Please take a moment today to say thank you to who have served or are serving now. Whether you believe in war or not, freedom isn't free.
I'd like to send a shout out to Angelo!!!!!!!!!! Thank you my friend!!!!!!!!!! You da man!!!!!!! zoom zoom mazda 3!
Thank you to all the Veterans for your service to our country. We join the rest of the nation on Veterans Day in remembering the sacrifices of America's over 25 million veterans and expressing our appreciation for your service for this great country. Remember support your Veterans and their family's in any way you can. I did my 20 years from the fall of Saigon to Desert Shield / Desert Storm and to my recall to active duty for 9/11, I would like to say thank you to all my brothers / sisters in arms who put the time and sacrifice for their country. Thanks Cooter, you are a great friend and brother detailer!
Great thread!! The sacrifices of those before and currently must not ever be forgotten...now more than ever!
Great thread. Yes, remember all veterans today and thank a soldier for the freedoms we all enjoy! Here's my grandfather at the WWII Memorial in DC:
I am prior-service, and would like to thank all those overseas right now, and remember the fallen at Ft. Hood.
Thank you to all that proudly serv/served this country. Freedom isn't free, but thanks to you it is possible. God bless you and your families.
Nothing but respect eace: Still amazes me the amount of deaths, knowledge, ingenuity and the will power of those that sacrificed so much for us all...nothing but respect.
here's a great way to send more to see it: Honor Flight Network it breaks my heart every time I think of the clip they showed of a vet with their program at the memorial almost in tears saying "I thought we'd been forgotten" good story about the way it got started: About Honor Flight Network - The History of Honor Flight It is good to stop and remember what they went through so we could be free. A chill went up my spine recently listening to "the war" where a soldier talked about talking with a German soldier that had been captured. After the German showed very intricate knowledge about the hometown the soldier came from he revealed that he was in "the training program for the administration of the territories" meaning he was training to help run a section of the US once it was defeated.
Saw that on CNN this morning and got me kind of sad hearing that some of them never have seen the memorial.
What these vets do and have done for us means the world to me. This Veterans day is a little more sad for me as my Grandfather who was a WWII vet that was at the storming of the beach at Normandy, fought in 7 major conflicts, was captured and taken POW for 9 months and won the Purple Heart and Bronze Star passed away in June. He only had an 8th grade education but taught me so much about the History of our great Country and what it really cost to have freedom. My Dad was a Vietnam Vet that enlisted to go to Vietnam to defend this Nation and I don't think I've ever had a more moving moment than when he was presented my Grandfather's flag from his casket and he got up and gave it to me. So from a very grateful citizen of this Nation I say Thank You to all those that have and still serve!
Yes, the Honor Flight network is an A+ organization. The pic I posted earlier today was taken as part of the Central Missouri Honor Flight that my grandfather had earlier in October. My father and I flew out there to be with him. Great time and highly recommended to all veterans. It is amazing what they can put together while tending to 85+ old veterans all with varying degrees of medical care.
great to hear some first hand feedback on the Honor flight network. JLs, hopefully as the heros pass people won't forget what they did. As a POW I'm sure he saw and went through things I wouldn't want to try to imagine. Usually when reading about things I/we have a tendency to go to ourselves "I could do that" but that generation was cut from different cloth than many in the generations since and I'll admit that many things they experienced would have broke me. Some of the accounts I've read help put what I think is a bad day into real perspective. Recently listened to "the war" on CD (based off a TV special) and they said the decided to do the special because a large portion of high school seniors though that in WWII we fought against Russia with the Germans. It is ironic that as a Kid the early 1940s seemed so far away and as I get older and perspective on time changes it actually seem less far away.
invaderzim, you are so right. My Grandfather never talked about what he went through in the POW camp much at all while I was growing up. When my daughter was born 10 years ago I went to his house and told him that kids in her generation were probably never going to know what really happened in WWII. I asked if he would mind recounting his experiences in the conflicts, the capture, and his time in the POW camp so I could tell her as she got older what really happened and what great sacrifices were made for her freedom. As we sat there over the next few hours he talked and I wrote and he cried and I felt sick to my stomach a lot. When we were done I was emotionally drained as was he, but I have never been more proud of anyones accomplishments than I was of his that day. When he died back in June and we had the military funeral, my little girl started to ask questions about her PaPa and what happened to him. We sat there and I explained exactly what he had done for this country. She has a small plastic American Flag of his that she so proudly displays in her room in honor of him. One thing I know for sure is his accomplishments and tribulations helped make sure that at least one youth in this country "gets it".
To all the men that have served this great country of ours, thank you from the bottom of my heart. It would be a different world with out the sacrifices you made.
Great pics above. For a more detailed writeup on our recent experience with the Honor Flight, see this link: Reporting back from Honor Flight experience - World War II Forums
