[snippy_about_it]

Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.

While those who died are also remembered on Veterans Day, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime.

In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank LIVING veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty.

While Veterans Day is typically a tribute to America's living veterans, it is always appropriate to include a moment of respect for those who gave their lives for their country.

The signing of the World War I Armistice took place in a railway coach near the battle zone in France. The bugles sounded "cease firing" and the hostilities ended, marking a most significant moment in world history.

Although 11 a.m. remains a traditional hour for this type of tribute, a moment of silence is appropriate at any time and may be followed by an instrumental or vocal rendition of "Taps."

Taps with 30 second drum roll
Windows Media Player


Fading light dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar drawing nigh -- Falls the night.

Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky.
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Then good night, peaceful night,
Till the light of the dawn shineth bright,
God is near, do not fear -- Friend, good night.



Taps - The bugle call was written during the Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War
by General Daniel Butterfield, with an assist from his bugler, Oliver W. Norton, in 1862.

Like other things of great value, the security this country enjoys did not come cheaply. Part of the cost has already been paid by Americans who answered the call to military duty when their country needed them. They served in 11 wars from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf, earning the special distinction "veteran."

But another part of freedom's cost must continue to be paid long after the guns have been silenced. This debt is owed America's veterans.

Some need their country's help, even as their country once needed theirs, to readjust, to recover from wounds or to overcome hardships of age and infirmity. Most need and ask nothing in repayment of their sacrifices.

Let us continue to help those veterans in need with the greatest possible compassion and efficiency. To the rest, since they ask no special help, we can best pay tribute this day by recognizing what they have achieved and joining them in their resolve to keep America strong and free.

Today is Veterans Day and all across the country, flags are flying and events will honor the men and women who have served our nation so that we may live in peace and security.

Today has a special meaning, with many members of the uniformed services on the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere.


We welcome your well wishes to our veterans and please share any pictures or stories you might have of your own service or a friend or family member. If you'd like to post a picture and have no server just send me a freep mail and we can post it for you.

Thank you and enjoy your Veterans Day!

[snippy_about_it]

you should all have blue auras about you
so we would instantly be able to identify you
instead you blend in amongst us

brothers, fathers, sons
sisters, mothers, daughters
white collar, blue collar and pink

history may be written on your face
but we are unaware

minus the aura painted blue to surround you
perhaps instead, we who know who we are
should carry ourselves with a smile in passing our countrymen

being forever thankful that you chose
to serve and defend the country
in which we so fortunately live

To all our veterans -- Thank you

sai 11.03

[Valin]

In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. This site, on a hillside overlooking the Potomac River and the city of Washington, became the focal point of reverence for America's veterans.

Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France, where an unknown soldier was buried in each nation's highest place of honor (in England, Westminster Abbey; in France, the Arc de Triomphe). These memorial gestures all took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I fighting at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month). The day became known as "Armistice Day".

Armistice Day officially received its name in America in 1926 through a Congressional resolution. It became a national holidiay 12 years later by similar Congressional action. If the idealistic hope had been realized that World War I was "the War to end all Wars," November 11 might still be called Armistice Day. But only a few years after the holiday was proclaimed, war broke out in Europe. Sixteen and one-half million Americans took part. Four hundred seven thousand of them died in service, more than 292,000 in battle.


Armistice Day Changed To Honor All Veterans


Realizing that peace was equally preserved by veterans of WW II and Korea, Congress was requested to make this day an occasion to honor those who have served America in all wars. In 1954 President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.

On Memorial Day 1958, two more unidentified American war dead were brought from overseas and interred in the plaza beside the unknown soldier of World War I. One was killed in World War II, the other in the Korean War. In 1973, a law passed providing interment of an unknown American from the Vietnam War, but none was found for several years. In 1984, an unknown serviceman from that conflict was placed alongside the others. To honor these men, symbolic of all Americans who gave their lives in all wars, an Army honor guard, The 3d U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), keeps day and night vigil.

A law passed in 1968 changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a date of historic significance to many Americans. Therefore, in 1978 Congress returned the observance to its traditional date.


National Ceremonies Held at Arlington


The focal point for official, national ceremonies for Veterans Day continues to be the memorial amphitheater built around the Tomb of the Unknowns. At 11 a.m. on November 11, a combined color guard representing all military services executes "Present Arms" at the tomb. The nation's tribute to its war dead is symbolized by the laying of a presidential wreath. The bugler plays "taps." The rest of the ceremony takes place in the amphitheater.

Every year the President of the United States urges All Americans to honor the commitment of our Veterans through appropriate public ceremonies.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on November 11:
1050 Henry IV Holy Roman emperor (1036-1106)
1636 Yen Jo-chu Chinese scholar of Ch'ing dynasty
1744 Abigail Smith Adams 2nd 1st lady
1748 Charles IV king of Spain (1788-1808)
1771 Ephraim McDowell surgeon (pioneered abdominal surgery)
1821 Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky Russia, novelist (Crime & Punishment)
1836 Thomas Bailey Aldrich US, author/editor (Story of a Bad Boy)
1864 Alfred Hermann Fried Germany, pacifist (Nobel 1911)
1869 Victor Emmanuel III king of Italy (1900-46)/Ethiopia
1872 Frederick A Stock Julich, Germany, conductor (Theodore Thomas Orchestra)
1883 Ernest Ansermet Vevey Switzerland, conductor (Ruilles de Printemps)
1885 George S Patton general "Old Blood & Guts"
1896 Charles "Lucky" Luciano Sicily, NYC Mafia gangster
1898 Rene Clair director (I Married a Witch)
1899 Harold "Pie" Traynor baseball hall of fame 3rd baseman (Pirates)
1899 Pat O'Brien Milwaukee, actor (Knute Rockne, Angels with Dirty Faces)
1900 Helena Konopacka Poland, discus thrower (Olympic-gold-1928)
1900 Hugh Scott (Sen-R-PA), minority whip
1900 John Longden West Indies, actor (Man From Interpol)
1901 Sam Spiegel producer (On the Waterfront, Bridge over River Kwai)
1904 Alger Hiss State Department official and spy
1909 Robert Ryan Chicago, actor (Billy Budd, Dirty Dozen, Longest Day)
1910 Franz Kemser Germany, 4 man bobsled (Olympic-gold-1952)
1911 King Hussein of Jordan.
1911 Patric Knowles England, actor (Big Steal, Chisum)
1914 Howard Fast screenwriter (Rachel & the Stranger, Spartacus)
1914 Perry Bass
1915 William Proxmire (Sen-D-WI) (Golden Fleece Awards)
1918 Stubby Kaye NYC, actor (Guys & Dolls, Lil' Abner, Cat Ballou)
1922 Kurt Vonnegut Jr author (Slaughterhouse Five, Sirens of Titan)
1925 Jonathan Winters Dayton OH, comedian (J Winters Show, Mork & Mindy)
1927 Mose Allison Mississippi, jazz artist (Black Country Suite)
1929 LaVern Baker Chicago, R&B vocalist (I Cried a Tear)
1934 Bibi Andersson Sweden, actress (Scenes From a Marriage)
1934 Paula Myers-Pope US, platform diver, 2 silver, 1 bronze (Oly 1952-60)
1936 Susan Kohner actress (Imitation of Life, Gene Krupa Story)
1937 Warner Wolf Wash DC, sportscaster (WABC-TV, WCBS-TV)
1938 John Reilly Chicago, actor (Sean-General Hospital, Dallas, Hamptons)
1938 Josef Odozil Czech, 1500m (Olympic-silver-1964)
1939 Claudia Boyarskikh USSR, 5K/10K cross country (Olympic-gold-1964)
1943 Jan Adamski Poland, International Chess Master (1976)
1944 Jesse Colin Young NY, rocker (The Youngbloods-Soul of a City Boy)
1945 Daniel Ortega Saavedra President of Nicaragua (1984- )
1945 Denise Alexander NYC, actress (General Hospital, Another World)
1951 Fuzzy Zoeller New Albany IN, PGA golfer (Masters 1981)
1953 Andy Partridge guitars/vocal (XTC-Oranges & Lemons)
1954 Gail Marquis WBL forward (NY Stars, Olympic-silver-1976)
1955 Jigme Singye Wangchuk king of Bhutan (1972- )
1956 Ian Craig Marsh rocker (Heaven 17-Electric Dreams)
1959 Vincent Irizarry Queens NY, actor (Guiding Light, Santa Barbara)
1960 Lisa Welch Semler Aberdeen MD, playmate (Sep, 1980)
1962 Demi Moore [Guynes], Roswell NM, actress (7th Sign, Blame it on Rio)
1963 Vinnie Testaverde NFL quarterback (Tampa Bay Buckineers)
1964 Philip McKeon Westbury NY, actor (Tommy-Alice, Return to Horror High)
1965 Brian Wilson NYC, murderer (FBI Most Wanted List)
1968 Jo Kittsee Germany, rocker (Fuzzbox-Into Rescue)
1968 Wyatt Pauley Ecuador, rocker (Linear-I Never Felt This Way, Lies)
1970 Derry Brownson rock keyboardist (EMF-Unbelievable)
1970 Lee Parkin Starsky daughter of Ringo
1974 Leonardo DiCaprio LA, actor (Luke-Growing Pains)

---

Deaths which occurred on November 11:
0307 Flavius Valerius Severus, compassionate emperor of Rome (306-07), dies
0397 Martinus, (St Martin), Roman bishop of Tours, dies at 81
0511 Clovis, king of Salische France/founder of Merovingians, dies at 45
1831 Nat Turner former slave, led a violent insurrection, hanged in VA
1855 Soren A Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher/theologian, dies at 42
1956 Victor Young orchestra leader (Milton Berle Show), dies at 56
1962 Rene Coty President of France, dies at 80
1973 Stringbean [David Akeman], banjoist/comedian (Hee Haw), dies at 58
1974 Jane Ace comedian (Easy Aces), dies at 74
1975 Marty May (Fireball Fun For All), dies at 79
1984 Rev Martin Luther King Sr dies in Atlanta at 84
1986 Roger C Carmel actor (Mudd-Star Trek, Mothers-in-Law), dies at 54
1987 L T Coggeshall medical scientist (Secretary of HEW 1956-58), dies at 86

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 BISS ROBERT IRVIN---CHERRY TREE PA.
[03/O4/73 RELEASED BY DRV,ALIVE IN 98]
1966 BUTT RICHARD L.---NORFOLK VA.
[DEAD REMAINS RETURNED 04/10/86]
1966 MEARNS ARTHUR STEWART---GREAT NECK NY.
[09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED SRV]
1966 MONLUX HAROLD D.---SIOUX CITY IA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1966 RINGSDORF HERBERT B.---ELBA AL.
[RELEASED 02/18/73 BY DRV, DECEASED 02/98]
1966 SWINDLE ORSON G. III---ATLANTA GA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV---ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 MARTINEZ-MERCADO EDWIN J.---NEW YORK NY.
[BODY GONE]
1967 SHAW GARY F.---TOLEDO OH.
[BODY GONE]
1967 STATON ROBERT M. JR.---JAMESVILLE NC.
[BODY GONE]
1967 STUCKEY JOHN S. JR.---CLOVERDALE IN.
[BODY GONE]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

---

On this day...
537 St Silverius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1158 Emperor Frederik I Barbarossa declares himself ruler of North Italy
1215 4th Lateran Council (12th ecumenical council) opens in Rome
1620 41 pilgrims land in Massachusetts, sign Mayflower Compact (just & equal laws)
1647 Massachusetts passes 1st US compulsory school attendance law
1648 Dutch & French agree to divide St Maarten, Leeward Islands
1714 A highway in the Bronx is laid out, later renamed East 233rd Street
1778 Iroquois Indians in NY kill 40 in Cherry Valley Massacre
1790 Chrysanthemums are introduced into England from China
1811 Cartagena Colombia declares independence from Spain
1860 1st Jewish wedding in Buenos Aires Argentina
1862 The opera "La Forza Del Destino" is produced (St Petersburg Russia)
1864 Sherman's troops destroy Rome, Georgia
1865 Mary Edward Walker, 1st Army female surgeon, awarded Medal of Honor
1868 1st American amateur track & field meet (NYC)
1889 Washington admitted as 42nd state
1895 Bechuanaland becomes part of the Cape Colony
1909 J M Synge's "Tinker's Wedding," premieres in London
1918 Armistice Day-WW I ends (at 11 AM on Western Front)
1921 President Harding dedicates Tomb of Unknown Soldier
1922 Canada's Vernon McKenzie urges to fight U.S. propaganda with taxes on U.S. magazines.
1922 Largest US flag displayed (150' X 90') expanded in 1939 (270' X 90')
1924 Palace of Legion of Honor dedicated (San Francisco)
1925 Louis Armstrong records 1st of Hot Five & Hot Seven recordings
1925 Robert Millikan announces discovery of cosmic rays
1928 KXO-AM in El Centro CA begins radio transmissions
1928 WGL-AM in Fort Wayne IN begins radio transmissions
1928 WMT-AM in Cedar Rapids IA begins radio transmissions
1928 WOL-AM in Washington DC begins radio transmissions
1931 Cornerstones laid for Opera House & Veterans Building
1933 "Great Black Blizzard" 1st great dust storm in the Great Plains
1934 1st penalty shot vs Toronto Maple Leafs, Mondou (Mont) unsuccessful
1934 WOC-AM in Davenport Iowa splits from WHO-WOC & becomes KICK-AM
1935 Explorer 2 balloon sets altitude record of 72,000 feet over SD
1939 Kate Smith 1st sings Irving Berlin's "God Bless America"
1940 Blizzard strikes midwestern US killing over 100
1940 Willys unveiled its General Purpose vehicle ("Jeep")
1942 During WW II Germany completes their occupation of France
1944 NY Rangers set NHL record of 25 games without a win (0-21-4)
1946 NY Knicks' 1st game at Madison Sq Garden loses 78-68 to Chicago Stags
1957 Demolition begins on cable car barn at California & Hyde (San Francisco)
1959 1st episode of "Rocky & His Friends" airs
1959 Seals Stadium in San Francisco, demolished
1960 Largest NY Knick 49th St MSG crowd-18,499
1963 Brian Epstein & Ed Sullivan sign a 3 show contract for the Beatles
1963 Gordie Howe ties Rocket Richard's lifetime 544 goal record
1965 Rhodesia proclaimed independence from Britain by PM Ian D Smith
1966 Gemini 12 launched on 4-day flight
1968 John Lennon & Yoko Ono appear nude on cover of "2 Virgins" album
1968 Maldives (in Indian Ocean) become a republic
1968 Ron Hill sets record 10-mile run (46:44) at Leicester England
1969 Beatles with Billy Preston release "Get Back" in the UK
1969 Jim Morrison arrested on an airplane by the FBI for drunkenness
1970 U.S. Army Special Forces raid the Son Tay prison camp in North Vietnam but find no prisoners
1972 US Army turns over Long Bihn base to South Vietnamese army
1975 Angola gains independence from Portugal (National Day)
1975 Australian PM removed by crown (1st elected PM removed in 200 years)
1977 Wings release "Mull of Kintyre" & "Girl's School"
1980 Crew of Soyuz 35 returns to Earth aboard Soyuz 37
1980 Islander's Mike Bossy scores 4 goals against North Stars
1982 30th time Islanders shut-out-2-0 vs North Stars
1982 5th space shuttle mission-Columbia 5-launched 1st commercial flight
1982 Solidarity leader Lech Walesa is let out of jail in Poland
1983 President Reagan became 1st US President to address Japan's legislature
1985 Challenger flies back to Kennedy Space Center via Davis-Monthan AFB
1985 Yonkers is found guilty of segregating schools & housing
1987 Judge Anthony M Kennedy nominated to the Supreme Court
1987 Van Gogh's "Irises" sells for record $53.6 M at auction
1988 Oldest known insect fossils (390 million years) reported in Science
1992 General Synod votes for Ordination of women in the UK

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Angola : Independence Day (1975)
Belgium, France, French countries : Armistice Day
Bhutan : King's Birthday
Canada : Remembrance Day-Veterans Day, 11th Hr-11th Day-11th Month
Colombia : Cartagena Day (1811)
Maldives : Republic Day (1968)
Rhodesia : Independence Day (1965)
St Maarten : Concordia Day
US : Veterans Day
Washington : Admission Day (1889)
West Germany : Repentance Day (Wednesday)
England : Lord Mayor's Day (Saturday)
US : Split Pea Soup Week (Day 3)
Ireland : Day of the Faerie Sidhe
Poland : Independence Day.
Native American Heritage Month

---

Religious Observances
Ang, RC : Martinmas, term day in Scotland (Mem of St Martin of Tours)
Luth : Commemoration of Síren Kierkegaard, teacher

---

Religious History
1215 The Fourth Lateran Council was convened by Pope Innocent III. It was the council which first defined "transubstantiation," the Catholic belief that the bread and wine of the Eucharist change invisibly into the body and blood of Christ.
1620 The "Mayflower Compact" was signed by the 41 Separatists among the passengers of the "Mayflower," serving as the basis for combining themselves "into a civil body politic." Democratic in form, the Compact comprised the first written American constitution, and remained in force until 1691.
1760 English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'You cannot live on what He did yesterday. Therefore He comes today.'
1793 Five months after setting sail for India, English pioneer missionary William Carey, 32, reached Calcutta. (Later, Carey founded the Baptist Missionary Society, the first of the British Protestant missions agencies.)
1966 The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren voted to merge into one denomination in the U.S., afterward to be called the United Methodist Church. (The "declaration of union" took place officially on April 23, 1968.)

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

---

Thought for the day :
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

---

Question of the day...
If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?

---

Murphys Law of the day...(war laws)
Try to look unimportant; the enemy may be low on ammo and not want to waste a bullet on you.

---

Incredibly Amazing Astounding Fact #671...
The dollar symbol ($) is a U combined with an S (U.S.)

[Reaganwuzthebest]

A Happy Veterans Day bump.

[ladtx]

This has been posted on a couple of other threads and this one looks like another good place for it.

In memory of my fellow Vietnam helicopter pilots who were killed in that war the following were lost on NOV 11. Todays losses are especially poignant since they fell on Veterans Day. God bless them all.

1966 MAJ William F. Callinan -- 170 AHC 52 CAB, Age 36, Married, Bangor, Maine
1966 CPT Milton F. Smith -- 170 AHC 52 CAB, Age 25, Married, Dania, Florida
1966 CPT John J. Livingston -- 117 AHC, Age 26, Married, Cedar Hill, Missouri
1966 WO1 Terrence M. Rooney -- 117 AHC, Age 22, Single, Denver, Colorado
1966 CPT Walter R. Speare III -- 119 AHC, Age 24, Married, Bedford, Oregon
1966 1LT Dee W. Stone Jr. -- 119 AHC, Age 23, Single, Forest Hill, New York

In memory of WO1 Terrence M. Rooney -- 117 AHC: KIA, South Vietnam.
Always smiling
Terry was one of our newest pilots at the Dragon Flight, 55th. Avn. Co., Yoido Island, K-16 Korea. I remember him as always smiling and saw him off in a taxi as he departed the 55th. for a leave before his deployment to Vietnam. I will always remember him. His smiling face looking back from the taxi as he departed will always remain in my memory. Jesse Shannon -- Friend in the 55th Avn Co Korea

Unit patch of the 117 Assault Helicopter Company "Warlords".

A pair of 117th AHC "Annies"

SCOUTS OUT!

[Jumper]

From Flander's Fields in Belgium today on the 11th Month, 11th Day, 11th Hour, 11th Minute I had the privilege to stand (with my two Sons at my side) as the British Memorial was held in Ypers, Belgium. Just prior to that moment, we also participated in the British WWII Memorial.

Afterwards, the three of us went through the Flander's Field Museum. Very sobering moments were these on this 85th year at a pivitol place where the Great War was fought, "The War to End all Wars". There literally dozens of burial grounds dedicated to the British Common Wealth soldiers who fought and died there in all directions.

Over the past four Memorial Days, here in Europe with my sons, we place flags on American Graves at Margaraten, The Netherlands - but this year we visited Flander's Fields and just two weeks ago Verdum, France. We have also visited Omaha and retraced the Ranger March to Point Du Hoc on the invasion beaches of D-Day and the German Memorial to fallen soldiers in Achen, Germany ("where no soldier is buried alone but rather in pairs, so that one might not spend eternity alone.")

I can only say that after standing with the British on this day, that there is at least one Nation other than the USA which is freedom loving and willing sacrafice.

[tomkow6]

Good morning, Snippy!  Thought I would stop in and wish a

Happy Veteran's Day

& a

"THANK YOU!!!"

 

to all the Vet's here in the FReeper Foxhole!

[apackof2]

Flag flying, grateful to Vets, proud to be an American bump!

[Johnny Gage]

The Creation of the Soldier

When the Lord was creating Soldiers, he was into his sixth day of overtime
when an Angel appeared and said, "Your doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said "Have you read the specification on this person?
Soldiers have to be able to go for hours fighting or tending to a
person that the usual every day person would never touch, all the while putting
in the back of their mind the circumstances.

They have to be able to move at a moments notice and not think twice of what
they are about to do, no matter what danger.
They have to be in top physical condition at all times, running on half-eaten MRE's,
and very little sleep.

They must have six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems, " said the Lord,
"it's the three pairs of eyes a Soldier has to have."

That's on the standard model? " asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through the smoke and haze where they and
their fellow Soldiers should fight the enemy next. Another pair here in the
side of the head to see their fellow Soldiers and keep them safe.
And a third pair of eyes in the front so that they can look for the the wounded
caught in the fight that may need their help."

"Lord" said the angel, touching his sleeve, " Rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't, said the Lord, "I already have a model that can carry a 100 pounds of gear
for miles on end, or a fellow soldier to safety from a battle area, and can feed a
family of five on a Military service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the Soldier very slowly, "Can it think?"

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the parts of a hundred different pieces
of equipment; and can recite many procedures in their sleep that are needed to
care for a wounded soldier until they are taken away by the medics.
And all the while they have to keep their wits about themselves.

This Soldier also must have phenomenal personal control.
They can deal with scenes full of pain, hurt, noise and smoke,
They can be laughing and joking one second and fierce and hard in the next.

And still they rarely get the recognition for a job well done from anybody, other than from fellow Soldiers."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Soldier.
"There's a leak", she pronounced. "Lord, it's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's a tear from bottled-up emotions for fallen comrades.
A tear for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the flag.
It's a tear for all the pain and suffering they have encountered.
And it's a tear for their commitment to defending our freedoms and
saving lives of their fellow man!"

"What a wonderful feature Lord, you're a genius" said the angel.
The Lord looked somber and said "I didn't put it there."

Reworded from a Firefighters poem, to honor our Troops 3/26/03
by David K. (aka Johnny Gage)

[OESY]

NOT ALL HEROES ARE PEOPLE ~ ~ ~

James Crane worked on the 101st floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. He is blind so he has a golden retriever named Daisy. After the plane hit 20 stories below, James knew that he was doomed, so he let Daisy go, out of an act of love. She darted away into the darkened hallway. Choking on the fumes of the jet fuel and the smoke James was just waiting to die. About 30 minutes later, Daisy comes back along with James' boss, who Daisy just happened to pick up on floor 112.

On her first run of the building, she leads James, James' boss, and about 300 more people out of the doomed building. But she wasn't through yet, she knew there were others who were trapped. So, highly against James' wishes she ran back in the building.

On her second run, she saved 392 lives. Again she went back in. During this run, the building collapses. James hears about this and falls on his knees into tears. Against all known odds, Daisy makes it out alive, but this time she is carried by a firefighter. "She led us right to the people, before she got injured" the fireman explained.

Her final run saved another 273 lives. She suffered acute smoke inhalation, severe burns on all four paws, and a broken leg, but she saved 967 lives. The next week, Mayor Giuliani rewards Daisy with the Canine medal of Honor of New York. Daisy is the first civilian Canine to win such an honor.

Editor's Note: This is a great story which is circulating on the Internet. However, it can't be corroborated with any news accounts. According to rumormill.com, Guide Dogs for the Blind website has an account of a man who was helped from the 78th floor by his guide dog, but the dog did not go back into the World Trade Center to rescue others. I suspect CBS (sarcasm), but enjoyed the story anyway -- as a belated honor to the dogs who have been true heroes -- in Vietnam, at the World Trade Center, and on many of our streets in the service of their police handlers. That's where is Lassie when you need her.

[PsyOp]

“I’ve long since forgotten the name of the speaker, but I’ll never forget what he said. ‘Imagine this. In the spring of 1945, around the world, the sight of a twelve-man squad of teenage boys, armed and in uniform, brought terror to people’s hearts. Whether it was a Red Army squad in Berlin, Leipzig, or Warsaw, or a German squad in Holland, or a Japanese squad in Manila, Seoul, or Beijing, that squad meant rape, pillage, looting, wanton destruction, sensless killing. But there was one exception: a squad of Gis, a sight that brought the biggest smiles you ever saw to people’s lips, and joy to their hearts.’” - Stephen H. Ambrose, The Victors, 1998.

Soldiers, Sailors & Airmen - In Quotes.

[Diver Dave]

havin a bit of difficulty loading all the graphics, but wanted to fall in for muster.

Salute to all my brother and sister Vets. Thank you for your service and Welcome Home.

[Eastbound]

And to all my fellow vets.

Thank you for your service to our country.

Stay bright, the Flame!

Extra thanks and gratitude to snippy and SAM who are still in the 'trenches' too.

[w_over_w]

Evening Grace~

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

Thank you soldiers and thank you God for their lives.

Kristina, Rachel and Ted, Jr.