Memorial Day Remembrances

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
This thread is to remember fallen members of our armed forces, who died in service to our country.

[img]http://www.hyscience.com/MemorialDay.jpg[/img]

also, let us pray for all our family members currently serving in the military.

[Lil Red]

+J.M.J.+
for my uncle, who died in Vietnam. body never recovered.

for two of my nephews, who serve in the Air Force. one will be headed back to Iraq or Afghanistan for his third tour this summer.

[CatherineM]

For those men and women who did come home, but were permanently scarred physically and mentally.

[Archaeology cat]

For my uncle's best friend, who died in Vietnam

[Roamin Catholic]

For my friends currently serving in the armed forces.

[dominicansoul]

[img]http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh165/hamburgerpatty_2008/pow-mia_flag.jpg[/img]

for those who suffered imprisonment by the hands of the enemy, and for those whose fates were never known...

(look at the number of missing/POW soldiers from WWII!)

[Paladin D]

For all those who gave the supreme sacrifice, especially those who had families of their own, for the defense of this country.

For my cousin, who currently is serving in the Air Force and that God may continue to protect her.

[dominicansoul]

[img]http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh165/hamburgerpatty_2008/omaha20beach.jpg[/img]
I notice in this picture how turbulent the skies look...it is as if Heaven itself were on hand to witness the slaughter on this day...

but it was a victorious day for the Allies, at a very heavy price...

****************************************
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...i want to remember my dad, who is still living strong and healthy at 83 years old...

he endured the battles of the European theatre during WWII, and was part of the mechanics of D-Day. I thank God he survived the ravages of war! War forever changed him, and he had to battle his own "personal" war for decades to come...

they went through hell, my phriends! we can't even imagine the horror they experienced and witnessed...

my dad, like many of his fellow brave soldiers who fought on D-day...[i]was only a teen-ager[/i] at the time of this historic battle...

sometimes that is hard for me to fathom...


he's my hero...

[dominicansoul]

[img]http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh165/hamburgerpatty_2008/reflection.jpg[/img]

...i like to share this picture once again...

for those who fought and died during the Vietnam War...



Let's keep praying for the [i]Right To LIFE[/i], so that all our soldiers of every war, who fought for our freedom, will not have fought and died in vain...

[MissScripture]

For my classmate who will be returning to Iraq in June for his second tour of duty. For his brother, who died in Iraq on his first tour.

For my great-uncle, who ripped open his surgical wounds, nearly dying, so he would not have to fight for the Nazi's in WWII.
This is something I wrote several years ago, reflecting on Memorial Day:

My great-uncle was in the German army. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it is he that I commemorate on Memorial day, as bizarre as that may seem. He embodied what it meant to fight for freedom. He was forced into the German army in World War II, but that didn't mean that he went along with it. He was supposed to be sent to the front. By the hand of God, he had appendicitis and had to have his appendix removed. He knew that as soon as he was healed, he would be sent to the front. He ripped open his stitches so that he wouldn't be. He believed so strongly that he was willing to sacrifice his life. Are we still willing to do that? Surrounded by people who feel one way, very strongly, strong enough to torture and kill anyone who disagreed, will we still stand up for what we believe? We've grown soft. We've forgotten what it means to have to stand strong, to be steadfast. We don't know what it means to believe in something to the death. We have no reason to. But I thank those who do remember. I thank those who do try to protect freedom. I thank those who remember to stand for what they believe in. I thank those who are willing to fight to protect me.

Edited May 23, 2009 by MissScripture

[cmotherofpirl]

For my daughter in the Army National Guard in California, and for her MP unit who just shipped to Afghanistan.

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='MissScripture' post='1874007' date='May 23 2009, 04:50 PM']For my classmate who will be returning to Iraq in June for his second tour of duty. For his brother, who died in Iraq on his first tour.

For my great-uncle, who ripped open his surgical wounds, nearly dying, so he would not have to fight for the Nazi's in WWII.
This is something I wrote several years ago, reflecting on Memorial Day:

My great-uncle was in the German army. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it is he that I commemorate on Memorial day, as bizarre as that may seem. He embodied what it meant to fight for freedom. He was forced into the German army in World War II, but that didn't mean that he went along with it. He was supposed to be sent to the front. By the hand of God, he had appendicitis and had to have his appendix removed. He knew that as soon as he was healed, he would be sent to the front. He ripped open his stitches so that he wouldn't be. He believed so strongly that he was willing to sacrifice his life. Are we still willing to do that? Surrounded by people who feel one way, very strongly, strong enough to torture and kill anyone who disagreed, will we still stand up for what we believe? We've grown soft. We've forgotten what it means to have to stand strong, to be steadfast. We don't know what it means to believe in something to the death. We have no reason to. But I thank those who do remember. I thank those who do try to protect freedom. I thank those who remember to stand for what they believe in. I thank those who are willing to fight to protect me.[/quote]
Thank you for these powerful words!

[CatherineM]

[quote name='MissScripture' post='1874007' date='May 23 2009, 04:50 PM']For my classmate who will be returning to Iraq in June for his second tour of duty. For his brother, who died in Iraq on his first tour.

For my great-uncle, who ripped open his surgical wounds, nearly dying, so he would not have to fight for the Nazi's in WWII.
This is something I wrote several years ago, reflecting on Memorial Day:

My great-uncle was in the German army. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it is he that I commemorate on Memorial day, as bizarre as that may seem. He embodied what it meant to fight for freedom. He was forced into the German army in World War II, but that didn't mean that he went along with it. He was supposed to be sent to the front. By the hand of God, he had appendicitis and had to have his appendix removed. He knew that as soon as he was healed, he would be sent to the front. He ripped open his stitches so that he wouldn't be. He believed so strongly that he was willing to sacrifice his life. Are we still willing to do that? Surrounded by people who feel one way, very strongly, strong enough to torture and kill anyone who disagreed, will we still stand up for what we believe? We've grown soft. We've forgotten what it means to have to stand strong, to be steadfast. We don't know what it means to believe in something to the death. We have no reason to. But I thank those who do remember. I thank those who do try to protect freedom. I thank those who remember to stand for what they believe in. I thank those who are willing to fight to protect me.[/quote]


I think deep down, most of us are capable of standing for what is right, even when confronted with death, it's just that very few of us are ever placed in that position in our lives. Until confronted with that choice, we can't know how we will respond.

[Maximilianus]

[url="http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=7620"][img]http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/webphoto/web_030526-N-4048T-025.jpg[/img][/url]



All military personell are required to go by the Code of Conduct of the American Armed Forces. It has six articles that deal with how to act in combat to evade capture or how to act as a prisoner of war. Article I has always stood out to me.

Article I: I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.

Gives you something to think about.
Semper Fidelis

[url="http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=29916"][img]http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/thumbnails/thumb_051114-N-3019M-002.jpg[/img][/url]

[she_who_is_not]

For all widows, widowers, and orphans.