The FReeper Foxhole Celebrates Veterans Day - November 11th, 2003

various

[Darksheare]

I always got saddled with 16's that had receiver fit problems that made accuracy suspect.
*chuckle*
Had wanted to get my hands on the CAR-21 concept bullpup just to see if the hype was true.
Supposedly it didn't need to be zero'd at all.
And it was pretty short for having the same barrel length as the 16, but also amazingly light.
Advance party needed something short and light with good accuracy for long range, but short enough to be used on the fly in the brush.
The 16 was honestly too long for that, and we couldn't get our hands on m-4's at all.
(Would have been a plus.)
*sigh*

[Samwise]

Geez, another tearjerker for today.

It's time for a lighter note. I've threatened to tell SAM this one before. We'll file it under the category They Also Serve Who Sit and Wait. This is my dad's favorite story about his dad, whom I never knew.

Grandpa had four sons and several grandsons fighting for the allies in World War II. (My cousin was held in a German prison camp.) Apparently some jerk was smarting off and bragging about how great the war was and he hoped it would last forever because he was making so much money from it. Grandpa slugged the guy. He was hauled in front of the small-town judge and tried for assault. The judge, knowing he had to enforce the law but also understanding that the guy probably deserved it, fined Grandpa one dollar. Grandpa handed him two dollars. The judge asked him why he gave him two dollars. Grandpa said, "I may have to hit him again."

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for this wonderful tribute to veterans! And thanks again for keeping the memories alive with what you do every day in the Foxhole!

[Darksheare]

Yeah, sending Mad Maddie was pretty insane.
She might be enough to frighten real, sane men.
But she couldn't frighten real insane men.

[snippy_about_it]

Under U.S. command, a GROM unit captured one platform with a second rig taken by U.S. Navy SEALs. Months before a Polish-led international force took control of a zone in postwar Iraq in September, GROM cleared vessels from the port of Umm Qasr and helped secure a dam near Baghdad. Now GROM troops are helping the hunt for Saddam, Poland's top general, Gen. Czeslaw Piatas, revealed in unexpectedly candid comments.

Thank you Poland!

[SAMWolf]

Our Military Today
Tribute for an Ally

Polish Maj. Hieronim Kupczyk, 44, killed in an ambush in Iraq on Thursday, the first Polish soldier killed by hostile fire since World War II, is shown in this recent file photo. (AP File/PAP)


The widow of Polish Army Maj. Kupczyk, Jolanta, right, wipes a tear during the funeral for her husband, Maj. Hieronim Kupczyk, in Szczecin, Poland, Monday, Nov.10, 2003. Maj. Kupczyk, killed in Iraq last week, was Poland's first combat casualty in Iraq. Daugher Marta is right. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)


Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, left, and Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski, second right, attend the funeral for Polish Army Maj. Hieronim Kupczyk in Szczecin, Poland, Monday, Nov.10, 2003. Maj. Kupczyk, killed in Iraq last week, was Poland's first combat casualty in Iraq. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)


Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, second left, watches the funeral ceremony for Polish Army Maj. Hieronim Kupczyk in Szczecin, Poland, Monday, Nov.10, 2003.


Polish soldiers guard the coffin of slain Colonel Hieronim Kupczyk, 44, at a church in Szczecin, Poland, November 10, 2003. Guerrillas shot and killed a Polish army officer south of Baghdad on November 7, the first soldier to die from a multi-national division set up to relieve the pressure on U.S. forces trying to stabilize Iraq . Photo by Peter Andrews/Reuters


Jolanta Kupczyk, the wife of slain Colonel Hieronim Kupczyk, receives the flag that covered her husband's coffin, as his daughter Marta looks on, following funeral services at a cemetery in Szczecin, Poland, November 10, 2003. Guerrillas shot and killed a Polish army officer south of Baghdad on November 7, the first soldier to die from a multi-national division set up to relieve the pressure on U.S. forces trying to stabilize Iraq. REUTERS/Peter Andrews

[snippy_about_it]

Grandpa said, "I may have to hit him again."

LOL! I love it!

Thanks for the "lighter note".

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you for those kind words colorado tanker.

Thank you for your service to our country.

[SAMWolf]

The judge, knowing he had to enforce the law but also understanding that the guy probably deserved it, fined Grandpa one dollar. Grandpa handed him two dollars. The judge asked him why he gave him two dollars. Grandpa said, "I may have to hit him again."

LOL! I think I'd like your grandfather.

[SAMWolf]

Afternoon Colorado Tanker. Thanks for your service.

[snippy_about_it]

She might be enough to frighten real, sane men.
But she couldn't frighten real insane men.

Brilliantly said Darksheare. I was thinking she was/is pretty scary but not enough to them and now you make sense of it! LOL.

[colorado tanker]

You're welcome!

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you SAM for the very well presented post about Major Hieronim Kupczyk's funeral service. A very sad day for Poland.

[SAMWolf]

"What Veterans Day Means To Me"
L. Schellhase, 3 rd Place, High School Division

Veterans Day, although not a very popular or commercial holiday, celebrates and remembers some of America's greatest heroes. It is a day that is dedicated to the many men and women who served our country and protected democracy. Approximately 1,089,000 American men and women lost their lives to secure America's freedom since the days of the colonies, through a civil war, two world wars and many more armed conflicts including Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm and many other peace keeping missions. It is on Veterans Day that we thank these fallen heroes.

Veterans Day is celebrated by millions of people around the nation through memorials, dedications, and parades. It is a day that is used to commemorate nearly 42,000,000 war participants and countless peacetime veterans. It is important that America takes time to honor those who answered our nation's call and protected our freedom and ideals.

Veterans Day has personal significance for me since the majority of my family served in the armed forces. My great uncle and both grandfathers served in World War II in Europe and Africa. My father and all three of his brothers served during the Vietnam era. My mother also dedicated her life to veterans, working as a dietitian in a veteran's hospital.

I believe my age group in particular has no concept of the dedication, patriotism and bravery of our veterans. How often do we neglect our responsibilities or just act lazy when we don't feel like doing something. How often do you think the young men and woman serving our country, thousands of miles from home, family and friends, fighting selflessly to protect the beliefs held by Americans, wanted to say "Not me, I'm not going, I've had enough." But they didn't. They endured hardships we can't even imagine. We should think of this the next time we are asked to accomplish a little chore.

Every American should take the opportunity on Veterans Day to reflect, honor, and remember our veterans, past and present, to which we owe our very freedom and the principles we choose to live by. We must never forget those who perished, those who didn't, and those whose fate is still unknown. It is through heightened awareness that keeps our missing heroes in foreign countries alive; it is important that Veterans Day brings to light these issues that many Americans still, many years later, are missing in action.

[Light Speed]

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the tank pix - gotta love it!

Are those Marines I see on top of those M-1's? Didn't know they allowed real tanks in the Corps. :)

[radu]

TO ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SERVED OUR COUNTRY, AND WHO SERVE NOW....

THANK YOU!

[colorado tanker]

Thanks, Sam. Say, what's a "GP"? I've heard of MP, SP and AP, but not "GP."

[snippy_about_it]

Hello radu, thanks for stopping by today, you're up early.

[Prof Engineer]

Dear Sir,

I'd like to order one (1) of your fine tanks to use for my morning commute. The superior traction of the those giant treads will handle anything man or nature can throw my way.

The little hood ornament will go along way toward getting other folks out of my way.

I await word of the anticipated delivery date.

Best Regards,

Prof Engineer