D-Day weekend meditation
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- The Invasion of Normandy Looks Good For 65 « Around The Sphere
- D-Day…65 Years Later « NEOAVATARA
- Europeans Insulted & Angry: Say Obama Snubbed French President & German Chancellor during Normandy D-Day Weekend « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- D-Day Remembered: Pres. Ronald Reagan’s 40th Anniversary Memorial Address of Normandy « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Top 100 Political Blogs: Michelle Malkin Is Number 7! « Frugal Café Blog Zone
- Remembering D-Day, Sixty-Five Years Later « I Took The Red Pill (and escaped the Matrix)
- Tel-Chai Nation
- Michelle Malkin Outpouring of support for Dallas vet whose flags were torched… « -THE "G" BLOGS ~ Gunny G Online -
- Screwball Comedy: White House Misspells Barack Obama’s Name on US-Russian Document, Plus More Obama Snubs & Gaffes in Moscow « Frugal Café Blog Zone
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I thought you got lost or something.
Not Apologizing For Anything!
http://logisticsmonster.com/2009/06/07/a-rebuttal-to-the-apology-tour/
I notice it was dated the 6th. Must have been a technical glitch that kept it from posting yesterday. Fortunately, the Normandy invasion didn’t depend on computers.
I was hoping nothing was bad wrong. Michelle never misses posting something for that day.
The contrast between a president and what we have at the moment in that office is painful.
I remember Mr. Reagan. I will work to forget THE ONE.
Reagan was a good man, and that is a precursor to being a great man, which he was.
I recommend anyone planning to go to Europe, visit that area. Take Ambrose’s book ‘D-Day’ with you to read on the trip over. Stand on the sand at Omaha beach, with your back to the ocean and look at the cliffs/bluffs behind the open land that those men had to cross after making it out of the water.
I was two when Kennedy was assasinated, and two young to really remember Johnson. The Presidents I remember are from Nixon on. The only one I consider a great President was Reagan. How I miss him.
Very true, Ragspierre. BTW, I like your nom de guerre.
The Greatest Generation returned home, got married and doted on and spoiled their children. Those children grew up to be the 1960s.
President Reagan speaks for me.
He always had.
Back in the 80s, Europeans spoke ill (to say it mildly) of Reagan. US Democrats did the same.
I wonder whether ‘Euro’s’ really like BHO or just like the conflict in the USA over him.
Oh well, back to ‘greatest generation’, eh?
got that right!
Thank you, b-cat.
I was in junior high school when Kennedy was shot. I was a precocious kid (I know…many of you are shocked!), and I remember the Kennedy-Nixon televised debate where Nixon looked so bad on TV.
When W came into office, the lady in my life at the time remarked, “It is so good to have adults in charge again”. We find it much easier to dislike W when we fail to compare him to his predecessor or either of his opponents for the presidency.
I heard Mr. Reagan’s speech on the radio the other day, and thought that I could not give that speech. Even he, the consummate actor and speaker, was choked up.
I was just trying to imagine THE ONE giving a speech, recounting the deeds of our forces under arms, and being choked up in delivering it. It is impossible to imagine.
Thank you President Reagan, for your inspiration and leadership. I am proud to have served under you. Obama, take a hike. I highly recommend “The Reagan Diaries”. Buy it. Read it. It is fantastic. And it just came out in paperback. For our D. Day heroes, bless you, may God keep you, thank you for allowing me to grow up in a wonderful America. I will continue to love what is left of it, no matter how hard the current worthless president tries to destroy it.
GladzKravtz,
The Euros absolutely love Obama. They think he is the second coming of Kennedy. Why they love Kennedy so much is beyond me – Ike and Truman instituted and followed through on the Marshall plan. Kennedy, other than one forgettable speech in Berlin, did very little over here.
The Euros were told from day one that President Bush was evil incarnate and that the US under him would become like a new version of the Nazis. This was even before 9/11.
There are two things to remember about Europeans: 1. They generally consider themselves to be born diplomats and that their opinions are the only valid ones and 2. what Europeans consider “right wing” are just to the right of the far left – they tend to “ban” any organization that holds opinions we consider right of center.
Every person on the continent of Europe can tell you the name of the President, Vice President and Secretary of State of the USA. However, most Italians don’t know the names of the Dutch or Belgian Prime Ministers, most Germans have no idea of the Spanish Prime Ministers name. Want to know why? Because it doesn’t matter. Europe is a very pretty place with a lot of history. However, their actions and influence in the world pale in significance to the United States’. Not all but most, Europeans resent and dislike the United States. We represent everything they can never be.
While I am on a rant.. I will say this: Listening to Reagan, you know he meant every word he said. You know the letter he referred to wasn’t contrived or altered to sound more “punchy”. You also know he probably actually read that letter and spoke with the lady who wrote it. Listen to Obama’s speech. It sounds shallow and he appears to only want to get the day over with.
Character is telling.
prendad,
I too served under Reagan. I never felt like he would use us as pawns or throw us away. I was confident that if he asked us to risk all, it would be no reckless adventure. In the end, he was able to defeat our foes without endangering his nation or having us risk it all.
Those who risked it all before me, and those who have risked all since, thank you. Words are inadequate to express my gratitude.
God Bless all of our heroes from the ‘Greatest Generation’. They are dying rapidly. We lost a good family friend this past winter after his heart finally gave out on him. He was on Omaha Beach that fateful morning in early June, 1944. He never talked much about it. He was a good man and he raised good kids.
Our current CIC has no clue about much of anything at all. He is not qualified to speak regarding our soldiers who sacrificed all. Obama’s idea of sacrifice is having Romaine lettuce instead of Arugula in his salad.
In Obama’s case, lack of character is even more telling.
“doted on and spoiled their children. Those children grew up to be the 1960s.”
There’s a bit more to it than that. In a “normal” process of socialization there are usually more people already invested in the culture, as in adults, than folks needing socialization, as in children. Because of the war there were more folks needing socialization, as in children, then folks to do that socialization, as in adults. As a result we as a culture got a bit out of whack.
The war, the people who fought the war and the people impacted in its aftermath could be considered to be an anomoly, out of the norm if you will.
I am a baby boomer. My dad flew B-17’s. Yes I’ve read the “Greatest Generation”. I am a Vietnam Era Vet. However the idea that is unfounded is that my dad’s generation and then in some way my generation are the “norm” and any deviation from that is walking away from the good old days and when America was its “best”.
WWII messed some folks up, quite a large number of folks. Sorry but there it is. Amazing men and women. Brave and committed beyond anything that is imaginable in today’s world. You bet! Great line in 12 O’Clock High when Gregory Peck says these 21 year olds have to grow up over night and stop being boys and become men. Absolutely true. That does not therefore mean it was a good thing nor something to be modeled by every generation.
I am constantly amazed at and admire my father’s generation endlessly. However I am not ready to act as if it SHOULD be the way it was and as we deviate from what the WWII generation was, somehow we are less.
We can admire, respect, show unending honor to the previous generation without having to take a next step of condemning our own.
It is always the time for good men and women to stand up and do the right thing and because of our values to be willing to sacrifice for what is right hopefully doing so in way that avoids the mistakes previous generations have made.
I hope our military will never have another D-Day. I hope we can avoid all the co-lateral damage to ourselves WWII cost. I hope we can stand on the sacrifice of generations before us and do the right thing in the right way now.
Because God knows, we need folks to start standing up as our fathers and mothers before us did in today’s world.
I would like someone to explain to any survivors of the Flying Tigers just how it is China owns so much of us today.
Chicago thugs have no character!
Europeans are selfish, arrogant, jealous, self absorbed socialists…in all honesty, I’m convinced they are embarrassed and jealous the “crude, rude, ugly Americans” saved their spineless butt’s 3 times last century. You know the ones…”Old Europe”
well said, js.
“It sounds shallow and he appears to only want to get the day over with.”
To me it sounds like he is glad when it is over so he can tell himself he fooled everyone yet one more day. The patting himself on the back for keeping folks from the real Obama yet one more time.
I visited that area some time ago. It was very special area and a sobering experience. BHO didn’t belong there.
An interesting study of the Obama presidency. Comparison to the Greek tragedies.
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjena/2009/06/06/obama-at-colonus/
If you look at American conduct under arms all down our history, you have to be at least somewhat overawed. I certainly am.
How anyone could get men to do some of the things our soldiers, sailors, and marines have done is difficult to take in.
I have some trouble, however, with the whole “Greatest Generation” thing. I have to give a lot of credit to this generation of young men and women who now stand in the breach. Each of them is a volunteer, and they stepped forward at a time when our nation is the ambiguous place it currently is. I am deeply impressed by them. Please, if you know any personally, thank them for me and mine.
Euros are arrogant.
They believe themselves to be the center of intellect and justice. They also believe that the United States is like a mad dog to be kept in a cage, until they need us.
I have lived here for 4 years. I am sick of these leftist cowards telling me how America has no culture and that we are too busy trying to impose our values on the rest of the world.
They have completely forgotten (or have chosen not to remember) not only what America did for them in the ’40’s (most Brits will tell you they won WW2 by themselves – America was simply a supplier) but how we kept the Soviets from overrunning them. Most of the short sighted freaks think the Soviet’s were the good guys. I’ve seen programs on the History Channel over here explaining that the Soviet Union was “misunderstood”. I could go on and on.
So many Americans have this love and admiration for the Euros and Brits. These people do not like us. They look down on us as uneducated brutes and they see Obama as an American who “gets it” (a rarity in their minds). Any “Special Relationship” with Britain or Europe is one sided. Whey the need us, we are friends. Otherwise, America is contemptable to them.
We are truly alone in the world and Obama seems to be selling us out every chance he gets.
At least as Americans, we can still use forums like MM provides to have conversations like this (for the near future anyway). In Britain, MI-5 would already have been knocking on most of our doors.
All of that being said, thanks to everyone that served out there.
My Dad served in WWII. He was gone the first three years of my life. Mom had three kids to care for alone. We had ration booklets for meat, etc. Even though I was very little, I remember some of the things we went through…to this day! When my Mother died a couple years ago, I found some calendars from 1943-1945 with comments written in them. There were dates of my Dad’s furlough’s and one date that said my uncle had been liberated from a German prison camp. My Dad was a paratrooper, his brothers were Air Force and Navy. They all came came back alive and well, and never spoke of the war after that. This country was unified, patriotic, totally together as a people, including the Hollywood crowd. Just listen to the songs from that era. They are fabulous! And not a swear word anywhere. I cry for my country and what the “progressives” have done to it! Can we ever get it back?
God bless those brave men and women, and God bless our troops today!! They are needed now as much as they were back then.
I love him already.
The only reason JFK is so revered today is that he was martyred before he had a chance to screw up the country. I do believe, however, that he was not a radical like his brothers. He didn’t have a chance to really prove he was a great president, but became great because he was assasinated. That is his main claim to fame. I don’t know why people want to compare Obama to Kennedy. The only thing I would like to compare to Kennedy is his short stay in office!! I don’t mean for the same reason…but maybe impeachment and prison??
It is a mystery to me why the libs embrace JFK as well. He was a committed anti-Communist and the Cuban embargo is his policy. Vietnam was his policy. He founded the Army Special Forces (green berets). He was a danged sight far from an Obama.
They have no clue what “Pioneer spirit” even means. They have never had to use that spirit. Americans have had that since the 1600’s when we left our homelands and everything we knew and came to this strange land. It was a completely untamed, rugged country and we made it into the greatest country in the world. We have helped more people and given liberty to more people that can ever be counted. I will always be proud of my country and I am literaly anguished by Obama’s comments against us. He is supposed to be our spokesman and stand up for the right and might of this great land. Instead, he mocks us and says we must change who we are. I loathe him.
Thanks b-cat. Dad was an honorable man and raised us well! I still use the lessons he taught me about fair play, honesty and civility. He died suddenly way back in 1976 and I miss him.
I wonder if that is an expression of his effeteism or his self-preservation…
Europeans are engaged in a slow act of suicide, as Mark Steyne has pointed out so well. Somewhere in history, they gave up the vitality that a people need to resist the press of evil, to engage in life, and to pioneer.
America was designed…very intentionally…to be “not Europe”, and yet so many of our countryman push us to be European in our governance and economy. They have a place to live like that if they wish, and I have never understood why the feel they must destroy this island of liberty, enterprise, and individualism rather than go where they can be happy now.
I have no doubt about his honor. It was his example, and many more like him, that was the reason I volunteered for Airborne duty when it was my turn to serve. I always loved the paratroopers.
Best D-Day speech ever.
Tears were shed, yesterday, for our brave WWII veterans, and especially those at the D-Day invasion (I had a great-uncle who survived Utah beach). I tried to ignore our current president.
God bless all who serve our country.
Signed,
The proud daughter of a WWII Marine who died this year:
First Marine Division, 11th Marines, 2nd Bn. Later HAAG, 12th AAA Bn. Served USMC August 27 1943-March 2, 1946. He participated on New Guinea, New Britain, Peleliu.
Thank you, I shall.
In line with comparing speeches and all…
http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/06/governor-palins-seward-house-address.html
Compare Sarah Palin’s speech here with what THE ONE said in Cairo.
Again, the contrast is amazing. While she is not a Reagan (perhaps yet), one cannot help but be impressed by the American voice she provides, as opposed to the post-America voice of THE ONE.
Thank you for your service, b-cat!! Many of the young men in our family also have served in the paratroopers in honor of Dad. Mr brother has the folded flag from Dad’s coffin, his dog tags, wings, etc. in a framed place of honor on the wall. (By the way, that same brother is a dead ringer for Rush Limbaugh and is proud of it! Even the hairline is the same. Ha!)
Lindsay…my Dad and yours would have been great friends! God bless him.
b-cat, the Euros love Kennedy because, he was from old money, elitist and carried an air of cosmopolitan flair that sniffed at the provincial flyover types. It’s all about style.
I visited Omaha beach in 1985 on my epic private tour of the great battlefields. I spent quite a while standing atop the cliffs just trying to visualize D-Day.
I kept staring down the cliff that was famously scaled by soldiers while German machine-gun fire and grenades rained down on them. I kept thinking: “If this is winning, what is losing?” To those who fought that day, I doubt it felt like winning. To the Germans, it must have realized they couldn’t win against such an enemy.
My friends and I had spent the entire afternoon in a restaurant in Bastogne Belgium the day before talking to the owners over wine. My uncle was seriously wounded in the Battle of the Bulge and knowing this got them interested in talking. The main thing they tried to impress on me was that there were still many locals who were there when American soldiers liberated them and to this day, they thank God that it was American soldiers and not British. A couple of days later, the caretaker of Fort de Vaux at Verdun would repeat that sentiment. It is a myth that the French hate Americans. I have never seen it in my travels. Of course, many Americans like to hang out in the old Parisian cafes of Rive Gauche and other literary haunts which Ernest Hemingway, Henry Miller and other leftists popularized in the American psyche. You’ll find it there but you’ll probably be talking to other Americans.
It’s like LA. People move to Santa Monica or Playa del Rey from NYC, seek other NYers to hang with and then deciding people here are too shallow, return to NYC with their stories.
I know it is fashionable to bash the French (very annoying since I’m French), but my travels have taught me that we are still loved and appreciated by very many French citizens. Go visit Brittany, Champaigne or any of the northern provinces (and be nice). You will never regret nor forget it.
Thanks, happyscrapper.
My Daddy was quite a character, and a hero to me and my brothers. We miss him daily, as he was a great man.
We are losing our World War Two vets rapidly at 1000 a day. Please honor those that you know.
I was amazed at the strength and determination of the D-Day vets at Normandy yesterday. One photo got me of a man in a wheelchair, who stood with the help of two canes during a hymn. Their strength of character got them through D-Day as well as through the rest of their lives.
I pray that the generations who follow them may be as strong if tested, thanks to their example.
Great man, great president, and another great speech. Our country needs another Reagan, to help correct the mistakes that are being made now. This speech brought tears to my eyes!
I’m sorry, but i was personally disgusted by Obama being there, along with the little “Obama Beach” mess that hit the French papers. ESPECIALLY considering Omaha had been the scene of a near disaster and where so many died.
Is the country we have now and where Obama is taking it the country that those men had in mind as they boarded the Higgin’s Boats that morning? As they boarded the planes, were they imagining an America that was lurching headlong into Socialism?
I found his speech did nothing more than to demonstrate that both he and the person writing his speeches have absolutely no clue as to the history of the day, let alone the war in general.
I sure am thankful for those very brave soldiers that battled and won against the forces of EVIL. Present day US soldiers are just as brave battling the current forces of evil.
For the present occupier of the oval office, having to attend and speak at the D-Day ceremony was a major inconvenience. He couldn’t wait to get back to the White House to plot the further destruction of our once great country.
The other speech was the one he went over the pond for and felt was important….THE ONE PRAISING ISLAM.
Time is wasting for the Israelis. THEY WILL ACT AND ACT SOON. They know what a nuclear Iran means and they know who’s side Obi Won is on. Israel has the right man leading their country. We don’t!
I listened to each of the heads of state giving their speeches yesterday in Colleville Cemetery in observance of D-Day. I really appreciated Sarkozy’s and Harper’s words. Brown misspoke and called Omaha Beach “Obama Beach” once, then almost did it again! I groaned.
As Sarkozy spoke, and as I saw the images of these unspeakably brave young men, I cried.
Then our poser got to the podium, and spoke of “tolerance” and “no matter what god you worship” and “community service” and I felt sick inside. It occurred to me that the young men buried beneath his feet would likely be turning over in their graves as their unselfish acts of heroism have resulted in fascism and socialism in their own beloved country. How dreadfully ironic that the fascism that they fought against and gave their lives to defeat has now erupted in their own land!
Obama, these men fought to defeat the very noxious ideology that you now espouse. No wonder you can’t speak with conviction about the greatness of their sacrifice.
I am so thankful that God lent us Reagan, even if for only a while. When he spoke of D-Day, he spoke as one of their peers, not because of military service, but because of his shared love of our country and strength of character. May God rest his soul.
I was struck again today as I read George Will’s excellent editorial on the fascist take-over of our economy that the truly dangerous and evil ideas of the late Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries are still very much with us, and are in ascendancy in this country.
The fight for freedom in WWII was only a chapter. The remainder of the saga is being played out now, in our time, and in our nation. We have to know our enemy’s ideology and recognize it for what it is, in order to fight it effectively.
I have to think that many of us feel right now as did Americans at the time of the fall of the Philippines. The momentum of the war belongs to the enemy now.
*D-Day, when God and guns saved the world; Many thanks to all that participated, and may the 6000+ Americans buried there continue to rest in peace.
*Now we should pay it forward by saving us from ourselves; We owe at least that to the sacrifices of generations past; My Grandfather, who served in WW1 and WW2 for Canada, had a favorite saying to us as kids, “waste not, want not”, which for me today means, if we want our Constitutional Republic back, then we should not waste our efforts in 2010 and 2012, which is our D-Years, as in decision; Who shall be our Reagan to follow this Carter Error called P-BO?
Take a look at that graveyard. You see crosses and Stars of David. You don’t see the moon and star of Islam ANYWHERE!
All the kissing up to his fellow Muslims…yes, once one always one and his current activities speak louder than any denial, will not mask who it was that fought and died for this country.
This is and has always been a Judeo-Christian nation…not an Islamic one as he claims, though they are desperately trying and will stop at nothing to achieve those goals.
Political Correctness does not win wars and stop evil. That is something they will NEVER understand.
To his credit, he was an authentic Patriot and war hero. The Cuban missle crisis was a serious test, and nearly led to a nuclear confrontation with tactical weapons loaded on airplanes in Florida ready to fly…
And he didn’t need a freaking teleprompter to be “eloquent”.
Our own State Dept. Cuban spy, child of privilege and absorber of tax dollars.
Read the article for full revulsive effect….
I found it so as well. Lived in Europe for a short period and found regular people everywhere who were friendly and curious about America.
Now they’ve done it! Marina Del Rey, sure – but Santa Monica!!!?
Far from being Saint John The Liberator, Kennedy was a relatively weak president with a good chance of being a one-termer.
He did have his virtues, though. He was closer to Reagan in economic policy that Nixon was to Reagan.
Had he lived, and been re-elected, we would have been spared the catastrophic Johnson years and their vile legacy of dependency.
PPhil,
For all my Euro bashing.. I will happily say that of all the people I have met in Europe, the French are BY FAR the nicest, most hospitable and least arrogant. this is to include Walloon Belgians (the ones that speak French). DeGaulle started this rift between our countries by pulling out of NATO. He only did it because he knew US forces in Germany created a buffer between France and the Eastern Bloc.
There is NOWHERE on this continent that isn’t a better place because of the United States. The longer I am here, the more I see it. The fact is, the USA was founded by Europeans who couldn’t stand living in squalor any more so they left and came to live in a place where they could be self sufficient. I’ve said it before and I stand by it, the only Europeans who are successful left Europe to become so. Other than family money (usually earned in Asian or North American trade a few hundred years ago), this theory holds true 99.999% of the time.
Thank God our men saved this place – twice – and then kept it free for the next 50 years.
Obama’s actions sicken me. He disgraces the men and women that kept us safe for the last 233 years (excuse my South Georgia math if I am off a few years.)
I agree with that.. In addition to not having Johnson’s legacy of dependency, we might have had a President who would have managed the Vietnam war properly and wouldn’t have taken us off the gold standard. How many of our problems today wouldn’t be if those issues had never happened?
The two big speeches by ‘Bambi this past week proved to me this is truly the most ignorant president we’ve ever had. With his speech in Egypt he dug his heels in and promised to protect them from criticism – which is not his job. And, which is it on the Islam issue?..is it a country, political body or religion? Unless part of the job of POTUS is to act as our appointed religious leader he has no business addressing them at all as the CIC of the U.S..
His performance at Normandy, and that is what it was, left the Europeans scratching their heads as well as us. Perhaps his failure to grasp the significance of the ceremonies showed the entire world his lack of empathy to anyone but himself and his ideals. His dog and pony show (finger wagging, head uplifted) is wearing thin. Sarkozy gave an excellent speech and I was grateful for it.
Conservative in Europe
I’ve spent years working on geneology. I’ve thought many times the best of Europe is here. Many areas in our own country have lost whatever pride and search for excellence their ancestors had but when push comes to shove they’d defend this country with the best of them, and have.
Slightly off topic, but…
I am becoming more and more convinced that the world of THE ONE is composed of one myth after another.
He is dangerously out of touch with reality. He displays a surpassing ignorance of so many things, and seems to have little no trepidation about displaying it. Quite the contrary, he seems to insist that HIS myth is better than knowledge.
A profoundly dangerous man, at a profoundly dangerous juncture in our history.
We weren’t in the mood to apologize for a damn thing at that time and its a damn good thing we weren’t.
My father and uncles used to like to say that some of the most ferocious battles of WWII were fought in the pubs of England between British and American troops.
I liked my trips to England but the non-stop and ignorant America bashing that goes on over there on the BBC and newspapers is really grating. I didn’t see that anywhere else in Europe.
People are generally-speaking pretty much the same everywhere you go in the world. They are flattered that you care and can’t wait to tell you what is so great about their town. People are proud of their hospitality.
Just stay out of “les banlieue” on the outskirts of Paris. Might as well be in Lehore or
or Somalia. (Dammit!)
There is something deeply disturbing about a president apologizing for a culture and country that has kept the free-world free for two generations. It just doesn’t compute whether American or those being apologized to. It definitely lowers the world’s respect for us.
“Sorry we stepped on your rights as a culture by invading your peace-loving country to liberate you from the Nazis mes amis! We’ve learned our lesson and promise not to do it again! Please forgive us!”
Oh yeah, and the automatic coda: “Thanks guys!”
God Bless the many fine sentiments written here today, especially from those who have served our Great Nation proudly.
I have my 2 cents regarding the subject of the ‘Greatest Generation’ v. the ‘Great Society’ Generation. For me, it always appeared to be a difference in the ability to deal with hardship. The WWII Generation won the hardship game handsdown: the Great Depression, catastrophic famine in the southern states leading to mass migration to the western states, a completely gutted US Military budget leading up to 12/07/41 (read the historical accounts of US Army personnel training with pieces of wood instead of functioning rifles.)And then, of course, four years of the most brutal and grueling warfare known to man (followed up by brutal fighting in Korea, no less!)
What were the hardships of the ‘Great Society’ Generation in comparison to that? Not much, I contend, and yet the late 1960s/early 1970s displays of “civil disobedience” remain some of the most selfish and irresponsible displays of social behavior that this Nation has witnessed to date. (And before any Civil Rights activists start piling on this last comment, I’m referring to the behavior on college campuses, at airports, in the stadiums where visiting Army, Navy and Air Force football teams played and outside recruiting stations where the very liberals, who run the institutions of power today, threw and spit up their very first tantrums of social defiance.)
The most decorated of my relatives (2 DSCs and 8 Silver Stars) opened his military career by pummeling the Nazis from Tunisia to Berlin. He closed his career out by burying his first born son who only got to serve 5 months as a First Lieutenant in Vietnam. This decorated relative wrote one of many articles, while studying at the War College in Carlisle, PA, which would come off as very politically incorrect today. He wrote, in his opinion, that he saw the US Military becoming very soft because more and more men were joining for a free college education, rather than for solely defending their country and fully understanding all the hardships that this entails. Especially when the US was facing enemies at the time, like North Korea and the Chinese, who could fight and last out a week on one handful of rice.
My relative’s experience was similar in style to that of the Spartans. His opinion was that without a healthy warrior class, even the best funded military is in trouble. This is no less true today, and, in my opinion, also a glaring distinction between the majorities of the WWII generation and the 1960’s generation.
The quickest way to destroy a nation is to disembowel it from its warrior class. And hasn’t this been a top priority of many liberals in the US for decades now?
Virtually the express goal of doctrinaire movement Feminists. Feminize the culture…
emasculate men…
make the world “more civil”, which is another dangerous Utopian dream.
Right, PP???
One of my wife’s uncles was a WWII vet. He was in the 8th Cavalry. He went from a farm in Indiana to the middle of the horror in Luzon, New Guinea, Bismark Archipelago, but never spoke a word about it. When he died a few years ago, the family asked if I would like his military things which I gladly accepted and I attached one of his dog tags to my keychain so that I would often be reminded of him. He was a kind, gentle man, I might even say shy. I miss him greatly.
My uncle George was a veteran of WWII. I knew he had been in the Army, but did not know the extent of his service. When he died a couple of years ago, he was buried at a Veterans Cemetery in Texas…it was at that funeral when I found out about his heroics and the part he played in the invasion on D-Day.
The troops were stationed in England just biding his time to get the word. One day, the word came, and they all left for the distant shores of Normandy.
As his landing craft approached the beach at Omaha, a young troop member fell into the ocean – he could NOT reach the surface because of all the bullets, flak jacket, helmet, etc., that was on him. My uncle jumped into the ocean with every bit of his gear on, and somehow managed to pull them both up to the surface, whereby someone threw him a rope. He received a medal for that bravery. He also had a Purple Heart, and I don’t even know how he got injured. But he stayed in for the duration of the war, on the frontlines.
He made it to the beach, and survived.
As a former member of the military, I salute Uncle George W. Brown, II, for his service.
I am glad to see our hostess added this thread – I was beginning to think some was terribly wrong! Thanks MM.
Speaking of the Pacific campaign and New Guinea in particular (kudos to prendad, btw)…
One day when I was visiting some friends of my folks near to where I live. They are all right at, or very near ‘greatest generation’ age. Anyway, I was introduced to a brother of the friend. He was visiting from out of town. Most people would recognize him as a well known movie actor. Most people wouldn’t know that he is a highly decorated WWII Vet that fought in the Pacific (42 months) and most of that service was in/on New Guinea. He earned decorations up to and including the Silver Star for his service. Upon meeting him, I think he was surprised that I did not offer the usual ‘what’s it like to be…?’ type question, but instead proceeded to recognize and thank him for his tremendous service – service, that, sadly, far too few people know about.
God Bless ‘em all.
Thanks Vets, you’re the best.
I will never forget.
Crud – mangled the first couple sentences in my post above. Sorry.
“It won’t happen again!” (well, maybe not…)
OT but here’s a story that got a good chuckle from those of us in New Orleans:
http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/nagin_wife_staffer_quarantined.html
I was just thinking about all the abuse that our military has to suffer from ignorant people and I recalled a fond memory. When I was in training at Great Lakes following boot camp, I heard that “volunteers” were being requested to attend the flag presentation ceremonies at Soldier Field each weekend before the game. I jumped at this chance since my girlfriend (wife now) lived just ourside Chicago and I had no car. Not knowing anything about the ceremony, I was positively stunned by the magnitude of it. Military units from all around
Chicago provided representatives. What I warmly remember is that I never heard one single bad thing said about the military while I was in the stadium or in the city, all the time in full military uniform. Not one bad remark, not one catcall, not one single bad thing. And this was 1968! The sixties!
Absolutely hilarious! I must ask, with much of the city still in ruins, where does he find the time(and money)?
“The Euros were told from day one that President Bush was evil incarnate and that the US under him would become like a new version of the Nazis.”
You mean they read and listened to US based media?
http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2009/06/07/what-the-president-should-have-said-in-cairo/
Dude…! This really is the speech that I wish I’d heard the other day.
If you can take the time, look up this blogger’s piece on how to fix the economy, too. OUTSTANDING!!!!
Men(if you wanna call ‘em that)on the left here in America over the last 30 to 40 years have been woosiefied, pussiefied and Oprahfied. these clowns couldn’t carry the water for Veterans never mind the heroes of WWII.
I see pictures of these soldiers from WWII, I’m stunned with admiration for these men and women, then stop and realize these soldiers that landed at Normandy were just barely considered age of majority and lot of them weren’t old enough to drive.
I thank the men and women of today’s volunteer military for their sacrifices for keeping us safe from the scum of the world.
THANK YOU!
Today I join the others on this thread who honor the American soldiers who landed on French beaches in WWII.
Hey, CiE thanks for the info. I imagine you have to hold your tongue at times over there.
There’s a movie I like to watch over and over…don’t really know why, maybe it’s the Gaudi architecture and Art Nouveau doorways but it’s called ‘Barcelona’. These young Spanish ‘intellectuals’ go about stating ‘facts’ about America, its CIA etc.. that make absolutely NO sense. Laughable.
Been to Europe quite a few times and in between Euro’s griping about this country they are saying they want to live here!! Go figger??
O Great Spirit!
May the descendants of our Fallen Warriors find today and ever day to come a solace in memory of the sacrifices of their loved ones, the Noble who gave selflessly to protect Our Nation and our Freedoms still in infancy.
May We, the beneficiaries of Our Warriors Bloodshed, never forget to be ever mindful that for every Warrior Fallen there is a heart somewhere longing for the touch and warmth only a True Warrior can give.
Say the Word, Great Spirit, and our Nation will be healed.
Say the Word, and our enemies- once more- will be vanquished in Your Name.
Aho! All My Relations.
Anthony (Bear1909)
as bland as jack cheese.
hey lgm, what about the soldiers from the other countries like Canada ,England ,etc??? BTW, Reagan was da bomb
My Dad was a career Soldier. An Airborne Ranger, with the 82cd Airborne, in WWII and Korea, a SgtMaj with the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. He drank hard, fought hard, and smoked Camels. He died in 1976 of a ruptured liver due to alcoholism.
Dad was a great man. Dad was a tough man. He taught me respect. For others, for my elders, and for the military. He taught me love of my country. He taught me to be a man.
He was there when I returned from Vietnam. He understood war and he hated it. He knew what it did to a man. He respected me when nobody else did.
If you could asked him today about “Greatest Generations”, I’m sure he’d laugh in your face. They just did what they were called to do.
I can recall no better words you’ve ever posted on this blog. Thank you. Please do continue in this vein.
Well put. They saved the World at a great cost, what more was there to say?
I would love to see the reactions of the “old school” soldiers, from the first half of the 20th Century, if they were alive today to see the “armchair generals” who land themselves on-air contracts with the networks and cable channels, only to spew off streams of self-promoting (consciousness?)while live feeds of combat come bouncing in off of the satellites.
I imagine there would be quite a few black eyes coming out of the midtown Manhattan saloons, shortly after taping.
Guys…I learned as a young dad that, if you could kick ‘em in the b-hind, you had to pat ‘em on the head, too.
lgm, I appreciate your comment.
Last Wednesday, my 83 year old step father died. I first met him when I was 8 and I noticed he only had one arm. It took a while, but the story eventually came out. In charge of a landing craft for three separate invasions in the Pacific, his craft was blown up each time. On the first two occasions, he went ashore and fought with the Marines. On the third, he lost his arm and I learned he put on a tourniquet (sp?) fought on. He lied to the recruiter, saying he was 18 when he was 15. He was my hero. Thanks Pop
Bruce Dipple
USN 1941-1945
JWM
USN 1974-1978
Thank God for the Gipper.
Exellent comment. Thank you for sharing your insight as a conservative in europe.
Indeed. Here’s what Reagan wrote about that letter and that speech:
On June 7th, 2009 at 11:05 am, travlinman said:
When Obama speaks of “sacrifice”, it means something different to him than it means to you.
When Obama speaks of “sacrifice”, he is talking about spreading U.S. wealth around the world. I’m not kidding. I’ll be working on an updated post, but until then read this:
I won’t repeat all of the links here, but I put links to several relevant videos as comments to my post:
On June 7th, 2009 at 11:35 am, happyscrapper said:
Yes, We CAN!
Yes, they are!
On June 7th, 2009 at 11:49 am, happyscrapper said:
Hear, hear!
When thinking about Obama, keep in mind how he was raised.
Most people don’t have many memories earlier than age 3.
Obama’s earliest memories are of being raised by Marxist parents, registered as a Muslim in a Christian school, in the worlds’ most populous Muslim country (Indonesia).
He does not view America the way you and I view America.
On June 7th, 2009 at 12:01 pm, Ragspierre said:
Hear, hear!
On June 7th, 2009 at 1:11 pm, RetFireman said:
To quote Phyllis Schlafly:
Again I bring up the mess the Libs made over GOVERNOR Palin’s speech. If you all remember, she delivered one hell of a home run speech the night she accepted the Vice President slot on McCain’s ticket. They made a whole lot of noise about how it was written for her, and that she could not possibly have written such a wonderful speech.
Yet here we have the poser who is somehow famous for being an intelligent, eloquent and knowledgeable speaker who’s speeches are so wonderful that he felt the need to give the Queen of England an Ipod full of them.
Yet the truth of the matter is that unless he has a teleprompter in front of him, allowing him to read words that one or more people have written for him, he is completely incapable of forming complete and coherent sentences, let alone three words together, at any one time.
Trouble with having someone else write your speeches for you, is that they need to be intelligent and knowledgeable in the subjects they are writing about. Obama failed miserably on this part yesterday and it was embarrassing. He demonstrated for the entire world that he, along with whatever failed television writer he has on his staff, have absolutely no knowledge what-so-ever concerning WWII, with heavy emphasis on the events of June 6, 1944. The attempt at using the same words normally used on the History Channel failed. He even stood there and stated that Americans had been fighting for freedom for over 200 years at the time they landed in Normandy. I know that had it been anyone else, that would have been in all the headlines, but since it was Obama, the fact that he was 32 years off from the 200 year mark alone, let alone the “more than” part went completely ignored…but not by me.
He has NO emotion for the men who died that day, let alone the over 400,000 more that perished in that war. I won’t even begin to go into how he treats the memories of the over 6 million Jews murdered or the 20 million others. Instead, he gave a generic speech simply because he was expected to.
He has been spending the last few days apologizing to the world for America and how horrible we are to be forcing our beliefs on the world. In his mind, it is horrible to be the bringers of freedom, liberty, democracy etc. Yes, because when you apologize for America, that is what you are apologizing for.
He promises the Palestinians to deliver to them Jerusalem, then stands on hallowed ground and speaks empty words.
The thing is, it is all about him. This was not about the men who landed on Normandy 65 years ago, it was about Obama being there to look good. No one listens to what he says, they just look at him and be honored for the privilege. This is the largest example of the “Cult of Personality”, and what a modern day narcissistic megalomaniac looks like and acts like.
When you look at the parallels of what is happening today vs. Germany between 1923-1938, it is all the more disgusting that he was there. Those men did not die with the hope that this nation would plunge headlong into Socialism with a totalitarian-light narcissistic statist in the White House, with a Congress and Senate doing all they can to force this nation into a one party state. On the contrary, that was who and what they were fighting against.
Time is going by quickly, and the next elections are now a mere 17 months away, and there has yet to be any movement made to change what is happening in the Congress. I am praying that each state presents someone who will stand up to the Democrats in their home districts and present REAL Conservatives as the choice to make. It is the only way we have to stop this decent into Socialism. It is the only way we can stop the plunge into this single party Liberal nightmare that, should they succeed, it will be DECADES before things can be turned around, if at all.
Stand up and fight for whoever it is that is in your district and state that presents themselves as a true Conservative. If the 2000 elections taught us anything, it is that a single vote really does make a difference, and if the 2008 elections taught us anything it’s that staying home in protest will bring about dangerous results.
well it was a handout from Obama…
A German Soldier’s view of D-Day
President Reagan, I love you. You are the best president we ever had, or will have for a very long time to come. You were truly a warm, unique and dignified statesman.
Your extraordinary, goose-bump making speaking ability, and the affinity you had with we the people, was paralled only by Martin Luther King.
We miss you. We miss you. We miss you.
Thank you servicemen and women, from the bottom of my heart, for your outstanding bravery and selflesness in making the world a safer place for us.