Memorial Day, May 30th, 2022

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This is not a happy holiday, it is a time to somberly reflect on the men and women who gave a life for the Country they loved and respected. A time to reassess why we go to serve and go to war. They all wanted to protect what was precious and valuable to them. The holiday, a three day week end is seen by many to pull out the camper, the toys and have a ripping, beer soaked start of the summer, completely by ignorance or apathy refuse to respect or honor those that willingly committed the ultimate sacrifice. I read a comment on LL’s blog “Virtual Mirage” his post “The Long Weekend,” May 28, 2022 a quote from a commentator named “boron” he stated, ” “Please don’t thank me for volunteering to do my duty to G-d and Country.” Most veterans, myself included do not enjoy being thanked by people, especially who never served. Duty, most will never understand why those that enlisted revere that word. We know we may not come back one hundred percent, or come back at all.

8 thoughts on “Memorial Day, May 30th, 2022”

  1. The things they Carried….

    They carried P-38 can openers and heat tabs,watches and dog tags,insect repellent, gum, cigarettes, Zippo lighters, salt tablets, compress bandages, ponchos, Kool-Aid, two or three canteens of water, iodine tablets,sterno, LRRP- rations, and C-rations stuffed in socks. They carried standard fatigues, jungle boots, bush hats, flak jackets and steel pots. They carried the M-16 assault rifle. They carried trip flares and Claymore mines, M-60 machine guns, the M-70 grenade launcher, M-14’s, CAR-15’s, Stoners, Swedish K’s, 66mm Laws, shotguns, .45 caliber pistols, silencers, the sound of bullets, rockets, and choppers, and sometimes the sound of silence.They carried C-4 plastic explosives, an assortment of hand grenades, PRC-25 radios, knives and machetes. Some carried napalm, CBU’s and large bombs; some risked their lives to rescue others. Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the death and damage. Some made very hard decisions, and some just tried to survive. They carried malaria, dysentery, ringworm, jungle rot and leaches. They carried the land itself as it hardened on their boots.
    They carried stationery, pencils, and pictures of their loved ones – real and imagined. They carried love for people in the real world and love for one another. And sometimes they disguised that love: “Don’t mean nothin’! “They carried memories. For the most part, they carried themselves with poise and a kind of dignity. Now and then, there were times when panic set in, and people squealed or wanted to, but couldn’t; when they twitched and made moaning sounds and covered their heads and said “Dear God” and hugged the earth and fired their weapons blindly and cringed and begged for the noise to stop and went wild and made stupid promises to themselves and God and their parents, hoping not to die.They carried the traditions of the United States Military, and memories and images of those who served before them. They carried grief, terror, longing and their reputations. They carried the soldier’s greatest fear: the embarrassment of dishonor. They crawled into tunnels, walked point, and advanced under fire, so as not to die of embarrassment. They were afraid of dying, but too afraid to show it.They carried the emotional baggage of men and women who might die at any moment.They carried the weight of the world.

    THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER.

    Author Unknown

    Remember them this Memorial Day

    • An excerpt from Tim O’Brien’s book “The Things They Carried”

  2. And along with Duty, there is Honor and Country. Their service was to preserve what was right by moral code, not just “laws”. And they died in an honest effort to preserve the Country they loved so dearly. Those who never served can’t understand the brotherhood of service. It transcends generations and time itself. Today is a day that we mourn those that didn’t make it back. There are those who are interred in Europe, there are those whose remains were returned to so many small towns across this great country, and sadly, there are those who were never located and will remain, forever, “known only to God”. Today, the living shall hoist a glass to those that never made it home, we’ll tell the funny stories of our lives with them, but most of all, we will miss them dearly.

  3. Solemn day, I always think of my Uncle I never knew buried in Italy.

    • Medic with his comrade quickbear executed and burned by SS officer . Met a man who was there. He and his buddies saw the man later in a half track and ran towards German lines to get him. Only the driver escaped.

  4. In the post above, “boron” asks not to be thanked.
    I’m not so sure that agree with him about that.
    But, today to honor all of us that did serve, I’m going to listen to one of my favorite songs. Brothers in arms by Dire Straits.
    I guess nothing more needs to be said.

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