USO Canteen FReeper Style..Memorial Day Weekend Begins....Saturday May 25,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

"TO OUR ABSENT BROTHERS"

They finished a fine noble monument in our town the other day.
It glistens bright on the village green, in prominent display.

It's a grand and noble structure raised by a grateful land.
Yet I recall a simpler one of steel and wood and sand.

I kept my eyes on our point man. He was the first to go down.
I saw how the bullets spun him and slammed him to the ground.

That night seemed to last forever, but it finally came to an end.
And no longer were some strangers, for each was the others best friend.

I looked over at the captain, and he silently answered me.
And he took my arm and nodded, then turned so I couldn't see.

So I walked back to our point man, to the place where I saw him fall.
For dawn had brought with it a quiet, with the peace of God and all.

And I covered him with a poncho, and then to be sure he'd be found,
I fixed bayonet to rifle, and shoved it in the ground.

There wasn't much more anyone could do. My tribute seemed a trifle.
So I picked a battered helmet up and placed it on the rifle.

Long years have passed since I saw him fall that cold and frightful night.
Now his name is carved in marble, but something didn't set right.

The helmet on the rifle seemed a far more fitting shrine.
For the rifle was my brother's, and the helmet, it was mine.

Author Unknown

Eagle Hot Air Balloon

"Thanks For Remembering"

At first there was no place for us to go until someone put up that BLACK GRANITE WALL.
Now,everyday and night ,my brothers and my
sisters wait to see the many people from places afar file in front of this Wall.
Many stopping briefley and many for hours and some that come on a regular basis.
It was hard at first,not that it's gotten any easier,
but it seems that many of the attitudes towards the war that we were involved in have changed.
I can only pray that the ones on the other side have learned something and more Walls as this needn't be built.

Several Members of my unit and many that I did not
recognize have called me to the Wall by touching my name that is engraved upon it.
The tears aren't necessary but are hard even for me to hold back.
Don't feel guilty for not being with me,my Brothers.
This was my destiney as it is yours,to be on that side of the Wall.
Touch the Wall,my Brothers,so that we can share in the memories that we had.
I have learned to put the bad memories aside and
remember only the pleasant times that we had together.
Tell our Brothers out there to come and visit me ,
not to say Good Bye but to say Hello and be together again,
even for a short time and to ease that pain of loss that we all share.

Today,an irresistible and loving call comes from the wall
as I approach I can see an elderly lady as I get closer I recognize her....
It's Momma! As much as I have looked forward to this day,I have also regretted it because I didn't know what reaction I would have.
Next to her,I suddenly see my wife and immediately think how hard it must been for her to come to this place.
And my mind floods with the pleasant memories of 30years past.
There's a young man in a military uniform standing with his arm around her........
My God!!....It has to be my son.
Look at him trying to be the man without a tear in his eye.
I yearn to tell him how proud I am, seeing him standing tall, straight and proud in his uniform.

Momma comes closer and touches the Wall and I feel the
soft and gentle touch I had not felt in so many years.
Dad has crossed to this side of the Wall and through our touch,
I try to convey to her that Dad is doing fine and is no longer suffering or feeling pain.
I see my wife's courage building as she sees Momma touch the Wall.
and she approaches and lays her hand on my waiting hand.
All the emotions, feelings and memories of three decades past
flash between our touch and I tell that it is alright.
Carry on with your life and don't worry about me......
I can see I look into her eyes that she hears and understands me...
and a big burden has been lifted from her.

I watch as they lay flowers and other memories of my past.
My lucky charm that was taken from me and sent to her by my CO.
a tattered and worn teddy bear that I can barley remember having as I grew up as a child.
and several medals that I had earned and were presented to my wife.
One of them is the Combat Infantry Badge that I am very proud of
and I notice that my son is also wearing this medal.
I had earned mine in the jungles of Vietnam and he probably earned his in the deserts of Iraq.
I can tell they preparing to leave and I try to take a mental picture of them together.
because I don't know when I will see them again.
I wouldn't blame them if they were not to return and can only thank them that I was not forgotten.
My wife and Momma near the Wall for one final touch and so many years of indecision,
fear and sorrow are let go.
As they turn to leave I feel my tears that had not flowed for so many years,
form as dew drops on the other side of the wall.

They slowly move away with only a glance over their shoulder.
My son suddenly stops and slowly returns.
He stands up straight and proud in front of me and snaps a salute.
Something makes him move to the Wall and puts his hand upon the Wall
and touches my tears that had formed on the face of the Wall and I can tell that he senses
my presence there.
and the pride and the love that I have for him.
He falls to his knees and the tears flow from his eyes.
and I try my best to a sure him that it is alright and the tears do not make him less of a man.
As he moves back wiping the tears from his eyes,
he silently mouths, God Bless you, Dad

.......God Bless,YOU,Son............

We WILL meet someday but in the meanwhile, go on your way

......There is no hurry.......
There is no hurry at all.

As I see them walk off in the distance ,
I yell out to THEM and EVERYONE there today.
as loud as I can ,

........THANKS FOR REMEMBERING........

and as others on this side of the Wall join in,
I notice the US Flag that is so proudly in front of us every day,
is flapping and standing proudly straight out in the wind today.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

leadpenny and I are meeting at the wall south entrance by the statue 0900 5-25-02. Taking my poaroid as I have stepped up technically.

[Aquamarine]

At first there was no place for us to go until someone put up that BLACK GRANITE WALL. Now,everyday and night ,my brothers and my sisters wait to see the many people from places afar file in front of this Wall. Many stopping briefley and many for hours and some that come on a regular basis. It was hard at first,not that it's gotten any easier, but it seems that many of the attitudes towards the war that we were involved in have changed. I can only pray that the ones on the other side have learned something and more Walls as this needn't be built.

Amen.

[Bahbah]

Good morning, Bunny and All. The site is beautiful. Thank you so much.

[summer]

bttt

[lodwick]

What an opening. God bless you Snow Bunny for all that you do for our troop. May everyone have a safe, wonderful weekend of honoring our military. Past, present, and future. Salute!

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

[Euro-American Scum]

Hi Bunny.

I’m a little earlier today than most days, and with good reason. First of all, let me thank you for the considerable efforts you and others put forth to make the Canteen what it is – a warm and friendly place for veterans and civilians alike to come and feel welcome. I’ve never failed to get that, whenever I stop by, which isn’t nearly often enough.

This isn’t a particularly enjoyable weekend for me. Yes, I do appreciate the breath of spring that’s finally on the land (at least in most places). The windows are open, the screen door is up, the top is down on the convertible, and the days are longer. A nice time of year, to be sure.

But I’m in a funk. Not a suicidal depression, I’m grateful to say. That roller coaster ride is over, thank God. But I’m certainly not in the kind of upbeat holiday mood that typifies most of these summer-like mini-vacations.

It’s Memorial Day weekend, after all. And that means something. It means something different than does its companion holiday in November – Veteran’s Day. And it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I finally got the difference. Veteran’s Day honors those who served. Memorial Day honors those who fell.

In the midst of all the travel, excursions, celebrations, whatever, we all need to take a moment to honor those who fell. I’m surprised how few of the people I know, those I know well, those I count as friends, are planning to do that. They’ve got too much planned, the kids are too busy, they just want to sleep in and relax, or they just don’t want to be somber or be reminded of. . . what this weekend is all about. Take one from Column A, two from Column B, you get an egg roll either way.

Now, I have nothing against people who are going to enjoy this weekend to the fullest. My sister is having a barbeque Monday afternoon, and I intend to put in an appearance and partake of the feast to the fullest extent my aching gall bladder will allow. But along the way I will stop and take a moment to remember those who fell.

And so I encourage all of you to do that. FReepers, lurkers, anyone who just surfed on in. Go to a service Monday morning. Get up an hour early. Go out in the sunshine, or the gloom, or the drizzle or the cold. Be reflective. Be respectful. Be somber. And yes, be sad. It won’t kill you to do it for an hour. We have this three-day holiday for a reason. And the reason is to honor those individuals who punched our ticket. We ride the crest of a wave in this country, whatever its problems. And we do so because selected individuals paid the due bill when it all counted. And we can stop, take an hour out of a busy holiday weekend, have a little respect, and honor their sacrifice. We owe them that. It’s the least all of us can do.

End of rant. Hope you have a nice weekend, Bunny.

In Memoriam: Thomas Anthony Eckl, 199th Light Inf. Bde., KIA 20 Feb. 1968. A good man, who should have come home.

[deadhead]

Beautiful Thread Snow Bunny!

[summer]

Maybe our high tech military men and women would enjoy reading this as I think there will be more high-tech careers for them when they return to FL, if that is there is their home. :)

[deadhead]

Awesome Hot Air Balloon Abner! It must be some experience riding in one of these.

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Georgia (BB-15)

Virginia class
Displacement. 14,948
Length. 441'3"
Beam. 76'3"
Speed. 19 k.
Complement. 812
Armament. 4 12", 8 8", 12 6"
Commissioned on 24 September 1906
Sold for scrap on 1 November 1923

USS GEORGIA, a 14,948-ton Virginia class battleship built at Bath, Maine, was commissioned in September 1906. She soon became a unit of the Atlantic Fleet, participating in routine operations and, in June 1907, in the Jamestown Exposition's naval review. On 15 July 1907, while engaged in gunnery exercises, a powder charge ignited prematurely in her aft 8" turret, killing 10 officers and men and injuring 11.

In December 1907, GEORGIA left Hampton Roads, Virginia, with other Atlantic Fleet battleships to begin the World cruise of the "Great White Fleet". She visited ports in the West Indies, South America, Mexico, the U.S. west coast, the western Pacific, Asia and the Mediterranean before returning to Hampton Roads in February 1909.

GEORGIA was updated after this voyage, receiving many improvements, including "cage" masts in place of her original "military" models. Her normal Atlantic Fleet activities were punctuated by a trans-Atlantic trip to Europe in 1910-11, a Naval Academy training cruise in mid-1913 and intervention operations in troubled Mexico and Haiti in 1914. While out of commission in 1916-17, GEORGIA served as receiving ship at Boston, Massachusetts.

Recommissioned in April 1917, GEORGIA was employed on training duties during most of the First World War, shifting to convoy escort missions in September 1918. Late in the year, she began six months' of transport service, bringing almost 6000 U.S. servicemen home from France in five voyages. In July 1919, the battleship transited the Panama Canal to join the Pacific Fleet. She was placed out of commission at Mare Island, California, in June 1920. GEORGIA remained inactive until November 1923, when she was sold for scrapping.

[Bahbah]

An especially warm thanks to you, Tonkin, for all you have done and continue to do.

[ladtx]

Happy Early Memorial Day to All.

The Profession of Arms

"Yours is the profession of arms, the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory, that if you lose, the Nation will be destroyed, that the very obsession of your public service must be Duty, Honor, Country."

General Douglas MacArthur
12 May 1962

[JustAmy]

Caruthers is a small (about 1200 people) farming community south of Fresno. A couple of months ago, the VFW finished a memorial to community veterans. The wall includes the name of two medal of honor recipients.

[mountaineer]

Good morning, canteeners. Be careful and alert this weekend. The enemy may try to harm us, just as we are occupied with remembering those who have died in defense of our country and our freedom.

God bless and protect all here, all our servicemen and women, our president and his administration.

[lodwick]

Thanks for all the links. BTTT

[lodwick]

Good job with # 27. Thank you.

[sleavelessinseattle]

Amen, Mountaineer. Woe to the Enemies of Freedom in this world. This Nation under GOD, SHALL NOT PERISH from this good EARTH!!!

[Fiddlstix]

Here's a Peek at what I'm working on for Memorial Day J

[firewalk]

Good Morning bumps! Expecially to all Veterans, Men and Women currently in the Miltary. May God Bless You And Keep You Safe.