IN THEIR HONOR (AMERICAN VETERANS)

Star-Telegram ^ | Nov. 11, 2002 | Star-Telegram

[Dubya]

In Their Honor As the nation wages a war on terrorism, Americans remember veterans of other wars. Here are snapshots of some of those wars:

Star-Telegram

"Now and in the future, Americans will live as free people, not in fear, and never at the mercy of any foreign plot or power. This nation has defeated tyrants, liberated death camps and raised this lamp of liberty to every captive land."

-- President George W. Bush, speaking in New York on Sept. 11, 2002

World War I

1914-1918

U.S. casualties

More than 53,000 were killed on the battlefield, and more than 200,000 were wounded.

Living veterans

347 including 20 from Texas, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Memorial

Dedicated Nov. 11, 1989, in Arlington National Cemetery, near the grave of Gen. John J. Pershing, the American commander in Europe during the war.

Memorable words

"It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war, into the most terrible and disastrous of all wars, civilization itself seeming to be in the balance. But the right is more precious than peace, and we shall fight for the things which we have always carried nearest our hearts."

-- President Wilson, in his war address to Congress, April 2, 1917

Key dates

• June 28, 1914: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is assassinated in Sarajevo by a group that wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina to leave the empire.

• July 28, 1914: Austro-Hungarian empire declares war on Serbia.

• May 7, 1915: Germany sinks the British passenger liner Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 U.S. citizens.

• April 6, 1917: A reluctant United States declares war on Germany.

• Oct. 5, 1918: Allied tanks break through German defenses behind the Western Front.

• Nov. 11, 1918: Armistice is signed in France.

• Jan. 20, 1919: Treaty of Versailles is signed.

World War II

1939-1945

U.S. casualties

The United States lost more than 290,000 troops in combat; more than 670,000 were wounded.

Living veterans

4,651,144 including 274,361 from Texas

Memorial

Construction began on the National World War II Memorial in August 2001. Dedication is scheduled for spring 2004 in Washington, D.C.

Memorable words

"When World War II ended, the generation of Americans that defeated the forces of tyranny neither asked for nor expected a memorial. They came home. They went to work. And they built a nation that remains the world's most powerful example of democracy and freedom in action. Many heroes from that great conflict did not return home. ... We build this memorial in their memory."

Key dates

• Sept. 1, 1939: German army invades Poland.

• Dec. 7, 1941: Japanese warplanes attack the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor. The next day, the United States declares war on Japan.

• June 6, 1944: Allied troops open the second front by landing 156,000 men on the beaches of Normandy in France.

• May 8, 1945: Victory in Europe (V-E) Day follows Germany's unconditional surrender.

• Aug. 6 and 9, 1945: United States drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

• Sept. 2, 1945: Victory in Japan (V-J Day) celebrated.

Korean War

1950-1953

U.S. casualties

More than 33,000 U.S. military personnel died on the battlefield. More than 100,000 were wounded; more than 8,000 are missing in action.

Living veterans

2,958,449 including 188,022 from Texas

Memorial

The Korean War Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1995 in Washington, D.C.

Memorable words

"Now we know with the benefit of history, that those of you who served and the families who stood behind you laid the foundations for one of the greatest triumphs in the history of human freedom. By sending a clear message that America had not defeated fascism to see communism prevail, you put the free world on the road to victory in the Cold War."

-- President Clinton, at the memorial dedication ceremony

Key dates

• June 25, 1950: North Korean communist forces cross the 38th parallel into South Korea and are in Seoul within three days.

• June 30, 1950: President Truman dispatches U.S. ground troops to South Korea.

• Sept. 15, 1950: Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads U.N. forces in a landing at Inchon, pushing the North Koreans back over the 38th parallel.

• May 1951: With China's help, North Korea has edged back to the 38th parallel, and the war becomes a standoff.

• July 27, 1953: A cease-fire is signed at Panmunjom.

Vietnam War

1961-1975

U.S. casualties

More than 47,000 troops were killed in action, and more than 150,000 seriously wounded; almost 2,000 are missing in action

Living veterans

7,658,077 including 540,822 from Texas

Memorial

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, including "The Wall" of names, was dedicated in 1982 in Washington, D.C.

Memorable words

"I think it will make people feel the price of war. ... It will make them understand that the price has to be paid in human lives."

-- Jan Scruggs, who started the movement for a memorial

Key dates

• Oct. 24, 1961: President Kennedy sends military advisers to help the South Vietnamese in their battle with the communist North Vietnamese.

• Aug. 7, 1964: Congress passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Johnson wide authority to wage undeclared war in Vietnam.

• Nov. 14-16, 1965: 305 Americans are killed in the Battle of Ia Drang Valley, the first major battle between U.S. troops and the North Vietnamese Army inside South Vietnam.

• Jan. 31, 1968: The Tet Offensive, a surprise attack by the North Vietnamese during the Vietnamese New Year, begins.

• Jan. 27, 1973: The Paris Peace Accords are signed.

• March 29, 1973: The last American troops withdraw.

• April 30, 1975: Saigon falls.

Persian Gulf War

1990-1991

U.S. casualties

The United States lost 148 troops on the battlefield. Almost 500 were wounded.

Living veterans

2,928,231 including 231,506 from Texas

Memorial

A Gulf War Memorial Stone stands at Arlington National Cemetery.

Memorable words

"They were my troops, and they made the ultimate sacrifice, and by doing so reminded us of something we've been reminded of over and over again: Freedom is not a cost-free product. Freedom is bought and paid for over and over again by the blood and the guts and the limbs and the lives of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines."

Key dates

• Aug. 2, 1990: Iraqi forces invade Kuwait.

• Aug. 7, 1990: American troops arrive in Saudi Arabia to defend the kingdom.

• Jan. 18, 1991: U.S.-led coalition begins airstrikes on Iraq.

• Feb. 24, 1991: Coalition ground forces invade Kuwait and southern Iraq and liberate Kuwait within four days.

• Feb. 28, 1991: President George H.W. Bush declares a cease-fire.

• June 8, 1991: Victory parade in Washington, D.C.

Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf at a gulf war remembrance ceremony on Feb. 28, 1999, former Sen. Bob Dole, national chairman of the memorial fund-raising campaign

[glock rocks]

powerful tribute, Dubya. thank you.

re: post #4. Lord have mercy.

[Diver Dave]

Bump and thank you.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Audie Murphy BUMP!!

[ALOHA RONNIE]

NEVER FORGET

...All was well with...

.."WE WERE SOLDIERS".. Victor Lt. Gen. HAL G. MOORE (Ret.) -&- his loving wife JULIE MOORE at our Annual Battle of IA DRANG-1965 and the Vietnam Wall in Washington, D.C. this Veterans Day weekend.

...For LOVE is the Only Reality...

...even in War.


Signed:..ALOHA RONNIE Guyer / MOORE's Radioman-Driver-Orderly in the Central Highlands of a once Free South Vietnam / http://www.lzxray.com

NEVER FORGET

[hedgetrimmer]

BUMP for American Veterans.

[Cold Heat]

BTTT! Nice Job! Audie Murphy was a nice touch! I did not know about the Audie Murphy Day in Texas.

[Dubya]

We are mighty proud of Audie around here.

Thanks all of you for your kind words and your bumps.

I felt that this info is important to share with other Americans.

[Militiaman7]

Thanks Dubya for the great post.

I've been to the place where Audie Murphy died. It is about 25 miles from my home.

[cowgirlcutie]

Thanks for the bump and what a beautiful tribute to our veterans. I think I was the only girl my age in the 70's to know about and admire Audie Murphy. A true Texas hero.

[F.J. Mitchell]

BTTT!

[Dubya]

Good to hear from you. Thanks for the info. I lived close to where he was born.

[Dubya]

Audie was is one of my heros. Good for you knowing about him.

[Terry's Take]

Bump!

[ClancyJ]

Thanks so much for posting this.

[radu]

Thank you for the BUMP, Tonk!

And Thank you, Dubya, for this beautiful tribute to American Veterans.

[redrock]

""This is free ground. All the way from here to the Pacific Ocean. No man has to bow. No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something. Here's a place to build a home. It isn't the land--there's always more land. It's the idea that we all have value, you and me, we're worth something more than the dirt. I never saw dirt I'd die for, but I'm not asking you to come join us and fight for dirt.
What we're all fighting for, in the end, is each other."

Joshua Chamberlain

Everyone who has 'been there'....understands.

redrock

[Dubya]

Thanks everyone for your part on posting on

[blackie]

Big Veterans...Bump !!

Death To all Muslim Extremist's !!

Snuff Saddam, NOW !!

GWB Is The Man !!

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

Let's Roll !!

Molon Labe !!

[VOA]

Audie Murphy bump...

and suggested viewing for lurkers/posters from the Audie Murphy filmography:

The Quiet American
based on Graham Greene's novel. Sure it's in black and white, but an interesting
view of affairs in Vietnam...before the stuff really hit the fan.
Mr. Murphy was perfect as the idealistic American (note, this was not how the
American was portrayed in book...or in the recent remake film with Micheal Caine
and Brendan Fraser...)

To Hell And Back
...just a good film about the real-life experience of Audie leading up to and including
WWII.
Good WWII film that can be viewed by younger children (understandably not graphic like
Saving Private Ryan)

[VOA]

oh, in case it hasn't been mentioned previously...

www.audiemurphy.com