With Memorial Day upon us, we are reminded of those who answered the call to defend America. These brave men and women stood guard over this great country in times of peace, fought to defend her in times of war, and, through their efforts and their sacrifices, made possible the rights that we cherish on a daily basis.
According to the Department of Defense, 41,891,368 of our fellow citizens have served our country, 1,190,109 of those died in that service.
Thank you for your service and your sacrifice.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
41,891,368. . . 1,190,109
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6 comments:
Thank you, Andrew!
Often, and especially on Memorial Day, I think about and remember the shipmates I have known and lost.
And the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, And Coast Guard men and women who gave their all to protect our Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness (property).
God bless them and their families.
I raise a glass in their honor, and salute them all.
Nice blog you have hear. I see Lawhawk is here as well. I'm certainly gonna add you guys to my list of must read blogs. :^)
Ben,
Thanks for dropping by, please feel free to come back any time! Good luck with the puppy -- that brought a real smile to my face! :-)
And thank you for keeping the rest of us safe and free. You and your shipmates epitomize the best of all of us.
I will join you in your toast!
Well said USS Ben, very well said indeed.
I'll be joining you tomorrow in raising a glass, saying a prayer and throwing a salute to friends and family lost.
Yes, Captain, definitely some prayers.
I learned that custom while on shore duty in Fallon, Nevada.
Our division Master Chief would ask us to help with funerals for departed veterans, and we would go in dress uniform to assist as honor guards usually, and setting up chairs and the like.
Afterwords we would head on over to the local bar and raise our glasses or beers to our departed shipmates, soldiers, or airmen.
It was never flippant or a chance to party, and quite an honor.
Master Chief taught us far more than our jobs, God bless him. :^)
Ben that's a great thing that you guys did. By any chance did you get to see the HBO movie "Taking Chance" with Kevin Bacon about the Marine Colonel who was on escort duty for a fallen Marine back home for burial? It was not only excellent, but also very respectful, if you haven't seen it I'd highly recommend it.
Whenever I've been able to get to a funeral in the family with an honor guard, and there have been plenty, even though thankfully mostly due to old age as the World War II generation passed on, I make sure to thank the honor guard and go for a few drinks with them afterward. So I know exactly what you mean about how those sort of events unfold.
And your Master Chief done good, definitely.
I never would have watched "Taking Chance" until I saw them talk about it at Big Hollywood. I am really glad I did -- very well done.
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