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FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Gordon Douglas Yntema ~ 24 April 2017
Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !!
| StarCMC and The Canteen Crew
Posted on 04/23/2017 5:01:36 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska
click here to read article
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To: radu
There are indeed treasures there - our scanner has been active the last couple of days.
"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense." |
41
posted on
04/23/2017 7:48:32 PM PDT
by
ConorMacNessa
(FMF Corpsman - Lima 3/5 RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel protect us in Battle!)
To: LUV W
I beat ya by just a couple of minutes. You were emailing while I was posting, and I was replying when you posted. LOL
42
posted on
04/23/2017 7:50:40 PM PDT
by
radu
(May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
To: ConorMacNessa
It’s given you something fun to do while the pollen keeps you inside. Lots of memories in all those boxes. :-)
43
posted on
04/23/2017 7:53:40 PM PDT
by
radu
(May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
To: radu; Kathy in Alaska; laurenmarlowe; BIGLOOK; alfa6; EsmeraldaA; SandRat; mylife; TMSuchman; ...
![](http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Flags/938063cd-6fdf-43cd-a9d5-437c72c92ae2_zpsabb600f5.jpg)
![](http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Militaria/militarygroup-vi.jpg)
Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!
![](http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Militaria/missing-man-762922.jpg)
Missing Man Setting
"The Empty Chair"
By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004
"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.
The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.
AS YOU REMEMBER.
The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.
We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each others company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:
The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.
The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.
The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.
The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.
The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate. The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them. The bible represents the faith that sustained them. The glass is inverted they cannot share in the toast. The chair is empty they are not here. They are missing.
And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.
We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.
But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER."
Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."
"Träumerei" Robert Schumann (Click)
Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!
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44
posted on
04/23/2017 7:56:51 PM PDT
by
ConorMacNessa
(FMF Corpsman - Lima 3/5 RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel protect us in Battle!)
To: Kathy in Alaska; laurenmarlowe; BIGLOOK; alfa6; EsmeraldaA; SandRat; mylife; TMSuchman; AbnSarge; ..
![](http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Flags/938063cd-6fdf-43cd-a9d5-437c72c92ae2_zpsabb600f5.jpg)
PRAYERS ASCENDING ON HIGH FOR OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!
Oorah And Godspeed To Our Troops Who Run To The Sound Of The Guns!
American Troops Charging At St. Mihiel, France, 1918
![]( http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Militaria/Utah-seawall.jpg )
Soldiers of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division Move Out Over The Seawall On "Utah" Beach, 6 June 1944.
![]( http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Marines/inchon7a.jpg)
Marines Move Out Under Sniper Fire En Route To Seoul Inchon, Korea, 17 September 1950.
![]( http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Militaria/0330e29a-5976-4089-806c-855d9fbd5c23_zps1df2f788.jpg)
Troops Of The 9th Infantry Division, U.S Army, Advancing Through The Rice Paddies Vietnam.
![]( http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i25/Conormacnessa/Marines/8f3a1365-cc71-4de5-8b95-fad84f359c40.jpg)
U.S. Marines On The Move In Afghanistan 4 October 2009.
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45
posted on
04/23/2017 7:58:22 PM PDT
by
ConorMacNessa
(FMF Corpsman - Lima 3/5 RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel protect us in Battle!)
To: radu
How funny! And when I was e-mailing I was wondering when you’d get here. LOL!
46
posted on
04/23/2017 7:59:36 PM PDT
by
luvie
(Be still and know that I Am GOD.....Psalm 46:10)
To: Publius
Awesome! Glad you had an enjoyable day...except for the traffic!
47
posted on
04/23/2017 8:00:27 PM PDT
by
luvie
(Be still and know that I Am GOD.....Psalm 46:10)
To: radu
Lots of memories - and I have to get them out - pictures from before I was born of relatives who live in my memory.
"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense." |
48
posted on
04/23/2017 8:03:23 PM PDT
by
ConorMacNessa
(FMF Corpsman - Lima 3/5 RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel protect us in Battle!)
To: LUV W; radu
49
posted on
04/23/2017 8:08:30 PM PDT
by
PROCON
To: LUV W; radu
50
posted on
04/23/2017 8:08:37 PM PDT
by
PROCON
To: LUV W
I hadn’t been sitting down long. Just long enough to get the greeting in and start checking emails. Took foreeeeeeeever to get out of Wally World and that set me back on getting the critters and us fed. Good thing we’re used to eating supper fairly late.
51
posted on
04/23/2017 8:10:02 PM PDT
by
radu
(May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
To: PROCON
Well! I guess you are! LOL! W👀H👀!!!
52
posted on
04/23/2017 8:13:25 PM PDT
by
luvie
(Be still and know that I Am GOD.....Psalm 46:10)
To: radu
Were all the kittehs tapping their tiny paws? LOL!
53
posted on
04/23/2017 8:14:26 PM PDT
by
luvie
(Be still and know that I Am GOD.....Psalm 46:10)
To: ConorMacNessa
Oooooh MAN! Old photos like that are the best! No wonder you’ve kept the scanner busy.
54
posted on
04/23/2017 8:16:25 PM PDT
by
radu
(May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
To: PROCON; LUV W
Still up AND attentive! LOL
WOOHOO! #50 is yours tonight, PRO!
55
posted on
04/23/2017 8:17:41 PM PDT
by
radu
(May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
To: Kathy in Alaska
He’s Pretty-Much recovered, but I’ve not.
56
posted on
04/23/2017 8:18:02 PM PDT
by
SandRat
(Duty, Honor, Country.)
To: radu; Kathy in Alaska
It was a lovely day!
And now, to bed,
to sleep...
Perchance to dream.
57
posted on
04/23/2017 8:20:01 PM PDT
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: LUV W
Kittehs were quite obnoxious. They’re used to eating their canned goody by 6:00 and it was almost 7:30 when they ate. At least they’ve calmed down now. Whew!
58
posted on
04/23/2017 8:20:01 PM PDT
by
radu
(May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
To: left that other site
Glad you had a nice day at last. A nice walk AND a nice ride. Should get a great night’s sleep after that. :-)
59
posted on
04/23/2017 8:21:56 PM PDT
by
radu
(May God watch over our troops and keep them safe)
To: radu
I’ll bet you got some dirty looks till everyone was fed!
How many cans per night does it take to satisfy these spoiled rotten babies? I hope you get a “bulk discount”. LOL!
60
posted on
04/23/2017 8:47:04 PM PDT
by
luvie
(Be still and know that I Am GOD.....Psalm 46:10)
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