Posted on 05/31/2004 11:53:23 AM PDT by TruthNtegrity
My sincerest THANK YOU for the great photos.
I think he does know
No I hadn't seen that .. Thank you for letting us know
Deb Granahan never gave much thought to Memorial Day. It was a day off from work, an excuse to find some great buys at the mall and a chance to crack open the grill for a family barbecue.
That was before her son died in Iraq.
Pfc. Anthony D'Agostino, of Waterbury, was one of 16 U.S. soldiers killed when his Chinook helicopter was shot down near Baghdad on Nov. 2. He would have turned 21 on the day his remains were flown back to Connecticut.
(Note - this was one of First Sgt. Mike Milam's "kids" (mike1sg) in the 106th AVN. Through his wife here at the Dose, (mystery-ak) he asked us to visit other pilots from the 106th AVN at Walter Reed, and numerous people from the Dose and the DC Chapter of Free Republic visited them at Walter Reed.)
This year, Granahan plans to spend the Memorial Day weekend visiting her son's grave and attending a parade in nearby Middlebury that is dedicated to D'Agostino.
"I have such a different respect and understanding of Memorial Day," Granahan, 43, said last week. "I will remember not only my son, but others who have passed on and who have given us our freedom."
With the country still fighting battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, veterans groups and families expect a somber weekend, with polls showing support for the Iraq war eroding and many people concerned that it has increased the threat of terrorism against Americans.
For Clifford Jones, 56, of East Hartford, Memorial Day isn't a special day to think about the sacrifices of U.S. soldiers abroad. He already does that every day.
The retired Navy diver recently sent care packages full of homemade chocolate chip cookies and bug spray to his two sons who are both on active duty. Army National Guard Spc. Aaron Jones has been in Iraq since April, and Air Force 1st. Lt. Clifford Jones Jr. is stationed in California.
"The emotions run the gamut. When things are calm, everything runs smoothly. But when the insurgents are coming in, you have moments of just terror," said the elder Jones.
In Redondo Beach, Calif., the family of Army Sgt. Brian Wood plan to lead the annual Memorial Day parade. The honor, offered after the death of their son, is not something they ever sought.
Wood was killed April 16 when his military vehicle pulled off the road and hit a mine in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, just weeks after Wood's 21st birthday.
Still, the Woods remain committed to U.S. efforts in Iraq.
"We're there doing something we needed to do. It's not easy," said Brian Wood's father Greg. "It's costly, but we understand the cost, more than most Americans."
Others plan to take comfort in remembering the living - the 135,000 men and women still serving in Iraq - rather than the 800 or so U.S. lives lost.
Since her son died July 28, Adeline Maher has been involved in AdoptaPlatoon Soldier Support Effort, a nonprofit that connects deployed troops with pen pals.
"I had to something. I had all this energy inside of me. I guess I could have gone into a depression. But no, my son wouldn't have done that. I do what he would have done," she said.
For Vivian and James LaMont, it's their second Memorial Day to mourn the death of the youngest of their nine children, Marine Capt. Andrew David LaMont. He was killed on May 19, 2003, when the supply helicopter he was piloting crashed in Iraq.
This year, the LaMonts have left behind the constant reminders of their son in Eureka, Calif., where for years they led the Rotary Club's local Memorial Day celebration.
Vivian LaMont said she and her husband are looking forward to a fresh start in Tucson, Ariz., a place where they weren't immediately known as parents who lost a son in Iraq.
"I think my husband and I are starting another journey in being somewhere else," she said. "You can miss the person very much, but to agonize over it would be a detriment to his memory. You can't look back."
No matter where she goes, the memory of her son's life - not his death - will remain.
"He's really here with me," she said.
I just saw it myself before I posted it in here
Wonderful pics... thanks so much for posting.
Heart warming--the standing O for Rummy,
and slightly unbecoming glee at Kerrey getting booed.
(if we didn't read the papers or listen to the alphabets, we might get the imprssion that America loves Bush, Rummy and all our wonderful leaders.)
In the second to last photo in post 6 it appears to me that beautiful Laura has lost more weight or been doing some tummy-shrinking exercises. Good on her. She looks fabulous.
You're welcome. My pleasure.
And now, I'm off to get the virus fixes for a friends PC and see if I can bring that thing back to life, again.
That's it for the pictures, everyone.
May we celebrate Memorial Day as it was intended - with prayer and thankfulness for our soldiers, past, present and future.
God bless our Military, our President and our Country.
Bye for now.
TNT
Sorry - I filled up too many of the 1-10 slots - so I'll give you an "under ten slot", how's that!
Truthy
Amen ,Gretchen.
....AMERICA...HOME OF THE FREE BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE....
Yeah, he did. As the widow of a Nam vet, I just wanna say, "Go get 'em!" She shoulda spit on him. As far as I'm concerned, Kerry and his ilk were instrumental in the hard treatment these guys got when they came back. My husband would come back from job interviews where guys who'd gotten college deferments would question him about what he did in Vietnam. Eventually, he took his combat record off his resume.
I remember when every criminal on tv was characterized as a vet who went crazy; even now the media can't help but mention someone's time in service if they've commited a crime. We can thank Kerry and Hanoi Jane for this.
Kerry should be ashamed of himself and the things that he's said about these guys. Four months in Nam! Please! Four months in Nam and he should have come home in a body bag or with a missing limb. I grew up near Walter Reed and used to go to chapel and the PX there. I know exactly what guys who had four months in Nam looked like.
I'm glad my husband isn't alive to see this crap now. He would be very hard to live with.
Maybe I've been too negative for this board. I'm sorry. Kerry infuriates me everytime I see his cowardly, lying face.
Thank God for GWB and Rumsfeld. Thank God for our good servicemen and women. This Memorial Day, let us each promise that, in our presence, no serviceperson is slighted or harrased by some leftist coward. Take it from me, the negative treatment from their so-called countrymen can leave life-long scars on people who were fearless in battle.
No problem, I would have made it though had I not looked for that smiley in my filemanager :-)
***Maybe I've been too negative for this board.***
NO WAY, radiohead. You just said what we all feel. Thanks for that.
False advertising, Truthy. That was way more than a 3 tissue.
Thanks, Truthy, for a BEAUTIFUL holiday thread.
What does get me the most about Kerry is that he wants to be CIC of our great military, but has yet not found it necessary to visit them in Iraq or Afghanistan and visit the wounded at Walter reed or any military hospital here in the US
You are not too negative for this board. We are always allowed to state our opinions, even here on the Dose. While we consider it Sanity Island because we post pics of the President that just don't appear anywhere else, we can always state our views about what is going on.
There are those of us who visit Walter Reed and Bethesda who know what the wounded of this war look like - how IED's blow off limbs. While their Kevlar vests protect the trunks of their bodies, it makes their limbs all the more vulnerable and it seems, the enemy has devised these horrible IED's to attack in just the most vulnerable manner.
God bless the wounded, wherever they are, and speed their recovery, both inside and out.
I appreciate your late husbands service. I hope that sKerry gets more and more public confrontations such as these. It's the only way that the media may be forced to carry those stories and viewpoints about Horseface.
Prairie
I feel the same way as you and today si the best day to stand up and rail against those who demean our brave soldiers. Because of them we still have freedoms, even though too many abuse them to try and destroy the very fiber of what is America.
Thanks for putting into words what we all feel.
God bless America and those who continue to fight to protect ALL of us, even those who don't deserve it.
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