blackjack-21

God Bless Them All. They were heroes then, they are heroes now. They must never be forgotten. Not just on Rememberence Day, but every day.

The sacrafices that they made so long ago, so that we may have our freedoms today, are never to be taken for granted.

God Bless Them.

bj-21.

dhammer53

My uncle was killed in World War II. He was the youngest of 5 kids.

About 15 years ago, I read the telegram that was received. My father had it 'buried ' away. The telegram informing the family that my uncle was killed.

I promised my dad that one of these days, I would visit his brother. I'd be the first to visit since 1948.

I wrote a letter to the Mayor of Henri-Chappelle. That's where the cemetery is located. (Not really, but that's a long story, and Ike had something to do with it).

My letter was forwarded to the Superintendant of the Cemetery.

He wrote back asking me to give him the time my train was arriving, and he'd pick us up. Wow!

Sure enough, he did. He looked like some American cowboy who was all army. Nice guy. He explained everything to us. Brief history of lots of things. EXAMPLE: The locals still come to the cemetery everyday to help take care of the graves. They're still grateful for what the US did for them during the war. And by the way, this Cemetery looks great. They really take care of everything.

They get about 3 or 4 visiting family members a week. And they roll out the red carpet for everyone. (Pick up / drop off at station is red carpet to me).

Originally the cemetery didn't look so good. Families had a couple of years after the war to make a decision...keep the body in Belgium, or send back home. The place was chaos.

As you walk the beautifully manicured lawns, you see row after row of crosses. As we walked in the light rain to the grave (first time it rained the entire trip), I was looking for a Star of David (Jewish soldier). Not many to be found.

Finally! There was the grave. Clean and simple. A wreath was placed on the grave prior to our arrival. They do this for all visitors.

Emotional moment for me. It was sad seeing my uncle's grave. A grave I waited so long to see.

So if you have some time today, go visit an American War Cemetery; in the states, or overseas. You won't regret it.

It was the highlight of our trip.

Dan

RichG

On August 5, 1944, my father passed through the Normandy beaches (by then, essentially an Allied port) on the way to joining up with the shorthanded artillery company he was assigned to. Several months later, he was wounded outside of Leipzig. Tomorrow, I will take my parents to dinner at an Italian restaurant, at which my father will arrive in his German car, and during which he will annoy me by speaking to me in French and Italian for no particular reason.

In the 20th Century, the good guys usually won.

misstree

PineyBob,
Thanks. Glad to read you have a heart (versus some of your strongly worded posts).
By the way, The Library of Congress is soliciting anyone interested to participate in their Veterans History Project.
Please see www.loc.gov/vets for information on this. Primarily it allows any and all Americans to obtain a kit and "interview" people (active military and civilians) for their experiences during WW II.
Since I am especially interested in WW II history (experiences) about six months ago I decided to ask my 82 year old neighbor where he was and what his experiences were during WW II. He held my interest for over two hours (he was in New Guinea). I plan on "interviewing" him again now that I found about this Library of Congress project.

Just Passing Thru

And perhaps the young man sitting next to you served as well. Or the elderly woman. Or even the young mother sitting next to you.

My late great-grandfather was a Russian cavalryman. He fought the Japanese almost 40 years before we Americans had to.

Every one of my four uncles served in some branch of the military. Only the youngest one served in peacetime; the other three served in combat. Of those who served in hot zones, two were Army and one was Navy. The uncle who didn't get shot at was a Marine.

My great-aunt served as a head nurse in Korea. No, her last name was not Houlihan.

And I'm an under-40 veteran who just happened to be in uniform when a little thing called Operation Desert Shield/Storm took place.

Veterans aren't all old, and they aren't all men. But they do all deserve your respect on this day.

Thank you, great-grandpa Tom. Thank you, Uncle Will, Uncle Miles, Uncle Mel and Uncle Dave.And thank you, Aunt Grace.

PineyBob

Just passing Thru,

Wow a Russian Calvryman how cool! What stories he must have! Your point on the age, race, etc of veterans was great! I am just kind of partial to WWII veterans due to family and to the fact that soon they will all be gone! This in NO way diminishes the amazing heroism of those who fought in other conflicts. The women in the airline industry owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to the ladies who piloted the planes as ferry pilots. Piloting and a host of other duties previously performed by men were ably handled by the ladies of our great Country. And better than half the population doesn't even know these women existed. God bless what used to be the WAC's and WAVE's, and others. WAC Stood for Womens Army Corp. Anyone know what WAVE stood for or the Official name for the ferry pilots who flew the planes from the factories. Forgotten Heroes one and all

[This message has been edited by PineyBob (edited 11-11-2002).]

PineyBob

This is for you Misstree!
I always had a heart! And the reason my uncle landed with millions of others on D-Day was so you and I could flame each other at will. That's why they fought! They fought to preserve the freedoms our founding fathers laid out for us and paid with their personal fortunes and in some cases their lives.

And MissTree I was aware of that wonderful program you mentioned. I would invite EVERYONE to participate. I am sure Misstree that we will continue to disagree and do it with passion and vigor! In a way when we do, we honor all of those who served! Think about our debates, in how many countries would our debates put our personal safety and freedom at risk? Quite a few! Thank God that our veterans were there for us and gave us this wonderful country where the biggest problem we have some days is whether we will get upgraded.

summerdawn

Yesterday I was passing through London's Gatwick at 11a.m. An announcement was made that they would now be observing two minutes of silence in remembrance of those lost in the war.

There was *not* one sound in that airport. I have never been in such quiet. My dad left for WWII on the day I was born and my brother served in Nam. God bless our Vets and Vets world wide who served and saved our freedom.

JerseyJoe

One of my avocations is semipro musician. I play the trumpet and am the associate conductor of the Veterans Administration National Medical Music Group chorus and orchestra - ( medical- musician FT's take note)
I have just returned from our annual Veterans Day concert held this year in Louisville, KY, which was MC'd by Miss American 2002 and Bill Kurtis.
Our "music with a message" theme: From 1812 to 2001.
I have participated in these concerts for the last 7 years. It is a small way that we can thank those who have perserved our freedoms. The smiles, laughter, and tears we see on the Veterans faces makes the time and personal expense to participate (we pay our own way - we recieve no government funding) well worth the investment.
I would invite any FT musician to contact me regarding participating in next years event.

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JerseyJoe