Marty
Well-known member
Annual trip to Arlington Cemetery this AM. A moving ceremony. President Bush gave a fine talk.Picture taken with my little Minolta Z1 digital from the last row in the amphitheater at 1120 5/31/04.
Memorial Day
- Thread starter Marty
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Christina L
Well-known member
Freedom Isn't Free
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young soldier saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No Freedom isn't free
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the
bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.....
No -- Freedom isn't free!!
...Cadet Major Kelly Strong
Air Force Junior ROTC
Marty, thanks for posting this picture today, Memorial Day, and reminding us all once again....
Christina L.
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze
A young soldier saluted it, and then
He stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many Pilots' planes shot down?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No Freedom isn't free
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still.
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen"
When a flag had draped a coffin
of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard at the
bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.....
No -- Freedom isn't free!!
...Cadet Major Kelly Strong
Air Force Junior ROTC
Marty, thanks for posting this picture today, Memorial Day, and reminding us all once again....
Christina L.
M
medtronic of borg
po
po
this is NOT a political site and I think this is highly unaprop. to be on here.
Med
po
this is NOT a political site and I think this is highly unaprop. to be on here.
Med
S
Shine_on_Syd
Thank you Marty. Today is a day to remember and give thanks those who served our country to maintain our freedom.
The Red Poppy
The Red Poppy
Hubby and I bought ours today from the local chaper of the American Legion Post......Very small chapter. In 1922, VFW began selling artificial Poppies as a fund raiser for disabled veterans. They were made by them..(disabled veterans)
My hubby knows the verse to In Flanders Fields......We cherish too, the poppy red...That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the Skies....That blood of heroes Never dies...( I think the Poppies came up every year in France in the fields where so many Americans died during World War 1.) ..........Bonnie
The Red Poppy
Hubby and I bought ours today from the local chaper of the American Legion Post......Very small chapter. In 1922, VFW began selling artificial Poppies as a fund raiser for disabled veterans. They were made by them..(disabled veterans)
My hubby knows the verse to In Flanders Fields......We cherish too, the poppy red...That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the Skies....That blood of heroes Never dies...( I think the Poppies came up every year in France in the fields where so many Americans died during World War 1.) ..........Bonnie
Med, get a grip....
Med, get a grip....
This is a FREE country and YOU are quite welcome to NOT visit this thread.
I live way out here in Colorado and didn?t have the opportunity to be at the memorial. I?m delighted that Marty chose to share this beautiful picture with us.
Thank you, Marty.
Med, get a grip....
This is a FREE country and YOU are quite welcome to NOT visit this thread.
I live way out here in Colorado and didn?t have the opportunity to be at the memorial. I?m delighted that Marty chose to share this beautiful picture with us.
Thank you, Marty.
Thank-you Marty for the lovely photo. I think it is a totally appropriate photo here. Happy Memorial Day!
Great photo Marty...
Great photo Marty...
And many, many thanks for sharing with us a very special day in all our lives..
Freedom of speech is as American as apple pie.
Great photo Marty...
And many, many thanks for sharing with us a very special day in all our lives..
Freedom of speech is as American as apple pie.
Glenda
Well-known member
Marty, what a wonderful picture and Christine I love the poem. How appropriate for today!
Hank
VR.com Founder, Now just a Member
Our own Memoraial Day Parade
Our own Memoraial Day Parade
We didn;'t have a parade in these parts sos we created our own and ran it around the block a few times.
Our own Memoraial Day Parade
We didn;'t have a parade in these parts sos we created our own and ran it around the block a few times.
fyrfytr
Well-known member
Memorial Day
Thank you Marty for the Great picture. I wish we all could of been there.
Christina L, thank you for the nice poem.
Hank, looks like you guys had a good time.
Thank you all for sharing with us. I too am PROUD to be an American!
Take Care
Thank you Marty for the Great picture. I wish we all could of been there.
Christina L, thank you for the nice poem.
Hank, looks like you guys had a good time.
Thank you all for sharing with us. I too am PROUD to be an American!
Take Care
hensylee
Well-known member
Thanks Marty. I have seen the ceremony at Arlington. It is so beautiful and so moving. Such precision and the meaning of every movement and action by the soldiers/guards. A trip to Washington, D.C. is one everybody should take, if possible. When you walk in the city, the entire atmosphere takes on a whole new feeling. Remembering all who have walked the same spot you are walking. It's like they are still there somewhere.
Hank, what a great idea. This year, especially, Memorial Day has such meaning for all generations. Long live us.
Hank, what a great idea. This year, especially, Memorial Day has such meaning for all generations. Long live us.
I?m off to find a picture of my boys playing taps....
I?m off to find a picture of my boys playing taps....
Hank, that is soooooooooo cool!!! I loved it!! As my kids were growing up, they were always involved in Memorial Day activities too.
When most kids were taking piano lessons, by boys were taking trumpet lessons. As they grew up they played taps at the local ceremonies and at the veterans funerals.
They had to get up very early... but they never complained. Even then as they were still really just children, they knew it was an honor. To be asked to be part of a ceremony that had such great meaning for so many people they loved and respected.
My Ryan just shudders when he sees a table cloth or a shirt made out of ?flag print?. We were walking in the city park one fourth of July and some civic group had a table cloth with our flag printed on it. I had to BEG Ryan not to go over and tell them that despite their effort to be patriotic... they were disrespecting our flag.
After rereading my post to you this morning, Med.... it made me think of that day in the park with my son. It?s amazing how much you can learn from being a parent if you take your own advice.
I?m off to find a picture of my boys playing taps....
Hank, that is soooooooooo cool!!!
I loved it!! As my kids were growing up, they were always involved in Memorial Day activities too. When most kids were taking piano lessons, by boys were taking trumpet lessons. As they grew up they played taps at the local ceremonies and at the veterans funerals.
They had to get up very early... but they never complained. Even then as they were still really just children, they knew it was an honor. To be asked to be part of a ceremony that had such great meaning for so many people they loved and respected.
My Ryan just shudders when he sees a table cloth or a shirt made out of ?flag print?. We were walking in the city park one fourth of July and some civic group had a table cloth with our flag printed on it. I had to BEG Ryan not to go over and tell them that despite their effort to be patriotic... they were disrespecting our flag.
After rereading my post to you this morning, Med.... it made me think of that day in the park with my son.
It?s amazing how much you can learn from being a parent if you take your own advice.
M
medtronic of borg
what i ment
what i ment
I just think if you wanted to honor those men...you wouldn't put up a photo of prob. the worst pres. we have had for several decades. Instead the photo should have been of the monument. My father in law (whom I am very close) has his WWII citations in a display case in the living room. His highest honors are the dfc's (4) he recieved. Even our current pres doesn't have such honors. One ssenitor was reciently running, and advertised his one dfc. My father laughed and said "I suppose that means I am quolified to be a senitor". haha
Med
what i ment
I just think if you wanted to honor those men...you wouldn't put up a photo of prob. the worst pres. we have had for several decades. Instead the photo should have been of the monument. My father in law (whom I am very close) has his WWII citations in a display case in the living room. His highest honors are the dfc's (4) he recieved. Even our current pres doesn't have such honors. One ssenitor was reciently running, and advertised his one dfc. My father laughed and said "I suppose that means I am quolified to be a senitor". haha
Med
With all due respect....
With all due respect....
Okay Med.
I think I see where you?re coming from.... but obviously none of us want to live in a country where it?s required that we all love the President.
My Father, Grandfather, Uncles, Husband, Brother, Father-in-law and a lot of other relatives have served in the military. Some of them died serving our wonderful country. All of them have their fair share of medals. Some of them lived through things the rest of us can never even imagine.... I sincerely believe that if you asked each of them... they would all agree that it takes a lot more than a handful of medals to make a President. However... electing a 'draft dodger' for a President becomes quite an issue!!
With all due respect....
Okay Med.
I think I see where you?re coming from.... but obviously none of us want to live in a country where it?s required that we all love the President.
My Father, Grandfather, Uncles, Husband, Brother, Father-in-law and a lot of other relatives have served in the military. Some of them died serving our wonderful country. All of them have their fair share of medals. Some of them lived through things the rest of us can never even imagine.... I sincerely believe that if you asked each of them... they would all agree that it takes a lot more than a handful of medals to make a President. However... electing a 'draft dodger' for a President becomes quite an issue!!
Tom F.
Well-known member
Services at Arlington are always something to see, very moving. But if you want to get to the heart of the matter, get past all the pomp and ceremony that sometimes exists, this is what you do. You pick a weekday. Not summer, late fall through early spring might be best. Let it maybe be raining, or better a cold wet snowy day, with dark clouds throwing angry shadows and a sharp wind blowing. Then you go visit the tomb of the unknowns. You, alone with the ever-present honor guard. No one else, because no one else will come on a lousy day like that. Just you and the guard. Stand there a while, preferably at attention, let yourself get a little wet and cold. Think a while about who those people might be buried before you. You'll never know because no one will but try to grasp who they were anyway. Think about how their families never knew the position of honor that they have been given. Try to picture each of them in the uniform of their respective war. Reach out to them in your thoughts and prayers, try to touch them, and then think about the thousands they represent. In time, if you have a heart, not all the wetness on your face will come from the rain and snow, and as your feet grow numb from the cold you will slowly render a hand salute, turn, and leave.
Marty
Well-known member
Beautiful, Tom......and right on.
R
Raverlaw
Tom,
I've had just that experience. Not only at Arlington, but at the Vietnam War memorial and the Korean War memorial, as well. All are best appreciated on gray, nasty days when few others are out. The solitude emphasizes the solemnity of the monuments and gives quiet time for reflection on both the horrors of war and the bravery and heroism of those who gave their lives for our country.
I'm looking forward to visiting the new WWII memorial the next time I can get to D.C.
I've had just that experience. Not only at Arlington, but at the Vietnam War memorial and the Korean War memorial, as well. All are best appreciated on gray, nasty days when few others are out. The solitude emphasizes the solemnity of the monuments and gives quiet time for reflection on both the horrors of war and the bravery and heroism of those who gave their lives for our country.
I'm looking forward to visiting the new WWII memorial the next time I can get to D.C.
