Thanks to all the Vets!

[W0LC]

Take a moment when you have a chance and say "Thanks" to a Vet, past or present, remember what was sacraficed!

To all that serve(d)....Thanks!

[ka5s]

Sometimes the price


Sometimes the price of peace is pain,
And sometimes it is war;
Sometimes it is a price deferred,
That was not paid before.

Sometimes the price of peace is clad
In vests and costly suits,
Lowballing on the contracts to
Bring us our beans and boots.

And sometimes it’s a widow’s tears,
A father’s stony face;
Sometimes it is the broken men,
Spent in some foreign place.

Sometimes the price of peace falls due
From those who sing its praise,
Whose privilege must then be paid
In months, or weeks, or days.

And sometimes too the price of peace
Is called a price too high,
While for lack of arms and armor men
For peace, must daily die.

My rent is paid on Earth by deeds,
Blood bought my liberty;
The price of peace is darkness,
When peace shall come to me.


© Cortland Richmond 2004

[WA2ZDY]

I will spend time tomorrow, as I do every year, taking the boys (ages 4 and 6 this year) to the parade downtown. We'll enjoy the bands and fire engines, and maybe even a hot dog or two.

But then the real job of a peace-loving father begins.

We'll look at the monuments in front of the sheriff's office, the markers in the town common, and the old soldiers who look like they've seen things nobody should have to see.

Then I'll explain, as I do every year (having spent most of my adult life raising children) what Memorial Day REALLY means. I'll tell the boys that Memorial Day means having men and women to thank for us being able to enjoy the parade, fire engines and hot dogs. And that many of those men and women left our land to go fight for us and never came home.

My 6 year old is starting to get it. The 4 year old will too in time, but it's an every year and every day job just the same. As long as the parents do the job, the future is bright. When we fail our kids, we fail our country and our heroes. And we can't let that happen.

Thank you veterans, thank you to our current armed forces members now fighting evil in places all over Asia.

[W8CEI]

Very well said ZDY, Lots of folks have forgoten what this day is all about. 73

[w4rot]

A heartfelt "Thank you" from here.
May peace find you and those you love.
w4rot

[KF3EG]

I guess being a disabled vet I will say #you all are welcome, since no other vets posted a welcome.

# #We need not to forget all who have served in uniform and those who gave that were not military. We should not forget the people who worked the USO's, performed shows for the troops, the school children who wrote letters to the troops, Those who provided comfort to families of the fallen and last but by no means least the 3000+ who died on 9/11.
# # They should not be remembered as numbers, but as people who fought or died to provide Freedom, The Freedom we all enjoy today.
# # It makes me sad that a lot of the generation coming up does not have any idea how many have given their lives from 1492 until today.
# #December 7th isn't just the date the good sales start at wal-mart, veterans day isn't just for the old folks.
How many times have you been to a parade and when the American flag goes by (next time look around) that mostly its veterans who stand up or remove their hats.
How many display a flag on these holidays? Yet soldiers will still serve, spit on, hated, cursed at, no matter a soldier is a soldier and will serve.

# # To all the vets and those who worked on the side lines, I thank you
# # For those who never made it home, you are in my prayers.
# #A personal thanks to the men of the 101st Airborne #1st of the 503rd #Dog soldiers, 1967-1973 Welcome home. Those on the Champane flight in heaven, tuck your boot laces, do a equipment check and be ready when I make my final PLF.

#God Bless
Jim
KF3EG #

Thank you for starting this thread

[w5klb]

Some of you vets might have already read this, but I think it's worth repeating.

What is a Vet?

He is the cop on a beat who spent six mounths in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown fratboy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parrallel.

She (or he) is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another, or who didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the Parris Island drill instructor who has never seen combat, but has saved countless lives by turning young men into United States Marines.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medal with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presents at Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all anonymous heroes whose valor dies unreconized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging grocieries at the supermarket--palsied now and aggravatingly slow--who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet extraordinary human being--a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrified his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say "Thank You". That's all most people need and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".

It's the soldier, not the reporter, Who gave us our freedom of the press.

It's the soldier, not the poet, Who gave us our freedom of speech.

It's the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who gave us our freedom to demonstrate.

It's the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves others with respect for the flag, and who's coffin is drapped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.


I won't forget-EVER!!

[N8CPA]

Sometimes simply thanking Vets--I believe that word should always be capitalized in this country--is not enough. To all Vietnam Vets, I say, WELCOME HOME!

Given what some of them went through when they first returned, they deserve to hear it for the rest of their lives, though it can't possibly make up for what some AHs did 30 years ago.

[W0LC]

Quote[/b] (KF3EG @ May 30 2005,12:55)]I guess being a disabled vet I will say #you all are welcome, since no other vets posted a welcome.

# #We need not to forget all who have served in uniform and those who gave that were not military. We should not forget the people who worked the USO's, performed shows for the troops, the school children who wrote letters to the troops, Those who provided comfort to families of the fallen and last but by no means least the 3000+ who died on 9/11.
# # They should not be remembered as numbers, but as people who fought or died to provide Freedom, The Freedom we all enjoy today.
# # It makes me sad that a lot of the generation coming up does not have any idea how many have given their lives from 1492 until today.
# #December 7th isn't just the date the good sales start at wal-mart, veterans day isn't just for the old folks.
How many times have you been to a parade and when the American flag goes by (next time look around) that mostly its veterans who stand up or remove their hats.
How many display a flag on these holidays? Yet soldiers will still serve, spit on, hated, cursed at, no matter a soldier is a soldier and will serve.

# # To all the vets and those who worked on the side lines, I thank you
# # For those who never made it home, you are in my prayers.
# #A personal thanks to the men of the 101st Airborne #1st of the 503rd #Dog soldiers, 1967-1973 Welcome home. Those on the Champane flight in heaven, tuck your boot laces, do a equipment check and be ready when I make my final PLF.

#God Bless
Jim
KF3EG #

Thank you for starting this thread
Jim

Thanks! And sorry you are a disabled Vet instead of just a vet!

If it weren't for guys like you, my dad, et al, we wouldn't have what we have today.

Thanks!

Remember Them! (http://www.awildorchid.com/unkwn1.jpg)

[w5klb]

Quote[/b] (w8znx @ May 31 2005,11:24)]Quote[/b] (w5klb @ May 30 2005,14:39)]It's the soldier, not the reporter, Who gave us our freedom of the press.

Bunk

over 60 reporters have died in this war
with out reporters
there is no press

also been reporters
that are vet's
last CBS bureau chief Saigon
was US Airforce Viet Nam war vet

It's rather odd that Press Corps understands the concept "Freedom of the Press" better than you and you served. Hmmm... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

Bunk?

Without the Soldier, there would be NO FREEDOMS PERIOD!!!

Let see... TV and radio stations are "reporting" the news for one reason: To get more viewers to watch so that they can increase their advertising dollars. Yep, with most of those folks, it's about liberal bias and GREED! They don't have to be there. They pick and choose what to air so they can get more ratings and a more advertising revenue.

A Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman and Coast Guardsman (don't want to forget those fine folks) do it for no other purpose than for their country. It's a BIG difference, and I hope that you can understand this new concept. If not, do a little more research and you will probably arrive at the same conclusion.

Chris W0LC, who I have personally met at Fort Worth, can tell you that my brother and I have served in the US Navy. I am also disabled and an ACTIVE LIFE member in The Disabled American Veterans.

From a disabled US Navy Veteran and a former First Class Petty Officer (E-6) Hint: That's like a Staff Sargent.
Served 1979-1991
Lebanon
Grenada
Panama
Operation Desert Storm.

Thank you for your service, Private. Fair Winds and Following Seas. (sailor speak for "good luck")

[KF3EG]

Sad to argue over something like this. Such a wonderful day to be ruined with dark clouds.

[w5klb]

Quote[/b] (KF3EG @ May 31 2005,21:57)]Sad to argue over something like this. Such a wonderful day to be ruined with dark clouds.
I'm just telling the "Private" of a few facts that he may not have been aware of. His fellow brother and sister veterans would tell him basicly the same thing. Or perhaps he could attend a meeting at his local American Legion, DAV Chapter, or VFW. They would make him aware of this fact also.

Relax, it's gonna be alright.

Otay?

[KF3EG]

Relax, it's gonna be alright.

Otay?
Gary:
# I agree with your posts 100%, some people just don't understand, guess its a you had to be there type thing.
I too belong to DAV to name one of a few.
Anyway like yourself I am a disabled vet and I find some subjects touchy.

Have a good day
73
Jim

[KF0RT]

I'd like to thank all the Vets, too. You're the best and I hope nobody ever sees a homecoming like VietNam again.

I read something the other day that struck a chord here. It was an editorial comment on how many gave their lives for the freedoms we enjoy. It went on to say that nobody gave their lives; these lives were taken. An admission that nobody dies willingly.

War is a very ugly business and you have my utmost thanks for fighting it. But understand... if the premise for war is lame, you should be home with your wives and kids instead.

Thanks again.

73, Rob