To all veterans, thank you
 

Let's remember all those who made the supreme sacrifice. On this memorial day weekend take a minute to pause and say a silent prayer of thanks.
Also, thanks to all who have served and are presently serving.
May God bless.

What a wonderful post. He's right--although this is a weekend of BBQ's and fun, let's remember to pause and remember why we celebrate the holiday in the first place. Thanks, John.

Thank You! **== **==

I am the first in my family who hasn't been directly involved/impacted by military service. My mom attended 17 different schools because of WWII and family movement. I am thankful to have led a very stable life.

Thanks, John. I was just listening to a brief history of how Memorial Day Weekend evolved, and I do think it is one of the most important days of the year. We need to remember to teach our children the meaning of it as well.

I have had relatives in every American military battle, including the Revolutionary War. (I can hardly day that without that Lt Dan scene from Forrest Gump flashing through my mind.)
My husband retired from the Army after 22 years, just as his father before him. My son is currently in Afghanistan and has served 2 tours in Iraq - VOLUNTARILY! That is, he has offered to serve with other units heading out!
Last week I spent several hours at Arlington Cemetery thinking about the sacrifice.
Not only the sacrifice of those who elected to fight, but those who had no choice and fought, the families who lost soldiers and people caught in the crossfire.
Last night we watched Saving Private Ryan to remind ourselves of our fathers sacrifice. Then we watched the HBO special, Baghdad ER.
If you want to see how horrible things are in Iraq, watch this documentary.
We need to find a logical way to get our children out of that place.
We are a very Patriotic family.
Memorial Day is a time to reflect on the sacrifices made by many...

Thank you John for starting this post. I can only add my gratitude to those who have and are serving are country.
God Bless.

John,

Agree with your post.

Sandy

Yes..Thank you to All Veterans!
<i>And special thoughts to my Grandfather, Uncle and Father who served and died for their country. **==</i>

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Freedom is such a blessing and it isn't free.

Many heartfelt thanks to all our veterans and current service people. God bless you all!

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It is hard to forget what Memorial Day is about when you have so many Harleys in your rear view mirror. I live just outside of D.C. and Rolling Thunder is here! I love it when it is Memorial Day and I hear those Harleys next to me at the stoplights and see them flying down the road, on their way into D.C. and the Wall from the hotels around where I live.

Every year it reminds me of my Dad, who served in WWII and Korea, and rode a big motorcycle (Ariel) w/a sidecar for fun. He would take off once a yr when I was little for two weeks w/one of his Army buddies. We never knew where they went, they just rode off, and he told me they just kept riding most of the week. They had a real bond that lasted til he died.

Here is a salute to everyone who has or is currently serving. God Bless You and your families. ((L))

And, thanks to my dad, who was an M.D., over 40 years old, with four children, volunteered during WWW11 and served as hospital chief of staff in Australia, New Guinea, Japan...also, his partner, a father of three and over 40 years of age, volunteered as a paratrooper. Surprisingly, they met up twice during the war and were discharged the same day and were met in Long Beach, CA. to be driven home to Phoenix, where they picked up their practices again.

At Mass last night, the priest read part of R. Reagan's speech from the 40th anniversary at D-Day and then asked all the Vets in attendance to please stand. It was hard to find a dry eye as at least 20 stood up. My dad is playing bagpipes for a Memorial Day service tomorrow. Thank you to all troops for your tremendous sacrifice.

Two years ago I was at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial day. It is an event that everyone should experience. Too many people take for granted the sacrfices made by our brave veterans and current military. I salute all of you.

Hello John, what a nice thread!

I have had family members serve in each and every war back to our Civil War (my greatgrandfather). And my late husbands family served going back to the American Revolution and every war after that.

I have a second cousin who was severly injured in Iraq autumn of 2004, but he refused to leave Iraq and so is still stationed there. And my stepchildren had a cousin killed during the same week. A very sad time.

I am for some reason feeling emotional this weekend, maybe because is not only Memorial Day but also my late father's birthday. When he came to the US from Australia he joined the US Army as a young man and was proud to do so. I found myself today thinking of him and my ancestors and relatives, all of them that served in the military. I hope and pray I expressed my gratitude to them for their sacrifices. But I am sure I didn't as much as I should have.

May I take this oppotunity to thank all the brave souls that have fought and sacrificed for our country. And also to their families that supported them and also made so many sacrifices .

Prayers and blessings to all **==

I went to see the Pete Seeger band and Bruce Sprigsteen play last night. When he sang &quot;Bring 'Em Home&quot; the lady next to me broke down sobbing, and later told me that her son is in Iraq. So many families are sacrificing too. My heart goes out to them.

ttt

Thank you veterans! With special thanks to my Dad (WWII veteran) and my father-in-law (Korean War).

My brother and I visited Normandy a couple of years ago. The area is largely unchanged from 1944. As we approached the area, I saw many homes flying four flags: French, American, British and Canadian. Some 60 years later, many have not forgotten. A moving experience for anyone, but to us because our father was there on June 6, 1944 – long before I was born. I stood in the American cemetery and proudly saluted, and I will do so at the parade today.

Thanks to all veterans, past and present.

desertduds, you need to write that into a screenplay.
What an amazing story!

Thanks to all veterans! My Grandfather WW1, Father 2 Aunts WW2. Uncle Korea, Husband Vietnam, Son in Law Persian Gulf. I always watch Saving Private Ryan just so I don't forget. And I made myself watch the ceremony at Arlington today and cried like a baby. And I agree with you TX travelpro...got to figure out a way out of that place ASAP.

The destroyer that I was on in the early 50s was very active in the Pacific from late 1943 until the end of the war. It was in the major battles earning 10 battle stars. On April 11, 1945 off Okinawa, it was hit by friendly fire during a kamakaze attack.
Three were killed and twenty five wounded. The three KIA were buried at sea.

A couple of years ago a WWII member located the sister of one of the deceased and called her. In the course of the conversation he gave her the longtitude and latitude of the burial site. She was surprised to hear this because all those years the family had been tryingto find out the name of the island they thought he was buried on.

adding my thanks to all veterans, too, as well as to the many journalists who have lost their lives in covering the Iraqi war and others.
Peace.

Just a reminder..thanks to ronkala's post. Each and every day we are losing more and more WWII veterans. If you know one please be sure to thank them for their dedicated service to our country while they are still here amongst us. **==

LoveItaly, my dad was the Grand Marshall in his hometown parade yesterday. He was only 16 when he was in WWII so he's a bit younger than most WWII Veterans.

He's the best guy in the world!

I spent Memorial Day weekend in D.C a few years ago with my friend,her then 8 yr old son and her teenage brother.It was awesome to see that both boys really &quot;got it&quot; over the course of the visit. It was a special weekend...one that they still talk about every Memorial Day weekend since. I look foward to taking my daughter when she's old enough to understand.

May God bless all who have served, are serving now,and those who look at the world today and know that they want to serve our country in the future.

The Smithsonian is doing a Living History project, getting veterans of WWII to tell theri stories in an interview. They are conducting the interviews live, but also have a website where you can get the questiosn to ask, videotape the vet answering them, and get the recording to Smithsonian people to make part of their acrchive project. I have heard about this a few times on the radio here in DC area. I'd like my father in law to participate, and he woudl like to do it. Does anybody know more about that??

Oh GoTravel, sixteen! Truly just a boy but obviously with a mans determination. How your grandparents must have worried about him.

I have a question, maybe you or someone else will know.

Just this morning I was thinking of one of my beloved cousins. He and two of his buddies joined the Navy when there were in HighSchool. I was just a little girl but I remember going to his HS class graduation. He and the other young fellows that had joined the military were not there of course, but a special part of the ceremony was dedicated to these fine young men.

So, my question is this; what was the minimum age for young men when they were allowed to enlist during WWII? Thank you.

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To those who have made the supreme sacrifice, and to those who are protecting our freedom as we speak ... heartfelt thanks from my family and from me. I just watched the Memorial Day Concert from Washington that I'd recorded yesterday ... I start crying when Charles Durning comes on stage!

God bless you all, veterans and current service members! ((L))

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Thank you is just not enough for what all veteran's and active members of our military have given to all of us...

LoveItaly, I think the minimum age was 16 years old. I'll call and ask him!

Gotravel,

When I enlisted in 1951, after hs graduation, the minimum age was seventeen. I needed my parents permission and my father had to back with me to sign the papers. I believe that was the minimum in WWII also. There was a CPO on board with me who lied about his age when he was sixteen so he could get in during WWII.

I'm not sure of the name of it, but there is an organization made up of those who were sixteen years old or under enlistees.

Thank you GoTravel, and also to you ronkala. This is something I have always wondered about. I &quot;think&quot; my cousin was 17 but not positive. His birthday was December 7th and if I remember the family history correctly he enlisted right afterwards. So probably Pearl Harbor was on his 17th birthday.

This Memorial Day has has been more touching then ever for me. No doubt because it is on my dear father's birthday and also because of all the brave men and women we are losing in the current war.

I have a 15 year old grandson who is in the Jr ROTC, I can't even imagine him going into battle within a year, although he can..the next generation of military men in our family it appears.

Blessings to all. **==

Through family research and careful documentation verification, I have relatives who were in the Revolutionary War, and Civil War!
Also, more recent: Vietnam War.
God Bless them all!
God Bless America!

Thank you for the post!!

Well, I haven't been able to catch up with my dad the celebrity ( :-D ) but I did find out some interesting stuff from my father in law.

He said back then that most of the kids at the time were products of the depression and most didn't have the choice of college or other things so they lied about their age to get in the service. It was either that or dead end jobs with no way out. I'll have to check with my dad but that sounds like him as a kid!

My FIL also said the US government really did turn a blind eye to underage enlistees.

MissKiss, the genealogist in our family found out that we have Civil War soldiers in the family...my great great great grandfather :D

GoT.. My uncle was 17 when he enlisted in the Navy, in California. He became an executive of Southern Pacific Railroad after getting out so I guess he got a pretty good education , all in all.
((F))
God bless them all~

Great post - my Dad (81 years old) walked in our local parade on Monday. He was so proud he was the only WWII veteran that walked (all the other &quot;old guys&quot; rode in cars.) I was so proud of him - God Bless America and all the &quot;young people&quot; that are still in harms way.

4merlot, my dad walked too and he was also very proud of that fact. They wanted him to ride in a convertable and he said he was either going to walk or ride his Harley-Davidson.

Since the parade organizers were somewhat taken aback by the thought of an 80 year old on a motorcycle, they relented and let him walk!

I'm so proud!

GoTravel, your father sounds like a fun fellow! My daughter's Godfather who is now around 83 years old (a WWII Navy Vet) just sold his Indian Motorcycle. Guess he decided it was no longer safe for him to ride it. That made me sad. Take care.

GoTravel - Sounds like your Dad is &quot;young at heart&quot; also. We're so lucky to still have them around!

Gotravel,

The organization for those brave guys who enlisted at sixteen or younger is
Veterans Under Age Military Service.
They are known as VUMS and can be reached at 1-888-653-8867. **== **==