DienCaiDau Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 I know I've posted this in the past, but it is Memorial Day and I think it's worth posting it again. It's something I found on Internet. I felt it reflected my feelings exactly..... Memorial Day is their day, isn't it? It is supposed to be the day a grateful nation pauses to quietly thank the more than one million men and women who have died in military service to their country since the Revolutionary War. Or is it the day the beach resorts kick into high gear for the summer season, the day the strand is covered by fish-belly white people basting themselves in coconut oil, the day the off-season rates end and the weekend you can't get in a seaside seafood restaurant with anything less than a one hour wait. Or is it one of the biggest shopping center sales days of the year, a day when hunting for a parking space is the prime sport for the holiday stay-at-homers? Or is it the weekend when more people will kill themselves on the highways than any other weekend and Highway Patrol troopers work overtime picking up the pieces? I think the men and women who died for us would understand what we do with their day. I hope they would, because if they wouldn't, if they would have insisted that it be a somber, respectful day of remembrance, then we have blown it and dishonored their sacrifice. I knew some of those who died, and the guys I knew would have understood. They liked a sunny beach and a cold beer and a hot babe in a black bikini, too. They would have enjoyed packing the kids, the inflatable rafts, the coolers, and the suntan lotion in the car and heading for the lake. They would have enjoyed staying at home and cutting the grass and getting together with some friends and cooking some steaks on the grill, too. But they didn't get the chance. They blew up in the Marine Barracks in Beirut and died in the oily waters of the Persian Gulf. They caught theirs at the airstrip in Grenada in the little war everyone laughed at. They bought the farm in the I Drang Valley and on Heartbreak Ridge, Phu Tai and at Hue. They froze at the Chosin Reservoir and were shot at the Pusan Perimeter. They drowned in the surf at Omaha Beach or fell in the fetid jungles of Guadalcanal. They died in the ice and snow of the Bulge and the Vosges Mountains. They were at the Somme and at San Juan Hill, Phu Tai, Qui Nhon, and at Gettysburg and at Cero Gordon and at Valley Forge. They couldn't be here with us this weekend, but I think they would understand that we don't spend the day in tears and heart-wrenching memorials. They wouldn't want that. Grief is not why they died. They died so we could go fishing. They died so another father could hold his laughing little girl over the waves. They died so another father could toss a baseball to his son in their backyard while the charcoal is getting white. They died so another buddy could drink a beer on his day off. They died so a family could get in the station wagon and go shopping and maybe get some ice cream on the way home. They won't mind that we have chosen their day to have our first big outdoor party of the year. But they wouldn't mind, either, if we took just a second and thought about them. Some will think of them formally, of course. Wreaths will be laid in small, sparsely attended ceremonies in military cemeteries and at monuments at state capitols and in small town's squares. Flags will fly over the graves, patriotic words will be spoken and a few people there will probably feel a little anger that no more people showed up. They'll think no one else remembers. But we do remember. We remember Smitty and Chico, and Davey and the guys who died. We remember the deal we made: If we buy it, we said, drink a beer for me. I'll do it for you, guys. I'll drink that beer for you today, and I'll sit on that beach for you, and I'll check out the girls for you and, just briefly, I'll think of you. I won't let your memory spoil the trip but you'll be on that sunny beach with me today. I will not mourn your deaths this Memorial Day, my friends. Rather, I'll celebrate the life you gave me. This Bud's for you, brother! -Author Unknown- 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Indian Outlaw Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 and the new thing I see is people adding, "and to honor our fallen first responders". . . . . . . . . come on! If you have never served in the military honorably then quit trying to get into our boat,,,,,,,, we served for your rights, Memorial Day is for those who gave all in service to our country to ensure you have rights~~~~~~~not for all who have lived in our country to be honored! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quigley3 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 The word "hero" is grossly overused these days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scalper38 Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Happy Memorial Day to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving this great country and to their families. Also thanks to those who are still serving and those who have served in the past. HOOAH!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firebird77clone Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 Wish I had read that post yesterday afternoon. I'd have used it in my intro to my poker game at the VFW. WTH. I may steal a minute at the mike during karaoke tonight, and share it with a larger audience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleynot Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 and the new thing I see is people adding, "and to honor our fallen first responders". . . . . . . . . come on! If you have never served in the military honorably then quit trying to get into our boat,,,,,,,, we served for your rights, Memorial Day is for those who gave all in service to our country to ensure you have rights~~~~~~~not for all who have lived in our country to be honored! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harleynot Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tahoe Chief Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Happy Memorial Day to all who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving this great country and to their families. Also thanks to those who are still serving and those who have served in the past. HOOAH!! Sir ! Yes Sir ! Thank you for your long stretch of support for our great country ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reinie Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 I fired an M-1 in the three volleys with our United Veterans Military Honor Guard Friday in a Memorial Day salute & flag raising at a local nursing home followed by a funeral for a fallen Vietnam Vet out at a nearby rural cemetery. Saturday I rode with the American Legion Riders in a Memorial Day Parade in a nearby village followed by firing an M-1 in the three volleys for their Legion Post services as they were short handed. In fact it was mostly we Legion Riders who fired the volleys. We were glad to help them out. Monday our United Veterans Honor Guard will be in the ceremonies at our small city's cemetery. It's an honor to do honor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
335 Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) http://www.mrctv.org/blog/11-year-old-boy-honors-those-who-died-d-day-most-incredible-way 11-Year-Old Boy Honors Those Who Died On D-Day In The Most Incredible Way Edited May 24, 2015 by 335 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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