USA Memorial Day

[Shavru]

a simple request. Also, for those international members please consider your Military Service Members who protect your countries as we here in the US remember those of ours.

As we remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, Please hold all service men and women in your thoughts and/or prayers as appropriate for your own beliefs.
Also remember the families of these troops both current and past, and ask for blessings to fill their homes and peace, provision and strength to fill their lives.

May the members of the armed forces be filled with courage to face each day and accomplish each task. Let our military brothers and sisters feel our love and support.

They chose to sign up for service for many various reasons. But whatever reason they are serving, and whatever job they do. Please bless them.

As a veteran with many military family members in her past, I have seen how public perception has changed and how service members have gone from being the town hero where everyone smiled and offered positive comments and as it shifted to the return from Vietnam where veterans were publicly treated poorly. Spit on and called derogatory names. Now today most people in a town don't even know if one is in their neighborhood. They are ignored, forgotten even. They just don't matter to most people, who read a news article about the VA and think that is awful. Then turn the page and wonder about the sports score.

Today is a National Day to remember, but I request that instead of remembering only on 1 day. Do what you can to keep these forgotten service members in your thoughts all year long. As they fight to protect our countries interests. Whether you agree with the politics or the politicians and what they have the services doing or not. At least support the troops however you can and remember!

 

[Gehazi]

a fine sentiment, with the world going mad all around us, I sure am glad to be a citizen of the USA, though I never served and never will, I am appreciative of those who do in my nation's name.

probably not appropriate to say happy memorial day, but it is more than a long weekend. good post shav

 

[Jens Schuetz]

I've been a soldier myself and know many from many countries. Most either had to serve compulsory or did it for the money / college opportunities. None of us would purposefully sacrifice their life for their country. But who knows, maybe with the right propaganda in addition to threatening sergeants? Of course we all followed orders and if that means dying, so be it. But that's hardly heroic if not done by free will.
Real heroes are super rare and should be treasured a lot.
I appreciate American soldiers of WW2 and the Cold War.
Without them destroying Adolf I would probably be hunting rebels in Russia like my great grandpa.
Without American nukes and soldiers scaring the Commies I would probably live in communist East Germany trapped behind a wall like my parents.
So lots to be thankful for and also to the American tax payers who made all this possible.

 

[Shavru]

Jens,
I lived many years ago in the Nord Rhein/Westphalia region. Since it was technically not the location of American posts but British Army on the Rhein, we had just a single office building and lived in the towns around. Great compared to the huge US posts down south, we were actually living and working among the citizens instead of on little US replicas. I had a number of German friends I still skype with and try to stay in touch with as our lives have changed through time. I knew at the time that there was compulsory service in the Bundeswehr but thought it had been stopped? I always wondered if that had an effect on how citizens viewed the miltary. In the US these days it seems many think of the military as secondary citizens. They feel they couldn't get other jobs or why else would they be willing to go in? As you mention, sacrifice for their country? Not purposefully.
I traveled to Berlin twice before I reached a point where I wasn't allowed to travel through communist territory because of my clearences. I have never been more depressed than when I drove through East Germany. Even the grass seemed gray and tired. These days it is all changing and the area I once knew as concrete and depressing is a beautiful park full of color and happy teens/children. My friends at the time had trouble with Turk immigrants moving in and taking mining jobs and driving wages down (most of the area I lived in was a huge coal mine under it) I miss a lot about my years there, mostly the great friends I met who actually treated an American service member FAR better than her own countrymen once I got back here.