11th Month - 11th Day - 11th Hour

[CAPTShaw]

Hug a veteran everyday - especially today

[DogCollar]

I hope everyone will also remember the historical significance of the "11th Month--11th Day--11th Hour."  A hint...it occurred exactly 90 years ago today!

[davidsinn]

I hope everyone will also remember the historical significance of the "11th Month--11th Day--11th Hour."  A hint...it occurred exactly 90 years ago today!

The end of the war to end all wars.

[ColonelJack]

I hope everyone will also remember the historical significance of the "11th Month--11th Day--11th Hour."  A hint...it occurred exactly 90 years ago today!

The end of the war to end all wars.

Which, of course, is why today is called Veteran's Day instead of Armistice Day -- the "war to end all wars" didn't, and the Armistice became a moot point on 1 September 1939.

Jack

[SarDragon]

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye.
 
Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.
 
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.
 
You can't tell a vet just by looking.
 
What is a vet?
 
He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
 
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
 
She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
 
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.
 
He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
 
He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.
 
Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU".
 
Remember, November 11th is Veterans Day

* * * * *

"It is the soldier, not the reporter,
Who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier,
Who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protestor to burn the flag."
 
often attributed to Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC

[LtCol057]

Hey SarDragon,
  Your definition of veteran was really touching.  I really liked it.  Thank you. Also, thank you from one vet to another.  Even tho I was told one time that I'm not a veteran because the 8 months I was on AD didn't count because I was an Army Reservist.


Former USAR Sgt.

[SarDragon]

And another, related to the original topic:

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

[JoeTomasone]

A humble thank you to all of our Nation's veterans.


   - Joe

[Auxpilot]

I always tell my kids that you can take away a persons house, job, and fancy car but you can never take away the pride in knowing that he served his country well.

Service that will never be repaid in cash, but will always be rewarded in knowing that his children will live free.

Here's to all the Vets out there, and the family members who supported them.

[bosshawk]

LtCol057: you are just as much a vet as are any of us: you served and you signed the blank check that all of us signed which said that we were willing to give all for our country.

Thanks to all of you folks who have served, are serving and will serve, from one who has been there and done that.

[tarheel gumby]

A heartfelt Thanks to all that have served.   "Some gave all - All gave some" I wish that I knew who said that that is a quote that I find touching. I don't know if my 7months in uniform counts. But today is always special to me. Not only is it my birthday but I have always felt it to be a very special day,as a member of my family has served in every conflict back to the War of Indipendence.

[ColonelJack]

Hey SarDragon,
  Your definition of veteran was really touching.  I really liked it.  Thank you. Also, thank you from one vet to another.  Even tho I was told one time that I'm not a veteran because the 8 months I was on AD didn't count because I was an Army Reservist.


Former USAR Sgt.

Does your certificate say "Honorable Discharge"?  You're a veteran.

Jack

[LtCol057]

Thanks ColonelJack and bosshawk.  I hadn't thought of it that way. Next time I hear that comment about not being a vet, I'll remind the person that I have a DD214 that says I am. Then I'll tell them where to file the DD214   

Folks, lets please keep in our minds and prayers the men and women of our armed services that are both overseas and stateside.  I know some of them we have worked with in their youth.  Let's also pray for a speedy end to the war.  I'm not normally a very religious man, but this is one thing I do pray about.

[A.Member]

In honor of my friend:

The Final Inspection

The sailor stood and faced God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, you sailor
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"

The sailor squared his shoulders and said,
"No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep ...
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here,
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the sailor waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God,

Step forward now, you sailor,
You've borne your burdens well,
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."

 

And to all our veterans, from the bottom of my heart:  Thank you!

[davedove]

This is something I wrote for those who served but never saw combat:

Few medals or decorations adorn their chests,
For no campaigns came their way,
But they stood ready.

They served their time and returned to their homes,
Doing what others would call a daily job,
But they stood ready.

The people of the nation said "We are at peace,"
And funding diverted elswhere,
But they stood ready.

They were called "stupid" and "losers" to choose the military,
Instead of taking jobs with more pay,
But they stood ready.

Some say they got free vacations to foreign lands,
Moving about and taking pictures like a tourist,
But they stood ready.

Many are told they are not "real" veterans,
Because they never saw a war,
But they stood ready.

But they knew the world would one day explode,
And their services needed for the fight,
And they stood ready.

And others they trained were ready to fight,
When the horror of war came along,
Because they stood ready.

[Phil Hirons, Jr.]

That is powerful.

Squadron Officer School discusses the role of the military as a deterant and as the "or else" in diplomatic exchange. Those who stood ready enabled our leaders to talk from a position of strength.

[MSgt Van]

LtCol057,
You raised your right hand and swore to defend....
Thank you for serving our country.