"The Boldness of One Party Increases as They Find the Other Fearful!!"
"October 6, 1776
"...I begin to think that mankind, when engaged in warfare, are a wary and timorous of each other as deer are of men, and the boldness of one party increases as they find the other fearful."
John Chilton
Died September 17, 1777"
Here's another one...
"April 3, 1943
"...A guy gets in some serious thinking out here...sometimes when I happen to be walking along alone, say for instance at night, I stop and say, "Well, Bob, you are in a heck of a fix. What are you doing here? Do you remember how you laughed at the idea of ever bearing arms...?" It's the fellows that have gone before us who make us willingly bear our burdens. Dear God, spare our lives for we are young and love life so much. This is just a short incident in a fellow's life, I tell myself, and soon it will be behind me and I will have forgotten it, and settle down amongst you again....This is one game I'm going to best. I know. When I played baseball I never wanted to sit on the bench, always wanted to play the whole game. And here, too, I'm going out every time, and while I'm playing this game, I'm going to play hard, and to win."
Robert A. Baum
Died April 1943"
I went down to Norfolk (VA) Waterside this weekend for a wedding reception fer friend of mine, have you ever been there? We stayed at the Sheraton and when I went out for a jog early Sunday morning I decided to check out the new Nauticus Museum before it had opened and all the tourists began flooding the area. On the way there, I came upon the City of Norfolk's "Armed Forces Memorial." What a find!! The Memorial is actually a little island built out into the Elizabeth River and accessed by two concrete bridges. It's basically a big square, and on the floor are a number of bronzed, embossed "sheets of paper" that look as if they blew there in the seabreeze. Well, I started reading these letters and they were excerpts from actual letters written by servicemen to their folks, their wives, their children, etc. from the front lines...and each of these letters were written by folks who were never to survive to see the loved ones they were writing. It was still dark outside, so I couldn't really take good photos, but I did go back to the hotel and got pen and paper to jot down a few notes. The above-referenced are all I've got so far...
There were some other great letters, too, and many it was still too dark to read, but I'm going back again soon to photograph the letters for a thread...really moving memorial, my FRiends, check it out if you can!!
FReegards...MUD
1 Posted on 10/02/2000 12:41:55 PDT by Mudboy Slim (Justice@in't.NEGOTIABLE!!)
Awwwww, ain't that a nice thing to say. (~yer a LIAR, too!)
Well I'd been pretty rough on you last week, Mud.
Ya make me feel like a real heel when I think 'bout it, too.
FBD?
Gather round 'cuz it's time.
...for a real good group hug. {g}