Posted on 05/29/2005 5:13:23 PM PDT by F14 Pilot

President George W. Bush saluted US military personnel, particularly those who died in the line of duty, as the nation kicked off its Memorial Day weekend celebrations.(AFP/File/Jim Watson)


Memorial Day : A soldier carries US flags during the annual flags-in ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. (AFP/Brendan Smialowski)

Two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq when their helicopter crashed after being shot at north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement on May 27, 2005. Two helicopters came under small arms fire near Baquba 60 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad on Thursday night, the U.S. military said. One crashed while the other sustained damage but landed safely at a U.S. base. 1st Sergeant Michael Miller of the 1st command engineer battalion looks though names on dog tags of some of his men killed in Iraq, during a memorial service for the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California May 26, 2005. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

After placing small U.S. flags at the headstones of veterans' graves, Cub Scout Jose Coreno, left, and Tiger Scout Raymond Espinosa of Pack 188 in Eagle Rock, salute during the traditional placement of flags in preparation for Memorial Day ceremonies at the Los Angeles National Cemetery, Saturday, May 28, 2005. Hundreds of boy and girl scouts placed flags on each one of nearly 85,000 graves. Formal Memorial Day services will be held Monday. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

British Black Watch bag piper Paul Colville of Glasgow, Scotland plays during a memorial service for the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California May 26, 2005. Some 420 soldiers, sailors, marines and British soldiers serving with the 1st Marine Division were killed in Iraq. Since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, at least 1,647 American military personnel have lost their lives in Iraq. REUTERS/Mike Blake

An SA80 rifle with five dog tags representing Soldiers from the British Black Watch (R) sits with other U.S. Marine M16 rifles during a memorial service for the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California May 26, 2005. Some 420 soldiers, sailors, marines and British soldiers serving with the 1st Marine Division were killed in Iraq. Since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, at least 1,647 American military personnel have lost their lives in Iraq. REUTERS/Mike Blake

Emily Dieruf from Lexington, Kentucky reacts after finding her husband's dog tag at Camp Pendleton, California May 26, 2005. A memorial service was held in honor of the 420 Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and British Soldiers who lost their lives while serving with the 1st Marine Division in Iraq. Since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, at least 1,647 American military personnel have lost their lives in Iraq.

U.N. Command soldiers salute next to UN flag-draped coffins containing remains believed to be U.S. soldiers missing in action from Korean War during the Memorial Day and Repatriation Ceremony at Knight Field, a U.S. military base in Seoul Thursday, May 26, 2005. The Pentagon has suspended its efforts to recover the remains of American soldiers from North Korea, saying the communist country was creating an environment that could have jeopardized the safety of U.S. workers. (AP Photo/ Lee Jin-man)

The House Veterans Affairs Committee honors former soldiers at a Memorial Day salute to veterans at the Capitol, May 25, 2005. The members of Congress pledged their support to veterans, as a group of veterans have filed a class-action lawsuit against Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld over cuts in their medical benefits. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Israelis stand on a main road in Tel Aviv to observe two minutes of silence marking the opening of the annual Memorial Day May 11, 2005. The day is in remembrance of soldiers killed during their military service since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948. REUTERS/Nir Elias

Keven Outman, a Boy Scout and member of the Greater St. Louis Area Council, places a flag at the head stone of Lt. Michael Joseph Blassie Sunday, May 29, 2005, at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, as part of the 55th annual Memorial Day observance. Blassie, a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, was shot down in the vicinity of An Loc in South Vietnam, May 11, 1972. His remains were found later at the crash site. Blassie's remains were placed in the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery until sophisticated identification techniques identifed him as the unknown soldier. St. Louis area scouts placed 152,000 flags at the head stones More than 4,000 scouts took part in the ceremony. (AP Photo/James A. Finley)

Pat O'Brien (L) of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and her husband Jerry O'Brien, who served in the Air Force and whose father was killed in World War II, salute thousands of Rolling Thunder demonstrators as they ride over the Potomac River on the Memorial Bridge into Washington for a Memorial Day gathering at the Lincoln Memorial, May 29, 2005. The 18th annual ride for veterans was led by U.S. Air Force General Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Girl Scout Hannah McVey of Rosamond, Calif., takes a photo as her sister Caitlin adds a flag to the dozens surrounding a new grave, of Army Pfc. Samuel Sungjune Lee, who died in the Iraq war on March 28, 2005, during the traditional placement of flags in preparation for Memorial Day ceremonies at the Los Angeles National Cemetery Saturday, May 28, 2005. Hundreds of boy and girl scouts placed flags on each one of nearly 85,000 graves. Formal Memorial Day services will be held Monday, May 30. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)


American flags and dog tags hang from a wreath placed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington as various veteran groups hold ceremonies marking Memorial Day Saturday, May 28, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Scott Reichek (L) salutes fellow Marines during a memorial service for the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California May 26, 2005. Some 420 soldiers, sailors, marines and British soldiers serving with the 1st Marine Division were killed in Iraq.
PING!
Damn this IED!
Thank you....
Thanks great pictures.
Thank you....I have to say, that there is something about the rifle in the ground, with the helmet and boot, that just tears me up inside....
God Bless Them All, and their families, as well. Thank you all for what you have given and given up for us....
Improvised Explosive Device
One of the lethal weapons of Terrorists in Iraq which is killing our Men & Women in Uniform every day!
Thank you for posting this, good stuff indeed. I especially like the pics with the scouts, it's heartening to see our youth getting involved and that they show concern and respect.
God Bless our Veterans and Military, may those who gave the ultimate sacrifice be with their maker in peace and tranquility. And God Bless the Boy's and Girl Scout's of America.
Got it.
Thank you. A somber BTTT.
Thank you, F14...very much.

Heart warming..
Thanks.
Thank you. You make America a little bit better just doing this.
What a great post. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for posting this...
God Bless..
Ms.B
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