MEMORIAL DAY--Thread One--"Discussions With a One-Legged Man"

The Local Graveyard...and a 1 legged man | 5/24/04 | redrock

[redrock]

"Find the cost of freedom,
buried in the ground "

Crosby,Stills,Nash and Young

I tend to wander around cemeteries. Especially right before Memorial Day. It seems to help me regain focus on the day that is set aside to honour those who have served this Nation in uniform.

On one such visit...I noticed a man ( a fairly old man with white hair) wearing part of a military uniform. Why I noticed is pretty simple....he had only one leg...and was supported by his remaining leg..and 2 wooden crutches.

It kinda stands out...especially in a cemetery.

As I got closer to where he was standing....I noticed the medals ON his uniform jacket. I tend to notice such things as someone wearing a Silver Star and a Bronze Star.

It kinda stands out....especially in a cemetery.

Somehow (actually on purpose) I started up a conversation. We talked for a couple of hours...both of us serving in the Army. Him in WWII...me in Vietnam.

He told of how he served in Italy, fighting inch by inch up the country. How he lost his best friend at Anzio...of how he lost his leg at a place called Monte Cassino.(he said that he missed his friend much more than his leg)

We both came to a silent understanding. That we were Brothers.

"Businessmen they drink my wine
Plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth"
Bob Dylan--"All Along the Watchtower"

From the cemetery we could see the freeway below...and all the cars full of people on their way to someplace. We could see the stores below..and the people going in to those stores to shop...and buy things for themselves or their families.

..and then...he asked me..(and maybe just all the dead that lay nearby)...the question that made me want to remember him...and write about him.

In a slow (sad voice) he asked...." I wonder if any of them know?? I wonder if any of them know the price that their Freedom cost??? I wonder if any of them know that their Freedom was paid for in blood...and lives?? I wonder if any of them know that every square inch of this Nation has been paid for with the blood of their fathers...sons..and brothers???? "

Stunned....I stammered out something about Memorial Day coming up.

He looked at me and just shook his head...."They don't care about it..except it gives them a three day weekend. They don't WANT to remember us....we aren't popular."

I wanted to tell him that he was wrong...that they DO remember.

But,in the end, he was right. Most do NOT remember.

It has become a three day weekend. Time for camping...or overtime at work...or getting drunk at the barbecue.

MOST do not remember.

MOST do not WANT to remember.

But there is still time to change the outcome of this coming Memorial Day.

There is STILL time to place the flags on the graves....and to stand at the end of those graves and tell those who served this Nation......"Thank You".

I KNOW where I will be on Memorial Day. I will be with my children placing flags...and introducing my children to new friends.

Ones who can no longer speak...except thru us.

But ones, that if we are to remain Free, we NEED to Remember.

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.-"

Ronald Reagan 1961

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

Thank You Brother

[carlo3b]

Bless them all.. God knows how much we miss them.. Thank you my FRiend, your tribute was worthy of the gravity of the memorial.. Carlo

[redrock]

My dad is buried several states away.

BUT...I will be thinking of him..and all that he taught me.

redrock

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

"MEMORIAL DAY--Thread One"

This is the start of the Memorial Day threads by redrock that I told you about.

redrock : Can you please add StarCMC to your ping list.
Her brother, FReeper kjfine, recently returned from Iraq

[redrock]

StarCMC...is added.

Thanks...

redrock

[tertiary01]

A nice place to visit for Memorial Day ceremonies is the California Veteran's Home in Yountville. They have a real nice Veteran's cemetery up in the back hills, going back as far as those who fought in the Civil and Indian Wars.

[fatima]

Ragtime Cowgirl.Bump.

[StarCMC]

Thank you for the ping Tonk!

And thank you, thru tears, for this redrock. You are SO right!

[Euro-American Scum]

I always post these sentiments every year. So I'll take this as an opportunity to log them this year again.

I encourage everybody to get up early on Memorial Day (May 31) and go to a Memorial Day service. They're all over the place, so finding one isn't hard.

If you're staying home, pick up a local paper or open the yellow pages and call some of the local cemeteries. You'll find one.

If you're traveling, chances are there will be a service somewhere near where you are.

One hour on a Monday morning isn't going to ruin anybody's travel plans, or inconvenience anybody's barbeque schedule.

I'll be leaving Sunday for Normandy. This will be the first Memorial Day I won't be going to a service in fifteen years. And I feel properly lousy about it.

Get up early. Get out early. Honor those who fell. It's the least we can do.

[jellybean]

Flag Folding

As an Army and Navy custom, the flag is lowered daily at the last note of retreat. Special care should be taken that no part of the flag touches the ground. The Flag is then carefully folded into the shape of a tri-cornered hat, emblematic of the hats worn by colonial soldiers during the war for Independence. In the folding, the red and white stripes are finally wrapped into the blue, as the light of day vanishes into the darkness of night.

This custom of special folding is reserved for the United States Flag alone.

How to fold the Flag

Step 1

To properly fold the Flag, begin by holding it waist-high with another person so that its surface is parallel to the ground.

Step 2

Fold the lower half of the stripe section lengthwise over the field of stars, holding the bottom and top edges securely.

Step 3

Fold the flag again lengthwise with the blue field on the outside.

Step 4

Make a triangular fold by bringing the striped corner of the folded edge to meet the open (top) edge of the flag.

Step 5

Turn the outer (end) point inward, parallel to the open edge, to form a second triangle.

Step 6

The triangular folding is continued until the entire length of the flag is folded in this manner.

Step 7

When the flag is completely folded, only a triangular blue field of stars should be visible.

[SAMWolf]

Memorial Day is Coming Bump

[JDoutrider]

Combat Vet Bump...

[amom]

bttt

[lainde]

Thanks for a wonderful post!

[Molly Pitcher]

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, redrock. This annual commemoration has taken root there.

[AFPhys]

Thank you for sharing a wonderful essay.

I will be sending it on to many.

Freedom is our Profession.

[Americanwolf]

Great Piece.

There is a quote off a Memorial that I love. I think it is appropriate for this thread.

"For those who fought for It, freedom has a taste the protected will never know."
--- Conroy Family War Memorial
Bathsea ND

[Americanwolf]

could you please add me to red rock as a vetran I appricate what you are doing.

[proud American in Canada]

"I KNOW where I will be on Memorial Day. I will be with my children placing flags...and introducing my children to new friends."

Thanks for a great post, redrock. You've inspired me--next Monday is a regular day here, but I think I'll take my son out at lunchtime and talk to him about the meaning of the day.

[ride the whirlwind]

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.-"

Ronald Reagan 1961

Thanks. (Lump in throat)