Memorial Day

moreluck

golden ticket member
MEMORIAL DAY
A time for picnics, time off work -
Vacations and the "Indy" -
A holiday, too often times
We forget what, it should be.


A time to pay respect to those
Who rallied to the battle cry -
Who gave their lives for liberty -
Those freedoms for you and I.


Such a waste of brave young souls -
Some still struggling through their youth
Who faced and fell willingly
Before wartimes' awful truth.


So as we share this holiday
With our friends or family -
Take a moment to give thanks to
Those who died so we'd stay free.


Let us strive for world peace -
For the end of greed and hate -
For next time, after "the war"
It just may be too damned late.
 

browniehound

Well-Known Member
Thanks Moreluck,
The poem really got me to think. Memorial day weekend is such a great time. Cookouts, nice weather, extra day off, and unofficial start to summer.

But, we tend to forget what its really about. Moreluck just reminded us. When I and you are eating the cheeseburger this weekend, just don't forget about the millions of people who died and hundreds of thousands who are fighting right now so we can eat cheeseburgers in a backyard on a sunny 75 degree afternoon.

God Bless,
Brownie:peaceful:
 

mattwtrs

Retired Senior Member
Thanks to all the Vets that helped protect what we have! Godspeed to the the people in uniform today. We hope you all return home soon, safe & sound!
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
Memorial Day is on the last Monday in May and honors those men and women who lost their lives serving their country. What we celebrate as Memorial Day today, began at the end of the Civil War. Family members of the many soldiers slain in battle would visit the grave sites of their fallen relatives or friends and decorate the graves with flowers.

On May 5, 1868, General John Logan proclaimed this day a holiday through his General Order No. 11. The day was entitled Decoration Day and was first observed on May 30, 1868. The northern states celebrated this day every year, but the southern states celebrated a day similar to this on a different day until sometime after World War I.

In 1882, the name Decoration day was changed to Memorial Day, and in 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday of May every year. Over the years it has come to serve as a day to remember all U.S. men and women killed or missing in action in all wars.

I am truly grateful for the freedoms which we enjoy today. Too often, we take these gifts for granted, little realizing the sacrifice which was involved in ensuring that these freedoms continue to be a part of all of our lives. Be honest, how many of us think of Memorial Day as just another chance for a three-day weekend? A chance to go the lakes or beaches or mountains? A trip to Disneyland or Six Flags or some other amusement park?

If you are here in the United States, please remember to display the flag, not just for the day but for the whole weekend. Let's not forget the real reason for having this holiday. The quote below says it all. Please take the time to read it.


"It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray-haired. But most of them were boys when they died, they gave up two lives -- the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for their county, for us. All we can do is remember."

-- Ronald Wilson Reagan
Remarks at Veteran's Day ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia, November 11, 1985
 

satellitedriver

Moderator
Thanks Moreluck,
The poem really got me to think. Memorial day weekend is such a great time. Cookouts, nice weather, extra day off, and unofficial start to summer.

But, we tend to forget what its really about. Moreluck just reminded us. When I and you are eating the cheeseburger this weekend, just don't forget about the millions of people who died and hundreds of thousands who are fighting right now so we can eat cheeseburgers in a backyard on a sunny 75 degree afternoon.

God Bless,
Brownie:peaceful:
Well said, BH.
I told two men in chat on Sunday night that I would think of them on Monday.
They know who they are.
While I was BBQ'ing (is that a word?) , I was struck how I can stand on my patio and breathe the clean fresh air mixed with the scent of wood smoke and feel safe.
I owe that feeling to the ones who were willing to put themselves in harms way.
I thought of the two I mentioned and my brother and my father and my uncles and my great grandfathers who have served this country since the revolutionary war.
The losses have been great and I could not help but cry.
My tears were a mix of sadness and pride.
I could only stand and look across my land and say, "Thank You"., and I felt selfish in doing so.
 

browniehound

Well-Known Member
Well said, BH.
I told two men in chat on Sunday night that I would think of them on Monday.
They know who they are.
While I was BBQ'ing (is that a word?) , I was struck how I can stand on my patio and breathe the clean fresh air mixed with the scent of wood smoke and feel safe.
I owe that feeling to the ones who were willing to put themselves in harms way.
I thought of the two I mentioned and my brother and my father and my uncles and my great grandfathers who have served this country since the revolutionary war.
The losses have been great and I could not help but cry.
My tears were a mix of sadness and pride.
I could only stand and look across my land and say, "Thank You"., and I felt selfish in doing so.


And well said by you Sat. I don't know how old you are, but it was my grandfathers and great-uncles who fought in WWII. This was a truly GREAT generation. The men who fought and the women who supported them have my undying respect. It was the women that may have paid a higher price (or do pay the higher price), because its their husbands and sons who don't come home from war and I can't comprehend the grief associated with that.

I don't mean to lessen the contribution our soldiers made in Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War I, and now the wars in Afganistan and Iraq, but I believe the death toll in WWII dwarfs the other wars combined. Maybe not from an American standpoint, but tens of millions of lives were lost in the 40's.

I know Russia lost 1 million soldiers. Hitler murdered 6 million jews. I know we lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers (many thousand on D-day alone-more than we lost in the entire Iraq war). Close to 200,000 Japanese civilian lives were lost in less than 5 days in August of '45.

I could go on, but I don't know the facts beyond those. To me, what I just wrote is very disturbing. How lucky are we to live in a society in which the above horrible things don't or haven't happend yet?

Everbody, please keep this in mind at any holiday cookout you attend. We live in complete freedom becuase of these very brave souls.

Thank you, again!
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
I suppose it would be naive to hope that one Memorial Day in the future my kids will be able to sit on the patio, eating burgers and brats pondering the question, "Why on earth did they have to fight so much?"
 

ups1990

Well-Known Member
BBSAM, you are so right. I will do my best to teach my young son about the importance of Memorial day. Many great Americans have paid the ultimate price in order for us all to enjoy such great freedoms. A young father in my hometown was killed in action just last week. His death, brought home the point of remembering the soldiers and not taking this holiday for granted. May God continue to bless our country and our troop here and abroad.
 

wkmac

Well-Known Member
I suppose it would be naive to hope that one Memorial Day in the future my kids will be able to sit on the patio, eating burgers and brats pondering the question, "Why on earth did they have to fight so much?"

Let's hope our progeny one day see the word war in the same purely ancient historical context as we look at the word dinosaur!
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
This is an image I took this morning at a local cemetery dedicated to people that have served our country in the military.

Marietta National Cemetery
Cloudy Sunrise at Marietta National Cemetery_7035_web.jpg
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Rock Island Arsenal was a Civil War prison for Confederate prisoners and the Confederate cemetery is a sobering consideration that our propensity to hate truly had us tearing ourselves apart.
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
It's the soldier, not the reporter who has given us
Freedom of the Press.
It's the soldier, not the poet, who has given us
Freedom of Speech.
It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the
Freedom to Demonstrate.
It's the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the
Right to a Fair Trial.
It's the soldier who salutes the flag, serves under the flag and
whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives the protestor the right to burn the flag.
~Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC


Respect is something that must first be earned...
Before it is expected.
~Ron Ponton, CAP Marine
 

DS

Fenderbender
This is an image I took this morning at a local cemetery dedicated to people that have served our country in the military
I thank each and every one of these people for giving their lives in the name of freedom.I realize and respect all that the USA has done to fight opression.
God bless those that died and those that still stand tall.
nice pic hoax
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
This is an image I took this morning at a local cemetery dedicated to people that have served our country in the military.

Marietta National Cemetery
That is a very cool picture Hoax, what did you shoot it with? It looks like you were using a filter?
 
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