11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

[airhead]

The Soldier

It is the soldier, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves under the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.

By Father Dennis Edward O\'Brien, USMC

 

[PegaZus]

Salute!

 

[Gilvan Blight]

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

 

[wiccanpony]

to our men and women who guard our \"Rights\" and protect us from those who would take them away:beer:

 

[rosac]

amen brothers and sisters...

my great uncle was a PoW in world war 1, he was broken and insane at the amount of death he saw.

their respective god(s) rest their souls

rosac

 

[waghorn41]

They shall not grow old
As we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them

 

[Rodnik]

I don\'t have any poems or songs, but I have a story to share----

At the start of the Iraq War (aka Gulf War II), my niece was a very small 5 years old.

In a trip down to south GA, we stopped at a little store to get some drinks and such, and it just so happened there was a group of Rangers there doing the same---they were obviously on their way to being shipped out---I have no idea to where, I can only assume the Gulf.

There was a group of men standing there, one man in particular----a very large, probably 230lbs---6\'4\", Ranger (my assumption was an NCO of some kind) who was calling out some informal orders/explanations and such to the other guys in a pretty loud voice.

Basically, the guy you would expect to see on a Ranger recruitment poster----square-jawed, large, stern, and unbreakable.

My 5 year old niece saw them.

She ran across the parking lot and all but dove at the big guy---and wrapped her arms, as tightly as she could, around his legs--her head buried in his legs at about knee high.

He stops cold, looks down and grins, and the other guys started giggling a bit as they moved in to get a better look at what distracted the NCO.

He gently lays his hand on top of her head, and while she was still hugging him, she looks up at the soldier and says in her small little voice, \"Thank you....\"

All the smiles faded immediately, and every man in the group went silent. The NCO stooped down on one knee and tightly hugged her back.

He was wiping the tears from his cheeks as he barely manage to choke out, \"You are very welcome, little lady.\"

...a fairly profound moment for all who witnessed it....

 

[evil tendencies]

I, for one, am honored that ordinary men and women have placed themselves in extraordinary circumstances to secure my freedoms. Salutes to you all.

 

[airhead]

Originally posted by Rodnik
I don\'t have any poems or songs, but I have a story to share----
...a fairly profound moment for all who witnessed it....

Thank you for sharing.
(as I wipe away a tear)
And
Thank your family for raising her right.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Humble thanks to those who have served..............

 

[DaN]

We shall remember them.

 

[mattsterbenz]

Many thanks to everyone who has served for our great country. We would not be able to enjoy the freedoms we have today without you.

-Matt

 

[PegaZus]

Came back from my 1st grader\'s Veteran\'s Day program. Touching. They had a web camera set up so one girl\'s father, who is currently stationed in Iraq, could watch as well. Even said a few words. I thought that was very nice, and quite a few teary eyes.

 

[mickc22]

\"... Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.\"

I think that\'s still relevant

 

[Bigdennis52]

aww how cute

 

[mattsterbenz]

I forgot to mention, Rodnik, your story was very touching. I shared it with a friend and he felt the same.

Thank you for posting that, it made my day

-Matt

 

[redarmy27]

We should all take the time to just give a minute of thought to all the people who\'ve served for our country (or countries) and just think about the amount of sacrifice that went into the decisions that so many have made.

Let us hope that many of us will never have to make decisions or have experiences that the generous masses have had to have while in combat.

I\'m thankful I have not seen war, and I hope I never will. My family has been in every war this country has served in except for the current Gulf War. The farthest I can go back is the Civil War, where my great-great-great (something) on my father\'s side fought for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.(something cool that my family showed me a few years ago: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7172702 )

I couldn\'t even imagine. Thank you for all that have served and who are serving!

Jake

 

[SilAx]

Rodnik, your story..is really....sweet (ugh I dont say this all the time).

Very meaningful I would say.

Anyways. Remember.

Silax

 

[Aliengod3]

Originally posted by Rodnik
I don\'t have any poems or songs, but I have a story to share----

At the start of the Iraq War (aka Gulf War II), my niece was a very small 5 years old.

In a trip down to south GA, we stopped at a little store to get some drinks and such, and it just so happened there was a group of Rangers there doing the same---they were obviously on their way to being shipped out---I have no idea to where, I can only assume the Gulf.

There was a group of men standing there, one man in particular----a very large, probably 230lbs---6\'4\", Ranger (my assumption was an NCO of some kind) who was calling out some informal orders/explanations and such to the other guys in a pretty loud voice.

Basically, the guy you would expect to see on a Ranger recruitment poster----square-jawed, large, stern, and unbreakable.

My 5 year old niece saw them.

She ran across the parking lot and all but dove at the big guy---and wrapped her arms, as tightly as she could, around his legs--her head buried in his legs at about knee high.

He stops cold, looks down and grins, and the other guys started giggling a bit as they moved in to get a better look at what distracted the NCO.

He gently lays his hand on top of her head, and while she was still hugging him, she looks up at the soldier and says in her small little voice, \"Thank you....\"

All the smiles faded immediately, and every man in the group went silent. The NCO stooped down on one knee and tightly hugged her back.

He was wiping the tears from his cheeks as he barely manage to choke out, \"You are very welcome, little lady.\"

...a fairly profound moment for all who witnessed it....

Great story Rodnik. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Bigdennis52]

very nice stories