USO Canteen FReeper Style....Memorial Day....May 27,2002

FRiends of the USO Canteen FReeper Style and Snow Bunny

[Snow Bunny]

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day to remember those who have died in our nation's service. In 1971, it was declared a national holiday to be held on the last Monday in May.

A day when we remember those heroes who have suffered and perished so that we can live and stay secure.

Those souls who were just like us in every way, except that we did things for people we knew.

They fought for us, whom they didn't even know.

Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to show our respect and to pay our tribute to those great soldiers, and we have made an attempt to do the same.

Memorial Day 2002 Message from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

“Across our great land, thousands of American flags, proudly waving, mark the final resting place of soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and merchant mariners who had their lives cut short so that we may live freely and enjoy the blessings of liberty

Memorial Day is the one day of the year that we set aside to remember and honor our country's patriots, yet we owe them a debt of gratitude, every day of every year.

This Memorial Day finds our Nation at war -- a war we did not seek, but one we will decisively win. However, our victory will not come without its costs.

Once again, we are witnesses to America's sons and daughters being brought home, solemnly and respectfully, in flag-draped coffins. They join those who lost their lives in the attacks of September 11, 2001.

We are deeply saddened by their deaths, but eternally grateful for their sacrifice. It remains our challenge to do our very best to remain true to the principles and beliefs in which they so fervently believed and which they so valiantly fought to preserve. Their loved ones who carry on remain in our thoughts and prayers.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff and I join every American this Memorial Day, to pause and reflect upon the sacrifices made by so many of our fellow citizens in times of war and conflict throughout our Nation's history. We also salute the dedicated men and women of today's Armed Forces, whether defending our homeland or serving around the world.

They are preserving and adding to this noble legacy.

Gen. Richard B. Myers, USAF

"Tell them, tell them when you get home that I gave all of my tomorrow's so they could have today!"

Those are the words on a tombstone, far across the Pacific, of someone who gave up his life for our future.

Were those words uttered so that those of us who are left could just enjoy our lives without "getting involved", or were they written to remind us that the work of freedom and liberty is never done?

Were those words written ,to suggest to us that it is not our job nor our responsibility to keep alive what they fought and died for, or were they written to remind us that we were given the opportunity of life so that we would continue to defend, and keep alive the memory of what they gave their last full measure for?

Let us here today, tonight, tomorrow, next month and next year - remember these gallant defenders of our freedom.

Most were not heroes as defined by the most hallowed Medal of Honor nor even as defined by the silver or bronze star.

They were ALL Heroes

Yes they were heroes, because without hesitation they fought for our country when they were asked to defend her.

Most didn't die throwing themselves on a hand grenade, charging a bunker or manning a machine gun until their ammunition was gone.
Most didn't die diving their airplane into an enemy ship or marching in the infamous Bataan Death march -- but they are heroes because they fought when asked to fight.

They left their families, friends and good times behind and went to fight for our freedom without hesitation.

Some -- never even fired their weapons because they were killed before they ever reached the beach.

But they were heroes because they were there, ready to fight for America - for family, flag and country.

Most were scared to death as they prepared to meet the enemy. Their stomachs were turned upside down and they prayed to God and wished they were with their moms, dads and sweethearts rather than being where they were.

But they were where they were, fighting an enemy that was threatening their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
They were fighting an enemy because they believed in America, they loved Her flag and they wanted to protect American's right to worship as they chose.
They were there, without hesitation, fighting for what they believed in and dying for what they believed in so you and I could live the way we chose in a free country. But they did not die so that we would stop fighting for what they believed and died for.

They fought and died knowing that we, the living, would go on fighting for that same freedom, that same country, that same flag and for that same right to worship as we choose. Abraham Lincoln, at Gettysburg, said:

"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."

It is for us the living to go on defending what they died for.
It is for us the living not to allow history to forget what they gave up all their tomorrow's for.

If when we attacked Guadalcanal and landed at Salerno, we found that "they" were going to fight back, we didn't give up because they fought back. We continued to fight because we knew our cause was right!

When Americans rode in the landing craft before storming the beaches at Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Sicily, Anzio, Normandy, Peleliu, Saipan, Iowa Jima, Okinawa, Inchon and many other places we had never heard of before and when they fought in North Africa, the Philippines, Italy, France, Bastonne, Germany, Korea and Vietnam -- most were scared to death; their stomachs were turned upside down and they wanted to be back home with their loved ones.

But that did not stop them from attacking America's enemies bravely and without hesitation. They fought, and many died, but they did not give up because someone shot back at them.

It is for us the living to continue to defend and keep known what they fought and died for -- what they gave up all of their tomorrow's for.

They did not die so that we could become complacent; nor did they die so that when we, the living, reached a single obstacle --- we should quit

They died knowing that we would go on defending their actions, defending history and defending what they gave up all their tomorrow's for.

If WE don't remember ---if WE don't defend what they fought and died for and what we fought for -- who will remember? Who will care?

How many of them and you who fought for our flag and our country and remember the feeling as Old Glory" was being raised over a piece of land we fought for ---- and many died for?

How many remember seeing or hearing about our valiant warriors, who were fighting on Iowa Jima, as they stood and cheered when they saw the flag being raised over Mt. Suribachi.

From AFVetGal The president has called for a "National Moment of Remembrance" at 3 p.m. on Memorial Day with a one-minute pause to remember those fallen in service to the country.

[Euro-American Scum]

Morning Bunny. Just put on a pot of coffee. Will be leaving for the service at Bellvue Cemetery soon.

Rev. 21:4

[kayak]

Remarks by the President in Memorial Day Commemoration - Normandy , France

[Teacup]

Happy Memorial day to all.

[COB1]

Good morning, dear friends.
Bunny, I don't know how you even have time to breathe with all the work you do!
God bless you, lady, for another wonderful thread!

I don't think our vets have ever been honored by a more sincere and loving group of people.
Somewhere in heaven that's reserved for our fallen heroes, they're looking down and smiling.
To those who have fallen and those who are with us:

THANK YOU!

[SassyMom]

Thanks Victoria, we are having a wonderful day. I hope you have a nice day too.

[COB1]

Meek, I'll be traveling south again on the third.
I promise to take a picture of that flag as I go through Laredo.
Thanks for telling me.

[SassyMom]

[SpookBrat]

In Memory

Freddie Woodruff, father of 5, a very funny man, and a brilliant asset to the United States. He knew there was an element of danger in his work but he had a job to do and he bravely did it well.

September 14, 1947 - August 8, 1993

Standard Army graduation picture.

ASSOCIATED PRESS - Saturday, 27 July 1996
Report says Moscow behind killing of U.S. official in Georgia
Copyright © 1996 The Associated Press

MOSCOW (Jul 27, 1996 11:53 a.m. EDT) -- The security chief of the former Soviet republic of Georgia has accused Russian secret services of ordering the 1993 killing of an American believed to be a CIA agent, a newspaper reported today.

Fred Woodruff was shot in the head while traveling with three Georgians outside Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. The U.S. government ruled it "a random act of violence." Georgian security minister Shota Kviraya accused his predecessor, Igor Giorgadze, of arranging the murder on Moscow's orders, according to the respected Segodnya newspaper.

Giorgadze has been charged in connection with a car bomb attack against President Eduard Shevardnadze last August. He has fled Georgia and is said to be in Moscow. A spokesman for the Foreign Intelligence Service, one of several offices that replaced the KGB, called the allegations "groundless, absurd and malicious." The service "is not involved in terrorism -- it fights against terrorism together with other countries, including the United States," spokesman Yuri Kobaladze told The Associated Press.

A Georgian court in 1994 convicted a 21-year-old former soldier in Woodruff's killing and sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor. Anzor Sharmaidze initially admitted he shot Woodruff, but later retracted the confession, saying it was made under torture.

Woodruff, of Herndon, Va., was killed Aug. 8, 1993, by a single bullet fired from an AK-47 assault rifle. He was riding in a jeep driven by Shevardnadze's personal security chief, Col. Eldar Gogoladze, who was promptly suspended. Kviraya said Gogoladze and a Georgian businessman working as a Russian agent also were in on the plot, the newspaper reported.

Woodruff officially was identified as a regional affairs officer posted in the political section of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi. U.S. newspapers reported that he was the CIA station chief in Georgia, and CIA Director James Woolsey Jr. flew to Tbilisi from Moscow to bring home his body. The U.S. government has tried to help Shevardnadze, a former Soviet foreign minister who is perceived as a pro-Western leader committed to democratic reforms in a volatile region.

The exposure of CIA spy Aldrich Ames raised questions about Woodruff's death. Ames reportedly visited Georgia in July 1993, the month before Woodruff was killed.

Dad and me a few years before he was killed.

I miss you. Dad, if the Canteen is in heaven, and you are reading...I just want you to know I love you. I'll see you in heaven Dad.

[Victoria Delsoul]

[SpookBrat]

Sassy, you're famous. Click on my name. :) How are the in-laws? Are they converted conservatives yet?

[SassyMom]

Thank you for sharing about your dad.

[SpookBrat]

You're welcome. I really miss him. He was such a funny guy. He kept us all in stitches. I wish he could have seen my boy. He met Ally once. Life is so short isn't it? I hate death.

I need to get off here. Putting that up really did me in for awhile. I'm going shopping. Love you!!!!!

[Victoria Delsoul]

I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

[SassyMom]

WOW! I'm honored! :)

We had a nice visit with my in-laws, but we weren't able to convert them to conservatives. In fact we didn't even talk politics. That is a forbidden subject.

How was your visit with your sister and brother?

[Angelique]

Beautiful--I agree.

[SpookBrat]

Well, my brother isn't ready to go shopping yet, so I'll stay and play a bit. I need to go back to the beginning and read the thread.

My brother and sister are still here. They are supposed to leave today, but who knows. Glad you had a nice visit with your in-laws.

[HiJinx]

That Echo Taps just tears me up, but it's such a perfect sound to Honor our fallen.

Oh, SAM, now I'm having my doubts. Every year I go up onto Ft. Huachuca for their Memorial Day Ceremony, and they always have a pair of buglers from the 36th Army Band playing Echo Taps. And the way the cemetery is situated, the crystal clear notes echo up and down the canyon, so that you hear the tune 4 or 5 times. And Snow Bunny, you are so right...that melancholy sound reaches into every fiber of my being, reminding me of the sacrifice offered by these brave men and women.

Oh, I'll go again this year. And I'll cry again this year. And I'll pray that our Lord welcomes our heroes with outstretched arms, giving them the comfort they are no longer able to receive at home.

[MeekOneGOP]

I promise to take a picture of that flag as I go through Laredo.
Thanks for telling me.

Thanks! The folks on the thread were asking about a photo and I couldn't
find one anywhere!

[SpookBrat]

Prayers for Peace. Thank you for sharing. God bless you and your family.

[redhead]

As posted elsewhere by me this morning:

Words fail me. I am so moved by the power and beauty of the displays of remembrance I've seen in the last few days that I seem to be always on the verge of tears.

On a trip to Iowa over the weekend, we saw one cemetery after another lined with dozens of LARGE American flags, and small ones on every Veteran's grave. We stopped at the Veterans' Memorial in Rochester MN and spent time there loving and thanking the men whose names are carved in the paving stones and on the beautiful black granite walls.

No memorial is big enough, beautiful enough, good enough or stirring enough to pay the debt of gratitude we owe our valiant fallen. May God's peace be with them always.