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FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ 06 June 2013
Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

Posted on 06/05/2013 6:00:12 PM PDT by Kathy in Alaska

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To: Kathy in Alaska; laurenmarlowe; BIGLOOK; alfa6; EsmeraldaA; SandRat; mylife; TMSuchman; PROCON; ...






THE BOYS OF POINTE DU HOC





We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.

We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns. The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.

The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers -- the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machineguns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here. After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.

Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.

Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your "lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.''

I think I know what you may be thinking right now -- thinking ``we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.'' Well, everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren't. They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.

Lord Lovat was with him -- Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, ``Sorry I'm a few minutes late,'' as if he'd been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he'd just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.

There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.

All of these men were part of a rollcall of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland's 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England's armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard's ``Matchbox Fleet'' and you, the American Rangers.

Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.

The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.

The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home. They fought -- or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.

Something else helped the men of D-day: their rockhard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause. And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''

These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.

When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together.

There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies. The Marshall plan led to the Atlantic alliance -- a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.

In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They're still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent. Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose -- to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.

We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.

But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.

It's fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war. We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.

We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.

We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We're bound by reality. The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe's democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.

Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''

Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their value [valor], and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.

Thank you very much, and God bless you all.

President Ronald Reagan - June 6, 1984











"Riamh nár dhruid ó sbairn lann!"

Genuflectimus non ad principem sed ad Principem Pacis!

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

61 posted on 06/06/2013 3:19:13 AM PDT by ConorMacNessa (HM/2 USN, 3/5 Marines RVN 1969 - St. Michael the Archangel defend us in Battle!)
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To: CMS
Ash prefers to roll than crawl....we are PCSing to Ft. Eustis in August. I'm going to be an AIT instructor at USAALS, teaching the new soldiers to be aviation electricians.

ALL very good news. Congrats!

62 posted on 06/06/2013 3:23:31 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: Kathy in Alaska; E.G.C.; GodBlessUSA; LUV W; Arrowhead1952; HiJinx; AZamericonnie; MEG33; mylife; ..

SOUP FOR THE TROOPS

WELCOME TO THE

(where our troops, allies and their families can refresh themselves)

Good morning, Everyone.
Good morning to our

Military, our Allies, and their families.

Thank you, Ma, for preparing the Canteen
for today's activities
Our Troops doing what they do best
is sure a beautiful sight
and gets my Thursday off to a good start.

DC METROLAND WEATHER

~ Today... Showers developing this afternoon
with the possibility of a thunderstorm.
High 76F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph.
Chance of rain 60%.

~ Tonight... Showers and thundershowers early,
then overcast overnight with occasional rain.
Low 67F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall may reach one inch.

Making Z Zoup
A pinch of this...a splash of that...

Since its first appearance in 1912,
OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
have reigned supreme as being the number one
selling cookie in America.
The basic design of the cookie
has not changed for more than 50 years.
Today's version is a neat 1 3/4 inches across
- that's one, two or three bites,
depending on how big your bite is!

The garfish has green bones.

A bee could travel 4 million miles (6.5 million km)
at 7 mph (11 km/h) on the energy it would obtain
from 1 gallon (3.785 liters) of nectar.

In the tenth century, the Grand Vizier of Persia
took his entire library with him wherever he went.
The 117,000-volume library was carried by camels
trained to walk in alphabetical order.
(good thing we have tablets now...LOL)

The only father and son to hit back-to-back home runs
in a major league baseball game?
Ken Griffey, Jr., and his father, Ken Griffey, Sr.,
both of the Seattle Mariners in a game against
the California Angels on September 14, 1990.

Queen Anne's bowlegs inspired a furniture style.
(I always wanted to know that...didn't you?)

The FR Canteen is ALWAYS

Come in, sit down.
Grab a cup of joe, or tasty tea.
Mingle a bit, chat with the troops
or family member.
There's always plenty of conversation, silliness,
and plain old BS in the FR Canteen.

REMEMBER THEM ~ DEFENDERS OF FREEDOM

BENTON, JAMES AUSTIN

4/27/1967
KIA
South Vietnam - over water.

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allied military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.



63 posted on 06/06/2013 4:01:17 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: Kathy in Alaska; beachn4fun
Thursday Morning Coffee Bump.

((HUGS))Good morning, Beach. How's it going?

64 posted on 06/06/2013 4:11:24 AM PDT by E.G.C.
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To: E.G.C.

Good morning EG ((HUGS))

All is well. Catching up on pings.

Howz it out your way?


65 posted on 06/06/2013 4:53:05 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

I’ll do my very best. And have over a decade of knowledge to pass on.


66 posted on 06/06/2013 5:01:05 AM PDT by CMS (I have not heard any politcians say how to take away guns from criminals, just law abiding citizens)
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To: beachn4fun
Thank you.

How are you? *HUGS*
67 posted on 06/06/2013 5:08:41 AM PDT by CMS (I have not heard any politcians say how to take away guns from criminals, just law abiding citizens)
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To: beachn4fun

It’s going well. Getting some more rain here in Comanche OK. Looks like I’ll be doing some more lawnmowing soon.


68 posted on 06/06/2013 5:23:36 AM PDT by E.G.C.
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To: CMS

Good morning. I am well.

How soon will you be moving onto the next phase?


69 posted on 06/06/2013 5:26:27 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: E.G.C.

WOO HOO getting some rain. Guess Bo isn’t happy about that though.


70 posted on 06/06/2013 5:27:18 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

Have a good time at the seminar.

71 posted on 06/06/2013 5:41:25 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: beachn4fun

I move into the new apartment in VA in August and report for duty in September.


72 posted on 06/06/2013 5:43:37 AM PDT by CMS (I have not heard any politcians say how to take away guns from criminals, just law abiding citizens)
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To: Kathy in Alaska

That was a important part of all of our childhoods, back when TV ad real and decent shows on for kids.


73 posted on 06/06/2013 5:56:13 AM PDT by SandRat (Duty - Honor - Country! What else needs said?)
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To: CMS

so the countdown is under way.

Good luck


74 posted on 06/06/2013 6:01:04 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: beachn4fun
Morning Beachie, quick Thursday fly-by...

D-Day+69


75 posted on 06/06/2013 6:07:26 AM PDT by PROCON (Never underestimate the power of low information voters in large numbers.)
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To: beachn4fun

((LOL)) Well, we did go out to the lake yesterday. It was nice out there. The rain occurred last night.


76 posted on 06/06/2013 6:28:38 AM PDT by E.G.C.
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To: All; Kathy in Alaska; beachn4fun; Arrowhead1952; LUV W; E.G.C.; CMS; SandRat

Good Morning Everyone
With Deepest Gratitude ~ Remembering DDay
June 6,1944

Normandy..2008

Normandy 1944 Guide

Roosevelt DDay Prayer

77 posted on 06/06/2013 6:44:31 AM PDT by MEG33
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To: PROCON

Good morning Pro ((HUGS)) as you fly-by.

I can’t talk abut D-Day. It pisses me off.

Have a totally terrific Thursday.


78 posted on 06/06/2013 7:07:23 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: MEG33

Good morning Meg ((HUGS))

WOW, lovely flowers. In your backyard? ;)


79 posted on 06/06/2013 7:08:29 AM PDT by beachn4fun (When one is fighting evil, it is never a pretty thing.)
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To: 21twelve

I worked with a landing craft cox’n. He caught a bellyful of lead from a Japanese 25 at Tarawa, yet survived.

That was an amazing generation....


80 posted on 06/06/2013 7:23:01 AM PDT by HiJinx (Just kill the bill, already...)
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