Memorial Day come and go...

I would say you are correct that this forum is concerned with technical discussions and not the more political ones, not to say that a Memorial Day discussion should ever be political.?ÿ

Also Memorial Day for many can be very personal, I spent time at the local cemetery visiting the graves of both grandfathers and my father Memorial Day morning. My paternal grandfather served in the European theater during WW1 (they would not take him for WW2 even though he tried to sign up), my maternal grandfather served in the Pacific during WW2 while being older (mid 30's) with a family. My father turned 18 April 9, 1945, being the youngest senior male in a small country school they held graduation on his birthday and the senior men (I won't call them boys, they weren't boys) went to war. He was a cook on a mine sweeper steaming west out of Midway when they dropped the bomb and ended the war. They did not discharge the new recruits and kept them in the south Pacific for their term. It was a time he never talked about.

My family and I were in contact, since I was the only one here for that day I shared pictures and we all shared stories.?ÿ

I'm assuming others on this board had similar experiences on Memorial Day.

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Thanks, Alan, for bringing back that old post and for the reminder. I fear that we as a nation have forgotten both how we got here and why we are still here. My dad and my father-in-law both served as infantrymen in WWII and Korea. They survived, but rarely talked about it until they neared the end of their own lives. Bastogne, Kunu-ri, those sorts of places. Thanks to all who made it possible for us to have this discussion, especially those who never came home.

The seldom-sung 3rd verse of America the Beautiful:

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain divine!

Posted by: Alan Roberts

I quickly scan the posts. I did notice that there was no mention of Memorial Day. I find that disheartening to say the least. Maybe that is the pulse of the country now...who knows.?ÿ

I see there are a lot of posters here with multi-thousand posts but none were made to honor our war dead.?ÿ

I notice that Alan Roberts didn't make a post on Memorial day on that subject, either.?ÿ Why not?

I don't see that he or anyone on this forum had a responsibility to do so.?ÿ Many members were involved in local events that day.

I spent a couple of hours in the cemetery for which I serve on the board of trustees. ?ÿI was documenting which tombstones/monuments had received some sort of decoration quite recently plus those marked with military markers/flags. ?ÿNot one person arrived or left during that two hour period. ?ÿThe number of graves decorated was far less than normal, as well. ?ÿThe annual military honors provided by the local American Legion was cancelled due to major flooding and numerous roadways being blocked by high water. ?ÿAll in all, a very sad day.

I make it a point to go to the V.A. Cemetery near Canton and shed a few tears.

As for it being forgotten.......well, that is a direct consequence of our military being an all volunteer force and because of that those who do serve, (as did I) are easily forgotten because it is not a shared sacrifice by all but rather a willing sacrifice of a few. So the token thanks or expression of gratitude that might be offered are a result of company policy and is little more than a slogan.

"Thank you for you service"....."may I help the next customer"

I was reading a story recently about a Navy Seal and in the last 20 years he had been deployed to war zones in Iraq or Afghanistan 12 times. Twelve 1 year war zone deployments in 20 years and most people have no clue because they are safe in their little cacoon of abject ignorance and indifference because "he volunteered".

Bring back the draft, no exemptions, no deferments, no exceptions, and if anybody voted for war they better be leading the troops into battle. You do that and you will see a lot less war and a lot fewer war mongers and there will be real appreciation and gratitude for those who are taken from their families to go fight a damned war.

War is a racket.

"You got 10% off your purchase today, Thank you for your service......next customer please"

?ÿ

Alan,?ÿ thanks for bringing up the subject. I never had the opportunity to serve but I appreciate those that did just as much as I appreciate my own freedom.

The General Chitchat forum doesn't get as much exposure as those that are actually survey related. It does not show up at all if you are not logged in and it's at the bottom of the screen (scrolling down) if you are logged in. I like things that way, it eliminates a lot of trash, but it does have unintended consequences of keeping good post down.

My Dad quit school at 15 to take care of the family farm when his Dad died in 1945. Two of his older brothers were in WWII, one was there for D-Day. Both came home.

I tried to join the Navy in 1977, my Senior year, but was rejected because of my knee. No war so they were being selective. I became a surveyor instead, go figure! I guess I came from a family that filled in the gaps between wars.

Several years ago I was messing around on Google and found a Vietnam soldier with the same first and last name as me. He was killed on my birthday when I was just a kid. As I read the rest of the story, it went on to talk about his brother that was also killed in Vietnam a few years later. His first name was the same as my brother.?ÿ

The traveling wall, Vietnam Memorial replica was close by a few years later sponsored by the local American Legion. I had to go look up those two names. Every year when Memorial Day or Veterans Day comes around, my thoughts turn to those two brothers years ago and the sacrifice they made.

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I used to re-post Bill's memories on here every year around memorial day. For the last few, life has been a bit distracting and I wasn't able to.?ÿ