posted on November 11, 2003 06:15:38 AM new
Today being the official Veteran's Day, I'd like to post my personal thanks to all who have given service to our country. To those who served so bravely in the past, and to those serving today, and to honor those who are no longer with us.
posted on November 11, 2003 06:36:56 AM new
AMEN, HELEN
"Another plague upon the land, as devastating as the locusts God loosed on the Egyptians, is "Political Correctness.'" --Charlton Heston
posted on November 11, 2003 11:23:47 AM new
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."
posted on November 11, 2003 11:52:18 AM new
Thank You for this post dadofstickboy I am a Vet. Korea & Nam And it Brought a tear to my eye.
God Bless You and God Bless Our Troops.
posted on November 11, 2003 02:07:05 PM new
A very heartfelt thank you to all our veterans
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
Excerpt of a letter from Army Pfc. Jesse A. Givens, 34, of Springfield, Mo. Private Givens was killed May 1 when his tank fell into the Euphrates River after the bank on which he was parked gave way. This letter was written to be delivered to his family if he died. Melissa is his wife, Dakota his 6-year-old stepson and Bean the name he used for his son, Carson, who was born May 29.
My family,
I never thought that I would be writing a letter like this. I really don't know where to start. I've been getting bad feelings, though and, well, if you are reading this ....
The happiest moments in my life all deal with my little family. I will always have with me the small moments we all shared. The moments when you quit taking life so serious and smiled. The sounds of a beautiful boy's laughter or the simple nudge of a baby unborn. You will never know how complete you have made me. You saved me from loneliness and taught me how to think beyond myself. You taught me how to live and to love. You opened my eyes to a world I never dreamed existed.
Dakota ... you taught me how to care until it hurts, you taught me how to smile again. You taught me that life isn't so serious and sometimes you just have to play. You have a big, beautiful heart. Through life you need to keep it open and follow it. Never be afraid to be yourself. I will always be there in our park when you dream so we can play. I love you, and hope someday you will understand why I didn't come home. Please be proud of me.
Bean, I never got to see you but I know in my heart you are beautiful. I know you will be strong and big-hearted like your mom and brother. I will always have with me the feel of the soft nudges on your mom's belly, and the joy I felt when I found out you were on your way. I love you, Bean.
Melissa, I have never been as blessed as the day I met you. You are my angel, soulmate, wife, lover and best friend. I am sorry. I did not want to have to write this letter. There is so much more I need to say, so much more I need to share. A lifetime's worth. I married you for a million lifetimes. That's how long I will be with you. Please keep my babies safe. Please find it in your heart to forgive me for leaving you alone ... Teach our babies to live life to the fullest, tell yourself to do the same.
I will always be there with you, Melissa. I will always want you, need you and love you, in my heart, my mind and my soul. Do me a favor, after you tuck the children in. Give them hugs and kisses from me. Go outside and look at the stars and count them. Don't forget to smile.
Love Always,
Your husband,
Jess
And just a reminder -- Bush hasn't attended a single funeral. He doesn't have the balls to stand up to these grieving families and tell them his war was worth the sacrifice these families are paying.
posted on November 12, 2003 12:26:54 PM new
Linda, I wasn't trying to dishonour any veteran's by my post.
My concern is with the way vets are treated the other 364 days a year. Here, they get a measeley pension, which amounts to nothing. I didn't know this until a couple of years ago when I saw a documentary on Canadian war vets, amputees, etc. To make a long story short, donating money to war vets, goes a lot further than donating to cancer, etc.
I'm glad to hear Bush is doing something for these people. I wish Canada would recognize how important these people are as well by making, what life they have left, a little easier.
posted on November 12, 2003 01:13:26 PM new
KD - That was a rant??? Didn't come across to me that way.
Linda, I wasn't trying to dishonour any veteran's by my post. I sure didn't mean to imply you were dishonoring any vets. Just wishful thinking on my part that we could have a thread to honor our vets without anything political being brought into it. Because our vets are honored each year, no matter who our president is at that time, as they deserve to be.
posted on November 12, 2003 01:33:14 PM new
well sorry about this response Linda, Yep wishful thinking to ask for respect from some people.
Helen I know of three people personaly that have lost a family member in the war. All three have had personal contact from the president. Security and respect have a great deal to do with funeral apperances. President means news cameras and an untold number of security measures and intrusions to the family. Intrusions the family at their time of grief can do without. If my son were to perish in A war, in all honesty it is really none of your damn business how or if the President at the time contacts me and a personal apperance is an unwanted hassle, but personal contact IS made. You really should have had as you put it "the balls" to start you own thread and leave this one as a simple yet respectful thanks to the soldiers but then again class is not really your strong suit so it should have been expected. even just posting the letter as a nice tribute to the man was fine but know you couldn't leave well enough alone and had to be a "helen" . Hapring about something that you truly know so little about.
Sorry again Linda, but helen needed to be called on this one. I will not discuss it further on this thread out of respect for the original post. TOM
posted on November 12, 2003 01:59:42 PM new
That story was published in the New York Times, and also by Kos.
When I copied the story from Kos, I didn't notice the comment at the end using the word "balls". That word is not in my vocabulary and if I had noticed, I would have edited that sentence. Otherwise, I think the letter and the comment is very appropriate for this particular thread.
You may go to the Kos site, linked above and read other comments about the letter.
tomyou said,
"Hapring about something that you truly know so little about."
You know nothing about what I "truly know about" and I have no desire to tell you.
posted on November 12, 2003 02:26:29 PM new
It's a touchy subject, Helen... maybe for ALL countries. It never occurred to me that war vets weren't well looked after. Now that I know better, I hope it's NOT that way in all countries.
posted on November 12, 2003 02:57:40 PM new
dadofstickboy;
A very moving Christmas poem.
As was Helen’s letter from Army Pfc. Jesse A. Givens, 34, of Springfield, Mo.
Linda, I don’t think any of us today are critical of our soldiers as some in both our nations once were; ie. esp. Vietnam War.
But that does not mean that we are necessarily not critical of someone for this war.
If we feel that our soldiers’ deployment is unjust, or that their treatment during and after return is unjust; then surely we OWE them enough for their sacrifices, to do more than to merely praise them one day a year. Surely we OWE our soldiers enough to attack in some way those responsible for the suffering brought upon them.
I find it quite offensive and sickening to see images of our nations’ leaders out doing their pro-war p.r. thing, and actually turning their backs on Vet’s with missing limbs as they restrained by barricades in order to prevent them from ‘disturbing’ the p.r. drive.
And today, they turn their backs on them still.
Strange way to say ‘Thankyou’.
Motor neurone disease, post-traumatic disorder, aching joints, chronic fatigue, memory loss, sleep difficulties, headaches, skin rashes, diarrhoea, vision problems, nausea, breathing problems
and others due to chemical and/or biological agent exposures.
http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol30I1/page02.htm
“(Freedom Magazine, Volume 29, Issue 1), two ex-CIA analysts came forward with the information that some in the U.S. government have been misleading the American public on exposure of our Armed Forces during the Gulf War to toxic agents that may be some of the causes of Gulf War Illness”
http://www.appc1.va.gov/health/environ/faq.htm
“Comprehensive medical care is available at no cost to the veteran through the VA for Persian Gulf veterans with medical problems thought to be possibly related to a hazardous exposure during their service in the Gulf War. Care may not be available, however, or may require co-payment by the veteran, if the illness is determined to be clearly unrelated to their Persian Gulf service.”
So when they return with battle weary bodies, they still have another battle on their hands.
U.K.2002
“In May a former territorial army soldier won a nine-year battle to have his illness recognised as Gulf War syndrome.”
Poems and monuments are nice but just not damn good enough.
Vegas WWII monument $160MILL 2001
We need to FIGHT for justice as they have fought for us.
If supporting my leader means screwing my soldiers; then screw my leader.
Perhaps I am ill informed BUT
Thank You To All OUR Veteran's
Didn't come across to me that way.
