Memorial Day 2009: Giving thanks for those who made the ultimate sacrifice
Engraved on the Korean War Memorial:
Pearl Harbor:
The Blue Angels’ missing man formation:
Words and men I’ll never forget:
“Others have died for my freedom, now this is my mark.” – Cpl. Jeffrey B. Starr.
“He knew what he was fighting for.” – father of Lt. Michael P. Murphy.
“He felt that what we were doing was just and right.” – Charles Cummings, father of fallen hero Army PFC Branden Cummings, who died in an IED attack in Diyala, Iraq.
“I genuinely believe the United States Army is a force of good in this world.” – 2LT Mark Daily.
And from young Christian Golczynski, the young son of Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski:
Heather Golczynski and her 8-year-old son Christian hold tightly to the memory of Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski.
On March 27 [2007], just a few weeks before Marc Golczynski was to return home from his second tour in Iraq — one he volunteered for — he was shot on patrol and killed by enemy fire in al-Aanbar province.
During a moment at the burial, Christian stepped forward to receive the flag for his father. The expression of grief on his young face was captured in a photo and became a powerful symbol for soldiers, their families and anyone who sees it.
When asked about his dad by ABC News’ Chris Cuomo, Christian said, “He was a hero. He helped our country.”
…Just days before he left for his second tour, Marc sent a letter to his family that would be his epitaph.
“Due to our deep desire to finish the job we started, we fight and sometimes die so that our families don’t have to. Stand beside us because we would do it for you. Because it is our unity that’s enabled us to prosper the nation,” Marc wrote.
“Marc believed very much what he was doing was right,” [wife] Heather said.
Since Marc’s death, letters of support and gifts have poured in for the family. But for all that his father may now represent to others, to Christian, Dad is the man who spent time with him and played, and who was teaching him about being a soldier.
“He helped our country and tried to stop terrorists,” Christian said.
Give thanks to all who have given their lives in service to our great nation. Freedom is not free.
***
Taps
Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.
Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.
Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.
Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.
Thanks and praise,
For our days,
‘Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.
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- Thank you all for those who have served this country and made the ultimate sacrifice! | Fire Andrea Mitchell!
- Memorial Day 2009 - Remembering Fallen Heroes - The Underground Conservative
- Monday, May 25, 2009: Daily Handpicked Headlines :: Daily Uprising :: Join the Conservative Counter-Revolution!
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- Memorial Day 2009 … Remember & Honor Our Brave who Have Served and Sacrificed for Your Freedoms | Scared Monkeys
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I watched the “Memorial Day Concert” on PBS tonight, and bawled through the whole thing. It was hosted by Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinese. Very moving, and inspiring all at once. It was completely apolitical and all about the vets and those presently serving our country, as it should be. I’m glad I watched.
Thank you Michelle for this post. I do pray for all of our fallen and their families. Each generation seems to produce their own heroes and yet I am still amazed that our country produces such men and women who are willing to give their lives for this country. I hope I can live my life so as to honor their sacrifice.
God bless the men and women who have stepped into harm’s way to protect this country.
I’d also like to say R.I.P to my mom, who passed away on a Memorial Day long before I was ready to let her go. Sorry for the OT.
I watched The U.S. Air Force Reserve Band with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
If you’d like to see it, please read instructions below.
Gorgeous patriotic music along with some beautiful scenes from our Nations Capitol. Including a fly-over of the Statue of Liberty. (no New York City redidents were terrified out of their wits) And a neat story about a fallen hero. And a medly of all the songs of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.
Instructions:
Wait for Video Player to load (It should have tabs all across the top of the listings), then click on Sunday and play “Music and the Spoken Word” at 9:30 AM. You won’t regret it!
They are heros.
Thank God for them. I have lived a life of freedom because of their brave sacrifice. I am so grateful for men and women like them. More than words can express.
We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is but a fitting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free republic.
If our eyes grow dull, other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us.
Let us, then, at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of spring-time; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a sacred charge upon a nation’s gratitude, the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.
General Orders No.11, WASHINGTON, D.C., May 5, 1868
Thank you to all of our servicemen and women who fought to keep us safe and free and who also helped to make us the greatest country in the world. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!
I wish as I stand with head bowed thinking on all the men and women who have given their all that I and all teh rest of the people of the United States of America might live free I feel a nagging feeling that I don’t deserve it. The children of the people who fought the last great war in the 40s have left a sad legacy that has led to electing a totally destructive malign person to be President of the country.
Gentlemen and gentlewomen, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I wish my peers had done better with the chances you gave us all.
{o.o}
FWIW: I saw a feature at the end of Fox News Sunday yesterday about a retired soldier, whose name is Tom Day, who created an organization called Bugles Across America.
http://xeml.buglesacrossamerica.org/index.xeml
Since 2000, he’s arranged to provide a bugler to play live taps at the funeral of any active or retired member of the military. He seemed like a saint, and the segment was quite moving.
I found this article about his organization online.
http://www.marching.com/spotlight/bugles-across-america-veterans-day/
A loving thank you to all of our brave men and women, past and present, who are serving or who have served in the military, for keeping us safe and free. To their families, thank you for the sacrifices that you have endured. God bless you all. True heroes.
A simple thank you for those who sacrificed everything for our freedom. May Jesus wrap them in His loving embrace.
Martina McBride singing “God Bless America” at the 2002 Rose Bowl Parade.”
My youngest granddaughter sings along with this-I find it quite stirring.
Thanks Michelle for posting this beautiful and fitting tribute to all those who fallen.
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord,
And let perpetual Light shine upon them.
May their souls
And the souls of all the faithful departed
Through the Mercy of God
Rest in peace.
Amen.
Thank you for reminding us of the thoughts of those that have fallen in the service of this country. I pray there will always be those that have the courage and conviction to stand guard at the ramparts and protect this nation from all enemies foreign and domestic.
Taps was also known as “Butterfield’s Lullaby.” The bugle call was composed by the Union Army Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield, an American Civil War general who commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Division in the V Army Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Butterfield wrote the tune at Harrison’s Landing, Virginia, in July 1862. During every military funeral I have gone to (far too many for my tastes) the playing of Taps is the one thing to really put a lump in my throat. For those that have fallen in the service of our country this household will never forget their sacrifice.
Hand salute, SMSgt, USAF (retired)!
My words fail me when trying to express my gratitude to those who paid the price for our freedom.
We can never honor enough those who gave their lives in service to our country. Words just can never express our deep gratitude and appreciation. We pray for their families.
Fox just replayed that live bugler segment on their show this morning. My father was laid to rest in a national cemetary (beautiful one) to recorded taps. It was beautiful and we did not feel slighted. He was a WW2 vet, participated in the D Day invasion. Most of the men on his little boat never made it off the beach.
The price that was paid in blood and horror for my freedom I feel unworthy of. Truly a debt of gratitude that can never be paid.
Thank you to all our fallen.
I cannot express my feelings on this day any better than Abraham Lincoln. is words speak for me.
“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.”
We, the living, still have work to do. Today we remember them. Tomorrow we pick the torch back up and continue with the work they gave the last full measure of devotion for.
“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.” – Lincoln, Gettysburg address
While we rightly gather, either in groups or individually, to remember those who have given their all in defense of this great country, our best efforts “are as filthy rags”, as we can never adequately honor them enough. Even so, let us all take a few moments this day to dust off the Flag and put it on display, say a prayer for the honored dead and their families, or go to a cemetery and visit a vet’s grave. You can write a check to the VFW, American Legion and other organizations that remember those who have fallen (doesn’t the Boy Scouts have a “flag on vet’s grave” program?).
As it seems that more and more Americans are taking the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform for granted, it falls on the rest of us to take up the slack and ensure they are always remembered.
My Memorial Day salute to Viet Nam vets who served at the point of the spear
I spent three years in the Army from early 1966 to early 1969, all of it in the U.S. or in Germany, all of it comfortable, a sort of “fun adventure.” No veteran of the Viet Nam era is more aware than I am of how unevenly the hardships of those times fell on those of us who served. In fact, I am a bit embarrassed to refer to my “service,” least it be confused with those who truly met the enemy and who left their lives or parts of their bodies or parts of their souls in that place.
Even among those who served in-country — all of it honorable service from men and women who answered their country’s call — only a small percentage met the enemy on the ground or in the jungle, or flew combat missions, or patrolled the rivers, or otherwise put their lives in daily jeopardy. Most of those who served were in support or technical roles, uncomfortable and dangerous to be sure, but generally not asking of them the same level of courage and sacrifice as was asked of those whose names fill that black-granite wall.
I have been reading a lot lately about the feats and sacrifices of some of our heroes in WWII. And this weekend I am hearing on TV the voices of some of the survivors from that combat. I could not honor those men more. But, at the same time, I would like to see our Viet Nam heroes enjoy the same level of appreciation. I have been thinking that maybe one of the reasons that that does not happen — aside from it not being a time of American triumph — is that the blood and guts aspect of Viet Nam was almost an occupational specialty of the small proportion who served at the point of the spear.
Without taking anything whatsoever from the service of any and every man and woman who wore the uniform, I’d like to tell the warriors who had the toughest duty that what they did is understood as something special and apart. Their service had its heroism and courage and horror and sacrifice and deserves every bit of the respect and appreciation shown to our combat veterans of WWII or any other war.
Edward Henry Day USMC -Man In Motion WWI Memorial Edition.
Thanks to Buckeye Sam for the note about Bugles Across America, which I am proud to be a member of.
Thanks to all who have served our nation, during peace or war, and those now serving.
Lastly – I hope you all have noticed that despite running a special logo this past week for 4 different inconsequential dates, GOOGLE is running its standard logo today. The two socialist bastards who own Google don’t care enough about the country that gave them the opportunity to become billionaires to give this day a special logo of its own.
Boycott Google!
This morning, I woke up, fed my 7 week old son, thought about getting the day off, watched the son rise…and realized I am able to do all of these things because of the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice, and protected this country not only here, but by being willing to go across the sea to fight evil where it lies, so it does not come here.
Those of us who have never served have an added responsibility to preserve the memory of those who did, and to say, “thank you.”
Please make sure you have your flag flying today. It is a small gesture, I know, but still important as a reminder to anyone who travels by your house. I hope I do a better job in the coming year of saying thank you to those who have fallen protecting me and my family.
My sincere thanks to all those who have put their lives on the line to protect our lives and freedoms.
Just watched the introduction of our fearless leader by Admiral Mullin. Wondering if the admiral might have been smoking something this morning before this glorious intro. I thought he must be talking about someone else the way he stated the POTUS and Michelle supported our troops so much.
I salute all those in the military, past and present. It’s too easy to forget, that this truly great country was made so by the men and women of our armed forces. While many of us enjoy our day off with family and friends, I pray the Good Lord keeps our troops out of harms way.
I, also, have noticed the generous attitude with which military leaders accept Obama (and wife). On the one hand, I feel that they should be biting their lips and seething with contempt. But they have several reasons to rise above these feelings. Of course, it is the law that they accept Obama as their commander, and sneering at one’s boss is not a good career move.
But maybe something more subtle and shrewd is going on: The military leadership is seeking — to whatever extent it can — to co-opt these immature children. Even a person like Obama could hardly help but be awed by his contact with the military, with their dignity and honor and seriousness. He will certainly never be a president that most of us here would willingly accept, but I expect he has already moved a substantial distance from people like the execrable William Ayers. By showing him respect, the military can help him be as adequate a president as he can possibly be, however limited that possibility is.
No words could ever reach the level of respect or gratitude that those who have laid down their lives in the service and uniform of our nation, so that we may continually enjoy the freedoms and liberties that this country offers us deserve.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the sacrifice of those men and women, as well as their families.
It does not seem enough, but it is all the English language has.
Thank you.
I might suggest you all go over to HA and look at ED’s memorial at the Pentagon he just put up. It is wonderful. God please be with every fallen man, woman, and their families since the beginning of our Republic. I honor you all.
L
My personal memorial.
http://thecolorist.blogspot.com/2009/05/our-nations-war-dead.html
To all my BROTHERS and SISTERS, who did not return from their last POST… You will never be forgotten in my MEMORY…
For my dad who put them ashore under fire three times in the Pacific, Uncle Pat who flew close air support over our grunts on the ground in Korea, and all who served and have since left us, Echo Tapss.
Time has come today
Young hearts can go their way
Can’t put it off another day
I don’t care what others say
They say we don’t listen anyway
Time has come today
(Hey)
Oh
The rules have changed today (Hey)
I have no place to stay (Hey)
I’m thinking about the subway (Hey)
My love has flown away (Hey)
My tears have come and gone (Hey)
Oh my Lord, I have to roam (Hey)
I have no home (Hey)
I have no home (Hey)
Now the time has come (Time)
There’s no place to run (Time)
I might get burned up by the sun (Time)
But I had my fun (Time)
I’ve been loved and put aside (Time)
I’ve been crushed by the tumbling tide (Time)
And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)
(Time)
Now the time has come (Time)
There are things to realize (Time)
Time has come today (Time)
Time has come today (Time)
Time [x11]
Oh
Now the time has come (Time)
There’s no place to run (Time)
I might get burned up by the sun (Time)
But I had my fun (Time)
I’ve been loved and put aside (Time)
I’ve been crushed by tumbling tide (Time)
And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time)
(Time)
Now the time has come (Time)
There are things to realize (Time)
Time has come today (Time)
Time has come today (Time)
The Chambers Brothers
Well said. I had a similar excperience from 1970 – 1972.
What I have always been struck by is the attitude from those who served in Vietnam about my service during that period. They did not resent that I never went. They respected the fact that I put on the uniform volutarily and was willing to go if called.
They certainly sacrificed more then the acknowledgement they received. The same can also be said for our Korean War veterans. That is truly the “Forgotten War.” It certainly should not be.
God bless those who have served and continue to serve.
http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7658928
This vet is 108 in this interview. I’ve noticed on tv, a whole lot of salutes to our veterans, which is great, but nothing about the true meaning of “Memorial Day”…our fallen; the ones who made the ultimate sacrifice. My wife and I drove around the whole neighborhood here, in the Norfolk area. We’re the only ones with a flag out. Too bad. The fallen are honored in this home today. Anyone see “Back to Tarawa” on tv recently? A vet is still trying to locate the so-called “missing” that are still buried there. Have a great day and salute those who gave.
To learn more about Californians who have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom in the War on Terror.
You can also leave notes on the soldiers’ pages for the families…
Kipling exposed socialists well:
One very nice gesture that I saw today; Nascar stopped the Coca-Cola 600 and observed the moment of silence at 3 p.m. I thought it was great. Nascar is a big supporter of the military.
In all the years I’ve been living in Kansas City, I have never visited the Vietnam memorial.
Did so today.
The memorial’s water feature had 2 separate pools, each denoting the separation of our country during that time. I don’t know what to think about that – yet.
I said a prayer.
Those who’ve cited the words of Ronald Reagan may recall that at the end of the memorial service for that great man the the U.S. Armed Forces Chorus and the U.S. Marine Chamber Orchestra offered their rendition of the hymn to which Randall Wallace penned the words for his movie We Were Soldiers (a very good movie of great book). I think it a fitting tribute to our fallen warriors.
The link goes to NPR because they have the audio of the hymn as performed at Reagan’s service); the movie version was performed by the United States Military Academy Glee Club and Metro Voices and is on the movie soundtrack – both versions bring tears to my eyes, but also an immense pride and love for all those who’ve paid the price for my freedom.
Thank You
Nice rendition. No lip-sync or pre-recording. Typical of C/W musicians.
Remember during the recent Country Music Awards when the Veteran in the wheelchair was introduced? Everyone immediately stood up and applauded. Not sure if that would have happened at the rappy-crappy music awards.
Bugles
As an alter boy many years ago and living next to the Military Base, I assisted in a lot of funerals at the on-base cemetery. Nothing like real Taps and Gun Salute.
My father-in-law’s funeral was taped. And poorly done on a cheap cassette player at that. Just not the same.
Most of my family was/is Military.
My farther was WWll and Korea and career Army. Was there on the beach on D-Day. Father-in-law was WWll and Korea and Nam and career Army. My mother-in-law actually wore combat boots in the Army for 10 years. My brother was Navy for 6 years. My wife’s sister’s husband was in Nam and 8 years Navy. Our son in a Marine. Five of his buddies all went in at the same time. Plus a bunch of uncles and cousins as well.
I really get upset when people get confused about the meaning and purpose of:
Memorial Day
Veterans Day
Armed Forces Day
Is it the media? School? Retailers? Or….?
BTW
POTUS is playing golf today. He did observe the 3pm moment.
Couldn’t even take a hour or so and attend a Memorial Day observance event.
Add this to his list of broken traditions.
Small town America remembers one of it’s own:
CWO Matthew Gene Kelley honors
…or visit the wounded at Walter Reed.
What a POS.
Thanks to all my fellow veterans for continuing to soldier on and keeping me and mine safe.
My sincere thanks and prayers to my brothers and sisters in arms that gave the ultimate sacrfice in service for our country. God Bless and protect those who’re currently on active duty, I have a son and a daughter proudly serving in the U.S. Navy, and also to all my fellow veterans who remains steadfast on their belief that this is the greatest country on earth and she’s worth all the services and sacrifices we’ve given her. God Bless America.
SCPO USN (retired)
I had 6 uncles all brothers that served in WWII with 5 that came home. I’ve only heard of one other family with that many siblings that served. God Bless them and may they rest in peace.
In another note, the absolute arrogance of the potus – he has no dignity and no shame.
Today I remember my Uncle Roy and my Cousin Kevin who served and gave their lives for our country. Until Jesus returns…
Our Indonesian POTUS was busy … Is there any length he will go to disrespect the USA. I doubt there is.