends chose to be in "hot spots". They had their lives on the line out of duty. I strongly urge you to poll your friends that served about giving and taking, and then for fun poll your friends that never ate MRE's or never saw the stars at night on a holiday and wondered about things back home. Try it.

Cheers, and a salute to all who served,

Steve

 

[tony barnhill]

Gotta fall in with Steve on this one....having served in 2 wars, I've seen brave young men <span style="text-decoration: underline">give</span> their lives for their comrades; and as a wounded veteran, I know the difference between "give" & "take".

Every member of our military is a volunteer...they join without being coerced; nobody forces them to put on a uniform and place themselves in harms way when called upon to do so. They do so freely, many of them combat tour after combat tour.

When I first read Andy Rooney's piece back when, I thought <span style="font-style: italic">"how disrespectful to all the generations of young Americans who have given their lives so that he has the freedon to write what he did"</span>!

And he doesn't have any more to remember on Memorial Day than any other American! Pretentious snot that he was!

And remembering does do the remembered good: it validates their sacrifice and reminds us to try to make this a "more perfect union" with every breath of our being. Though I do agree that a single day isn't adequate to remember their sacrifice.

Sorry, just an old veteran's ramblings.....

 

[Basil]

Fella's I don't want to turn this into a debate and I usually would not opine on such things, but I will make an exception this once (it's my forum, I can do that). [Delete delete] ... On second thought, no I won't. I'll just say that I hope everyone has a safe memorial day and remember those who serve and have served living and dead.

 

[tony barnhill]

Tom - Andy Rooney was a writer for the <span style="font-style: italic">Stars and Stripes</span> during WWII....he never experienced combat (though, as Steve said, he rode along on a few flights over the English Channel to "get a feel" for war!), he never saw anybody give their life in combat...he only knows of some who did - some who he knew before the war or about whom he researched afterwards.....& from 1941 until 1943, he experienced WWII from the safety of his London office!

He never ate MRE's (or K-rations in those days) & he never looked up at the stars on a Christmas Eve from a foxhole all the way around the world from home and loved ones!

We don't mean to denigrate your honored memories of our glorified war dead, we just have differing opinions based on our combat experiences.

& thanks for remembering.

 

[mailbox]

For the record, I have never been to war, shot at, killed, or have seen anyone die by violent means. I have never been in the military but have the utmost respect for those who served their country and those who "gave" their live in duty to that country. Mr. Roony's comments seem a bit bitter. No one "wants" to fight in a war. Mr. Roony says their lives were taken from them. I disagree. Anyone of those fine young men he listed could have refused service. They would have gone to jail and been disgraced, but they would be alive. No, they "gave" their lives in service to their country. Would it been better for Eddie G to have died fighting on "American soil". I have always wondered how I might react knowing I might die fighting in war. Would I be as brave as those before me? Would I run and cower behind a wall or something? I thank God for the Eddies and the Richies everyday so that I don't have to answer those questions.

 

[Sherlock]

<span style="font-weight: bold">WHAT IS A VET</span>

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.

Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept our nation safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He’s the cop on the beat who spent six months in Bosnia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of heroic bravery.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for months.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another-or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the drill instructor who has never seen combat-but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and slackers into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the Unknown Soldier in The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, whose presence must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket … palsied now and aggravatingly slow … who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being – a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of those who take freedom for granted.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU." Remember November 11th is Remembrance Day!

"It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag."

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">The passage above was written by a military chaplain. It serves as a reminder for all of us on Remembrance Day</span></span>

As heard on the QR77 radio station in November 2006...

 

[Don_R]

Sherlock,

Thank you.

I have spent 28 months in the mid east and 3 years behind the Berlin Wall (RA). What you said here I feel. I understood that the cost of my service was up to and including my life. It may be just me but, I have been embarrased when people thanked me for my service. Again It may be just me but I understood what the cost of my service was and feel this way because others don't understand my level of sacrifice. I have freely given this and even now am trying to continue this sacrifice for the benefit of all (currently trying for a 3rd tour of the mid east)

To all thank you and to Basil please forgive as it is Memorial Day and I have finished all my Scotch in rememberance of my Military Bretheren.


Don R
HHB 1/109th FA PA NG

 

[terriphill]

Nutmeg,
I must disagree. Andy Rooney was quite a writer before appearing on the liberal show "60 Minutes". He was allowed to fly with the 8th Air Force in raids over Germany in WW II. Mr. Rooney has a better grasp of English than I, but I differ with the idea of giving and taking. I too have served, and I too have lost friends that were destined for Major League baseball and PTA meetings, and all the in between. My friends chose to be in "hot spots". They had their lives on the line out of duty. I strongly urge you to poll your friends that served about giving and taking, and then for fun poll your friends that never ate MRE's or never saw the stars at night on a holiday and wondered about things back home. Try it.
Cheers, and a salute to all who served,

Steve

I truly hope that this did not offend those of you who have served...I was not in the military and I do not have any friends who served either. My generation was sort of "between wars" and our perspective is quite different from those of you who have "been there".
Our parents were young during WWI and served in Vietnam. By the time the 1st Gulf War arrived we were out of college and raising our kids....Our perspective has always been that we respect those who defend us, we recognize their commitment and willingness to serve, but at the same time...we had dreamed they would not ever have to do so again.
We had hoped it was over. That there would be another way to live our lives without the sacrifice of our sons.

I interpreted Andy Rooney's comments to reflect our overwhelming desire for mankind to find a way to get past the need for this type of commitment.
Maybe one day.. if not in my life then in the lives of my children. Until that time...For those of you are on those lines..THANK YOU!

 

[DrEntropy]

POW-MIA flag flyin' outside th' hovel. Scotch consumed in honor of brethren. Some fallen, some not. I remember.

I remember names, faces, gladness and sadness. The mixtures of mirth and terror. Things like: "in-country", "FNG", pink muzzle flash in a sea of dark green jungle from a few hundred feet above. I remember trying to catch some shut-eye lying under mosquito netting, hearing and being amazed at all the sounds of a jungle. I know the sound of a 'klink' on full auto. I remember bein' FIGMO, being pelted with tomatoes and eggs on arriving "back in the World" because I was in uniform walking through the airport... and by that time the war had ended.

The necessity of armed conflict sucks. Those who recognise the need and stand up prepared to satisfy it are honorable folk. It's a rare day that passes without some influence of my time in service, this 'holiday' just puts it more to the fore. It took the return of the folks from the first Gulf war to turn attitudes toward veterans back to something acceptable. Until that happened that part of life was usually left out of any conversation or correspondence. I don't like being "thanked", it's embarrassing... but being thought of as "a MAC trained baby killer" was a lot worse.

And to all who serve now and those who have in past, salute.

For those who haven't: we don't look for 'thanks', just common respect. For that, WE will thank YOU.

 

[bugimike]

A life "given" or a life "taken" is still a life LOST! The loss of life in duty served in the defense of the ideals we all cherish is a life to be honored and remembered. We not only honor those recently lost in action, but all those who have died in the service of their country throughout our history. Without their sacrifices this nation would not be what represents today! Thanks to all who serve!

 

[TR6oldtimer]

The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but Posts and comrades will, in their own way, arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

During the Civil War, the fallen were usually buried near or even where they fell, placed in individual or mass graves. With the loss of 620,000 Americans from battle and disease, it is not hard to imagine how many, and how common were the burial sites across the region. Decoration Day was established to honor those who died and were interred so far from home.

Whether a war and the resulting loss of life is a waste all depends on what happens after the war, and that is in the hands of the politicians and the people who put them in a position of power. What the politician does, does not detract from the heroism and valor of the military who went into harms way at the beckoning of their country.

This is the special day we set aside long ago to remember all who gave the ultimate for us.

A view of the USS Midway from Fort Rosecrans.