Looking forward to it. And you do know how much I love your VFW poem too. I'd love to see that one again, if it's okay with you.
Veterans' Day
- Thread starter Haggis
- Start date
Looking forward to it. And you do know how much I love your VFW poem too. I'd love to see that one again, if it's okay with you.
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41006
a lot of mileage on this one, Haggis, but here you go!
a lot of mileage on this one, Haggis, but here you go!
Thank you to all who served yesterday, all who serve today, and all who died in order to protect our precious freedoms.
Haggis, here is my dad's veteran's day poem.
DEDICATION
Me, no! I never cry --
That's the cold north wind
Blowing in my eyes.
No, it wasn't the flags raising...
Not the stone unveiling...
Not the families and friends...
The tributes we're paying.
No, it wasn't flowers they laid
Nor taps they played.
No...it's just the cold north wind
Blowing in my eyes.
November 11, 1995
DEDICATION
Me, no! I never cry --
That's the cold north wind
Blowing in my eyes.
No, it wasn't the flags raising...
Not the stone unveiling...
Not the families and friends...
The tributes we're paying.
No, it wasn't flowers they laid
Nor taps they played.
No...it's just the cold north wind
Blowing in my eyes.
November 11, 1995
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Perfectly said, aston.
Happy Veteran's Day to all.
Thank you for your service, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Happy Veterans Day
Thanks for starting this thread, Haggis, and
for your service. 
"Thank you, Veterans Day, for being a holiday to celebrate the millions of men and women who have served this country. You may only come once a year, but we're thankful for veterans every single day." --Jimmy Fallon, "Thank You Cards," The Tonight Show
"On Veterans Day we offer our thanks to those who served our nation and fought to protect us at home and abroad. And while our thanks cannot equal the sacrifices they made, we can seek to honor them in our memories and in our actions." --Veterans Affairs (formerly US Veterans Administration) "Letter to Veterans," November 11, 2018.
"This service you do not only helps the needs of God's people, it also help brings many more thanks to God." --II Corinthians 9:12, Holy Bible, NCV
Thanks for starting this thread, Haggis, and
for your service. "Thank you, Veterans Day, for being a holiday to celebrate the millions of men and women who have served this country. You may only come once a year, but we're thankful for veterans every single day." --Jimmy Fallon, "Thank You Cards," The Tonight Show
"On Veterans Day we offer our thanks to those who served our nation and fought to protect us at home and abroad. And while our thanks cannot equal the sacrifices they made, we can seek to honor them in our memories and in our actions." --Veterans Affairs (formerly US Veterans Administration) "Letter to Veterans," November 11, 2018.
"This service you do not only helps the needs of God's people, it also help brings many more thanks to God." --II Corinthians 9:12, Holy Bible, NCV
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Larry M
Banned
My wife's grandfather, Wendell, was, in 1944, an infantryman (private 1[SUP]st[/SUP] class) with the Texas 36[SUP]th[/SUP] Infantry Division. He took part in the amphibious invasion of Italy, and on February 9, 1944, was shot and wounded during the battle of Monte Cassino. He was captured by the German Army, and sent to a POW camp in Poland.
Eight days later, my grandfather Tony, a corporal with the New York 106[SUP]th[/SUP] National Guard Regiment, deployed with the 22[SUP]nd[/SUP] Marine Regiment to the South Pacific, was shot and wounded during the invasion of the island of Eniwetok. He recovered in a Honolulu hospital, and later returned to his unit for the invasion of Saipan, where he earned a commendation for bravery in combat.
Seven months later, on September 13, 1944, Charles, the father of a long-time friend of mine, was an Army Air Corp. bombardier in a B-24 Liberator. He was shot down near Mainz, Germany; captured by the German Army and taken to a POW camp (he was wounded while marching to the camp.)
The camp he was taken to was less than 40 miles from the camp where my wife's grandfather was held, at the same time.
In early 1945, both men, as POW’s, took part in a forced march, (known as ‘The March’) for hundreds of miles in the dead of winter, one of the coldest winters in recorded history. Approximately 3500 Allied prisoners died during this brutal forced march.
During the march, Charles noticed that a young farm boy had come to the fence at the road where the column of POW's were walking. The boy held several loaves of bread, and many of the prisoners tried to trade packages of cigarettes for the bread (they had nothing else.) The boy was clearly not interested in the cigarettes. Charles had a deck of cards in his pocket he had received in a Red Cross package, so he pulled out the king of clubs and held it out to the boy, who happily traded a loaf of bread for the card.
All three men obviously survived, and later had families.
Those three men were, for obvious reasons, part of what Tom Brokaw called ‘The Greatest Generation.’
Eight days later, my grandfather Tony, a corporal with the New York 106[SUP]th[/SUP] National Guard Regiment, deployed with the 22[SUP]nd[/SUP] Marine Regiment to the South Pacific, was shot and wounded during the invasion of the island of Eniwetok. He recovered in a Honolulu hospital, and later returned to his unit for the invasion of Saipan, where he earned a commendation for bravery in combat.
Seven months later, on September 13, 1944, Charles, the father of a long-time friend of mine, was an Army Air Corp. bombardier in a B-24 Liberator. He was shot down near Mainz, Germany; captured by the German Army and taken to a POW camp (he was wounded while marching to the camp.)
The camp he was taken to was less than 40 miles from the camp where my wife's grandfather was held, at the same time.
In early 1945, both men, as POW’s, took part in a forced march, (known as ‘The March’) for hundreds of miles in the dead of winter, one of the coldest winters in recorded history. Approximately 3500 Allied prisoners died during this brutal forced march.
During the march, Charles noticed that a young farm boy had come to the fence at the road where the column of POW's were walking. The boy held several loaves of bread, and many of the prisoners tried to trade packages of cigarettes for the bread (they had nothing else.) The boy was clearly not interested in the cigarettes. Charles had a deck of cards in his pocket he had received in a Red Cross package, so he pulled out the king of clubs and held it out to the boy, who happily traded a loaf of bread for the card.
All three men obviously survived, and later had families.
Those three men were, for obvious reasons, part of what Tom Brokaw called ‘The Greatest Generation.’
Never served, because others were brave enough to. Back to the founding of our nation, everything we have we owe to them.
This veteran was actually enjoying a day off on 11/11 and 11/12. Thanks to all for the kind words. Every year, I see the tributes, hear the songs, and the stories on the news, but for some reason this year affected me more profoundly than others. It happened when watching the news Monday evening - the first biting cold day of the year here in Colorado, and suffice to say, the turnout for the Veteran's parade was paltry. Yet there, in the cold, stood a senior citizen who had to have been at least 80+ years old...
His arm was snapped crisply into a salute as the TV voice over did their blah-blah speech and Taps was playing in the background.
Then I noticed a single tear escape from the corner of his eye. It froze on his cheek. He didn't move a muscle.
Then Taps ended, his hand snapped down, he did an about face and walked out of sight of the camera.
Who knows what caused the tear. Was it memories of comrades-in-arms? Physical pain? Or, was it just resolute sadness at what our nation has become? No matter the reason, my heart ached. I wept right there with him. My heart still aches today thinking about the chilling image of the guy out there alone in the cold.
His arm was snapped crisply into a salute as the TV voice over did their blah-blah speech and Taps was playing in the background.
Then I noticed a single tear escape from the corner of his eye. It froze on his cheek. He didn't move a muscle.
Then Taps ended, his hand snapped down, he did an about face and walked out of sight of the camera.
Who knows what caused the tear. Was it memories of comrades-in-arms? Physical pain? Or, was it just resolute sadness at what our nation has become? No matter the reason, my heart ached. I wept right there with him. My heart still aches today thinking about the chilling image of the guy out there alone in the cold.