It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.
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 freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.
Some veterans/heroes bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain haunted 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 alloy 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/hero just by looking.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 DaNang.
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 that 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”.
A Thankful Thanksgiving
The America we witness today has seen much sacrifice
This sacrifice for many, has meant a total giving of life for liberty
Do all truly realize what the human cost of freedom is
All citizens should understand what has kept us whole
Should it not be the duty of each American to know this
To become familiar with the reasons of why we exist today
The notion that “that’s the way things are” is ludicrous
When a firm explanation is so easily understood
We’ve survived because of faith, determination, and great sacrifice
The backbone of this country is the strength of its good citizens
Each true American is worth more than all the gold found in history
Selfishness does not rule their home, nor does it drive their thought
And don’t just look at our military as a magnificent force
Rather look at each member of our soldiered family with pride
“Ready, willing, and able” have been the finest of each generation
Whether in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, or any other place of danger
Whenever an American military presence moves into action
Behold the continuation of an outstanding tradition
Formed through freedom, it bravely faces all adversaries
And the flag under which it stands will always fly in freedom
We are and always will be one nation under God
He is the strength we have turned to time and time again
If we did not have Him, we would have perished long ago
God Bless America is more than a song, it is our national prayer
Finally, I wish each fine American a thankful Thanksgiving Day
May you truly realize what we are, and pray to Almighty God for continuation
Be ever thankful for our Armed Forces, and give them the total support they need
And please pray for all American families who have paid the price for freedom
When America had an urgent need,
These brave ones raised a hand;
No hesitation held them back;
They were proud to take a stand. They left their friends and family;
They gave up normal life;
To serve their country and their God,
They plowed into the strife. They fought for freedom and for peace
On strange and foreign shores;
Some lost new friends; some lost their lives
In long and brutal wars. Other veterans answered a call
To support the ones who fought;
Their country had requirements for
The essential skills they brought. We salute each and every one of them,
The noble and the brave,
The ones still with us here today,
And those who rest in a grave. So here’s to our country’s heroes;
They’re a cut above the rest;
Let’s give the honor that is due
To our country’s very best. By Joanna Fuchshttp://www.poemsource.com/patriotic-poems.html
When you see Old Glory waving in a breeze, When you hear the silence amongst the trees,
When you,to sleep, you lay your head ,
Your dreams can be happy, not filled with dread.
When you gaze upon a starlit night
And are not filled with constant fright
Because across the sky a star is streaking
And not a missile or mortar shell is shrieking.
When in your streets car horns are blowing
Instead of fires from bombs are glowing
When the sound of sirens means help is near
Instead “hide until all is clear!”
When a wreath is placed in Pearl Harbor
For those still entombed in the water.
When veterans cry remembering this
And all the friends, forever, they’ll miss.
When no one speaks while at “The Wall”
Where tears come freely to the small and tall.
Know that group of veterans wouldn’t quit,
Even though Americans upon them did spit.
When young ones ask about the flags
Placed gracefully over cemetery tags.
You tell them that veterans answered the call,
To keep us safe, one and all.
When a lump in your throat rises as “Taps” is played,
And a loved one, to rest, is laid.
This veteran’s sacrifice did ensure,
That America’s freedom would endure.
We honor our veterans because for their own reasons, they chose to serve this country.
We honor them because without them, this country wouldn’t be what it is today.
It may not be perfect, but there isn’t a greater place on Earth to live.
Author:
Ezra W. Sides
MMC(SW), USN(Retired)
11/09/05
The VFW of Suffolk County Council is asking all veterans, ladies auxiliary and anyone else that can be there to pay their respect for S/Sgt Bishop on Monday November 9, 2009, located at the United Methodist Church on South Ocean Avenue just south of Sunrise Hwy we want to line the street with as many people as we can at 0900 hrs . We want to see as many of the VFW West end post with hats there as possible and the East end Post please attend the burial at Calverton with hats, they should arrive there around 1100 hrs.
In addition the VFW of Suffolk County will pay their respect on Sunday November 8, 2009 at 1900 hrs at the Ruland Funeral Home on North Ocean Ave. just north of Sunrise Hwy on the west side of the Street
Funeral services for Staff Sgt. Keith Bishop of Medford, the Green Beret who was killed along with six other soldiers on Oct. 26 when a MH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan, will be held Monday.
Bishop, 28, was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, stationed in Fort Bragg, N.C., defense Department officials said.
Bishop’s body will arrive on Long Island on Thursday or Friday, Evangelist Pastor Glenn Diener said Monday.
A wake will be conducted from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Ruland Funeral Home on North Ocean Avenue in Patchogue.
Funeral services will be held on Monday at 10 a.m. at United Methodist Church on South Ocean Avenue in Patchogue. Burial will follow in Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton
Yours in Comradeship
Past Commander
Suffolk County Council VFW
Dick Woltman
For those who fought for it, freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
“Life without Soul” – (1915) a movie based on Mary Shelly’s (1818) novel: Frankenstein. You probably know the story/plot of how scientist Frankenstein strives to create life from that which is dead…and in creating this monster-is repulsed by that which he created…..
This concept of ‘life without soul’ came to mind when reading of yet another newspaper and their decision to publish/promote/sell pictures of a mortally wounded service man without consent of his family thus violating an ethics code for embedded journalist/media…. knowing/understanding the rules/ethics yet intentionally discarding them for temporal gain.
(The Associated Press in publication 8/14/09 Afghanistan as the New York Times 2/3/07 Iraq – links at bottom of post.)
In America we have the right to ‘free speech’ – (third article of Bill of Rights/US Constitution) http://www.constitution.org/billofr_.htm — those rights bought/paid/sacrificed by those men and women in our military service. Our men and women who volunteer to serve take an oath to protect/defend/bear true allegiance… http://www.history.army.mil/faq/oaths.htm our sons/daughters/neighbors take this oath and live and die by the ethics/code of this oath. Yet the media who operates in this freedom has sold their soul/ethics/humanity/credibility in violating in their “Professional integrity” in breaking their code of ethics. http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp ….. life without soul”
“I don’t believe what I read in the papers, they’re just out to capture my dime.” (Paul Simon) Penny papers, yellow journalism…censorship… NO …. Report, Review, Respect.
Enough on the media…
Ronald Regan words resound through this best…
That marine and all those others like him, living and dead, have been faithful to their ideals. They’ve given willingly of themselves so that a nearly defenseless people in a region of great strategic importance to the free world will have a chance someday to live lives free of murder and mayhem and terrorism. I think that young marine and all of his comrades have given every one of us something to live up to.
They were not afraid to stand up for their country or, no matter how difficult and slow the journey might be, to give to others that last, best hope of a better future. We cannot and will not dishonor them now and the sacrifices they’ve made by failing to remain as faithful to the cause of freedom and the pursuit of peace as they have been.
I will not ask you to pray for the dead, because they’re safe in God’s loving arms and beyond need of our prayers. I would like to ask you all — wherever you may be in this blessed land — to pray for these wounded young men and to pray for the bereaved families of those who gave their lives for our freedom.
“Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbours. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature. And we responded with the best of America — with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbours who came to give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government’s emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it’s prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts.
Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.
The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business, as well.
The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts. I’ve directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbour them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance.
America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.”
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.”
Patriot is defined as: one who loves and defends his or her country and one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests. Abraham Lincoln said: “Gold is good in its place, but living, brave, patriotic men are better than gold.”
“The American’s Creed”
by William Tyler Page
I believe in the United States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes.
I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.
–Written 1917, accepted by the United States House of Representatives on April 3, 1918.
“PROJECT 2996″ http://project2996.wordpress.com/ – remember the victims of 9/11 – the people who went to work and did not come home.
Carl Flickinger considered his work hours at Cantor Fitzgerald to be one of the job’s biggest benefits. Though he started at 7 a.m., he was home by 6:30 p.m. with his family in Congers in Rockland County.
Mr. Flickinger, 38, slid comfortably into domestic routines. Every Saturday, he shopped for groceries before taking his 11-year-old twin sons to the mall for new sneakers or jeans. In the evening, he checked his sons’ homework and read to his 5-year-old daughter. On and off the job, he drove himself. He would not just play an easy 18 holes of golf; he took lessons and practiced on the driving range.
Mr. Flickinger was a gadget guy, said his wife, Kathy, and he liked to buy the latest nifty devices as gifts for friends.
(above poem/letter-from book: “Do not be sad. A Chronicle of Healing. Children’s letters and artwork sent after 9/11 from across America to Engine 24 Ladder 5 FDNY” ISBN#: 0-941807-80-0)
Elena Ledesma
“A Family’s ‘Source of Light’
Elena Ledesma was the heart and soul of her extended family. On camping trips, she was the first to pitch the tents. She was the one who administered insulin to her 66-year- old diabetic mother and took her to the doctor. She was raising two daughters and working full time.
Ms. Ledesma, who was 37, worked at the World Trade Center as a maintenance coordinator at Marsh & McLennan. She was responsible for maintenance on Floors 93 to 99. The divorced mother of a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old, she lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her mother, aunts and cousins all lived in the same building.
“My sister was a giving person,” said Nelson Hernandez, her older brother. “She was always the one we turned to for anything. I had a lot of dreams. We were going to buy a house together for our mother.”
Belkis Mercedes, a friend, said she believed that many family members still expected Ms. Ledesma to reappear. “She was their source of light,” Ms. Mercedes said. ”
Karleton Fyfe’s mother had to be bedridden for the six months before he was born; he seemed to be in a hurry to get into the world.
There was so much to be excited about. Take the birth of his own son. He and his wife made it a group project. They sent family and close friends a video titled “It’s a. . . .” showing them going for the sonogram and at the end opening an envelope in which the doctor had written “boy.” When Jackson turned 1, they asked the same group to write something and seal it for him to open when he turned 18.
Then, because Mr. Fyfe heard that the terrible 2’s were caused by frustration at not being able to communicate, he taught his son sign language. “He was really living it,” said Tristin Laughter a longtime friend of the couple.
Mr. Fyfe, 31, really lived everything, applying the same boyishness and determination whether he was mastering Steve Martin routines or the curveball as a kid, or tackling projects as a senior analyst at John Hancock — the job for which he was traveling on American Airlines Flight 11.
Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on December 31, 2001.
Karleton Fyfe’s mother called his Brookline, Mass., home on Tuesday morning. She had seen the news of burning buildings and wanted to make sure her only son was not inside his 56th floor office in Boston.
He wasn’t, Fyfe’s wife, Haven, assured her mother-in-law. He was on an airplane.
Fyfe, a 31-year-old John Hancock employee and father of 1-year-old Jackson, was aboard American Airlines 11. The trip was for business.
Kansas City Star columnist Bill Tammeus had written almost all of his column–about the bombing–before he learned that Fyfe, his nephew, was a victim. “He’s the kind of kid that if there was anything that could have been done on that plane to help, he would have done it,” said Tammeus, who grew up in Woodstock.
and She called…
Blacks, Whites…wait
African Americans and Caucasians, Asians, excuse me.
Vietnamese, Philippines, Koreans and Jamaicans or
Haitians, waitin’, Hispanics, y’all.
Please be patient Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Venezuelan, Cuban, v Dominican, Panamanian, Democrats
I beg your pardon, you partied with the late, great Reagan?
Republican, Independent, Christian, Catholic,
Methodist, Baptist, 7th Day Adventist, 5 Percenters,
Hindu, Sunni Muslim, Brothers and Sisters who never seen the New York city
skyline when the twin towers still existed.
But still She called.
From the bowels of Ground Zero she sent this 911 distress signal.
Because She was in desperate need of a hero,
and didn’t have time to decipher what to call ‘em,
so she called ‘em all Her children. The children of the stars and bars who needed to know nothing more than the fact that she called.
The fact that someone attempted to harm us
this daughter who covered us all with her loving arms.
And now these arms are sprawled across New York City streets.
A smoke filled lung, a silt covered faced,
and a solitary tear poured out of her cheek.
Her singed garments carpets Pennsylvania Avenue and the Pentagon was under her feet.
As she began to talk, she began to cough up small particles of debris
and said, “I am America, and I’m calling on the land of the free.”
So they answered.
All personal differences set to the side
because right now there was no time to decide which state building the Confederate flag should fly over,
and which trimester the embryo is considered alive,
or on our monetary units, and which God we should confide.
You see, someone attempted to choke the voice
of the one who gave us the right for choice,
and now she was callin’.
And somebody had to answer.
Who was going to answer?
So they did.
Stern faces and chiseled chins.
Devoted women and disciplined men,
who rose from the ashes like a Phoenix
and said “don’t worry, we’ll stand in your defense.”
They tightened up their bootlaces
and said goodbye to loved ones, family and friends.
They tried to bombard them with the “hold on”, “wait-a-minute’s”, and “what-ifs”.
And “Daddy, where you goin’?”.
And, “Mommy, why you leavin’?”.
And they merely kissed them on their foreheads and said “Don’t worry, I have my reasons.
You see, to this country I pledged my allegiance
to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic.
So as long as I’m breathin’, I’ll run though hell-fire,
meet the enemy on the front lines,
look him directly in his face,
stare directly in his eyes and scream, “I AM AMERICA! WE WILL NOT BE TERRORIZED! WE WILL NOT BE TERRORIZED! I REFUSE TO BE AFRAID! I’LL FIGHT YOU ANY COUNTRY, ANY CONTINENT, ANY TERRAIN. I’LL FIGHT TO MY LAST BREATH!”
And if by chance death is my fate,
pin my medals upon my chest,
and throw Old Glory on my grave.
But, don’t y’all cry for me.
You see, my Father’s prepared a place.
I’ll be a part of his Holy army standing a watch at the Pearly Gates.
Because freedom was never free.
POW’s, and fallen soldiers
all paid the ultimate sacrifice
along side veterans who put themselves in harms way.
Risking their lives and limbs just to hold up democracy’s weight, but still standing on them broken appendages anytime the National Anthem was played.
You see, these were the brave warriors that gave me the right
to say that I’m Black. Or white.
Or
African American or Caucasian,
I’m Asian, excuse me.
I’m Vietnamese, Philippine, Korean, or Jamaican.
I’m Haitian, Hispanic
Y’all, Please be patient.
I’m Mexican, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, Cuban,
Dominican, Panamanian, Democrat
I beg your pardon, you see I partied with the late, great Reagan.
I’m Republican, Independent, Christian, Catholic,
Methodist, Baptist, 7th Day Adventist, 5 Percenters,
Hindu, Sunni Muslim,
Brothers and Sisters We’re just Americans.
So with that I say “Thank You” to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines,
for preserving my rights
to live and die for this life
and paying the ultimate price for me to be…FREE!
Charlie Daniels album: Freedom and Justice for All
Oh, the cowards came by morning and attacked without a warning
Leaving flames and death and chaos in our streets
In the middle of this fiery hell brave heroes fell
In the skies of Pennsylvania on a plane bound for destruction
With the devil and his angels at the wheel
They never reached their target on the ground
Brave heroes brought it down
Chorus:
This is a righteous cause so without doubt or pause
I will do what my country asks of me
Make any sacrifice
We’ll pay whatever price
So the children of tomorrow can be free
Lead on red, white and blue
And we will follow you until we win the final victory
God help us do our best we will not slack or rest
Till the last fallen hero rests in peace
Now the winds of war are blowing and there’s no way of knowing
Where this bloody path we’re traveling will lead
We must follow till the end
Or face it all again
And make no mistake about it, write it, preach it, talk it, shout it
Across the mountains and the deserts and the seas
The blood of innocence and shame
Will not be shed in vain
Chorus
God help us do our best we will not slack nor rest
Till the last fallen hero rests in peace
Born to Serve
“Firefighter Kevin Smith spent almost 20 years preparing for Sept. 11. When he called his wife, Jerri, that morning, his voice trembled with excitement, not fear.
“He was saying, `All my work during all those years and now here it is,’ ” Mrs. Smith said.
In the early 1980’s, Firefighter Smith, 47, became a charter member of the Fire Department’s hazardous materials unit. Then, after the first trade center bombing, in 1993, he was detailed to the mayor’s Office of Emergency Management.
He took on the most dangerous aspect of a most dangerous occupation because that was the kind of thing he had always done. “He just had this desire to serve,” said his sister Catherine. “And he loved being in a uniform.” He was a Boy Scout. Then a marine. He joined the volunteer fire department in Mastic, on Long Island, where he lived, and there met Mrs. Smith, an ambulance volunteer.
When they married, both brought children, eight in all, from earlier marriages. Each one inherited the same steely notion of service. One now is a sailor. One a marine. Two daughters are taking the police exam. And one son, Brian, who was a Fire Department emergency medical service officer on 9/11, was there, and survived, when the towers fell on his father.
“Sometimes, in my own self-pity, I sit and say, `How much can one family give?’ “Mrs. Smith said. She said she had been tempted to tell the world to leave them alone. But then she thinks of Firefighter Smith, so quietly devoted to family and work. “And there comes the pride,” she said, “of knowing we are all still following him.”
(Profile published in THE NEW YORK TIMES on March 8, 2003.)”
Todd Beamer dad to 2 young sons then 3 and 1-years-old, on his last call out from Flight 93 asked the operator to call his family, pray with him and they recited the 23rd psalm together, before Todd and others on the plane counter attacked the hijackers.
The LORD Is My Shepherd
23The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green [1] pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest [2] my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
I hear people saying we don’t need this war
I say there’s some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground?
We didn’t get to keep ‘em by backing down
They say we don’t realize the mess we’re getting in
Before you start preaching
Let me ask you this my friend
CHORUS 1
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn’t worry ’bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?
They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it’s too disturbing for you and me
It’ll just breed anger that’s what the experts say
If it was up to me I’d show it every day
Some say this country’s just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I’d have to say that’s right
CHORUS 1
Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn’t worry ’bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?
I’ve been there with the soldiers
Who’ve gone away to war
And you can bet they remember
Just what they’re fighting for
CHORUS 2
Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost
And those left to carry on
Don’t you tell me not to worry about Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?
Darryl Worley/Wynn Varble, 2003
September 11th, an American flag should be displayed outside every home (everyday), apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this anniversary of our country’s worst tragedy.
We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.
In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn’t take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.
LIGHTS ON…..9/11
Please join us on 9/11 all across this great land we love and call the United States of America.
September 11 everyone in the USA who will be driving a motor vehicle is asked to drive with their headlights on during daylight hours.
Though no explanation is needed as to why we are commemorating September 11, we hope more importantly to pay respect to the victims of that day, show our nation’s solidarity and show support for our men and women of the Armed Forces.
As you scroll down, notice the two twin towers on top
Here SHE is, the USS New York, made from the World Trade Center !
USS
New York
It was built with 24 tons of
scrap steel from the
World
Trade
Center .
It is the fifth in a new class of warship -
designed for missions that include special
operations against terrorists. It will carry a
crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines
to be delivered ashore by helicopters and
assault craft.
Steel
from the
World
Trade
Center was melted
down in a foundry in
Amite , LA to
cast the ship’s bow section. When it was poured
into the molds on Sept 9, 2003, ‘those big rough
steelworkers treated it with total reverence,’
recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there.
‘It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.’
Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that
when the trade center steel first arrived, he
touched it with his hand and the ‘hair on my
neck stood up.’ ‘It had a big meaning to it for
all of us,’ he said. ‘They knocked us down. They
can’t keep us down. We’re going to be
back.’
The
ship’s motto?
‘Never Forget’
Please keep
this going so everyone can see what we are made
of in this country!
George W. Bush
Remarks at the National Day of Prayer & Remembrance
delivered 14 September 2001, Episcopal National Cathedral
We are here in the middle hour of our grief. So many have suffered so great a loss, and today we express our nation’s sorrow. We come before God to pray for the missing and the dead, and for those who loved them. On Tuesday, our country was attacked with deliberate and massive cruelty. We have seen the images of fire and ashes and bent steel.
They are the names of men and women who began their day at a desk or in an airport, busy with life.
They are the names of people who faced death and in their last moments called home to say, be brave and I love you.
They are the names of passengers who defied their murderers and prevented the murder of others on the ground.
They are the names of men and women who wore the uniform of the United States and died at their posts.
They are the names of rescuers — the ones whom death found running up the stairs and into the fires to help others.
We will read all these names. We will linger over them and learn their stories, and many Americans will weep.
To the children and parents and spouses and families and friends of the lost, we offer the deepest sympathy of the nation. And I assure you, you are not alone. Just three days removed from these events, Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil.
War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others; it will end in a way and at an hour of our choosing. Our purpose as a nation is firm, yet our wounds as a people are recent and unhealed and lead us to pray. In many of our prayers this week, there’s a searching and an honesty. At St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, on Tuesday, a woman said, “I pray to God to give us a sign that He’s still here.”
Others have prayed for the same, searching hospital to hospital, carrying pictures of those still missing. God’s signs are not always the ones we look for. We learn in tragedy that His purposes are not always our own, yet the prayers of private suffering, whether in our homes or in this great cathedral are known and heard and understood. There are prayers that help us last through the day or endure the night. There are prayers of friends and strangers that give us strength for the journey, and there are prayers that yield our will to a Will greater than our own.
This world He created is of moral design. Grief and tragedy and hatred are only for a time. Goodness, remembrance and love have no end, and the Lord of life holds all who die and all who mourn.
It is said that adversity introduces us to ourselves. This is true of a nation as well. In this trial, we have been reminded and the world has seen that our fellow Americans are generous and kind, resourceful and brave.
We see our national character in rescuers working past exhaustion, in long lines of blood donors, in thousands of citizens who have asked to work and serve in any way possible.
And we have seen our national character in eloquent acts of sacrifice:
Inside the World Trade Center, one man who could have saved himself stayed until the end and at the side of his quadriplegic friend.
A beloved priest died giving the last rites to a firefighter.
Two office workers, finding a disabled stranger, carried her down 68 floors to safety.
A group of men drove through the night from Dallas to Washington to bring skin grafts for burned victims.
In these acts and many others, Americans showed a deep commitment to one another and an abiding love for our country.
Today, we feel what Franklin Roosevelt called, “the warm courage of national unity.” This is a unity of every faith and every background. It has joined together political parties and both houses of Congress. It is evident in services of prayer and candlelight vigils and American flags, which are displayed in pride and waved in defiance. Our unity is a kinship of grief and a steadfast resolve to prevail against our enemies. And this unity against terror is now extending across the world.
America is a nation full of good fortune, with so much to be grateful for, but we are not spared from suffering. In every generation, the world has produced enemies of human freedom. They have attacked America because we are freedom’s home and defender, and the commitment of our Fathers is now the calling of our time.
On this national day of prayer and remembrance, we ask Almighty God to watch over our nation and grant us patience and resolve in all that is to come. We pray that He will comfort and console those who now walk in sorrow. We thank Him for each life we now must mourn, and the promise of a life to come.
As we’ve been assured, neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities, nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth can separate us from God’s love.¹ May He bless the souls of the departed. May He comfort our own. And may He always guide our country.
The other day, I just finished reading: Flag of our Fathers. (written by the Navy core man’s son-whose father is immortalized in the famous flag raising photograph http://www.iwojima.com/raising/raisingb.htm on Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima…his dad had told him–the real heroes of that long battle were the ones who didn’t come back….profound….) It was a really good book–it brought Iwo Jima - Sulfur Island, the Marines, the Japanese and the history to life in a very real, personal level. http://www.amazon.com/Flags-Our-Fathers-James-Bradley/dp/0553111337#reader –with thoughts today on all the heroes of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Thanks Marine mom Pat for sending/sharing the video. Semper Fi.
“Here’s to the heroes,
Those few who dare,
Heading for glory,
Living a prayer.
Here’s to the heroes
Who change our lives.
Thanks to the heroes,
Freedom survives.
Here’s to the heroes
Who never rest.
They are the chosen,
We are the blessed.
Here’s to the heroes
Who aim so high.
Here’s to the heroes
Who do or die.
Here’s to the heroes
Who aim so high.
Here’s to the heroes
Who do or die.
Here’s to the heroes
Who do or die.”
The famed Navajo Code Talkers, the elite Marine unit whose unbreakable code stymied the Japanese in World War II, fear their legacy will die with them.
Only about 50 of the 400 Code Talkers are believed to be still alive, most living in the Navajo Nation reservation that spans Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many are frail or ill, with little time left to tell the world about their wartime contribution.
But on Wednesday, 13 of the Code Talkers are coming to New York City to participate for the first time in the nation’s largest Veterans Day parade.
The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms, helped the U.S. prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles, serving in every Marine assault in the South Pacific between 1942-1945. Military commanders said the code, transmitted verbally by radio, helped save countless American lives and bring a speedier end to the war in the Pacific theater.
They were sworn to secrecy about their code, so complex that even other Navajo Marines couldn’t decipher it. Used to transmit secret tactical messages via radio or telephone, the code remained unbroken and classified for decades because of its potential postwar use.
“We were never told that our code was never decoded” or given identities of the original 29 Navajos who created it, said Keith Little, 85, who joined the Marines at 17 and remembers crouching in a bomb crater amid heavy fire on Iwo Jima.
“It was all covered by secrecy. We were constantly told not to talk about it,” said Little. The Code Talkers felt compelled to honor their secrecy orders, even after the code was declassified in 1968.
Little plans to go to New York with the other Code Talkers, many of whom were young farmers and sheepherders and had never been away from home before the war.
“The code did a lot of damage to the enemy,” said Samuel Tom Holiday, 85, of Kayenta, Ariz., who also is joining the parade. He was a 20-year-old Code Talker when he and two other Marines went behind enemy lines on Iwo Jima to locate a Japanese artillery unit advancing on American forces.
Once the unit was located, Holiday transmitted a coded message to Marine artillery, which fired a big shell at the Japanese. After the Marine rifleman proclaimed it “right on target,” Holiday messaged “Right on Target” to a Najavo Code Talker in Marine artillery.
Though the Code Talkers transmitted information on tactics and troop movements, orders and other vital battlefield communications, they did not know at the time how those messages figured in the greater battle strategy.
Today “there’s a certain elation about” knowing how much their work affected the outcome of the war, said Little, who runs a family ranch in Crystal, N.M., on the Navajo Nation.
Before the code, the Japanese intercepted and sabotaged U.S. military communications at an alarming rate because they had expert English translators. American forces then devised ever more complicated codes, but that increased the time — sometimes hours — for sending and decoding them.
The code, based on the ancient Navajo language, changed that. In the first 48 hours of the battle of Iwo Jima, six Code Talkers worked nonstop, transmitting and receiving more than 800 messages about troop movement and enemy fire — none deciphered by the Japanese. What confounded the enemy most was that Code Talkers could use distinctly different words for exactly the same message.
Recognition from the U.S. government and awareness of the Code Talkers — even within the Navajo community — has been slow to come. It wasn’t until 2000 that the Congressional Gold Medal was bestowed on the survivors of the original 29 Code Talkers and silver medals on the rest.
At least five of the Code Talkers died just this year, creating an urgency for the Navajo Code Talkers Foundation to create a museum in their honor in New Mexico, near the Navajo capital of Window Rock, Ariz. It is slated to open sometime in 2012.
Yvonne Murphy, a foundation board member and daughter of Code Talker Raymond R. Smith Sr., who died seven years ago, did not hear of the Code Talkers until she was 16.
“I saw this outfit lying on the bed … a Marine gold-colored shirt,” she said, the uniform of the Code Talkers, laid out with some Navajo jewelry. But it wasn’t until she was in her 30s, “that I was able to grasp the whole concept,” added Murphy, 45.
The Code Talkers coming to New York this week hope to highlight their efforts and funding needs for the museum, slated to open sometime in 2012.
On Tuesday, they will visit ground zero and the World War II aircraft carrier the USS Intrepid, where they will give a proclamation on behalf of the Navajo Nation to Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“A lot more Marines would be dead right now,” if not for the Code Talkers, said parade chairman Patrick Gualtieri.
“Our language was used to help win the war,” said Holiday.
“After we’re all gone, there will be no one to tell the story.”
“In the battle for Iwo Jima, in the first 48 hours alone, they coded over 800 transmissions with perfect accuracy. Their heroism is widely acknowledged as the lynchpin of victory in the pivotal conflict.” http://www.navajocodetalkers.org/
I read an article today from the Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124727385749826169.html on a program from “Puppies behind Bars” that trains service dogs for different jobs-one of which is for daily assistance for Veterans who have post traumatic stress. Very impressive and needed. Champion dogs for heroes. The dog is trained and has to pass testing and certification. The dog mentioned in the story – Tuesday learned 82+ commands to assist with daily living and responds to the anxiety cues/clues of their person–helping them to normalize their breathing, creating a barrier between their person and the agitating sensory stimuli… Check out the article and site. What a great program. The WSJ has a video embedded in the story–just watch the interaction-it’s real.
“To apply for a service dog, please contact Puppies Behind Bars at 212.680.9562 and we will refer you to the appropriate service dog school with whom we have a partnership.”
USSREAGAN
Seeing it next to the Arizona Memorial really puts its size into perspective… ENORMOUS!
When the Bridge pipes ‘Man the Rail’ there is a lot of rail to man on this monster: shoulder to shoulder, around 4.5 acres. Her displacement is about 100,000 tons with full complement.
Capability
Top speed exceeds 30 knots, powered by two nuclear reactors that can operate for more tha n 20 years without refueling
1. Expected to operate in the fleet for about 50 years
2. Carries over 80 combat aircraft
3. Three arresting cables can stop a 28-ton aircraft going 150 miles per hour in less than 400 feet
Size
1. Towers 20 stories above the waterline
2. 1092 feet long; nearly as long as the Empire State Building is tall
3. Flight deck covers 4.5 acres
4. 4 bronze propellers, each 21 feet across, weighing 66,200 pounds
5. 2 rudders, each 29 by 22 feet and weighing 50 tons
6. 4 high speed aircraft elevators, each over 4,000 square feet
Capacity
1. Home to about 6,000 Navy personnel
2. Carries enough food and supplies to operate for 90 days
3. 18,15 0 meals served daily
4. Distillation plants provide 400,000 gallons of fresh water from sea water daily, enough for 2,000 homes
5. Nearly 30,000 light fixtures and 1,325 miles of cable and wiring 1,400 telephones
6.. 14,000 pillowcases and 28,000 sheets
7. Costs the Navy approximately $250,000 per day for pier side operation
8. Costs the Navy approximately $25 million per day forunderway operations (Sailor’s salaries included).
USS BILL CLI NTON
The USS William Jefferson Clinton (CVS1) set sailtoday from its home port of Vancouver , BC .
The ship is the first of its kind in the Navy and is a standing legacy to President Bill Clinton ‘for his foresight in military budget cuts’ and his conduct while holding the (formerly dignified) office of President.
The ship is constructed nearly entirely from recycled aluminum and is completely solar powered with a top speed of 5 knots.
It boasts an arsenal comprised of one (unarmed) F14 Tomcat or one (unarmed) F18 Hornet aircra ft which, although they cannot be launched on the 100 foot flight deck, form a very menacing presence.
As a standing order there are no firearms allowed on board.
This crew, like the crew aboard the USS Jimmy Carter, is specially trained to avoid conflicts and appease any and all enemies of the United States at all costs.
An onboard Type One DNC Universal Translator can send out messages of apology in any language to anyone who may find America offensive. The number of apologies are limitless and though some may seem hollow and disingenuous, advises all apologies &n bsp;will sound very sincere.
In times of conflict, the USS Clinton has orders to seek refuge in Canada ..
USS BARACKOBAMA Don‘t ask.
I would imagine most have heard/read/watched U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer show her contempt/disrespect of Brigadier General Michael Walsh-with his addressing her as: “ma’am”. ……. yet another day/incident of the disconnect-disrespect-clueless-vindictive-spiteful-contempt….treatment/slight of politicians directed toward military…
As a mom of a service man..with another son just about to enlist…and as an American citizen who understands that as a representative democracy–this Senator is supposed to be an extension/representative of me/us as American citizens… I can just “eat it”/do nothing/shake my head in disgust at the chronic/entrenched mistreatment/disrespect of our servicemen/women — or— I can spend a minute— inform and remind the Senator– that I (as a US citizen) find her behavior unprofessional and unbecoming a representative of the citizentry of America.
Black Five has an article on their blog-from a retired army officer-that explains the protocol of titles… (link at the bottom of my rant =)
Their article includes information from a Gold Star dad (Gold star–is given when a son/daughter dies in the line of duty..) who has an address to the Senator to connect her back with “We the People”…..
Eleanor Roosevelt said: “Justice cannot be for one side alone, but must be for both.”
I’m sending mine-as I conclude this letter to you. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Proud Navy Mom/grateful American Citizen
Here is her address/contact:
United State Senator Barbara Boxer
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3553
(202) 224-0454 fax
http://iwvpa.net/provincecm/
The America we witness today has seen much sacrifice
Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Venezuelan, Cuban, v Dominican, Panamanian, Democrats
The children of the stars and bars who needed to know nothing more than the fact that she called.
but still standing on them broken appendages anytime the National Anthem was played.
“Thank You” to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines,
