Posted on 07/10/2006 4:42:15 PM PDT by SandRat
HOLMDEL, N.J., July 10, 2006 More than 40 American Gold Star Mothers and their guests from around the country came together here yesterday to honor the children they've lost in the country's conflicts.
The ceremony, held at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial here, included a roll call honoring servicemembers from World War I through the global war on terrorism. Mothers who lost children in Vietnam and the global war on terrorism, including operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, placed wreaths near the center of the memorial. Feisal Amin al-Istrabadi, Iraq's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, served as keynote speaker and thanked the mothers for the sacrifices their sons and daughters have made for his country. "We were a country without hope," Istrabadi said. "The intervention of the United States in my country has been a lifeline for us. It has restored hope for us that our future will be very different from our past." Hearing laughter in Iraq's streets again and no longer feeling the need to cringe when admitting their heritage is part of what America's intervention has given back to his country, he said. "These are not small things. These are things for which this country, and you as individuals and your children, have earned our tremendous gratitude," Istrabadi said. "Words of thanks truly seem to me to be insufficient to convey to you the thanks of a country, a grateful nation, which has lingered too long under tyranny." Iraq's gratitude to the United States and the families who have sacrificed personally "will be eternal," he said. While Istrabadi spoke directly to events in Iraq, his message resonated with all the Gold Star Mothers: Their children did not die in vain. Among those inspired by his words was Renate DeAngelis, a New York Gold Star Mother delegate who lost her son, 22-year-old Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher W. DeAngelis, when the USS Stark was attacked on May 17, 1987. He was one of 37 killed when the Iraqis hit the guided-missile frigate with two missiles during the Iran-Iraq War. "It was absolutely beautiful," DeAngelis said of yesterday's ceremony. "(It was) very moving." DeAngelis, who has lived with her grief for more than 19 years, said older Gold Star Mothers help those with more recent losses deal with their grief. "With the younger mothers, it's too new," she said. All participants in yesterday's ceremony got the opportunity to acknowledge a friend or family member who died while serving the nation. The visit to the memorial began with a viewing of "Twilight's Last Gleaming," a short movie dedicated to Gold Star Mothers. The group will conduct its annual business meeting today and tomorrow in Mount Laurel, N.J. |
Related Sites:
American Gold Star Mothers Inc.
New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial Foundation
Bump
Thanks to the GSM organization for what they are, who they represent, and all that they do.
It was great that an Iraqi acknowleged the sacrifice of American lives, and pledged to make it worth it.
If only we could get Liberals to do the same.
When all is done in the WOT, wonder if the Liberals will recieve the same treatment measured out to them as was measured out to the NAZI Collaborators in France after WWII.
The behavoir of the American Left is very painful to me, embarrassing.
As a party, I do believe they (Liberals) have lost their collective minds. To many (not all) on the left of the political spectrum, the palpable, intense hatred of the military and all they stand for is breathtaking.
Fortunately, I do not believe that goes for more than a quarter to a third of the population at most. It just happens to be a VERY vocal and powerful quarter/third. The media is included, but they cannot just come out and let the American people know how they feel (just as the Democratic party cannot) because it would alienate the public.
I am glad that there are enough who care, support and are willing to see this thing through, so the Gold Star Mothers today don't have to experience what Gold Star Mothers in the Vietnam era went through.
As long as Liberals don't gain power.
Where would you find out about this in the MSM? Nowhere...
OUTSTANDING POST. Bump for America's finest, their families and friends.
No kidding. MSM gave up the ghost a looong time ago. We know whose side they are on. Good old "Pinch" Sultzberger said it best when asked if he would rather see an American get shot or a Vietnamese....he said he would rather see the American get shot.
BTTT
Thanks for posting this.
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