Sitting here drinking coffee while the family gets ready for the ceremony. Wife and daughters are sewing the last of the patches onto their (my daughters') Girl Scout sashes. The girls, along with the Boy Scouts, will be taking part in the ceremony, marching along with the vets (including their grandfather, my wife's dad) from the Legion post that is named after a great-great-uncle - the first local boy to die in WW I.
I am listening to a cd that damn near brings tears to my eyes whenever I play it, so I don't play it that often, but today it seemed fitting, John McDermott, "Battlefields of Green, Songs of Love and Loss". Anybody that isn't moved by these songs - "Christmas in the Trenches", "The Green Fields of France", "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (about the ANZACS at Gallipoli) has no soul.
My grandfather (an immigrant) gained his citizenship by enlisting during WW I, both uncles and aunts served during WW II, my father and other uncles in Korea, cousins in Viet Nam. Luckily, all made it home, and for that I am very grateful.
One other note, when your local Legion or VFW post fires the salute today, notice their rifles. If I can find the article I will post it, but in one of last weeks newspapers, there was an article about these rifles. Many posts do not have enough servicable rifles to fire salutes at these ceremonies or funerals of veterans. These rifles are given to the posts by the army, and are to be repaired by the army, but there was no funding in the bill that authorized it for repairs. Many rifles that these posts should have are sitting in an armoury waiting to be repaired, but they can't be, because nobody will agree on how the repairs are supposed to be paid for. The posts are not allowed to pay for them (or have the repairs done elsewhere), and the gov. will not pay for them. All you guys with a DCM/CMP rifle think about that. Everybody- contact your elected officials.
oh well, time to go,
bergie
Back already,
did the search for the article and came up with these links to two different stories www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,,343811,00.html www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,,341128,00.html
contact your congress critters
bergie
[This message has been edited by bergie (edited May 29, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by bergie (edited May 29, 2000).]
I am listening to a cd that damn near brings tears to my eyes whenever I play it, so I don't play it that often, but today it seemed fitting, John McDermott, "Battlefields of Green, Songs of Love and Loss". Anybody that isn't moved by these songs - "Christmas in the Trenches", "The Green Fields of France", "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" (about the ANZACS at Gallipoli) has no soul.
My grandfather (an immigrant) gained his citizenship by enlisting during WW I, both uncles and aunts served during WW II, my father and other uncles in Korea, cousins in Viet Nam. Luckily, all made it home, and for that I am very grateful.
One other note, when your local Legion or VFW post fires the salute today, notice their rifles. If I can find the article I will post it, but in one of last weeks newspapers, there was an article about these rifles. Many posts do not have enough servicable rifles to fire salutes at these ceremonies or funerals of veterans. These rifles are given to the posts by the army, and are to be repaired by the army, but there was no funding in the bill that authorized it for repairs. Many rifles that these posts should have are sitting in an armoury waiting to be repaired, but they can't be, because nobody will agree on how the repairs are supposed to be paid for. The posts are not allowed to pay for them (or have the repairs done elsewhere), and the gov. will not pay for them. All you guys with a DCM/CMP rifle think about that. Everybody- contact your elected officials.
oh well, time to go,
bergie
Back already,
did the search for the article and came up with these links to two different stories www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,,343811,00.html www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,,341128,00.html
contact your congress critters
bergie
[This message has been edited by bergie (edited May 29, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by bergie (edited May 29, 2000).]
