OT: To All Vets:

etp777

etp777

Joined
Aug 12, 2002
Messages
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"The noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and the war's desolation." Col Dubois in "Starship Troopers", though he was quoting someone else.


From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for the sacrifices you made, the time you invested, and the blood and sweat you shed so that we could live in this great country. Heard this song on way to work this morning, 'bout made me cry.


Letters From War
by Mark Schultz

She run to the mailbox
On that bright summer day
Found a letter from our son
In a war far away

He spoke of the weather
And good friends that he'd made
Said I'd been thinking 'bout dad
And the life that he had
Thats why I'm here today
Then at the end he said
You are what I'm fighting for
It was the first of his letters from war

She started writing
(Chorus)
You're good and you're brave
What a father that you'll be someday
Make it home
Make it safe

She wrote everynight as she prayed

Late in December
A day she'll not forget
Oh her tears stained the paper
With every word that she read

It said "I was up on a hill
I was out there alone
When the shots all rang out
And bombs were exploding
And that's when I saw him
He came back for me
Though he was captured
A man set me free
That man was your son

He asked me to write to you
I told him I would oh I swore

It was the last of the letters from war

And she prayed he was living
Kept on believing and wrote every night just to say

(Chorus)

Still she kept writing each day

Then two years later
Autumn leaves all around
A car pulled in the driveway
And she fell to the ground
And out stepped a captain
Where her boy used to stand

He said, "Mom I'm following orders
From all of your letters
And I've come home again."
He ran in to hold her
And dropped all his bags on the floor
Holding all of her letters from war

Make it home
Make it home
Make it home
 
Very well said and a great song. Thank you to all of you vets that do and have done the job so many of us are unable, and more often than not, unwilling to do. You are the driving force that makes this country great. Every mighty pen stroke by every powerful leader is another load to shoulder by our soilders. It is their job to leave their homes, to march and sail to distant lands, to deal out death to those that would hurt our citizens. A penstroke that can seem to weight thousands of pounds, but they hold it. They never wobble, never buckle, and never complain. They carry the ideals that make this country greater than any other in the bloody opressive history of mankind. We as a people are sometimes hated for our freedom, for our pride, and for our liberty to choose what desteny we desire... and our soilders die for that. I am honored to be in such company as the fine vets of the Cantina. Once again, a very heartfelt thank you from a generation that can often be thankless.

Jake
 
To all those who have served
At home & abroad;
Thank You.


~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<>call me 'Dean' :)-FYI-FWIW-IIRC-JMO-M2C-YMMV-TIA-YW-GL-HH-HBD-IBSCUTWS-TWotBGUaDUaDUaD
<> Tips <> Baha'i Prayers Links --A--T--H--D
 
One of my late uncles was a fighter pilot in the Pacific. Early on, the AAC gave our pilots POS aircraft to face the veteran pilots of Japan in their Zeros. He was the only survivor of a draft of replacement pilots sent out to the "Canal." All the others were killed in combat. He was shot down three times but somehow survived the war. After he died, I found this circled -- several times -- in a book of poetry:

"For how can a man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods."

I cannot recall these words without thinking of Harold as a young man, seeing death all around him but still going up to defend us.
 
My dad served as cadre, here in the states.

My mom's brother though was a pilot on a B24 Liberator. One of these days I'd like to find a place that has one and look at just what these men risked their lives in.
 
RUSTY?

You might check the Confederate Air Force (not a joke), which is a group of vintage military airplane enthusiasts. Er, the planes are vintage, not the enthusiasts. Uh, although, that does not preclude that some of the enthus..


nevermind


(here you go: http://www.steehouwer.com/midl/midland.html )
 
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/tour_b-24j.htm

Rusty, these guys fly around the US: a B-17 & the only flying B-24 left.

I've seen them twice- well worth the modest admission- and I always go to see 'em fly out. Just amazing, living history. For a steeper fee, you can go up in it. Worth it to the right person.

BTW one of my Uncles flew on the Ploesti mission... later went on to command a group flying out of Italy. He was shot down on his 28th mission. 4 men survived the war.. as pilot he held the plane level so they could all jump. He was severely burned when he finally went, was picked up- blind- and put in a POW camp in Northen Italy. They were liberated in '45 by Russian women driving tanks. He's alive today- I'll call later- but in poor health.

I asked my mother, "Why did he keep flying? After 25 missions you can go home. He was on #28." She told me, "All his friends were killed, so he just kept on flying."

AA
 
Jake,

I am afraid I did complain sometimes!

Tom

proudly served as a cold warrior under president Reagan.
Thankfully I saw some cold, but no war.
 
Tom, if any one has the right to bellyache at all it's the soilders whether they are in combat or not. The people that irk me are the one's that complain about the troops' jobs when they aren't even the one's doing the work. Bottom line is, that it's a real honor to know you all and bittersweet that it takes the loss of our soliders for most of use to appreciate what you do.

Thanks again

Jake
 
I am ashamed that we have let the Veterans Administration develop such a well-known reputation for cheap, uncaring and ineffective medical service for our vets.
It makes me sick.
We are happy to blow 50$million on the superbowl (maybe more) but we cant be bothered to make sure our vets get quality medical care.
 
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