FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops! ~ 19 March 2020

Serving The Best Troops and Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~

~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~

POOCH SMOOCH

Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Abbie Johnson gets a kiss from Kona, her military service dog, after competing in swimming during the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY, June 20, 2016. DoD photo by Roger Wollenberg

Canteen Mission Statement

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

STOCKDALE SHOOT

Sailors participate in a small-arms, live-fire qualification shoot on the fantail of the USS Stockdale in the Philippine Sea, June 19, 2016 The guided-missile destroyer is helping to provide a ready force to support security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The Stockdale is operating as part of the John C. Stennis Strike Group and Great Green Fleet on a regularly scheduled 7th Fleet deployment. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Andre T. Richard

WELL DECK ENTRY

ARABIAN GULF (June 18, 2016) A landing craft air cushion prepares to enter the well deck of amphibious assault ship USS Boxer in the Arabian Gulf, June 18, 2016. The Boxer is supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. Navy photo by Seaman Eric Burgett

AIR RIFLES

Athletes compete with air rifles in a shooting competition during the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY, June 19, 2016. DoD photo by EJ Hersom

HELMET HELP

Air Force Lt. Col. Todd Larsen waits as flight equipment airmen fasten his helmet to prepare him for a flight on a U-2 Dragon Lady at Osan Air Base, South Korea, June 16, 2016. The U-2 flies at heights so great that its pilots are required to wear pressurized suits to compensate for lack of atmosphere. Larsen commands the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Victor J. Caputo

GAME GRAB

Left to right: Army veteran Delvin Matson, Army veteran Jhoonar Barrera, Marine Corps veteran Jorge Salazar, Army veteran Alexander Shaw and Marine Corps veteran Jeremy Lake grab for the ball as soldiers defeat Marines to win gold in wheelchair basketball during the 2016 Department of Defense Warrior Games at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY, June 21, 2016. DoD photo by Roger Wollenberg

SQUAT STANCE

Air Force Capt. Benjamin Swope competes in the squat portion of Bagram’s Strongest Women and Men’s competition at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, June 18, 2016. Swope, assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron, was was the overall winner in the men's division for the squat, bench and deadlift. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Justyn M. Freeman

Please remember that The Canteen is here to support
and entertain our troops and veterans and their families,
and is family friendly.

[ConorMacNessa]

REQUEST PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD



CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2008) The first major snowfall of the New Year blankets the USS Constitution. Despite the weather "Old Ironsides" remained open for free public tours. At 210 years-old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 67 active-duty United States Sailors and visited by nearly half a million visitors annually. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Brown (Released)

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!!!





Boston, Oct. 21, 2009 - Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).



USS Constitution's 1812 Marine Guard fire vintage Springfield flintlock muskets during the ship's underway. "Old Ironsides" was underway for the "Constitution Day Cruise," which is conducted to thank the family and supporters of Constitution. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Nick Lyman (Released)

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ Remembering Our Troops! ~

FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

CLICK HERE TO FIND LATEST THREADS

CLICK FOR Current local times around the world

CLICK FOR local times in Seoul, Baghdad, Kabul,
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To every service man or woman reading this thread.
Thank You for your service to our country.
No matter where you are stationed,
No matter what your job description
Know that we are are proud of each and everyone of you.
To our military readers, we remain steadfast
in keeping the Canteen doors open.

The FR Canteen is Free Republic's longest running daily thread
specifically designed to provide entertainment and moral support for the military.
The doors have been open since Oct 7 2001,
the day of the start of the war in Afghanistan.

We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.

NOTE: CANTEEN MUSIC
Posted daily and on the Music Thread
for the enjoyment of our troops and visitors.

[left that other site]

Hi everybody!

(((HUGS)))

[Biggirl]

Hi!

[Biggirl]

Hi!

[The Mayor]

Freep mail me to be on or off the Daily Bread ping list

March 19

Delight in the Book

Bible in a Year:

• Joshua 1–3
• Mark 16

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night.

Joshua 1:8 Tsundoku. It’s the word I’ve always needed! A Japanese term, it refers to the stack of books on a bedside table waiting to be read. Books offer the potential for learning or an escape to a different time or place, and I long for the delights and insights found within their pages. So, the stack remains.

The idea that we can find enjoyment and help in a book is even more true for the book of books—the Bible. I see the encouragement to immerse oneself in Scripture in God’s instructions to Joshua, the newly appointed leader of Israel, commissioned to lead them into the land promised to the Israelites (Joshua 1:8).

Knowing the difficulty ahead, God assured Joshua, “I will be with you” (v. 5). His help would come, in part, through Joshua’s obedience to God’s commands. So God instructed him to “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it” (v. 8). Although Joshua had the Book of the Law, he needed to regularly search it to gain insight and understanding into who God is and His will for His people.

Do you need instruction, truth, or encouragement for your day? As we take time to read, obey, and find nourishment through Scripture, we can savor all that’s contained in its pages (2 Timothy 3:16).

By:  Lisa M. Samra

Reflect & Pray

What are the most common issues that keep you from opening Scripture? How might you commit to reading more this week?

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your guidance through Scripture. Help us to desire more and more to hear from You in all the ways You speak.

[mountainlion]

Target shooting on a ship looks like fun.

Snow on the way and the driveway just became completely clear.

[PROCON]

Thanks for remembering and honoring our Troops, Kathy!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, Kathy!
***HUGS***



Striding up the gangplank as we speak,
rendering Hand Salutes to our National Colors
and to the Officer of the Deck!
Thank you very much for this evening's
"Remembering Our Troops" thread!

[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!!

[ConorMacNessa]

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!



"The Star Spangled Banner"
Verse Four

(Click)

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Please let me know by Freepmail if you would like
to be admitted to or released from my music ping list.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, ML...((HUGS))...did you and Penny get to go hiking today?

We are at 32, so things are pretty wet, but they say snow is coming tomorrow night.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Biggirl...hope your week is going well.

[left that other site]

It was a gorgeous day, and we walked around the neighborhood a lot, but didn’t venture out too far.

[Kathy in Alaska]

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

Well...we made it through hump day. Hope your week has been productive and you are seeing signs of spring.

[Kathy in Alaska]

In first....Mac grabs the gold!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

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