Memorial Day Weekend 2010: Giving thanks for those who made the ultimate sacrifice
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.
***
On Thursday, 53 names were added to the Fort Carson War on Terror memorial here in Colorado Springs. R.I.P. The sacrifice and each and every one of these soldiers will not be forgotten.
Here’s a closer look at the soldiers at Fort Carson who gave their lives this past year.
***
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.
***
Bloggers give thanks:
Bookworm – Memorial Day Post: The Warriors Among Us
Kim Priestap – Memorial Day Tribute
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Yes, to a one each is forever in my thoughts with the greatest gratitude, God rest their souls. But are we the last generation to truly regard their sacrifice when last year my niece’s teacher diminishes our fighting men or the “need for war” by telling her class that more Americans were killed at the WTC than on “D-Day.” Look how the media diminishes our accomplishment in Iraq — turning a hostile nation into one more or less partnered with us. Too many Americans see this as barbecue day, not the one to honor brave souls who’ve kept the brutes and animals of the world at bay.
James Greenidge
Queens NY
Amen. And from what I have read, it’s amazing that the enemy-scum were able to silence Michael.
Eternal Gratitude to everyone who has fought and died for our Great Nation.
A special remembrance for two heroic warriors, Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart and Master Sergeant Gary Gordon.
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.
To those who paid the highest price for our freedom,
I can think of nothing more important to say than these two words:
Greater love hath no man than this; that he would lay down his life for his fellow man.
Jesus did it. Many corageous service men and women have done it. And many of you here have been willing to do it. I offer you the highest respect, honor and humble thanks.
And to those who have paid the ultimate price, may they find an even higher peace and freedom than that which they valliantly sacrificed their lives to give us – in God’s eternal mercy, and may their courage and sacrifice be remembered and honored forever.
And Thank you from our family.
God Bless and Keep all the families of Military personnel, particularly those in harm’s way this holiday. May your loved ones return safely.
To all those families of Veterans who sleep the eternal peace, I offer you that you will someday be reunited with your hero(s). Make them proud as they watch over you.
To all Active Duty and Retired, I offer my humble salute, and gratitude.
And remember that, as of 0600 hrs. this morning, not a single submarine has been shot down over Iraq or Afghanistan.
Ah-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOgahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Hangfire
USN (Ret), 3rd Generation fat, bald, and NAVY
The best, the most courageous military in the history of mankind: the men and women of America’s armed forces. God bless all of them past and present.
What a beautiful post Michelle.
Spent some time with your links and am not embarrassed in the slightest to admit I had tears in my eyes. Tears of THANKS and GRATITUDE.
The last link, flopping aces, had tears running down my cheeks.
God bless our Service Man and Women, every one. YOU ARE THE BEST!
Boy, drove past the Arizona memorial center two hours ago. The line went around the block.
If you ever get a chance, you MUST see the USS Arizona and USS Missouri.
A small flag flies over my father’s grave this weekend like it has for 45 years. He is buried near his parents, who outlived him by some 25 years, at the edge of a small hill in the main cemetery in his hometown.
He spent slightly more than half of his life away from home in service to our nation but returned there 45 years ago and has rested at the edge of that hill since.
I pray that we who remain will fulfill our obligation to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and preserve and protect this great and exceptional nation for our children and grand children.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
God bless America!
A special remembrance to L/Cpl Phillip F Sheridan of Garden City, NY, C BTRY, 1ST BN, 13TH MARINES, 3RD MARDIV, III MAF USMC – KIA Quang Tri Provence 4/14/1968, Panel 50, Line 001 – The Wall
Thank you to all the families of soldiers who gave their lives, and to all future fallen American heroes. You volunteer to keep us safe. You pledge to do whatever you are ordered to do with no regard to your own well-being.
We will always keep the memory of the soldier at war in the front of our minds. Each breath in a war zone could be their last that they give to protect us and our freedoms.
It is the soldier that makes me proud to be American. It isn’t so much democracy, or the freedoms that I enjoy, but it is the soldier who chooses to fight for me. Those guys hold me up. Those guys light the way. Those guys are ever vigilant to allow me to sleep peacefully.
Here’s to hoping we never lose another soldier, but knowing that if we do, it will be to honor this nation. Thank you for all the victories. Thank you for all the sacrifice. Thank you for making America great!
I’ve been to Hawaii 3 times and visited the Arizona each time and Missouri twice. Don’t really know why. There is something powerful and compelling about being there. And good for the soul. Those guys down there were the first Americans to fall in the war that defined the modern world. I wish they’d had the chance to fight. So do they I suspect.
Here is my tribute:
http://vimeo.com/10863699
May God bless and keep all who have fallen in battle.
May God bless and keep all who have served our great nation in times of war and also times of peace.
May they know we are thankful, and we are never going to forget them!!
Thank you for your service and sacrifice. USS BARBEL 316, WWII On Eternal Patrol 2/7/45 – we will never forget.
God bless all the men and women who put their lives on the line for us yesterday, today and tomorrow. We can never thank you enough.
Thanks Michelle for this wonderful tribute to our fighting men and women who love their country so! Thanks to all those who have fought, shed blood and died for us and the for principles of our United States of America – it won’t be in vain.
“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. 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.”
Thank You to our vets.
There is nothing more I can add.
Our local VFW and the M/C group have set up a Field of Remberance. I bought a flag in honor of my dad who was in WW11, Navy, Pacific, on the Saratoga. Having all those flags flying gives me such pride that so many men and women have died so we might be free. God bless the families of the fallen. God bless our Republic.
L
Of the fellows we lost in Vietnam their faces fade-every year is becomes harder to remember-I get to grow old with children, grandchildren, wife and friends. They shall remain but 19/20 and such. The Old Men Sergeants were but in their late twenties and thirties.
As I put out the flags on the Holidays I can almost weep with despair as ever fewer households do so–they just do not understand. Perhaps they do not need to, I really do not know. Once nearly everyone I knew had veterans in their family; my teachers were often veterans of WW II and/or Korea. My father and uncles certainly were, both grandfathers were infantry in WW I.
And for those of the 27th Infantry Regiment who never made it home:
Rest in Peace Good Fellows.
I meant to say this yesterday, excellent memorial Michelle. A tearful weekend for sure.
When were you over there? I was with Radio Relay, H&S, 1st Marines 70-71.
Thank you for the memorial.
There are five short biographies, short because the lives of those they outline were short. They sit in the living room. Each Memorial Day, since the small town they live in has no National Cemetery, I have the boys read them in remembrance of five men who in the past decade gave their lives for our country and for their comrades. It is our memorial day ritual.
To absent comrades.
7:30 am – Reveille
10:30 pm – Taps
Within earshot of Riverside National Cemetery.
Reminds me every day to be thankful for all they have given us.
RNC is the 3rd largest and now the most active National Cemetery and includes:
1 of 4 National Medal of Honor Memorials.
Fallen Soldier/Veterans’ Memorial.
Prisoner of War/Missing in Action National Memorial.
Right across the freeway at March Airfield Museum is 1 of 2 National War Dog Memorials.
I’m still crying over the Flopping Aces video.
The one young soldier holding the kitten did me in.
Now I have to apply more mascara.
You are awesome Michelle Malkin! You always know how to do this right. As a Vietnam Veteran who actually fought in Vietnam,I salute you.
Most of all, I salute all of those who lost their lives serving our country and especially the heroes I knew personally!
Rest In Peace, o warriors of the past. God Bless the current crop who are willing to put their lives on the line so we can continue to be the land of the free.
This weekend, I have been remembering my friend Joe Hall. He dragged 6 soldiers out of the ambush zone while being hit at least 7 times before he was killed. His mom received his Silver Star and Purple Heart. Joe was a very large young black man from Little Rock…he was always laughing..just everyone’s best buddy. I was not suprised when he ended up being a true American hero……
I was in Bosnia ,I was in Iraq, in Afghanistan. I lost buddies in each. They were the best. They live on in those who survived. The survivors like Pat, Jason, Jared, Ed, Gerry, etc, are the future of our country. They will vote, hopefully, they will be heard.
Saved the longer reads/videos for after church today, because I knew I’d need to reapply makeup. And, I did.
A lovely tribute to the fallen Michelle. Prayers to ease the pain of the surviving families and friends, and also to protect those now in harms way.
God Bless America, bless our fallen heroes along with those that have served and will serve their country to keep us ALL safe and free.
Remembering Freedom is not Free.
May they all rest in peace.
My husband has a purple heart for his injuries during Viet Nam (US Army). I am a former Navy WAVE. We are the only house on the block with any flags out. So we put out as many flags as the number of houses on our little block. Once again, we gotcha covered. We’ve got your backs.
I would also like to honor and give thanks for the Life and Service of my cousin, 1LT John T. Corley, Jr., who was killed in action on September 8, 1968.
From my vantage point I see the island of Leyte and try but cannot immagine what those men thought 60 years ago when they first saw that island. What a generous people we are!
I was honored yesterday to be a tiny part of the successful. effort to protect Spc. Joshua Tomlinson’s funeral from the Westboro lunatics. It is a lesson of what Memorial Day is all about and the strength of small-town America that protects its own. God bless the Patriot Guard riders!
Today I honor the following.
1) My paternal grandfather WWII, Navy enlisted in 1944 at the age of 33 when the call was put out for older and married men. He left a wife and two young sons to fight in the Pacific.
2) My father who served in the Naval reserves from 1954 to 1962. He saw no action but he was there and willing to go.
3) My paternal uncle who served in the Navy from 1962 to 1970 and served on several ships including tours off the coast of ‘nam
4) My maternal uncle who served in the Navy from 1962 to 1970 and served on several ships but was not stationed near ‘nam in any of his tours.
5) My wife’s relatives, who have served in every conflict from the revolutionary war up through the current conflicts.
We as a family on both sides have been fortunate in that we never lost a family member in war.
Finally I served 2 years in the Air Force (yeah my family finally forgave me for not joining the Navy) in 1978 through 1980.
Not many left, but sometimes a volunteer will turn out to have been there that day…
One of my dad’s family is still on the Arizona…
RIP Harry A. Goldenberg.
K Company
105th Inf.
27th Inf. Div.
Killed in action, July 1st 1944, Saipan
Words fail me when trying to express my gratitude to those who paid the price for our freedom. I can never repay the debt I owe to those brave warriors. I can only do my part to see that the freedom and liberty enjoyed by the citizens of this great nation is never lost.
Stopped by the USS Alabama park on Mobile bay a few years back. There are often still vets there to answer questions and show folks around. The original battle ensign hangs in a case on the wall in the passageway leading to the Ward Room. The end is frayed from the wind. There was an old guy in his VHW hat standing in front of it with tears running down his face. Didn’t know what to say. Thank you didn’t seem to get it.
Maybe the only thing Tom Brokaw ever got right was that that may well have been the greatest generation.
Thank you. May God bless all who served, and the families who sacrificed their soldier, sailor, or Marine, who died fighting for our country.
May God bless you always. Eternal thanks to our servicemen and women who sacrifice daily for our freedom and protection.
An excerpt from President Ronald Reagan’s remarks at Arlington, Memorial Day 1986, speaking of our Vietnam Veterans:
May God bless those that died to protect our freedom, and may he give comfort to their families. We will never forget them.
God Bless all of our active duty troops, our veteran’s and let’s not forget those who are still missing. POW/MIA.
Carentan O Carentan
BY LOUIS SIMPSON
Trees in the old days used to stand
And shape a shady lane
Where lovers wandered hand in hand
Who came from Carentan.
This was the shining green canal
Where we came two by two
Walking at combat-interval.
Such trees we never knew.
The day was early June, the ground
Was soft and bright with dew.
Far away the guns did sound,
But here the sky was blue.
The sky was blue, but there a smoke
Hung still above the sea
Where the ships together spoke
To towns we could not see.
Could you have seen us through a glass
You would have said a walk
Of farmers out to turn the grass,
Each with his own hay-fork.
The watchers in their leopard suits
Waited till it was time,
And aimed between the belt and boot
And let the barrel climb.
I must lie down at once, there is
A hammer at my knee.
And call it death or cowardice,
Don’t count again on me.
Everything’s all right, Mother,
Everyone gets the same
At one time or another.
It’s all in the game.
I never strolled, nor ever shall,
Down such a leafy lane.
I never drank in a canal,
Nor ever shall again.
There is a whistling in the leaves
And it is not the wind,
The twigs are falling from the knives
That cut men to the ground.
Tell me, Master-Sergeant,
The way to turn and shoot.
But the Sergeant’s silent
That taught me how to do it.
O Captain, show us quickly
Our place upon the map.
But the Captain’s sickly
And taking a long nap.
Lieutenant, what’s my duty,
My place in the platoon?
He too’s a sleeping beauty,
Charmed by that strange tune.
Carentan O Carentan
Before we met with you
We never yet had lost a man
Or known what death could do.
Freedom isn’t free…..someone always has to pay a price. Today we honor and give thanks for those have paid the price for our freedom!
Thank you to all Vets
Nice post, thank you…..
Thank you. Words can not express how grateful I am for the sacrifice you have made for this great country.
I remember a substitute teacher in HS. A older gentleman who at the beginning of every class he subbed for read the “It is the soldier, not the reporter…” poem. The reading never got old.