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FReeper Canteen - Countdown To Christmas - 12/20/14
God Bless Our Troops At Christmas & Everyday!
| The Canteen Elves
Posted on 12/19/2014 6:07:55 PM PST by AZamericonnie
TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Free Republic
KEYWORDS: canteen; christmas; military; troops
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To: AZamericonnie; All
41
posted on
12/19/2014 7:09:03 PM PST
by
Drumbo
("Democracy can withstand anything but democrats." - Jubal Harshaw (Robert A. Heinlein))
To: PROCON
Immorality is a lot of fun.
Oh, you said immortality!
42
posted on
12/19/2014 7:09:30 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: Publius
Indeed...WW1...Yikes.
19th century tactics, 20th century weapons!
19th Century monarchs, 20th century revolutionaries!
19th century empires, 20th century politics!
Trench warfare, poison gas, machines guns, horses, submarine warfare, , mules, aeroplanes, bayonets charges, barbed wire, and TANKS!
A LOT of Whiskey required.
43
posted on
12/19/2014 7:10:14 PM PST
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: Publius
I avoided disco by being in a Blues band! LOL!
44
posted on
12/19/2014 7:10:51 PM PST
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: left that other site
Yeah, we were pretty sloshed in the Pacific Parlor Car by the time we adjourned to our respective compartments.
45
posted on
12/19/2014 7:12:25 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: Publius
LOL! Thanks for the music, BTW!
46
posted on
12/19/2014 7:13:23 PM PST
by
PROCON
(Merry CHRISTmas!!)
To: Publius
To this day, people are still arguing about what WW1 was all about.
However, America got some good songs out of it.
47
posted on
12/19/2014 7:14:01 PM PST
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: left that other site
48
posted on
12/19/2014 7:18:00 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: Kathy in Alaska; laurenmarlowe; BIGLOOK; alfa6; EsmeraldaA; SandRat; mylife; TMSuchman; PROCON; ...
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 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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49
posted on
12/19/2014 7:18:08 PM PST
by
ConorMacNessa
(HM/2 USN, 3/5 Marines RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in Battle!)
To: AZamericonnie; ConorMacNessa; Kathy in Alaska; LUV W; MS.BEHAVIN; left that other site
ROCKUMENTARY: DECEMBER 20, 1977
#50 Dan Hill: Sometimes When We TouchThe Seventies was the decade of the piano and the tenor voice. This Canadian artist only had a few hits, but this one is memorable for its beauty.
Dan Hill: Sometimes When We Touch
50
posted on
12/19/2014 7:19:02 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: Publius
Indeed.
Not to mention, WW2, the Russian Revolution and Civil War, The Cold War, Korea, Vietnam, Cuban Missile crisis, Iron Curtain, The whole Middle east thing, and the Sony hack!
And that’s just for starters.
51
posted on
12/19/2014 7:20:28 PM PST
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: AZamericonnie; All
52
posted on
12/19/2014 7:21:40 PM PST
by
Drumbo
("Democracy can withstand anything but democrats." - Jubal Harshaw (Robert A. Heinlein))
To: left that other site
Yeah, the “sealed train” from Switzerland to the Finland Station in St. Petersburg with Lenin on board was Kaiser Bill’s parting gift to the world. That “gift” is still giving a century later.
53
posted on
12/19/2014 7:23:34 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: Kathy in Alaska; LUV W
54
posted on
12/19/2014 7:24:48 PM PST
by
SandRat
(Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
To: SandRat
55
posted on
12/19/2014 7:25:41 PM PST
by
morphing libertarian
(Defund , sue, impeach. Overturn Obamacare, amnesty.)
To: Publius
Family feud.
56
posted on
12/19/2014 7:28:24 PM PST
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: AZamericonnie; ConorMacNessa; Kathy in Alaska; LUV W; MS.BEHAVIN; left that other site
ROCKUMENTARY: DECEMBER 20, 1977
#8 Player: Baby Come BackThey started as an opening act for Gino Vanelli and Boz Scaggs, and then they hit it big, but just once.
Player: Baby Come Back
57
posted on
12/19/2014 7:30:45 PM PST
by
Publius
("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
To: Publius
that was a nice song! ;-)
58
posted on
12/19/2014 7:32:11 PM PST
by
left that other site
(You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
To: mylife; LUV W; Kathy in Alaska; MS.BEHAVIN; Drumbo; EsmeraldaA; acad1228; STARWISE; Cindy; ...
Mr. AZ has injured his rotator cuff so I am pulling double time & being Nurse Connie.:}
And on his right arm no less poor dear! (He’s right handed}
Won’t be around as much til I can get him betters.
To: AZamericonnie; All
60
posted on
12/19/2014 7:41:14 PM PST
by
Drumbo
("Democracy can withstand anything but democrats." - Jubal Harshaw (Robert A. Heinlein))
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