Memorial Day

[warpedskydiver 0]

I was just watching the laying of the wreath at the tomb of the Unknowns, does anyone else here immediatley stand and present arms when they hear the National Anthem and Taps?

I do

BTW I know many of you may not like this administration, war, or the military but do you remember those that have given their lives so that you can be free, and live to enjoy this holiday?

If this post annoys or offends you good!, and please by all means relinquish all freedoms you have been the UNGRATEFUL recipient of

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[shropshire 0]

In public, I stand and remain silent whenever ANY national anthem is played...

Unlike the Grand Prix winner yesterday (Fernando Alonso) ignorant twat talked all the way through

.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[akarunway 1]

My aunt and uncle served. So they called me to come up to their cabin. I reported as ordered.They decided today was LABOR day

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[warpedskydiver 0]

hehehe

[JohnRich 4]

[warpedskydiver 0]

is that you today?

[shropshire 0]

Are those flags going to touch the ground?

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[pajarito 0]

Very nice. I'm a veteran myself but I hold my Granddad in highest regard on this day. He was an Infantry Platoon Leader in WWII, landed on Utah Beach, fought across France, eventually got shot through the hip, was temporarily paralized in one leg but recovered, helped liberate Nazi concentration camps, and was my hero as well as my strongest Christian and moral example growing up.

[JohnRich 4]

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is that you today?

That's me, but the photo was taken last year. I don't recall if it was Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, or Independence Day.

"Parachutist" didn't think it was worthy of publication in the magazine.

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shropshire: Are those flags going to touch the ground?

Yep. This one too (attached). Sue me.

[JohnRich 4]

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Very nice. I'm a veteran myself but I hold my Granddad in highest regard on this day. He was an Infantry Platoon Leader in WWII, landed on Utah Beach, fought across France, eventually got shot through the hip, was temporarily paralized in one leg but recovered, helped liberate Nazi concentration camps, and was my hero as well as my strongest Christian and moral example growing up.

Wow! What an amazing man. I'm always glad to meet people like yourself who still appreciate the sacrifice of such men.

The attached photo is one of my family heros, my great great grandfather. His name was Gottlieb Affolter, and he emigrated to America with his parents from Switzerland in 1863, at age 16. Two years later he joined the Union Army in the Civil War. He was captured at Chancellorsville, but escaped and rejoined his unit. Later he was wounded in Florida, captured again, lost a leg, and sent to the notorious prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia. He survived two years there, and returned home to Ohio on a stump leg. My mom, as a little girl, remembers him stoking the fire in their one-room school's cast-iron stove, to keep the kids warm in winter.

I thank you for your service.

[misaltas 0]

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stand and present arms when they hear the National Anthem and Taps?

Yes. Hand over my heart.

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If this post annoys or offends you good!

One of our rights is the right to offend.

Ok, so I'm at the supermarket this morning to pick up a couple of things, and the teenage cashier wishes me a "Happy Memorial Day". I slowly replied "Happy? ... Memorial Day?". Didn't take too long to sink in actually.

Ohne Liebe sind wir nichts

[Michele 1]

My father fought in the B/C/I. Doesn't talk about it too much, except on rare occasions. Very, very tough circumstances; was wounded, and permanently disabled... and once flew over the Himalayas to China at one point, strapped on a bail out rig and the engines went out...but never jumped; an engine came back on in time. Found a snake sitting on his chest one night when he fell asleep on watch, and once woke up to find a black leopard licking his face. In B/C/I, things could get you that weren't even the "enemy," and you had wet, stinky feet all the time...

I thanked him again for his service, when I saw him today. He hugged me. And I was glad I thanked him. The light in his eyes was special and perfect, and will be remembered for a very long time.

Thanks to all who have served, all who are serving, and all who will serve. Thank you.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[shropshire 0]

It is a nice picture John.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[micro 0]

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is that you today?

That's me, but the photo was taken last year. I don't recall if it was Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, or Independence Day.

"Parachutist" didn't think it was worthy of publication in the magazine.

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shropshire: Are those flags going to touch the ground?

Yep. This one too (attached). Sue me.

that "sue me" seems a bit abrupt, no? maybe he doesn't know the rules about NOT trying to catch a flag under a jumper b/c of the weights that hold the flag down... trying to catch the flag just so it doesn't touch ground puts human lives in danger... the thing is to pick it up as soon as safely possible... perhaps this would have been a good occasion for some education instead of a calloused response?

maybe i'm wrong... if so, sorry...

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[shropshire 0]

No worries.... I know [think] he means well... it's just an SC thing.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[micro 0]

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No worries.... I know [think] he means well... it's just an SC thing.

i know you're a big boy and you're not gonna jump off big ben or nothing, but really, do we all need to be uncivil all the time? i don't know, maybe i'm just being too sensitive. i just get tired of seeing all the vexacious conversation here, that i participate in too... and w/ all the fatalities this weekend, of friends and skydivers I haven't met, it just makes me mad that there is division. I don't mind ideological difference, don't get me wrong. I welcome them in fact. My best friends are those whose views are polar opposites from mine. I just grow weary of all the ill-will and contention, I guess that's all I'm trying to say.

And again, I could be taking JR's comments all wrong... I hope so.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[Channman 2]

Yep, my grandfather (Mother Dad) flew in WWI and WWII and my father flew with the 8th aircorp in Europe as a B-17 pilot. Also have a uncle, my mom's bother flew F4's in Viet Nam and had the unfortunate luck of being shot down twice in a 4.5 hour period.

Sam hit his F4 and bullets hit the Heli that was rescuing him. But survived both

[pajarito 0]

That was one tough dude!

[shropshire 0]

I appreciate the thoughts - cheers mate.

Regards,

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[JohnRich 4]

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My father fought in the B/C/I.

What's "B/C/I"?

[JohnRich 4]

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micro: that "sue me" seems a bit abrupt, no?

No worries.... I know [think] he means well... it's just an SC thing.

Yes, it was a bit abrupt. And shortly after I had turned the computer off, I wished I hadn't said it. Micro: Thanks for calling me out on that. And let me set things straight here.

Shropshire: my impression of you from our conversations here is that you're a decent, friendly person, and you deserved better than that. I apologize to you for my gruffness.

- John

[JohnRich 4]

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That was one tough dude!

Yes, indeed. I've read books on Andersonville, and it's hard to imagine how he survived, especially with the handicap of a missing leg.

Dad was in the Army Air Corps in WWII, in training to be a bomber pilot. Lucky for him, the war ended before he finished training, and he was discharged "convenience of the government", as they no longer needed him.

Me; I was just a REMF Marine, running a computer.

Here's another one, much more close to home (photo below). This is my brother Bill. He was an FA-18 fighter pilot in the Marines. While participating in dogfight practice near Yuma, Arizona, he had both engines flame-out simultaneously. He fought to save his plane, down to 1,000', then ejected. The parachute was vaporized by the fireball rising up from his crashed jet, and he fell to his death.

Deaths in training are no less tragic than deaths in combat, IMO.

[shropshire 0]

John - Thanks for you message. No worries. I'll still enjoy your trip reports and whince at you U.K crime stats.
Regards,

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Michele 1]

Sorry, John.

B/C/I=Burma, China, India theatre in WW2. One of the least talked about theatres. Ever seen the movie "Merrill's Mauraders"? "Bridge over the River Kwai"? Those were about B/C/I...

Dad, at 19 years old, coming from New York City, enlisted Decemeber 8, 1941. As he tells it, he'd seen trees, but they grew from concrete squares in the streets - never had he seen a jungle, let alone a copse of trees; had not seen a snake except in the zoo, and the only cats he knew roamed the streets of his area...and yet, there he was, in India. He speaks not simply of the war, but of the culture differences and the environmental differences, which were huge and challenging.

It was an experience to be sure...and he was able to come home, unlike some of the others he served with, as well as most of a regiment of British soldiers he and his unit were working with. He says those were "the bloody days," and won't talk about it much.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[micro 0]

Good on ya John! You're a good man.

And by the way, keep the wilderness pics coming, like shrop said...

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...