Veteran's Day

[jds1911a1]

For all americans who are members take a moment today to remember all who have served and especially those who have fallen in the Armed Services. And if you pray please pray for all in harms way still that they may come home safely

Thanks

John S former 2nd LT Armor US Army

[theantiquetiger]

especially those who have fallen in the Armed Services.

This should be done everyday!!! I just want to clarify today is Veteran's Day, a big thank you to all veterans, present and past.

Memorial Day is for all the veteran's who paid the ultimate price. This common mistake has always peeved me a little, just because of what the holiday is meant to be for. As a Desert Storm veteran myself, I have been thanked on Memorial Day for my serve, and I corrected them. Pointing out the fallen heroes today is not as bad as thanking all veterans on Memorial Day.

By no means am I attacking you. Thank you for your serve.

To everyone in harms way, thank you and come home soon!!!

[Mikey]

I mention this every year on Veteran's Day threads, and i'll keep mentioning it until I can't type anymore

Thanks to my my uncles who fought the good fight in WW2.
My one uncle fought in the Battle of Okinawa.
My other uncle was fighting German's in France.
Both were brothers and fighting on opposite sides of the world.
They both came home safely (thank god)

Also, a certain nephew of mine, who happens to be a Mego Museum member is a Persian Gulf veteran.

To all these brave men who helped make the world a better place.....
All I can say is THANKS.

[mitchedwards]

Thank you to those who have served, and to those that are currently serving

[txteach]

Agreed, all vets should be remembered.

Ssgt John Joseph Adanosky Air force 1985-1990

[toys2cool]

Special thanks to all Vets.

to my JROTC instructors who are no longer with us

Col.Bremer & Col.Epkins

[jds1911a1]

This should be done everyday!!! I just want to clarify today is Veteran's Day, a big thank you to all veterans, present and past.

Memorial Day is for all the veteran's who paid the ultimate price. This common mistake has always peeved me a little, just because of what the holiday is meant to be for. As a Desert Storm veteran myself, I have been thanked on Memorial Day for my serve, and I corrected them. Pointing out the fallen heroes today is not as bad as thanking all veterans on Memorial Day.

By no means am I attacking you. Thank you for your serve.

To everyone in harms way, thank you and come home soon!!!

Never would have taken it as an attack. Like you I know the difference betweeen the two days for the same reason. Too often these days become simply a day off. It's up to us to remind people why it's important.

Thank you for your service - I never faced the elephant only stood the line when we feared communism

[Vortigern99]

Thank you to my grandfather, Gene S. Walraven, who fought on the Beach at Normandy on D-Day, and at the Battle of the Bulge. He came home in a body cast; if he had died over there he never would have sired my mother, and I would not be typing this. Perhaps, if he and others like him had never served at all, the world would be a very different place, and I still would not be typing this.

Thanks also to my new brother-in-law, Kevin, who just left last week for his third tour in Iraq. My heart goes out to him and all the guys embroiled in this horrific and unending war.

[Flynne]

At times when I feel compelled to feel sorry for myself with regard to my job and the hours I work, I try to give myself some perspective by reading a snippet from a World War Two battle report that I keep on my office wall:

January 12th, 1945. Following report received from Company A for January 11th 45 : 1330 hours: 2nd platoon in position vicinity coordinate 492820. 3rd platoon in position vicinity coordinate 472808. 4th platoon in position vicinity coordinate 492820. 1445 hours: Sergeant Spain Wounded In Action --- remained on duty status. Sergeant Spain was standing alongside of road when a tank hit a mine. The concussion threw him approximately 12 feet and he received penetrating wound left cheek and laceration wound lower lip from mine fragments. Given treatment by platoon medical aid man.

Sergeant Vrygll Glenn Spain is my grandfather, who died of ALS in 1979. This battle report covers what was to become his third Purple Heart during WWII, having received his first two at the Battle of the Bugle and the Hurtgeon Forest. He was a Gunnery Sergeant for a Tank Destroyer Battallion, and he received his first two Purple Hearts in guarding retreats from German tanks. The operative thing to know here is that the Destroyer's main gun at the time was known to be ineffective at penetrating the German armor (the shells litterally bounced off) unless they were at point blank range, so the Destroyers were simply making targets of themselves to cover the retreat.

The Battle Report above was not only immeasurably worse than my worst work day ever, it wasn't even close to his worst day. The day the landtime threw him a dozen feet, tore up his head with shrapnel, and punctured his eardrum was a still a day to stay on duty (I try to remember this when I call in sick with a bad head cold). The wound he received at the Bulge left him comatose (from the concussion of a direct hit on his tank, which he survived only by being directly behind the gun when the shell hit) so that when he came to his dazed senses over 18 hours later he found himself in the "Dead Pile" in triage and had already been toe tagged. He forced his way from the pile and crawled to an Aid Tent, where he grabbed the ankle of a passing nurse, who ,turning to see an ashen colored man with a toe tag grabbing her, promptly passed out. He then crawled further to find someone else, who finally got him aid.

So when I begin to feel sorry for myself because I'm working 25+ hours of overtime, or that my boss is a jerk, or that my benefit premiums are going up, I try to remember than not only did my forbearers have to go through these things with the hope that no one else would ever have to but that they did so with the kind of humility that said "The real heroes are the men and women who never made it home". If a bad office is the worst indignity that I suffer in my career means that they have succeeded. I truly take my hat off to anyone who has ever served in the Armed Forces for all that they have done and have pledged to do in the future because you make our way of life possible.

[megoscott]

Thanks to all veterans. They gave us their best and we should do the same in return. If only it were so.

[Brue]

This should be done everyday!!! I just want to clarify today is Veteran's Day, a big thank you to all veterans, present and past.

Memorial Day is for all the veteran's who paid the ultimate price. This common mistake has always peeved me a little, just because of what the holiday is meant to be for. As a Desert Storm veteran myself, I have been thanked on Memorial Day for my serve, and I corrected them. Pointing out the fallen heroes today is not as bad as thanking all veterans on Memorial Day.

By no means am I attacking you. Thank you for your serve.

To everyone in harms way, thank you and come home soon!!!

I too am a DS vet. I also have been thanked on Memorial day (an honor I am glad not to warrant) and agree that recognizing every Vet on Mem day is a bigger mistake than remembering the fallen on Vets day.
The post starter here does seem to see the difference - just wants to point out the larger sacrifice of those particular Vets. I too hold special regard for those vets who are fallen.

Thanks all.

Remainder of my post took a while to write but I deleted it all because it is too hard to some up in an online forum and probably breaches the no politics rule anyway.

-B

[bmattioli]

I was greeted first thing this morning at work by a fellow Vet who said Thanks and I replied back Thanks to you as well....

Thanks to all you fellow Vets!!

Ssgt Bruce A. Mattioli
USAF 09 Mar 84- 09 Dec 94

[DocDrako]

Thank you Veterans everywhere!