Thanks to the veterans

[braumeister]

To all the vets out there, a heartfelt thanks for your service. Even though we only have one day set aside for it, we obviously think of it often. If not for you, we might not have been able to vote this week.

Also, although it's Remembrance Day in some countries, that's a different thing. In the US, we have Memorial Day for that. But believe me, you other veterans, we appreciate your service every bit as much!

One little personal note:
If you're like me and always feel a little embarrassed to take advantage of a discount offered to vets, please go ahead and do it. I have a friend who owns a restaurant and another who owns a small store. Both of them have told me many times that it makes them feel good when they have the opportunity to give a veteran a discount.

 

[pacergal]

++1
A thank you doesn't seem like enough, but it is from a very grateful heart.

 

[frayne]

Nice post and as a vet I use the 10% discounts offered by Lowes and Home Depot every chance I get. The other ones and free meals I don't. One year a fellow vet invited me to Chillis for a free meal on Vets day and when we got there the line was so long we agreed it reminded us too much of the hurry up and wait in the service and went to a local Mexcian restaurant instead. But to all my fellow vets here, happy vets days and thank you for your service.

Former SSG, Co. A 75th Inf. Bn. (Ranger) 1st Cav Div. Nam 70-71.

 

[mf15]

Thank You. What is interesting, is the number of old, and not so old vets on
Korean DMZ, and other associated facebook groups.
I have even found people from my unit when I was there.
Oldmike
A 1/15 FA,2nd ID Korea 1971

 

[Lawrencewendall]

A site I stumbled upon to help reconnect with former comrades is togetherweserved.com. I joined while it was still free. Don't know the policy now. Good place to input your units and see who else was there at the same time. Just a quick screenshot. Pics are many moons ago!

 

[Bigdawg]

thanks Braumeister. Happy 243rd to all of my jarhead brothers and sisters tomorrow. Also thanks for pointing out the difference between Vet's day and Memorial day. A few years ago I had to have a talk with our pastor. On Memorial day each year he would have the vet's stand up and be recognized. After the second year I sat him down and had a talk with him explaining the difference. Armed Forces Day is for active duty, Vet's day for those who have served and obviously Memorial day for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

To all of the vet's out there, thank you for your service. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Me-USMC 1990-2013, DW-USMC 1990-2012, DS-USMC 2014-pres, DFIL-USN 1956-1978, DN-USAF 2015-pres

 

[Dtail]

It is nice to see the turnaround in this country's attitudes towards Veterans vs. years ago.
Thank you all for your service.

 

[Anna J]

Thanks braumeister and all that appreciate our veterans!

My DW and I are both vets and like frayne, we mainly use our discounts and Lowes and Home Depot. I have re-connected with a few old shipmates from my time in the Navy and it has been great.

 

[Red Badger]

We got something special in Mooresville. We live ~10 miles away.

Home

As a vet, thanks to my brotherhood and sisterhood.

 

[Bamaman]

I too am so thankful for the sacrifices of our soldiers and especially their families during deployment.

I was in college during Vietnam and came up #330 in the lottery. My best friend is my cousin (my age), and he wasn't focused in his first year in college. He joined the Army and went into helicopter flight school in Ft. Rucker, Alabama in 1969.

My cousin assisted another chopper pilot in writing and publishing a book this documenting the life of a helicopter unit (The Lancers) in Vietnam for a year. I got a copy of the book and found the reading just fascinating.

I always knew my cousin was my hero. But after reading a chapter about his experiences, I appreciate even more of what he's gone through, including PTSD and all of the depression that came with it. In some ways, he's still fighting that war 48 years later.

 

[street]

Absolutely!!!! My dad and his brothers 7 total all were all Vets. I'm very proud of that family for the comment they gave for all of us.

 

[Gumby]

Veterans used to be more common, particularly in certain families. When I was younger and we went to holidays at my family or my wife's family, every adult male in the room would be a veteran. That has petered out with the next generation. Of my eight nephews, one is active duty Army and one is prior Army. My four great nephews are still children, so who knows how that will turn out.

 

[braumeister]

Veterans used to be more common

Also significant that their presence in Congress has diminished so much.

 

[ncbill]

Thanks to all vets as well!

I didn't serve, but my dad did & my kids will as well.

My oldest graduates/commissions next May...with a 5 year active duty commitment.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

A site I stumbled upon to help reconnect with former comrades is togetherweserved.com. I joined while it was still free. Don't know the policy now. Good place to input your units and see who else was there at the same time. Just a quick screenshot. Pics are many moons ago!

I joined them a few years ago, now they keep sending me notices wanting more money.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

It is nice to see the turnaround in this country's attitudes towards Veterans vs. years ago.
Thank you all for your service.

It all changed during DS #1.

In the 1970s I was in uniform and I saw the brunt of American hatred for servicemembers.

I was still on Active Duty during DS #1 and I was amazed at the change of attitude.

 

[mickeyd]

When I returned from RVN in 1969 all I received from many of my fellow American was chants of "baby killer" and "wish you were dead." It was quite confusing.


I am so glad that the current crop of war fighters seem to be receiving the thanks that they deserve for their service to a grateful nation.

 

[Koogie]

This story is making the rounds up here today. Good on our American friend and ally.

American trucker treats busload of Canadian veterans to dinner
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/ameri...QVvOID3sVlODrjBS4FAT0zg_SrSQn77ivocAnpEEtItQc


We only have the one day a year, Remembrance Day, and this year it is a VERY big deal up here being the centenary of the Armistice at the end of WW1.

This following project to commemorate it by the Royal Canadian Legion might be of interest to some here who are especially interested in WW1. I will be attending our local cenotaph tomorrow to listen to the bells.

100 Bells will toll on November 11th

On November 11, at the going down of the sun, communities across Canada will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with the ringing of 100 bells. The ringing of bells emulates the moment in 1918 when church bells across Europe tolled as four years of war had come to an end.

Bells of Peace

https://twitter.com/RoyalCdnLegion

 

[braumeister]

Beautiful story, thanks for that.

All this memorialization started in memory of the First World War, which we sometimes forget about because WW II was so much closer to us in time.

One of the most moving memories for me was visiting the town of Ypres in Belgium and attending the Last Post ceremony. It sent chills down my spine and moved me to tears.

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown.

Menin Gate

Since 1928, the "Last Post" has been played every evening at 8 p.m. by buglers of the local Last Post Association at the war memorial at Ypres in Belgium known as the Menin Gate, commemorating the British Empire dead at the Battle of Ypres during the First World War. The only exception to this was during the four years of the German occupation of Ypres from 20 May 1940 to 6 September 1944, when the ceremony moved to Brookwood Cemetery in England.

Last Post

 

[Koogie]

All this memorialization started in memory of the First World War, which we sometimes forget about because WW II was so much closer to us in time.

For me actually, WW1 resonates a bit more. In Canadian schools every year we have Remembrance Day assemblies for the children. Veterans come in and tell them about their experiences, etc..

When I was an elementary school kid in the late 70's and would go to these assemblies it was the WW1 vets and their stories that made an impression on me. Perhaps because they were already pretty elderly by then and were still tough as nails. Even the WW2 guys, who were still relatively young then in their 50s and 60s, seemed in awe of them.

Stories about the trenches conveyed the "war is hell" message pretty clearly..

Many thanks are due to them all, anyway.

 

[friar1610]

For me actually, WW1 resonates a bit more. In Canadian schools every year we have Remembrance Day assemblies for the children. Veterans come in and tell them about their experiences, etc..

When I was an elementary school kid in the late 70's and would go to these assemblies it was the WW1 vets and their stories that made an impression on me. Perhaps because they were already pretty elderly by then and were still tough as nails. Even the WW2 guys, who were still relatively young then in their 50s and 60s, seemed in awe of them.

Stories about the trenches conveyed the "war is hell" message pretty clearly..

Many thanks are due to them all, anyway.

Last month I was on a cruise that had port visits in Zeebrugge, Belgium and Le Havre, France. For Zeebrugge, I chose to take the tour to the vicinity of Ypres where we visited several WW I cemeteries and a fantastic museum. One of the cemeteries was dedicated to the Canadian Doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who wrote the poem "In Flanders Field" just a short while before he himself was killed. The cemeteries were British, so those buried there were Brits, Canadians, Scots, Irish, Aussies, Kiwis and Indians. Very moving, particularly when you do the math and see how young so many of them were.

I also took the Normandy tour from Le Havre and finally got to visit Omaha Beach, long a bucket list item, as well as the nearby American cemetery. I have to admit that I was actually more moved by the sites in Flanders than I was the Normandy beaches, although both were profound experiences.

For those who may not be familiar with McCrae's poem:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
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.

 

[Eagle43]

Last month I was on a cruise that had port visits in Zeebrugge, Belgium and Le Havre, France. For Zeebrugge, I chose to take the tour to the vicinity of Ypres where we visited several WW I cemeteries and a fantastic museum. One of the cemeteries was dedicated to the Canadian Doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who wrote the poem "In Flanders Field" just a short while before he himself was killed. The cemeteries were British, so those buried there were Brits, Canadians, Scots, Irish, Aussies, Kiwis and Indians. Very moving, particularly when you do the math and see how young so many of them were.

I also took the Normandy tour from Le Havre and finally got to visit Omaha Beach, long a bucket list item, as well as the nearby American cemetery. I have to admit that I was actually more moved by the sites in Flanders than I was the Normandy beaches, although both were profound experiences.

For those who may not be familiar with McCrae's poem:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
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.

When I went to Omaha Beach I was very moved and impressed. Amazed at how far the troops had to go uphill, while enduring machine gun fire. I did go into the Nazi bunkers on which you can see bullet pockets on the side. And then there were all the crosses in the cemetery Very moving. The allies, young men ftom Britain, Canada and America who risked their lives for our freedom deserve all the recognition they can get.

 

[Gumby]

This is my favorite musical setting of In Flanders Fields. I will sing it in church tomorrow with the choir.

 

[deserat]

When I was stationed in Germany, I took advantage of my time there to travel around and visit many historical places (all times in history). Verdun happened to be one of the more sober places...that battle in WWI was one of the most costly in human history - from 750K-1M lost in a year. The ossuary that had the stacks of skeletons that had not been identified was very depressing.

I am now reading Chernow's Grant and it is riveting. Our Civil War was another of great bloodshed. Our society (and most other western ones) have much less tolerance for those casualty numbers now. We rely much more on technology now to ensure 'stand-off' capability and the assumed lower casualty rates.

In any case, Happy Veteran's Day to all who have served. It is definitely a specific culture; one of service beyond oneself.

 

[deserat]

This is my favorite musical setting of In Flanders Fields. I will sing it in church tomorrow with the choir.

Absolutely beautiful - thank you for posting.