Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2010 10:09:21 GMT -8
To all those who have faithfully served our country, including my now deceased dad who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and had a funky looking palm of one hand as the result of shrapnel from a German grenade to prove it, thanks and may God bless.
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Post by AztecTom on May 31, 2010 10:23:07 GMT -8
To all those who have faithfully served our country, including my now deceased dad who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and had a funky looking palm of one hand as the result of shrapnel from a German grenade to prove it, thanks and may God bless. Absolutely SGF! Thank you to all our service men and women, it is because of you folks that we have and enjoy our wonderful country!!! |
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Post by The Aztec Panther on May 31, 2010 10:30:21 GMT -8
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Post by laaztec on May 31, 2010 10:39:35 GMT -8
Thank you to all who served! You are reason that the USA is the greatest country the world has ever seen.
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Post by steveaztec on May 31, 2010 10:40:45 GMT -8
Thank you heroes.
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Post by AztecTom on May 31, 2010 10:47:16 GMT -8
Suffice it to say that I have all the respect and admiration in the world for those who have served this country. Concur! |
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Post by AztecTom on May 31, 2010 10:47:51 GMT -8
Thank you to all who served! You are reason that the USA is the greatest country the world have ever seen. This is the truth. |
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Post by AztecWilliam on May 31, 2010 11:29:08 GMT -8
One of the really gratifying developments in the USA in the past couple of decades is the growing appreciation of what our service men and women have done for the country. And that goes for people who served but were never in combat.
Just think of the unpleasant conditions that our guys (and now gals) have had to cope with over the decades. From ass-freezing cold in the Aleutians to unbearable heat and sand storms in the Middle East and North Africa to steaming jungles of the Pacific islands and Vietnam filled with all sort of tropical creatures and diseases. Just thinking of having to live day-in-and-day-out under those conditions is enough to make me want to thank all those who were actually there. And then you add the fun of having other guys trying to kill you!
I just watched yet another TV documentary about Pearl Harbor, this one focusing on the fate of the USS Arizona and its crew. The ship burned for three days and was too hot to board for another day. Yet sailors did do what they could to get the dead and wounded off the wreck. And then there was the description of the wounds suffered by so many. Unbelievable, yet believe we must.
Our service men and women are the greatest. They set a great example for the nation to follow.
AzWm
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Post by Pssst13 on May 31, 2010 13:05:47 GMT -8
Thank you to all who served! You are reason that the USA is the greatest country the world have ever seen. What he said plus another Thank YOU...!!! |
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Post by laaztec on May 31, 2010 14:36:07 GMT -8
I fixed the typo in my first post.  |
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Post by Old School on May 31, 2010 14:50:33 GMT -8
Thanks to everyone who served.
Thanks dad (Vietnam).
Thanks grandpa (WW2 against the Japanese occupation of the Philippines).
Oldie Out
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choop
Bench Warmer
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Post by choop on Jun 1, 2010 7:45:03 GMT -8
Thanks for your appreciation toward Vets. For some reason I feel awkward about receiving any thanks, as I made it home unscathed.
I have friends whose lives ended at 19 and 20 years old, their names appearing on The Wall in DC. They are the heros. They and some of the others that suffered mental wounds from seeing or being victims of horror story type situations. My neighbor and classmate never recovered from his wounds that were inflicted from a torture situation when he was captured in 1967. He was an Honor Student that left his college defferment behind and joined an AirBorne unit. His Dad was a WWII vet, a B-17 pilot that was shot down over Germany in 1943, and was a POW for almost 2 years. Like his Dad, Andy thought he had to do his part. Five years ago this month, we honored Andy and some others at a High School reunion.
The current volunteer military insulates a lot of us from war today. Andy, I and some others volunteered. Most others were drafted. At our reunion over half the male members of our high school class stood up when we asked all Vets to stand and be recognized. And thats from a "lilly white" school, where the closest thing we had to a minority was a really beautiful young girl who had a Puerto Rican Mom and a Scotch Dad. What it meant was everybody suffered. What that meant was that we all personally new soldiers that were wounded and killed.
Of course there are a lot fewer KIA, WIA, and MIA in this war, but I still can't say I knew one of them. I've met some WIA after the fact at American Legion meetings, but for almost 8 years now, I have not had that sense of personal loss that I felt during Viet Nam. It makes war easier to put up with. And war shouldn't be easy to put up with.
In my day, we were sold on the "domino theory" that all Southeast Asia and then the world would fall to communisim if not checked in Viet Nam. In reality, when we pulled out of Viet Nam peace broke out, and that was about it. You can see the results today.
My Dad was right. When I enlisted and thought I would make a decorated WWII Vet like him proud, he said "they're no threat to us. This is political. I don't want you to go. I did enough fighting for this family unless we are really threatened" I went anyway. I learned. I write this now looking at some pictures of my Dad on the wall. One is at Ft. Bragg, NC, in training, dated November 1941. My dad enlisted 6 weeks before Pearl Harbor. He's wearing a WWI round helmut. The other is in Tunisia in January 1943, squating outside a small pup tent with his BAR in his hands and some wash on a small line leading from the tent. This was when his unit was on the run from Kaserine Pass, with Rommel in close pursuit. He ambiguously refers to the battle on the rear of the photo, said he would explain when got home, which was July of 1945. If he mentioned a defeat in his note, the picture would have been removed from his letter by censors. They chewed up a few of his letters. After being wounded in Sicily and Monte Casino, and some shrapnel in the butt after originally landing in North Africa, he finally made it home. That was 3+ years overseas, (NYC to England to North Africa to Sicily to Mainland Italy to the border of the German Alps and finally shipped to Boston in July 1945) not speaking to or seeing any family for all that time. Two Purple Hearts (he refused another one), a few other medals, unit citations, and the rank of S-Sarg, he got home.
The point is, he, Andy, Andy's Dad, Howie and others that didn't make it back were the heroes. I was I guy that went , didn't get hit, and made it thru clean. In the wake of guys like that, I get embarrased if someone makes "hero" reference towards me, who once cut his arm while diving for cover. I just served. THEY SERVED!
God Bless all those who currently carry the banner.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2010 12:48:14 GMT -8
choop, my dad was awarded the Bronze Star in WWII. Like your father, Dad didn't want to see me have to go to Nam either since he similarly thought it was a war we should not have engaged in. I was just young enough that I didn't get drafted. Even if you don't think so yourself, the fact you served under the circumstances you did makes you a hero in my book.
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Post by aztecfan1 on Jun 1, 2010 15:45:11 GMT -8
I always feel a little unworthy to be acknowledged as a Vietnam Veteran. I was never in combat, never had my life seriously threatened as I served on an aircraft carrier in Gulf of Tonkin. The real heroes are those kids who didn't know what they were getting in for who never got back. I know one well who did , but today he still suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He recently was awarded the Silver Star nearly 40 years after the fact. It is an honor to be a veteran because I have such admiration for my fellows who served with real valor.
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Post by Bob Forsythe on Jun 1, 2010 16:00:15 GMT -8
I always feel a little unworthy to be acknowledged as a Vietnam Veteran. I was never in combat, never had my life seriously threatened as I served on an aircraft carrier in Gulf of Tonkin. The real heroes are those kids who didn't know what they were getting in for who never got back. I know one well who did , but today he still suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. He recently was awarded the Silver Star nearly 40 years after the fact. It is an honor to be a veteran because I have such admiration for my fellows who served with real valor. Heard a great interview on PBS this morning about 36 or people who'd been awarded the CMH taking the high ground and speaking out about PTSD. Here's a link, albeit not the PBS link: tinyurl.com/29zhafhThe guy they interview was a retired Army general who was a medivac chopper pilot in Vietnam and set his chopper down in a mine field under enemy fire in order to evac a bunch of wounded troops. Like all heroes, he said that he didn't consider himself to be one because it wasn't the worst day of his life in Vietnam, just a typical day. So for those who want to always whack PBS for being "liberal", I have to wonder whether or not we'd hear an interview of that length on Faux radio or any other mainstream radio network. =Bob |
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Post by AztecWilliam on Jun 1, 2010 21:09:15 GMT -8
Kasserine Pass! Boy, I'll bet not many people under 50 or 60 know anything about that one. Count that along with Wake Island, Anzio, Bataan, and the battle at the Chosin Reservoir. And we shouldn't forget Bastogne.
If you want to know what it's like to be up against tough odds, just read the book They Were Expendable, or at least see the remarkable film of the same name. And then there were the stories of the USS Houston and the USS Indianapolis. (And as a nod to our Aussie allies, the fate of the HMAS Sydney.)
But let's go Back to Bataan (which was the title of a pretty good movie, now that I think of it). Here is a poem about that grim chapter of WWII. . .
"We're the Battling Bastards of Bataan,
No mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam,
No aunts, no uncles, no cousins, no nieces,
No pills, no planes, no artillery pieces,
And nobody gives a damn!"
by Frank Hewlett, 1942.
Hewlett was wrong on that last thought. Anybody who knows anything about the sacrifices those men made, be it the Philippines, the island landings, in North Africa, Europe, Korea, or Vietnam cannot help but care. And be thankful.
AzWm
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Post by longtimesdsufan on Jun 1, 2010 21:14:27 GMT -8
As a Viet Nam vet who flew scout helicopters I saw lots of stuff. However, the world war II vets went through the most of all of us.
A special thanks to my dad, who has since passed.
I make a point to thank every warfighter I meet. I know it matters to them.
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Post by AztecTom on Jun 1, 2010 21:39:21 GMT -8
As a Viet Nam vet who flew scout helicopters I saw lots of stuff. However, the world war II vets went through the most of all of us. A special thanks to my dad, who has since passed. I make a point to thank every warfighter I meet. I know it matters to them. Thank you for your service longtimesdsufan. |
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Post by Bob Forsythe on Jun 2, 2010 11:32:30 GMT -8
Kasserine Pass! Boy, I'll bet not many people under 50 or 60 know anything about that one. AzWm Big Red 1. =Bob |
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