A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....05-27-05 thru 05-30-05...Remembering Them Then ~ Honoring Them

DollyCali | May 27, 2005 | DollyCali

[DollyCali]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dutchess, Aquamarine, DollyCali ~

Memorial Day is set apart to remember those now departed who served in the armed forces. This four day weekend at the Finest we shall remember the countless fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, sisters, mothers, daughters and wives who paid the ultimate sacrifice while on active duty as well as our veterans who returned home alive but are no longer with us.

We are also going to honor and remember the men and women currently serving our country and present a very special Marine as a representative of all the members of our armed forces.

Please feel free to share on this thread the stories and pictures of your loved ones in the military currently serving in the Military, retired, deceased…

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson

We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them. ~Francis A. Walker

Although no sculptured marble should rise to their memory, nor engraved stone bear record of their deeds, yet will their remembrance be as lasting as the land they honored. ~Daniel Webster

On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation! ~Thomas William Parsons

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.(Psalm 23:4)

To fully understand why strangers across the country are sending well wishes to "Nick Popaditch, a true American hero" they've never met, one must rewind to Operation Iraqi Freedom and the liberation of Baghdad. In a famous event that truly symbolized the liberation, 1st Tank Battalion Marines pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein. An Associated Press photographer captured then-Staff Sgt. Nick Popaditch grinning, smoking a stogie with the statue falling in the background.

This photo, which ended up on the front page of nearly every major paper in the United States, earned him the title of "the Cigar Marine."

Now fast forward to April 7 2004 -. Popaditch, still a tank commander with 1st Tank Battalion, volunteered to redeploy to Iraq with another company when he found out his own company wasn't slated to go back yet.

One month ago, I was in Iraq, and I assumed I'd watch his first baseball season on video tape after I got home," he said from his red, white and blue canvas chair next to the dugout. "This is a real treat, being here for these games."

A real treat. Those three simple words provide a small preview of Popaditch's endlessly positive all-Marine attitude.

For the 36-year-old father of two, that fateful day in Fallujah was just another day at the office — or in the tank, if you ask him.

"We'd been in constant contact with the enemy for 36 hours," he started, absentmindedly tracing a scar above his right eyebrow. "We were on a street so narrow there wasn't even room to turn my turret."

With the enemy somewhere in front of them, Popaditch and his crew, which included a second tank, his wingman-slowly traversed the narrow streets.

"We passed an alley no wider than those two poles, and I looked down the alley and saw anti-coalition forces fire (a rocket-propelled grenade) straight at us," he continued.

"That RPG hit the side of my turret and it didn't penetrate, but I ordered my driver to stop and as I turned to engage them with my .50 caliber, another RPG was launched from a rooftop in front of us, and I guess that sucker had better aim," he laughed. "I'm not sure if he was aiming at my head, or at the hatch. The best I can figure is he split the difference."

Splitting the difference from a rooftop cost Popaditch his right eye — a fact he refuses to dwell on. Rather he speaks of the heroic actions of his 26-year-old gunner, Cpl. Ryan Chambers, a San Luis Obispo, Calif., native.

"When I got hit, I saw a flash of light and then everything went black. All I could hear was fuzz and static," he recalled, pausing to clap as his son's team brought in another runner, putting them ahead by five runs. "The force of the blast knocked me down into the tank, and I sat up and reached for my radio to start telling the driver we needed to get out of there. But my helmet was gone, so I had no radio."

Blinded, momentarily deaf and not yet feeling pain, Popaditch groped his way around the inside of his tank until he located Chambers.

"That guy, man, he was injured too, and he'd already climbed right up into the cupola — the same cupola I'd just been blown out of — and was assessing the situation," said Popaditch, stopping to laugh. "This is the funny part of the story. I grabbed him and screamed, 'Chambers, we have to get the tanks out of here,' and 'Chambers, you're going to have to call for a medevac.' He didn't answer me, so I shook him and screamed it three or four more times, until I realized he'd probably answered me but I couldn't hear him."

As the tank started moving he could faintly hear Chambers on the radio, he said. "I heard him hollering at both drivers, just doing what tank commanders do naturally," he said, admiration in his voice. "We were blocks and blocks deep into the city, and Chambers simply took control. That was comforting to me, to know that he had taken charge of the situation."

With Chambers in charge, Popaditch focused on himself for a moment and said he suddenly felt very tired."I wanted to lie down right there and go to sleep for a while, but I knew from first aid training that I had to stay awake," he laughed, shaking his head sheepishly. "I stood up, held on, and forced myself to stay awake. I don't remember anything about the trip back to the center of command, but there is a berm near the trestle we were based near, and when I felt the tank cross that berm, I knew we were home."

Popaditch said when his Marines and the medical crew pulled him out of the tank; he knew everything was going to be OK. He said he's still not sure if they were Army medics or Navy corpsmen, and laughingly apologizes for not knowing, saying, "Hey, I'd just been hit in the face with a grenade."

"When they started treating me, I knew I was safe, and I knew my family would never see a picture of me hanging from a train trestle somewhere," he said. "It was such an emotionally charged feeling, such a sense of relief."

He remembers very little about being treated in Fallujah, or being medevaced to Germany, but what he does remember amazes him.

"I was on a cot, and they were working on me. I was very heavily medicated," he recalled, taking off the patch covering his right eye and rubbing his hand across his shaved head.

"All of a sudden, they said, 'Gunny, we're being mortared, so we're going to pile these flak jackets on you,' like it was no big deal."

In Germany, he spoke to his wife and parents on the telephone, and after surgery, the doctors told him his right eye had been unsalvageable.

"I'm sure I left this guy on the floor of that tank," he smiled, gesturing to his swollen and closed right eyelid, surrounded with fresh pink scars and some small scabs peppered across his cheeks, mouth and forehead, "But it was nice of them to tell me I'd lost it. This other one is getting better every day though, and I expect to regain 100 percent of my vision in this eye."

When asked how he would sum up the whole experience, Popaditch thought for a minute and smiled.

"This has been the most motivating experience of my life, and it has restored my faith in the youth of America," he said enthusiastically. "The people I've met along the way are amazing. Corporal Chambers saved my life that day, the doctors are working to give me the best quality of life possible, and people across America are coming forward to support not only me, but all of the guys fighting over there right now."

Along with his eye, Popaditch lost his sense of smell, suffered permanent hearing loss in his right ear, broke his nose and has undergone several surgeries to remove shrapnel from his head, eye and face.

His sense of humor escaped unscathed, as did his love of God, Corps and country.

"My friends and my Marines are still there, still fighting," he said softly. "Any Marine in their right mind would want to be right there with them. All I've really lost is about 10 degrees of peripheral vision, and I'll be OK without that. I'm ready to be with my Marines again."

Nick Popaditch continues to see things in a positive light. Not soon after returning home attended his son's first baseball game of the season

.More treatments along with many special activities have kept him busy. Most recently Nick was awarded a Marine Corps Scholarship by Congresswomen Mary Bono 4/22/05. There is also a story of it in the Desert Sun on Sunday April 24th 2005. The story is ' Labor of love' for Marines.

Nick AKA Ceegar Guy and his wife April are now both FReepers and will join us on this thread over the week-end. TexKat is the FReeper who made the initial contacts with them. Thank you KAT!!! You can address any comments to them directly

Nick – Cee-gar Man US Marine
April -- USMC wife AKA Cee-gar wife

DOLLY,

THANK YOU! MY FAMILY AND I APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU AND ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AT FREE REPUBLIC HAVE DONE TO KEEP US MOTIVATED AND IN GOOD SPIRITS DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS.

I AM RETIRING FROM THE MARINE CORPS DUE TO MY LIMITED VISION IN MY REMAINING EYE. I HAVE A 92% LOSS OF MY FIELD OF VISION IN MY LEFT EYE AND THE REMAINING 8% IS CONSIDERED LEGALLY BLIND.

I AM GRATEFUL FOR THAT MUCH. IN THE FIRST DAYS OF HOSPITALIZATION THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY OF HAVING NO SIGHT AT ALL, SO AS YOU COULD IMAGINE I AM GRATEFUL FOR WHAT I DO HAVE AND BLESSED TO MAKE IT BACK HOME TO MY FAMILY. I AM DOING FINE AND LOOKING FORWARD TO NEW GOALS AND DREAMS IN MY LIFE. I AM BY NO MEANS OUT OF THE GAME AND I WILL NOT BE SITTING ON THE SIDELINES OF LIFE, I SHALL FINISH THE GAME.

I AM PROUD OF MY SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY. I ACCEPTED ALL THAT WAS A POSSIBILITY IN A WAR, EVEN THE POSSIBILITY OF NEVER COMING HOME. MY FAMILY STAYED STRONG FOR ME DURING ALL OF THIS AND ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD THAT SACRIFICE AND HONOR WOULD NOT ALWAYS BE EASY BUT WORTH IT.

MY WISH NOW IS TO BE A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER, I JOKE AND TELL PEOPLE,” I WILL JUST BE GETTING THEM (THE KIDS)A FEW YEARS EARLIER”.

BACK SOME MONTHS AGO I ATTENDED THE BLIND REHABILITATION PROGRAM IN THE PALO ALTO VA HOSPITAL. THERE I LEARNED TO USE AN ADAPTIVE COMPUTER, LOW VISION AIDES SUCH AS MAGNIFIERS, TELESCOPES AND SPECIAL READING DEVICES. I READ MY FIRST BOOK WHILE I WAS THERE, IT WAS NEARLY 9 MONTHS WHEN I LAST WAS ABLE TO READ, IT FELT GOOD AGAIN.

I HOPE TO ENTER COLLEGE ON THE SAME LEVEL AS THE OTHER STUDENTS WITH MY NEW QUIPMENT.

MY FAMILY AND I ARE NOW LIVING IN THE MONTEREY PENINSULA AREA OF CALIFORNIA. IT IS BEAUTIFUL HERE. MY WIFE AND MY SON ARE ANIMAL LOVERS AND LOVE ALL THE SEA CREATURES THAT SHARE THE SHORES WITH US. I HAVE STARTED KAYAKING AND LOVE IT.

THE SMALLER COMMUNITY WILL BE JUST MY SPEED WHILE I ATTEND COLLEGE HERE, NOT TOO BIG, CROWDED OR COMPLICATED FOR ME TO GET AROUND. I CAN’T COMPLAIN ABOUT A THING.

I FEEL BLESSED, THIS INJURY TOOK ME THROUGH ANOTHER DOOR AND CHAPTER IN MY LIFE WHERE PEOPLE AND EXPERIENCES WERE WAITING FOR ME ON THE OTHER SIDE, I WAS REDIRECTED. I LEARNED THINGS I WOULD HAVE NEVER KNOWN HAD I NOT BEEN WOUNDED. IT TOOK ME ON A JOURNEY THROUGH OTHER LIVES OF GREAT PEOPLE AND MADE ME THE RECEIVER OF SO MUCH GOODNESS IN THEM. YES, SOMETHING WAS TAKEN, BUT SOMETHING WAS ALSO GIVEN. I HAVE ALSO SEEN THE COURAGE AND BRAVERY IN THE OTHER MEN WHO SERVED ALONG SIDE OF ME AND WHO HAVE ALSO BEEN WOUNDED. I AM PROUD TO CALL THEM MY BROTHER.

I AM FOREVER PROUD AND PRIVILEGED TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE MY COUNTRY AND WOULD DO IT ALL AGAIN.

HAVE A BLESSED MEMORIAL DAY

GYSGT. NICK POPADITCH USMC

03-29-05 ~ Hall of Fame #11

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 05-23-05 Military Monday 05-24-05 Still Fontastic! 05-25-05 Doggie Tails ~ River Rendezvous 05-26-05 Facing the Nuclear Option, Dems release 3 hostages

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

http://domania.us/DollyCali/Memorial05/remeberingthersacrifice.gif

[DollyCali]

Thanks for links leadpenny.. here are a few i picked out from list.

a few recent war movies I have seen: A very Long Engagement (ww1); Star Wars (ha, ha...nice way to sneak it in); Hotel Rwanda, and Kingdom of Heaven (crusades). Not recent - last year - but good IMO is Tom Crusie in The Last Samurai. and a few years ago Mel Gibson's The Patriot

@@@

From Here to Eternity The U. S. Army in Hawaii on the eve of Pearl Harbor. Not as good as the novel, but a great movie that reveals the inside (and the underside) of soldiering. Lancaster, Clift, Sinatra are all superb. Even Donna Reed is okay. An antidote to the tendency of conservatives to sentimentalize those who serve in uniform.

Red Dawn . Well, make that three-and-a-half from Milius. The Left has always hated "Red Dawn," ostensibly for its wooden acting but in fact because of its premise that a bunch of fired-up American guerillas could oppose effectively a Soviet-led military force that invaded the homeland. Stars Patrick Swayze, Lea Thompson, Jennifer Gray, Charlie Sheen, and a bunch of other unknown-in-1984 brat-packers. Let's roll!

For WWII my choice would be Franklin Schaffner’s incomparable Patton — another one of the greats, and Richard Nixon’s favorite movie (what more need one say?) For Britain’s imperial wars, Cy Endfield’s Zulu , which I think I might be willing to say is the best war movie ever made, bringing out all the peculiar mix of squalor, desperation, disgust, cruelty, nobility, dignity, and euphoria that make up the experience of war.

Saving Private Ryan . Already a classic, remarkable for its realistic portrayal of a foot soldier's view of war — orders that don't make sense, fire fights that suddenly transform friends into corpses, terrifying combat, and innumerable acts of usually unrecognized heroism.

Bridge Over the River Kwai . An extraordinary tale based on facts concerning British prisoners-of-war who wind up helping the Japanese build a railroad bridge, but only after they are placed in the charge of their own officers. It illuminates the inspiring quality of leadership, even when misapplied, on men in difficult wartime circumstances.

Lawrence of Arabia is an obvious choice. Again, more of an adventure movie with lots of war, this is another of my all-time favorites. I’d put Gallipoli down — since it is a wonderful movie — but since that battle represents Winston Churchill’s one great screw-up, it’s disallowed in this era of Churchillphilia.

Patton . Much of the complexity of Patton, especially his intellectual rigor coupled with raw emotion, shines through — despite a somewhat misleading characterization of Omar Bradley as a loyal friend and confidant (he was neither). An invaluable reminder in our present ordeal how sheer force of character and devotion to a humane cause in a single leader can motivate thousands of amateurs to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Zulu . An accurate retelling of the high drama at Rorke's Drift, where in late January 1879 less than a hundred British soldiers under the most unlikely, though courageous, officers held off nearly 4,000 Zulu warriors through careful volleys, group discipline, shared sacrifice, superior training, and individual initiative‹hallmarks of the British army in particular and in fact the Western Way of War in general. Recommended viewing for any enemy like the Taliban who considers Westerners "soft", "weak" and "decadent."

Das Boot. One of the most realistic combat experiences yet filmed that captures the nightmarish world of German submarine crews during World War I. A timely reminder how good men can become conscripted for an evil cause, leaving them to fight only for the preservation of one another rather than in patriotic fervor battling for a moral principle. We should remember that paradox of war when we recall that many Afghani peasants were shanghaied into the army of the Taliban, and so faced the same tragedy of fighting under coercion for a doomed and evil force.

The Opening Battle Scene from Gladiator . Maybe the best ancient battle scene in all of movies. It shows Roman political/military virtue conjoined with superior technology in Marcus Aurelius’s defeat of the Huns. Just like us against the Middle Eastern barbarians. Don’t miss the dog...wow.

Star Wars Don’t you love Darth Vader? He’s the greatest bad guy since Odd Job.

Braveheart . The greatest Scottish Western ever made.

El Cid , starring Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. Epic story of a valiant medieval warrior, fighting to defend Spain from an invasion of Moors. A stirring tale and some of the best medieval battle scenes ever filmed.

[ohioWfan]

Watched part of Bridge over the River Kwai last night.

For some reason, that movie makes me start whistling........... :o)

[DollyCali]

For "artisic consideration"



Gibson braveheart



Gibson and we were soldiers



Gibson Patriot

[DollyCali]

I need to get busy here as company is coming..lazy & "borrowing' from Gucho's earlier post elsewhere
br>

U.S. Naval Academy graduates react to a fly-by performed by the Navy Blue Angels during commencement exercises in Annapolis, Md., Friday. (Rick Kozak / Military Times)


Up-armored Humvees move down a road near Baqubah, Iraq. (Ali Yussef / AFP)


Lt. Col. Chris Williams, commander of the 8th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., folds up the landing gear on his F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter after lifting off from Holloman on his way to South Korea Thursday. Approximately 250 support personnel and nearly 15 stealth fighters are being deployed to Kunsan Air Base. (Ellis Neel, Alamogordo (N.M.) Daily News / AP photo)


The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over New York on Thursday. The Thunderbirds, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., will kick off the New York Air Show at Jones Beach during Memorial Day weekend. (Frank Franklin II / AP photo)


Sailors board a tourist bus on Thursday in New York’s Times Square. They are visiting the Big Apple as part of Fleet Week, which runs through Memorial Day. (Mario Tama / AFP)

14 posted on 05/27/2005 10:47:02 PM EDT by Gucho

[Gucho]

U.S. Naval Academy graduates react to a fly-by performed by the Navy Blue Angels during commencement exercises in Annapolis, Md., Friday. (Rick Kozak / Military Times)


Up-armored Humvees move down a road near Baqubah, Iraq. (Ali Yussef / AFP)


Lt. Col. Chris Williams, commander of the 8th Fighter Squadron at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., folds up the landing gear on his F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter after lifting off from Holloman on his way to South Korea Thursday. Approximately 250 support personnel and nearly 15 stealth fighters are being deployed to Kunsan Air Base. (Ellis Neel, Alamogordo (N.M.) Daily News / AP photo)


The U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds fly over New York on Thursday. The Thunderbirds, stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., will kick off the New York Air Show at Jones Beach during Memorial Day weekend. (Frank Franklin II / AP photo)


Sailors board a tourist bus on Thursday in New York’s Times Square. They are visiting the Big Apple as part of Fleet Week, which runs through Memorial Day. (Mario Tama / AFP)

[DollyCali]

hahha.. maybe I need to do that but WHISTLE WHILE I WORK... off for most of day. Might check in periodically (will power, will power, where art thou?)

[AFPhys]

Semper Fi, Nick and April.

Tears in my eyes for the wonderful tribute Dolli prepared to introduce you. I honor you, and your service for me - and by that I mean BOTH of you.

Earlier today, I posted to two threads, items you may wish to read when you have the chance:

Regarding our troops, and their families:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1412100/posts?page=20#20

Regarding our commanders:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1411978/posts?page=22#22

I salute you both.

[anniegetyourgun]

Oh my gosh, Ohio.....what a great looking couple! I bet you are busting your Buckeye buttons with pride these days!

[anniegetyourgun]

No matter how many times that photo is posted on FR, Dolly....it always brings a tear to my eyes.

[dutchess]

Memorial Day reflections of our fallen heros. Have a blessed weekend all. And God bless our military men and women and their families.

[AFPhys]

LOL: I recommend Ann Coulter's methods. This is quite different from the other responders.

Take a look at her "ten simple rules" on page 9-16 of her book, "How to Talk To a Liberal (if you must)" and follow them assiduously. You have the knowledge and tools they don't. Never surrender!

Folks where I work don't talk about politics much, either - but they sure know where I stand (ROTLF!!!) within a few weeks of meeting me - somewhere along the line they are bound to overhear a conversation - and even the most liberal of them doesn't dare engage me on the issues after they do it a few times. (I most enjoy when they try to gang up on me... LOL.) We still work together (except for one MoveON girly man) with me, but discussion is normally limited in scope to the weather and work, though politics arises occasionally - but usually those who engage me now do so gently on a subject that is more "bothersome" rather than incendiary - and usually, now, it is only those who actually have some brains and some knowledge. I take such discussions as an opportunity to educate others in earshot who have no interest in politics. Meanwhile, conservatives who wish to discuss politics or learn seek me out for advice and counsel, so I discover who's who, and who _I_ can seek out for advice and counsel. It works for me.

Ann Coulter's methods work for me, but I am really appreciative that she codified them as that has helped me refine my approach.

[MoJo2001]

Something is wrong with my monitor. It's watery. Who do I complain to about this?

Thank you for the ping!

Happy Memorial Day to all the Veterans, Troops, and family members at FR's Finest!! I will bring some music a little later.

Keep up the great work!!

Free Republic-Proud To Support Our Troops!!

[AFPhys]

I will take it upon myself to say, "You are all most Welcome." for those of us who served our great country. We appreciate all your expressions of thanks and gratitude.

We have done it/ we do it for you, but we don't do it alone, though. For those who support us, I have written some thanks from two different perspectives:

Regarding our troops, and their families:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1412100/posts?page=20#20

Regarding our commanders:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1411978/posts?page=22#22

For those who think a simple thanks not sufficient, and want to contribute to ongoing support of our troops: Mike "Gallagher's Army" does a great job for them. Sean Hannity hosts a "Freedom Concert" soon and other methods with the goal of scholarships for children who lost a military parent to this War on Terrorism. Check their web sites.

[ohioWfan]

LOL! Good way to put it, annie. :o)

But also, more than that, VERY thankful that God protected that brave young man during intense danger last year, to preserve him -mind, body and soul for the beautiful life partner He had waiting for him here at home.....

(Their first actual 'date' was less than a week after he got back last April!)

[ohioWfan]

What beautiful tributes to our soldiers and commanders, AF!

Thank you!

[TexKat]

President's Radio Address

Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This Memorial Day weekend, Americans pay tribute to those who have given their lives in the service of our nation. As we honor the members of our Armed Forces who have died for our freedom, we also honor those who are defending our liberties today.

On Friday, I met with some of the courageous men and women who will soon take their place in the defense of our freedom: the graduating class of the United State s Naval Academy. These new officers will soon be serving on ships, flying combat missions, and leading our troops into battle against dangerous enemies. They are prepared for the challenges ahead -- morally, mentally, and physically. The American people can be confident that their freedom is in good hands.

Our citizens live in freedom because patriots are willing to serve and sacrifice for our liberty. And on Monday, I will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, a victory for freedom in which more than 400,000 Americans gave their lives. Today a new generation of Americans is making its own sacrifice on behalf of peace and freedom, and some have given their lives.

In their hometowns, these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines are more than names on a roll of honor. They were friends and neighbors, teachers and coaches, classmates and colleagues. Each was the most important person in someone's life; each had hopes for the future, and each left a place that can never be filled.

We mourn their loss, and we honor their sacrifice. We pray for their families. And we take heart in knowing that these men and women believed deeply in what they were fighting for. Christopher Swisher was a staff sergeant from Lincoln, Nebraska, who joined the Army a year after graduating from high school. He was killed in an ambush while on patrol in Baghdad. Sergeant Swisher told his loved ones: "If anything happens to me, I'm doing what I want to be doing -- I'm protecting my family and my home."

Rafael Peralta also understood that America faces dangerous enemies, and he knew the sacrifices required to defeat them. An immigrant from Mexico, he enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after he got his green card. Just before the battle of Fallujah, he wrote his 14-year-old brother, "We are going to defeat the insurgents. Be proud of me, I'm going to make history and do something that I always wanted to do." A few days later, Sergeant Peralta gave his life to save his fellow Marines.

This Memorial Day, we remember Sergeant Peralta, Sergeant Swisher, and all who have given their lives for our nation. And we honor them as we continue to wage the war on terror and spread freedom across the world. The people of Iraq and Afghanistan are determined to secure their freedom, and we will help them. We're training Iraqi and Afghan forces so they can take the fight to the enemy and defend their own countries, and then our troops will return home with the honor they have earned.

Throughout our history, America has fought not to conquer but to liberate. We go to war reluctantly, because we understand the high cost of war. Those who have given their lives to defend America have the respect and gratitude of our entire nation.

Thank you for listening.

[Billie]

Oh my gosh, Dutchess, that is too sweet for words. I want to squeeze her to pieces.

[Billie]

Hi, Mojo, have to agree about the monitor being a little blurry - really beautiful tribute Miss Dolly prepared for us, along with the great contributions of M/M Ceegar Man and all the others who've posted their thoughts and pictures.

[Billie]

An apology but explanation for large picture. To make it smaller on my screen the word on bottom were not readable and I thought they were important to view.

That picture is awesome - would not want it one bit smaller either! Oh, what these men have given - a hand, a leg, an eye, but he didn't lose his smile. Beautiful!

[Texagirl4W]

What a precious angel. I'm on my way out the door now to visit my husband's grave. He was in the Navy. God bless our military.

[null and void]

Bump for my Dad.

WWII, Korea, Vietnam