USO Canteen FReeper Style....Thursday....April 25,2002

Graphics and Layout by Billie and Written by Snow Bunny and a Thank you to Mama_Bear Today!

[Snow Bunny]

Anchors Aweigh

I am the American Sailor

Hear my voice, America! Though I speak through the mist of 200 years, my shout for freedom will echo through liberty's halls for many centuries to come. Hear me speak, for my words are of truth and justice, and the rights of man. For those ideals I have spilled my blood upon the world's troubled waters. Listen well, for my time is eternal - yours is but a moment.

I am the spirit of heroes past and future. I am the American Sailor. I was born upon the icy shores at Plymouth, rocked upon the waves of the Atlantic, and nursed in the wilderness of Virginia. I cut my teeth on New England codfish, and I was clothed in southern cotton. I built muscle at the halyards of New Bedford whalers, and I gained my sea legs high atop mizzen of Yankee clipper ships.

Yes, I am the American Sailor, one of the greatest seamen the world has ever known. The sea is my home and my words are tempered by the sound of paddle wheels on the Mississippi and the song of whales off Greenland's barren shore. My eyes have grown dim from the glare of sunshine on blue water, and my heart is full of star-strewn nights under the Southern Cross.

My hands are raw from winter storms while sailing down round the Horn, and they are blistered from the heat of cannon broadside while defending our nation. I am the American Sailor, and I have seen the sunset of a thousand distant, lonely lands. I am the American Sailor. It was I who stood tall beside John Paul Jones as he shouted, "I have not yet begun to fight!" I fought upon the Lake Erie with Perry, and I rode with Stephen Decatur into Tripoli harbor to burn Philadelphia.

I met Guerriere aboard Constitution, and I was lashed to the mast with Admiral Farragut at Mobile Bay. I have heard the clang of Confederate shot against the sides of Monitor. I have suffered the cold with Peary at the North Pole, and I responded when Dewey said, "You may fire when ready Gridley," at Manila Bay. It was I who transported supplies through submarine infested waters when our soldier's were called "over there." I was there as Admiral Byrd crossed the South Pole. It was I who went down with the Arizona at Pearl Harbor, who supported our troops at Inchon, and patrolled dark deadly waters of the Mekong Delta.

I am the American Sailor and I wear many faces. I am a pilot soaring across God's blue canopy and I am a Seabee atop a dusty bulldozer in the South Pacific. I am a corpsman nursing the wounded in the jungle, and I am a torpedoman in the Nautilus deep beneath the North Pole. I am hard and I am strong.

But it was my eyes that filled with tears when my brother went down with the Thresher, and it was my heart that rejoiced when Commander Shepherd rocketed into orbit above the earth. It was I who languished in a Viet Cong prison camp, and it was I who walked upon the moon. It was I who saved the Stark and the Samuel B. Roberts in the mine infested waters of the Persian Gulf. It was I who pulled my brothers from the smoke filled compartments of the Bonefish and wept when my shipmates died on the Iowa and White Plains. When called again, I was there, on the tip of the spear for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

I am the American Sailor. I am woman, I am man, I am white and black, yellow, red and brown. I am Jew, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist. I am Irish, Filipino, African, French, Chinese, and Indian. And my standard is the outstretched hand of Liberty. Today, I serve around the world, on land, in air, on and under the sea. I serve proudly, at peace once again, but with the fervent prayer that I need not be called again.

Tell your children of me. Tell them of my sacrifice, and how my spirit soars above their country. I have spread the mantle of my nation over the ocean and I will guard her forever. I am her heritage and yours.

I AM THE AMERICAN SAILOR
Author unknown.


In Loving Memory
CDR. Clyde D. Killion, USN
YO1 L. H. Nash, USN

[whoever]

Do You Mind If We Watch?

As the bus pulled away, I realized I had left my purse under the seat.

Later I called the company and was relieved that the driver had found my bag. When I went to pick it up, several off-duty bus drivers surrounded me.

One man handed me my pocketbook, two typewritten pages and a box containing the contents of my purse.
"We're required to inventory lost wallets and purses," he explained. "I think you'll find everything there."

As I started to put my belongings back into the pocketbook, the man continued, "I hope you don't mind if we watch. Even though we all tried, none of us could fit everything into your purse. And we'd like to see just how you do it."

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks for the lovely flowers, Tonk. :-)

[JulieRNR21]

Although I don't get the chance to stop by the Canteen every day; I admire the great work you are doing in supporting and boosting the morale of our brave military.
And I am so proud & pleased to call you all my Freeper Friends!

..........
.............

[lodwick]

Just about semi-perfect. Thanks for asking. And I hope that yours is even better. ;-)

[Billie]

T Mam! Is Dat Chu? Posting News Photos? Who stole your password? This is a test.........do you know who this is?

[Billie]

Thank you, Victoria - I just think that is so pretty, and so fitting for today's thread, too!

[whoever]

..And I hope that yours is even better

Mine is great.....I woke up.

[Billie]

Thanks, Bunny - I had all the photos individually at one time, but when I combined them into the collages, I didn't save them individually. If you want any of them by themselves, just let me know - I cropped this one out of the group - can do it with any of the others. Do let me know, and I'll be happy to do it for you.

Your threads are all special to different "special" people, but all special!

[Billie]

That is wonderful you did that, Tonk! A special Thank you to you, Jim, for your service AND for FR, for without you, there would be no FReeper USO Canteen. Thank you.

And without you, Tonk, our military might get a whole lot less mail. Thank you. :)

[lodwick]

"HELLO, DAVID"

Hello, David--my name is Dusty.
I'm your night nurse.
I will stay with you.
I will check your vitals every 15 minutes.
I will document inevitability.
I will hang more blood and give you something for your pain.
I will stay with you and I will touch your face.

Yes, of course, I will write your mother and tell her you were brave.
I will write your mother and tell her how much you loved her.
I will write your mother and tell her to give your bratty kid sister a big kiss and hug.
What I will not tell her is that you were wasted.

I will stay with you and I will hold your hand.
I will stay with you and watch your life flow through my fingers into my soul.
I will stay with you until you stay with me.

Goodbye, David---my name is Dusty.
I'm the last person you will see.
I'm the last person you will touch.
I'm the last person who will love you.

So long, David--my name is Dusty.
David--who will give me something for my pain?

©1987 by Dusty - a nurse in VietNam
"Hello, David" originally appeared in "Shrapnel in the Heart"

[Billie]

How special that was, Sam. I remember when you told us last year you had "lost one of your best friends". He's in good hands, isn't he? :)

[Victoria Delsoul]

You're welcome, Billie. Thank you for your comments.

. . . . .

[Billie]

Billie, You can wear that hat with pride and you will deserve every salute rendered.

Thank you and hello, you old tin can tender sailor, thank you for being just that. You'll always be one of the good guys. (as well as giving Louie a run for the money in the "heartthrob" department.) :)

[Billie]

Awwww, Mr. Magoo, we won't tell anyone. We'll spread the rumor that you were peeling onions in the kitchen - that's why your eyes teared up.

Ya old softie! ;)

[Billie]

Hi, Julie - Hey, I think today's thread calls for a

........

Gosh, I hope I got that right! I'll hear from Scuttlebutt or someone if I didn't!

[lodwick]

Afternoon Billie. A thread idea?

[Billie]

How sweet the expression on that angel's face.:)

[Billie]

Jim, it looks great to me. I'll check into it. Thank you!

[SAMWolf]

He's in good hands, isn't he?

There's no doubt in my mind he is.
Roger had one of the kindest hearts I ever knew.
Heck, he but up with me for all those years.

[Billie]

Well, shoot! He oughta get MEGA points for that. :)