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[Buttercup Roberts]

I know that one or more veteran's (including Gregory Matthews) read or post on this forum. 

I am reminded of the following quote today:

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms.  It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.  ~G.K. Chesterton

I personally want to thank past and present US Military personnel and their families for the sacrifices they and they peers have made over the years to preserve the freedoms those who post on this board continue to enjoy.

[GRAT]

Ditto!  My father served in WWII.  God Bless America!!   

[Snoopy]

Hey GRAT - My dad did, too!  He was a conscientious objector and spent a good deal of time in Paris as a medic.

Ditto!  My father served in WWII.  God Bless America!!   

[GRAT]

Hey GRAT - My dad did, too!  He was a conscientious objector and spent a good deal of time in Paris as a medic.


Mine was a c.o. and medic also and spent time in Europe and Africa someplace.  He didn't like to talk about it much but had bad dreams the rest of his life.  He was in "Hell on Wheels".  My children's other Grandfather was in the Navy and was on the first ship that went into Japan ( can't remember which city) after the A bomb.  Both are gone now and with them much history and untold stories.

Ditto!  My father served in WWII.  God Bless America!!   

[Buttercup Roberts]

I am almost certain my sister-in-law's father who passed last year was on that very same ship!  When we would get together for family events the stories he told always left me amazed and wishing for more.  I know my BIL spent a lot of time asking him to tell his stories to pass on to my BIL's grandkids but I am betting none have been written down. 

[Snoopy]

My dad has all the letters he wrote to my grandma when he was overseas.  Your comments, Buttercup, helped me to realize how valuable those letters are and how much I take for granted.

[Habanero]

Today I celebrate a man who was a hero, and who would have been a veteran had he survived the war he fought. That great man fought and died for me, but I was too young to know him and his sacrifice. Today I celebrate him as the veteran he would have been, and the great hero he was!

[GrandmaNettie]

Yesterday, I thought about my friends and relatives who have served this country over its many generations:

Two uncles who served in the Revolutionary War; the children of a Scottish ancestor who was "shanghied" on a business trip to London when he had too much to drink in a bar, and was a slave of Lord Baltimore in Maryland for many years.

A great-great-grandfather and uncle who served in the Civil War, one who "fought" for both sides as captured soldiers were sometimes forced to do.

A grandfather who was a band leader and photographer in WWI.

An uncle who was a POW in Japan for the final months before the Japanese surrender in WWII.

An uncle who was stationed in Germany during the occupation of that country shortly after WWII.

A friend who was a medic in Vietnam.

An ex-son-in-law and several cousins who have served in Iraq.

Christopher, a young man who I babysat as a child and who paid the ultimate price for us in Afghanistan a few months ago.

A grandson-in-law, who at this very moment is somewhere under the waters of the Pacific Ocean in the "boat" he helps sail.

I also thought about the many veterans who I got to know while the business I used to work for outfitted their vehicles and homes with accessibility devices to help them have mobility in their wheel chairs.  One, Al Parsons, laid for a full day on that beach of infamy with a bullet in his back that had severed his spine, surrounded by the bodies of his buddies.

I also thought about my granddaughter's friends, many who I came to know from their visits in our home for movie nights, birthday parties, slumber parties, who are soldiers in Iraq.

Of course I thought about Gregory Matthews, that gentle Chaplain who has served the emotional and spiritual needs of many other soldiers over his years of service.  And who couldn't think about fiesty J.R. Larimore, who is or was a member of this forum.

I thank each American who has served this country and pray that this country shows each one the proper gratitude and care that each deserves.