[Snow Bunny]

The Purpose of the USO Canteen FReeper Style

Recognizing the cost of Freedom is what the Canteen is all about

I want to take you to a place , the weather is hot, beyond hot and sticky too .It is like wearing a scuba suit and pouring hot caro syrup down inside of it. You give up wiping the sweat off your face and arms because it does not do any good.You learn to own it, the heat and humidity, the stickiness. Own it and become it. Then it is bearable......almost.

A boy really but a man because of the war is laying in a hospital in a bed . Not a hospital like we know, this is make shift . He has his right leg gone, pieces of it left in the jungle. His other leg missing just above the knee. His right hand gone as well. His shoulder a huge chunk gone so even with bandages the deformity is obvious. His face, he may have been a great looking heartthrob in the past, maybe a girl kissed his tender cheek on a date and his soft lips lingering for just one more kiss at the door. But now it was like mashed potatoes. The only thing noticeable ........his eyes. The thousand yard stare was there, but behind them the clear sharp sight of what had happened. And the doubt of what his future held for him if any.

You take his one hand left and sit for hours, just being. Trying to let him know you care. The touch is all the words that need to be said. Then you start to hum a song softly and the hand in yours tightens a little for approval. Then the words of the song , and ever so gently you sing, music from your heart right into his.

He is a Hero just as the soldier at the desk at the base is a hero . All willing to serve their country and keep their land the land of the free.

Maybe both of these heroes, the wounded and the soldier at the desk had a chance to smile today or yesterday or laugh right out loud and for just a moment in time forget they were far from their loved ones, forget they were not watching a ballgame in their home or the comfort of their own bed. Maybe chuckling at the dolls and volcano and the tanks and Sam on Milk Carton, or Misty with the Beverly hillbillies, Magoo and Tomkow and Jinxie with their jokes, the 666 and one of us upside down......maybe that is their last belly laugh, maybe it is what makes the difference for them that moment in time.

[Snow Bunny]

[Dick Bachert]

Tuskegee Air BUMP! THANKS, GUYS!!!

To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding, no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep
Through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord

[radu]

Dang! Something's wrong with the screen. I was reading this beautiful post and things got all wavy and watery looking.

That was beautifully said, Snow Bunny. I'm so glad you created the Canteen for our troops, to give them a place to go to forget about the turmoils they may be dealing with, even if for a brief time. And it gives us a place to show our respect and support for those out there fighting for our Freedom, and give them a bright spot in their day.

Thank you, Snow Bunny!! :-))

[MistyCA]

Wonderful thread, Snow Bunny! Thanks for the information about these wonderful warriors! :)