DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum A Quick Salute to all current and former Military personnel

I would just like to take a moment to thank each and everyone of the members of the military be it former or current. I have a tremendous amount of respect for you guys (and gals if we have some on here). Both of my grandfathers served time during Korea, only one actually went to Korea. My father regrets to this day not serving.

Another reason why I posted this is that my younger brother just graduated college and after spending almost 3 yrs. in the ROTC at Furman U. will be commisioning on the 31st. After spending the summer and fall in Fort Knox, Fort Sill, and Fort Lewis he will be joining the 194th Armored Brigade in Fort Knox as a 2nd Lt. Even though he's my younger brother and we've had our differences in the past, I couldn't be prouder of him.

I've actually spent the past couple years debating the Air Force myself. It's the only branch I'm really interested in, and I've been told it's the most family oriented branch as well which is important to me.

Well maybe this wasn't as quick as I let on. And before I go, the following picture and message is supposedly from 1st Sgt Dave Jobe and I recently received this in an email.



The proud warriors of Baker Company wanted to do something to pay tribute to our fallen comrades. So since we are part of the only Marine Infantry Battalion left in Iraq the one way that we could think of doing that is by taking a picture of Baker Company saying the way we feel. It would be awesome if you could find a way to share this with our fellow countrymen. I was wondering if there was any way to get this into your papers to let the world know that 'WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN' and are proud to serve our country.' Semper Fi

R.I.P. to those soliders that have given the ultimate sacrifice, and many thanks to those that have served and those that are currently serving.

Thanks for the recognition of those serving and those that served, I served in the U.S.Navy 81-91.

With Memorial Day Monday we all need to take a few minutes out of our day to say a prayer for our fallen heros of past wars and a prayer that all our current men & women return home safe & sound, without past & present service, this country wouldn't be the great free country it is today, This country has it's problems, but were free becuase of so many.


All gave some....some gave all......Thanks to all who have served.

Yes, like OldSixty-Two said, Thank you for the recognition of those serving and those that served, I served in the U.S.Navy '88 - '08.

Thank you all for your service.

Air Force, heck yeah . If I had it to do over again thats the branch I'd have chosen ( stupid Army recruiter showing a young impressionable kid pics of those paratroopers got me instead ) . My gratitude goes out to all of the folks currently serving . Tell em we said it's o.k. to sleep in on Monday .

Thanks to all!

Every night when I say goodnight to my children, I thank God for those who fight to keep my family free and safe.

Had 2 uncles that were at Normandy.....and 2 sons that were Marines.....I want to say thanks to all our military past and present...

nordawg

Thanks for the post...

I have been in the Air Force for 13 and a half years and would be glad to answer any of your questions about the subject if you are serious about looking into this... Been a great decision for me and could not imagine doing anything else right now but unlike any other job, the sacrifices you make in the military are unique to us and it must weigh into your decision before making an enlistment...

Great post!



Far too often we go through our daily life not recognizing these heroes nearly enough!

Salute!

Right on! My dad was in the Navy during Vietnam and a very good friend of mine recently got out of the Air Force.

We can never thank our veterans and current members of the military enough!

Great reminder to all. I thank EVERYONE that has served their country to keep me and my family safe. I am very proud that of my two family members that gave their lives in service for our country. I am also very proud of my stepson's decision to serve as well. He is at Paris Island right now in basic for the Marines.

Salute!

Giessen Germany 2/92 FA and Ft. Benning (Martin Army Hospital and Jump School) EMT 91B-10 83-86.. .....My love and respect to ALL WWI, WWII, Korean and Vietnam VETS who made it possible for the rest of us to serve this country under this Grand Old Flag "Stars and Stripes FOREVER"...........

Thanks for the post.....As a soldier who is still serving I want to thank all of you for your support during my deployments. I am moving to DC this summer to teach at Fort Belvoir. No more deployments for me for at least 3 years!!!

Thank you to all those that have served (past, present, future).



To the long line of Navy men in my family... a special *salute* from me. Love you Grandfathers, Uncles, Great Uncles and various Cousins.

Thanks, Navy. We have written him daily and I know there are two Rs. Just a typo. Thanks for the heads up though, as that would be frustrating for him not to get letters when that's the only way we can communicate with him. To borrow a 90s phrase, good lookin out.

I work in a Veterans hospital and let me tell you, when you see veterans in wheelchairs and no legs...it is very sad to see!

It makes me realize that as a fellow veteran, I am a very lucky person!

Thanks to all of you serving today and have served in the past....this country could be in better shape, but it sure would be in a LOT worse shape if not for our fellow vets and active duty servicemembers!

A BIG SALUTE to all that are serving now, and all that have served in the past!

As Ozzy Osbourne would say, "God Bless you all!"

Yes, we are. I will PM you when it gets closer. He's 23 so he's legal. I don't know the graduation date. It was supposed to be July 18th, but he had an injury and is in the Medical group (don't remember the name) rehabbing a minor elbow injury. Once he's done, he goes back to where he left off. So, when I get a date, I'll let you know.

Cool, do that!

Good thread. Thanks to all who have served past and present. I know there a more then a few veterans on this board, and it is one of the reasons I come here, and thats because though many of us served in different branches, we all have one thing in common, we all supported and defended the constitution of the United Sates of America, and for that I am proud to call all that have served, or are still serving my brother and sister.

Have a great memorial weekend!

Thanks to all of you who have served, are serving, or will serve. You guys don't get nearly enough thanks.

I served in the U. S. Army Infantry from 1983-2004. My dad served in the U.S. Army Infantry in WWII.

Congrats to your brother!

God Bless all our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines!

History of Memorial Day

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

Local Observances Claim To Be First Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.

Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.

Official Birthplace Declared In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.

By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities.

It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.

Some States Have Confederate Observances Many Southern states also have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it on May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day January 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day.

Gen. Logan’s order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 “with the choicest flowers of springtime” urged: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

The crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was approximately the same size as those that attend today’s observance, about 5,000 people. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave — a tradition followed at many national cemeteries today. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.

The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation’s wars: “Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.”

To ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission’s charter is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

web page

Flying the flag on Memorial Day

On Memorial Day the flag should be flown at half-staff from sunrise until noon only, then raised briskly to the top of the staff until sunset, in honor of the nation’s battle heroes.

In the early days of our country, no regulations existed for flying the flag at half-staff and, as a result, there were many conflicting policies. But on March 1, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower issued a proclamation on the proper times.

web page

What Is a Veteran?

A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his /her life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact.

I loved this but it is too big to post:
http://i30.tinypic.com/eilehl.jpg

... and I just wanted to extend my heartfelt thank you for any and all veterans. I didn't see any other threads like this so I went ahead and made this. In remembrance of all of those who have given their lives for our country and for all of those who have served or are currently serving and defending freedom, from the bottom of my heart thank you.

I will be keeping all of these men and women in my thoughts this weekend, as I'm sure all of you will be. Just remember to take a minute or two this weekend to remember everyone that came before us and all of the people who have dedicated themselves and their lives to defending this country.

Thank You.

Army 1967 + 20 started off in the Nam .. To all who served , well done !

This thread is too important to get burried, especially today. If you cherish your freedom, thank a Vet...for me the sight of 37 body bags is forever burned in my mind, God Bless Them All.

I proudly wore the cover for the United States Navy. Thankfully it was during peacetime. But this day isn't about me or us that are living, but those who fought for our stars and stripes that never got to see home again.

Including my friend, Cpl. Jeffrey A. Boskovitch USMC. KIA 2 Aug 05 Haditha, Iraq. RIP buddy

Thank you for all that are serving and have served. My hats off to you all,including myself. USMC 97-01 and March 03-Sept 03. SEMPER FI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Dawgboy... I spent six years in the Air Force and highly recommend it to get a start in life, or as a career should you choose. It gave me discipline, education, skills, friends, travel, experience, a college education, a wife and a few best friends for life. I got out, finished college and got on with my career. My best friend just retired a year ago February after 30 years, he cross trained from administration during his first hitch into electronics and retired a Chief Master Sergeant, (as high as you can go in the enlisted ranks,) with 75% of his salary as pension, after a well travelled and illustrious career stationed in great places including Spain, Guam, England, Germany, Korea, Wright Pat and at the Pentagon, to name a few. Now, at 50, he works in the private sector making $100K+ in addition to his pension and benefits. Like I said, I'd highly recommend it if you're seriously thinking about it long or short term. My son is planning on joining in July.

All the best and thanks for remembering. Peace to all who fought and died, and to their families, God bless you.