I Have No Heroes In My Family (Memorial Day Thoughts)

FP

[Focault's Pendulum]

I never served. Given the chance to do it again, I would.

My Father served. He lived on a glacier during much of WWII. He had three stripes on his sleeve. He was one of many nameless military who worked on the Alkan Highway.

My Godfather survived...several first landings in the South Pacific...he would never give me details.

My brother served in Berlin during the sixties...he came back broken from having served on the Wall.

No one in my family were heroes.

[rontorr]

there you hit on the true reality of this thread, the difference beween a war hero and a HERO, congrats

[redrock]

"Medals - really meant nothing!"

True....the only thing that I truly am proud of is my CMB.

I earned it....

redrock

[redrock]

"To every Veteran...Thank You."

NO...Thank YOU for caring enough to say it.

redrock

p.s....MEMORIAL DAY 2003--#1--"My Daddy's Finally Home..." HERE

MEMORIAL DAY 2003-#2--"The Lesson's of Danny Flynn, Corey DePooter, Billy Scott & Earl Brown" HERE

MEMORIAL DAY 2003--#3--"I Came to See My Son's Name" HERE

MEMORIAL DAY 2003-#4--"WELCOME HOME!!!!" HERE

[Chu Gary]

Well, if you have no one to grieve, you can say a brief prayer for two of my former friends. Ed McHenry was one of my best friends in High School; he was shot in the head and died near Phu Bai in Vietnam in 1966. Another friend, Randy, one of my friends at my dorm at the Univ. of Illinois was a helicopter pilot who didn't make that last landing in 1967 or so.

Be well, stay well.

[ishabibble]

Dear Sir:

Why do you think that you didn't serve? My father was a United States Merchant Marine, an oiler/wiper whose Liberty Ship, Geo. S Wasson, was mined and sunk off the coast of Wales on Jan 31, 1944. My father was 17 yrs. old on that day. The USMM has never been acknowledged for it's service.
To clarify, I will tell you that when he died in 1976 there was no flag allowed on his casket. That changed in 1991, I believe. The KIA ratio for a USMM was double that for a GI. The first and last deaths of WWII were Merchant Marines. The Academy at Kingspoint, NY, is the only service academy to carry a battle standard.

Please don't think that you didn't "really" serve, I think of the Murmansk Run when I hear that phrase...

[thasea]

"the nearest V.A. hospital"...."If you have an extra few minutes, just ride the elevator up to the room floors and go room to room and shake hands with a few of the guys and say "thank you"....you will see faces light up brighter than the north star on Christmas eve....you dont have to be a "hero" to be a hero."

so very true...

[rontorr]

maybe you only read my last post, I really did serve, over there I was in air freight, loading and unloading aircraft, and understood my job and value, I was discussing what a hero is, not just a combatant, who is a war hero, but the support people who are sust doing their part, and the things that are done in everyday life without thinking of what you can gain from it. I have some friends who were, or their fathers were, in the Merchant Marine, I was glad to hear when they finally got some recognition, one of my friend's father is currently recieving a VA Pension due to his Merchant Marine service.

[rontorr]

Medals - really meant nothing!


yeah buddy, metal, namely some steel under your feet was what mattered

[rontorr]

71-72 14th Arial Port Squadron, Line Loading, barracks nest to the Weapons Room, Cleaned the sand out of mine every couple of days, was very fortunate never having to fire it.

[jjm2111]

The first man just smiled, picked up another starfish and tossed it into the ocean. "I made a difference to that one," is all he said.

I love that story.