FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops! ~ 12 March 2020

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~

~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~

IRADIANT IROQUOIS

Air Force pilots start a UH-1N Iroquois helicopter on the helipad at Minot Air Force Base, ND, Jan. 27, 2016. The pilots are assigned to the 54th Helicopter Squadron. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class J.T. Armstrong

Canteen Mission Statement

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

STRATOTANKER'S BOOM

An F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft connects to the boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker to refuel during exercise Red Flag 16-1 over the Nevada Test and Training Range, Jan. 28, 2016. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Burt Traynor

PACIFIC PLUNGE

Petty Officer 3rd Class Zachary Thompson jumps during a command swim call aboard the USS Mobile Bay in the Pacific Ocean, Jan. 26, 2016. The guided-missile cruiser, assigned to the USS John C Stennis Carrier Strike Group, is deployed to the Western Pacific. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ryan J. Batchelder

BALD BEGINNING

A Marine recruit gets his first haircut on Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, CA, Feb. 1, 2016. Recruits receive haircuts immediately upon arrival at the depot to foster uniformity. The recruit, assigned to Golf Company, 2nd Recruit Training Battalion, is scheduled to graduate April 29, 2016. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Tyler Viglione

HOSE DRILL

U.S. Navy Ensign Ty Downing demonstrates proper fire hose techniques during a general quarters drill in the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, Feb. 9, 2016. Downing is the fire marshal on the Eisenhower, currently underway for the upcoming Board of Inspection and Survey. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class J. Alexander Delgado

MUDDY TEST

Paratroopers test the capabilities of an MRZR4 LT all-terrain vehicle during familiarization training on Fort Bragg, NC, Jan. 21, 2016. Army photo by Sgt. Juan F. Jimenez

GOSHAWK TAKEOFF

A T-45C Goshawk takes off from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Atlantic Ocean, Feb. 3, 2015. The aircraft is assigned to Training Air Wing 2. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class J. Alexander Delgado

Please remember that The Canteen is here to support
and entertain our troops and veterans and their families,
and is family friendly.

[ConorMacNessa]

REQUEST PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD



CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2008) The first major snowfall of the New Year blankets the USS Constitution. Despite the weather "Old Ironsides" remained open for free public tours. At 210 years-old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 67 active-duty United States Sailors and visited by nearly half a million visitors annually. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Brown (Released)

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!!!





Boston, Oct. 21, 2009 - Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).



USS Constitution's 1812 Marine Guard fire vintage Springfield flintlock muskets during the ship's underway. "Old Ironsides" was underway for the "Constitution Day Cruise," which is conducted to thank the family and supporters of Constitution. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Nick Lyman (Released)

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, Kathy!
***HUGS***



Striding up the gangplank as we speak,
rendering Hand Salutes to our National Colors
and to the Officer of the Deck!
Thank you very much for this evening's
"Remembering Our Troops" thread!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[left that other site]

Hi Everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[ConorMacNessa]

REST IN PEACE, FALLEN BROTHER!



Gy/Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, USMC
2nd Marine Raider Battalion
Marine Forces Special Operations Command
KIA Iraq 8 March 2020




"Eternal Father, Strong to Save"
U.S. Marine Band & Choir
(Click)







Taps
(Click)

[PROCON]

Thanks for remembering and honoring our Troops, Kathy!

[SkyDancer]

~ " Hi Ya!!!" ~

~ ~

~ ~

~ Good Evening ~

~ Welcome To My World ~

Frontier Flights - I'm Down There Somewhere

[ConorMacNessa]

REST IN PEACE, FALLEN BROTHER!



Capt. Moises A. Navas, USMC
2nd Marine Raider Battalion
Marine Forces Special Operations Command
KIA Iraq 8 March 2020




"Eternal Father, Strong to Save"
U.S. Marine Band & Choir
(Click)







Taps
(Click)

[ConorMacNessa]

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!



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 other’s 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!!

[ConorMacNessa]

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!



"The Star Spangled Banner"
Verse Four

(Click)

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Please let me know by Freepmail if you would like
to be admitted to or released from my music ping list.

[radu]

Greetings to all at the Canteen!

To all our military men and women, past and present,

THANK YOU
for your service!

[radu]

Howdy, Kathy.

Hump Day! Any breathing space in the next couple of days ahead?

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...still good hiking weather for you and Penny?

4 below when I got up, but it’s warmed up to 19 now.

[real saxophonist]

I'm going to post a local story here, because the paper are kinda dickheads about who they 'allow' to read their content. No violation of FR's rules, just a pain.

Weld County man serving in Navy earns prestigious post on USS Constitution

Working at one of the original jobs in the U.S. Navy, Ryan Byrne thought it made sense to serve on the oldest ship.

Byrne, a 24-year-old from Frederick, is a month into duty on the USS Constitution in Boston, where the 222-year-old ship named by George Washington is docked as the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat.

“Sometimes it’s hard to comprehend how many sailors have served on this ship throughout history,” Byrne said during a phone interview with the Greeley Tribune. “Sailors from the early 1800s who fought and served on this ship and it’s breathtaking to think I’m following in their footsteps.”

Docked in Boston Harbor, the Constitution dates to 1797 and sails seven times a year, including an annual July 4 voyage as part of Boston’s Independence Day celebrations.

Known as Old Ironsides, the ship is preserved and maintained by an 80-person crew. Byrne, a 2014 Frederick High School graduate, will be part of the crew for the next three years. He earned the privilege following a rigorous screening process to ensure the sailors were a good fit for the highly public position.

“This ship is kind of the reason we have a country today to say in no uncertain terms,” said Chief Petty Officer Elliott Fabrizio, USS Constitution Public Affairs Officer. “The sailors who fought and died so we could grow into the country we are today. Because of that, our presence and preservation is how we show our respect for that spirit.”

Among Byrne’s responsibilities on the Constitution is speaking to the public and giving tours. The interaction might be the only contact some visitors have with the Navy, and it’s imperative those sailors are the right ambassadors.

“We’re giving a history of what happened with the USS Constitution and the naval history,” Byrne said. “We’re preserving the ship so it can stay as good as it is.”

Paul Revere supplied the copper that lined the ship’s bottom, protecting it from mollusks and other sea creatures that would bore into unprotected wood.

Byrne is a fourth-generation enlisted man, following a path laid down by his great-grandfather, his grandfather and father, Christopher, who lives in Tyler, Texas. Byrne’s mother, April Smith, lives in Johnstown.

Byrne spent his first two years in the Navy on the USS Milius, a destroyer then stationed in San Diego. He was on the USS Emory, a submarine tender ship based out of Guam for the next two years. As one of two tender ships in the Navy, the Emory provides support services to submarines.

Byrne will have eight years in when he finishes his duty on the Constitution in Feb. 2023. He’s re-enlisted and plans to make the Navy his career.

Anne Delaney covers breaking news and features for the Greeley Tribune. Contact Anne at adelaney@greeleytribune.com, (970) 392-5647 or on Twitter @AnneGDelaney.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/news/weld-county-man-serving-on-uss-constitution/

Some good pictures there, if you can actually get in.

I saw the Constitution from across the harbor, didn't get to board her. Even from a distance, she's impressive.

[radu]

Howdy do, Conor. *HUGZ*

You were quick on the draw this evening!
I hope your recuperation coming along well.

[real saxophonist]

Semper Fi, Brother.

[radu]

Rest in peace,
Gy/Sgt. Diego D. Pongo, USMC
2nd Marine Raider Battalion
Marine Forces Special Operations Command

[left that other site]

Low 40’s today. Not bad at all.

I have a feeling March might turn on us though. This has been too lovely a winter for new England!