Memorial Day

[wihadmin]

All too often we forget that our freedom isn't free. Monday 5/29 is Memorial Day. When you party and spend time with your friends and family today, take a little bit of time and think about those that have given their ultimate sacrifice for us. They were someone's father, son, brother, or husband. They were not nameless soldiers. They were people as real as you and me.

It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the protestor to burn the flag. -Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC

http://x402.putfile.com/2/5612294457.jpg

[sgt.slauder]

great pic and quote....wihadmin;;

[Ruci]

Way to go Wihadmin. Hope everyone says a prayer for this soliders.

[papasan9]

yeah thanks for posting all of this wihadmin,
WiH is the best gaming community for mulitple reasons.

i know some of us feel lucky to have our fathers back that fought in vietnam. my father also had a close call and this is a good thread and time to share in. im proud a proud son.

dad was a huey slick pilot, flew in vietnam '70-'71 in the 2/17 air cav (which is why i was born at ft. rucker, al. in 1970). he did two main jobs, 1: ferrying lrrps and arvn rangers in and out of combat, 2: rescuing downed choppers (not the pilots, but picking up chopper wrecks with his huey and slinging them outta the enemies hands)

in his 11th month in country, he was flying a standard insertion mission with his squadron, and was squadron leader in first position. when the flight was coming to a hover in the LZ the enemy exploded mines that were planted under the choppers. dad was in a hover when one blew thru the bottom of his chopper, killing half of the troops he was ferrying in and his copilot, everyone not dead was wounded including my father in the upper thigh.

he was able to maintain control of the aircraft, get out and fly it to the khe san (sp?) airstrip for a good landing (closest landing pad). i didnt know until late teens that he had been given, bronze star and distinguished flying cross for that one, as well as purple heart of course.

he is only now starting to tell vietnam stories without prodding. he claims he has written memoirs but i dont think is prepared to share them yet. his best friend was killed there, was an infantry mg gunner. i was posthumasly(sp) made his namesake. when flying he kept is cavalry stetson under his pilot's seat. to this day he has kept it with the dried blood from him and his buds.

dad has about 30 minutes total of super 8 footage from vietnam, to include footage of looking down out of the slick door at cobras hitting a hillside road with enemy supply convoy on it. is cool video. some day it will make it from super8 to digital land. when that happens i will have to post.

anyway, is a good day to reflect. i am happy to have grown up with a father. it almost didnt happen. its memorial day folks.:thumbsup:

[Klickinater]

All too often we forget that our freedom isn't free. Monday 5/29 is Memorial Day. When you party and spend time with your friends and family today,

>>take a little bit of time and think about those that have given their ultimate sacrifice for us<<

They were someone's father, son, brother, or husband. They were not nameless soldiers. They were people as real as you and me.

ah yes, in fact I was in the Andover Memorial Day parade as a light infantry in the His Majesty's 10th Regement of Foot. (a reenacting group) although I am very gratful for the people who gave their lives for this country, I am not so gratful for the guy who made the ceremony 1H 32M....Believe me, standing in a wool jacket, wool vest, cotton shirt in 80 degrees weather is not so fun. (not to mention my wig was too tight)

[EANeuspeed]

Bless the American troops for putting there lives on the line everyday.

[Ichi]

While today is the American Memorial day. I not only salute those who fought and died for our country. I also salute our honorable adversaries who we have fought. http://minnesotatribe.com/uplink/images/smiles/gob_icon_salute.gif

[[W33T] JimmytehHand8]

"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must
suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
- General Douglas MacArthur

"Future years will never know the seething hell and the black infernal
background, the countless minor scenes and interiors of the secession war; and
it is best they should not. The real war will never get in the books."
- Walt Whitman

"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes
longer."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God
that such men lived."
- General George S. Patton

"There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long
run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that
men have died to win them."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The characteristic of a genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have
wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved
to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself
with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

[wihadmin]

Excellent quotes there Jimmy!

[FozzyBear]

My sincere thanks to those that have served, are serving, or will be serving.

My hats off to you all. :bow: