Posted on 05/25/2015 1:36:35 PM PDT by Textide
I have the good fortune to live near DC and Arlington cemetery on this Memorial Day. The morning was hot, and Dear Leader's presence blocked some of Arlington Cemetery. I told one of the Army sentries that I underestimated this SOB as he could screw up Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery.
I had the goal to find the graves of three men who were killed in action this Memorial Day.
This first was a man who is familiar to anyone who watched "The Pacific".
John Basilone: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Basilone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1-O2QFmy4Y
The second was a the grandson of a controversial figure, who nevertheless died heriocally in the service of our country.
Nathan Bedford Forrest III:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest_III
The third was Phil Kearny:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Kearny
Please post your favorite historical heroes this Memorial Day. We should all remember those who gave all...
I served with people who didn’t make it and I remember them vividly, but I really miss my girlfriends’s father, who was my good hunting and fishing buddy. He served in Europe in really tough battle. Lost part of his stomach and survived.
He died Xmas eve 1996 of cancer. He was 78.
Navy SEAL Chris Kyle
Audey Murphy. True American Hero. Not much of an actor though.
I would like to remember Ronald Reagan and what President Reagan meant to America ... God Hold Ronald Close, Please ...
Pat Tillman
I, too, immediately thought of someone I knew personally: my late grandfather and three of his brothers. His parents immigrated from Norway(I’ve only recently learned that my great grandmother was a staunch Republican who sent many letters of disapproval to FDR) and then sent four sons off to war-three fought in Europe. My grandpa was the oldest and died a few years ago at age 91. He was a man who, with an eighth grade education, worked hard and did what needed to be done. He put his six younger siblings through college and built a successful gravel and lime hauling business.
He received a Purple Heart many years later. The original was buried with him, but I ordered a duplicate.
Total post-war benefit $64.00 - no GI bill for WWI vets.
Nathan Bedford Forrest III
The garden of stone at Arlington:
It’s good to have known some of these special people.
Wilbur D. Mosier. He was a LT in Co F of the 93rd New York Infantry. On the morning of May 12, 1864 he took part in the assault on the Mule Shoe Salient at Spotsylvania CH Virginia.
He was last seen standing atop the 2nd line of Confederate earthworks holding a captured battle flag. Shortly thereafter he was wounded and captured. Taken to the Gordonsville Va receiving hospital, he lingered for several weeks before succumbing to his wounds. He was buried in a marked grave that was rediscovered in the 1870’s when his body was reinterred in the Culpepper National Cemetery.
He should have been awarded the Medal of Honor for his capture of a flag but because he was listed as “missing” instead of killed or captured, he was not nominated.
He left behind a wife and two young children.
Great pics. Thank you.
Skipping the obvious (Christ, my Dad, my Mom, and my Brother): Reagan. Chris Kyle. A little 105 lb. retired Marine nobody has heard of named Judy (redacted) who shredded a campus area rapist back in 1995 (none of the blood on the floors and walls was hers).
Good call IMHO.
My Mother In Law played with Basilone’s young sisters when she was a kid in Raritan NJ.
Thanks for the story. There are many who performed valiantly but were not recognized. This is their day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.