FReeper Canteen ~ Hall of Heroes: Jonathan Winters ~ April 7, 2014

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | StarCMC

[ConorMacNessa]

Sorry 'bout that - forgot what day it is! :)

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

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)

[luvie]

Well, Galz! I learned something new...again...from this post! Who knew that the crazy Jonathan Winters was also a military hero!

He was seriously messed-up funny! :)

[luvie]

Howdy! (((hugs)))

It was good to read that your best buddy was feeling better! :)

[ConorMacNessa]

Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!



Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat – it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted — they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty — they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Träumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who Gave
Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

"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)

[left that other site]

Thank you for your kind wishes and prayers.

I realize that Lynn-Dah is merely a Canine-American, but she is very dear to me. Because of her, I do not live alone. And I really believes that she loves me, in her doggie sort of way.

[yarddog]

Road to Berlin 1945. Photo by Lew Grace of the 208th ECB.

[ErnBatavia]

When I was "in" (active 1966-68, including a blasted leap year, which meant one extra day imprisoned....) we called ourselves "Jugheads", not Jarheads.

Morale pretty much sucked then, and we all wanted OUT......I guess that's why I continue to be one of those few FReepers who don't suck up to that 'There are no ex-Marines'.

I hated my time "in"....but still am glad to have done it - itty bitty of a mixed bag.

[luvbach1]

Good story. Thanks.

[luvie]

LOL!

[luvie]

Oh, i’m sure she loves you! Doggie love is deep stuff! :)

Kitty love...well...if you have enough food.....

[Kathy in Alaska]

United States Marine Corps Band ~ National Anthem

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much for your service Brother, and Semper Fi! Marale was good when I was in - we both served during a time when it wasn't cool, to say the least.

I was not subjected to the outrages some of my Brothers-in-Arms were. However, I was patronized during my undergrad years and at Lasw School by the bastards who live in Freedom by virtue of the service and sacrifice of all who havestepped up to the plate and worn the uniform.

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

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)

[ConorMacNessa]

From the Together We Served - Marines website:

Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013)

Jonathan Winters passed away of natural causes at his Montecito, California home at 6:45 p.m. PDT on April 11, 2013, surrounded by family and friends. Rest in Peace, Mr. Winters.

Winters was born in Dayton, Ohio, the son of Alice Kilgore (née Rodgers), a radio personality, and Jonathan Harshman Winters II, an investment broker. He was a descendant of Valentine Winters, founder of the Winters National Bank in Dayton, Ohio (now part of JP Morgan Chase). Of English and Scots-Irish and Native American ancestry, Winters had described his father as an alcoholic who had trouble holding a job. When he was seven, his parents separated, and Winters' mother took him to Springfield, Ohio to live with his maternal grandmother.

At age 17, Winters quit high school and joined the United States Marine Corps and served two and a half years in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Upon his return he attended Kenyon College. He later studied cartooning at Dayton Art Institute, where he met Eileen Schauder, whom he married in 1948.

Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label, starting in 1960. Probably the best-known of his characters from this period is Maude Frickert, the seemingly sweet old lady with the barbed tongue. He was a favorite of Jack Paar and appeared frequently on his television programs, even going so far as to impersonate then-U.S. President John F. Kennedy over the phone as a prank on Paar.

In addition, he would often appear on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, usually in the guise of some character. Carson often did not know what Winters had planned and usually had to tease out the character's back story during a pretend interview. Carson invented a character called "Aunt Blabby" that was an impression of Maude Frickert.

Winters has appeared in nearly 50 movies and several television shows, including particularly notable roles in the film It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and in the dual roles of Henry Glenworthy and his dark, scheming brother, the Rev. Wilbur Glenworthy, in the film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's The Loved One.

Fellow comedians who starred with him in Mad World, such as Arnold Stang, claimed that in the long periods while they waited between scenes, Winters would entertain them for hours in their trailer by becoming any character that they would suggest to him. He also appeared in Viva Max! (1970) and The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966).

"I've always been proud of being a Marine. I won't hesitate to defend the Corps."

Jonathan Winters, Marine

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

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)

[Kathy in Alaska]

LOL! I knew....

[Kathy in Alaska]

In first....Sand grabs the gold!!

[luvie]

Thanks for the story of this man. I always laughed at him, but never knew all of this! :)

[Kathy in Alaska]

And in second....mountainlion snags the silver!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

And rounding out the top three....ML bags the bronze!!

[yarddog]

Bridge across the Rhine, constructed by the 208th ECB 1945.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mayor, and thank you for today’s sustenance for body and soul.

Hurrah...”they” were wrong about snow for Sunday. We have to wait for Monday and see.