Thanks to and remembering my fellow veterans this memorial day today.

B

Bill Akins

New member
From this old Marine, thanks to all my fellow veterans for your service.
(Even you non Confederate yankees! :D)

Happy Memorial Day. Or if unhappy for some families of the recently fallen in the middle east....at least please accept our solemn and sincere thanks and gratitude for your veteran loved one's sacrifice.

And thanks to my departed merchant marine veteran Grandfather for service in WW1 and injuries to his legs suffered being torpedoed and sunk by a German U boat and surviving. And thanks to grandad's departed veteran brother and Marine great uncle Ed who at Belleau Wood in WW1 won the bronze star which is now in the possession of my veteran nephew Dan. And thanks to my departed veteran sailor Uncle Bob my Dad's brother and my departed submariner veteran Father for service in WW2 and my dad's pain and suffering for which his submarine won the presidential unit citation three times and was #2 sub in the Pacific for Japanese tonnage sunk. And thanks to my surviving veteran nephew Dan for his service in the Army tank corps as a gunner. Thanks to veteran Uncle Mike who died on active duty in the Army in Germany. Thanks to veteran Air Force uncle Harry who still survives. Thanks to veteran Army uncle Buddy who still survives for his service during Korea.

Salute to all my family veterans and to all U.S. veterans everywhere.

Smiley_BU_Sign_Salute_A_Vet.gif




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Thank you for your service Bill and all the other vets past and present. Especially those who served in Nam and didn't get the recognition they so richly deserved.
 
A big +100 to all that has been said. Our sincere and deeply felt thanks to the families of the men and women who paid the supreme sacrifice for our country . . . you ae not forgotten nor will you ever be. Let us all keep the men and women serving in our armed forces today, as well as their families, in our prayers. Another generation . . . like the generations before . . . willing to lay their lives down for the freedoms we enjoy and far too often take for granted. A special thought and prayer for you today Duane (KIA 7/3/1969) and the others . . . Let us all remember that this id a day to remember and pay tribute . . . and say "thank you".
 
Semper Fidelis, Bill. Thanks. May we never forget.

(Rant: Has anyone else noticed how unpatriotic "Google" is? They go to such great lengths to make their logo into fancy artwork commemorating nearly every holiday or event, yet can only muster enough creative talent to give us a puny flag and ribbon for Memorial Day? Not that a flag isn't enough in itself, but...
http://www.google.com/
As I recall, Flag Day had nothing at all.
Rant over!)
 
BZ to you, Bill, and to all who served, are serving and will serve. And especially to those who gave their last full measure.

As much ribbing as we gave the Marines when I was in the Navy (although, oddly enough, not to their faces), there's no group of men and women I respect more. Especially thinking back to boot camp in San Diego when we'd watch you guys on your long, torturous runs while we were swabbing the head, getting ready for our twice a week mile and a half.
 
Let's not forget that Mermorial Day is not Veterans Day. There's a difference, and I think it's important to differentiate between the two. Memorial Day is for remembering those who gave their lives in service. Veterans Day is the day to focus on thanking the living.
 
Model-P,
You are exactly correct! Memorial Day was originally Decoration Day, and was to honor the UNION soldiers who gave their lives in the American 'Civil War'. It was later expanded to honor all those who GAVE THEIR LIVES serving the United States. It is not meant to honor living military or veterans in general.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial_Day
 
"Arnold Flowers was one of the few survivors of the Bataan Death March."

This guy speaks at our local high schools about his experiences; i can tell you from what my nephews and their friends have said that his presentation pretty much assures that all of those kids will have a great respect for the veterans who gave so much for this country.

He was recently awarded a purple heart for injuries received on that march. This hero is not a very big guy in stature, but he must be really tough.

http://leadercall.com/local/x1190398259/Overdue-honor
 
Every day is meant for thanking our veterans AND their families, living and dead.
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Of course. But the op was regarding Memorial Day, and I thought it would be good to remind everyone what that day is all about. It isn't about the living.

The distiction between Memorial Day and Veterans Day has been blurred for so long that we may soon be in danger of the two days being combined into one. The veterans, both dead and alive, are already recognized on Veterans Day, so let's give the ones who actually died in combat their due and focus on Memorial Day for what it was meant to be.

(P.S. Even google's lame attempt at recognizing Memorial Day showed the lack of awareness of the meaning of the day. Their symbol was the American flag encircled with a yellow ribbon. The yellow ribbon implies a hope for the safe return of our soldiers. Their symbol may be appropriate for Veterans Day, but was virtually a slap in the face to the families whose loved ones lost in combat can not ever return home safely.)
 
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Frankly, I utterly astonished that someone would, in the name of political correctness, stomp all over a gentleman's attempt to honor those who pledge their lives to our freedom.

I reiterate what I said above, notwithstanding your rather glib dismissal - "Of course, but...".
 
Memorial Day was originally Decoration Day, and was to honor the UNION soldiers who gave their lives in the American 'Civil War'
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It was actually started in Columbus, Ms. by Southern women decorating Confederate graves.
 
Mykeal, I wasn't doing it in the name of political correctness, just correctness. And, I wasn't stomping on any attempt to honor any who are, or have, served. Every chance I get I thank those in service, even being a veteran myself. However, I do feel strongly that we should not misunderstand the significance of Memorial Day. It's interesting that your first post on this thread was just to stir things up. Thankyou for your contribution.:rolleyes:


Mr. Akins, thankyou for honoring veterans, and thankyou for your service. As a veteran, I appreciate your thanks, and meant nothing against you in any of my posts. As a veteran yourself, I'm sure you appreciate the special recognition that those who have died for our country deserve, as your original post demonstates.
 
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Model-P said:
(P.S. Even google's lame attempt at recognizing Memorial Day showed the lack of awareness of the meaning of the day. Their symbol was the American flag encircled with a yellow ribbon. The yellow ribbon implies a hope for the safe return of our soldiers. Their symbol may be appropriate for Veterans Day, but was virtually a slap in the face to the families whose loved ones lost in combat can not ever return home safely.)
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I do appreciate being reminded about the sacrifice of our fallen veterans. But I don't agree with the above interpretation of what the yellow ribbon represents.
I think that a yellow ribbon has more than one meaning which includes hope, support and remembrance.
IMO any sign of patriotism is a positive and shouldn't be construed as a negative simply because some folks may not understand the full intent of the symbols used, i.e. the U.S. flag and the yellow ribbon. As used below the yellow ribbon can clearly stand for "remembrance".

DecalInLovingMemoryYellowRibbon.jpg

http://enchantednurserydesigns.com/pro1251728.html


The use of yellow in familiar phrases can help a designer see how their color of choice might be perceived by others, both the positive and negative aspects.

Good yellow
Yellow ribbon - hope, support, remembrance
Mellow yellow - laid back, relaxation

http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/colorselection/p/yellow.htm
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I'll go with that. Thanks, articap. It's not so much that the full intent of the symbol is not understood, so much as that the meaning of the symbol has change to take on new meanings. I grew up in a time when the yellow ribbon meant a hope for a safe return, but now I see it means more than that (or less, depending on how much the original meaning meant to you).

"Ultimately, the thing that makes the yellow ribbon a genuinely traditional symbol is neither its age nor its putative association with the American Civil War, but rather its capacity to take on new meanings, to fit new needs and, in a word, to evolve."
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/ribbons/ribbons.html
 
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