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GrandpaNoob72 · 29-May-05, 10:09 PM

I don't know exactly where I plan to go with this, but it comes from the heart, so please bear with me...

Just about every holiday we have is commercialized to some extent. Chocolate and candy sales explode around Easter and Halloween, Christmas and New Year's, let's not even go there. Face it, we're a commercial society.

I just think that some holidays should be treated as such, holy (or at least honored as if they were) days. Case in point: Memorial Day. For our Brit Pimp Brothas and Sistahs, it's the day we Yanks honor/pay tribute to our fallen service men and women. To most Americans, though, it's another long weekend off from work, special discount sales left and right, and BBQ.

I personally feel very strongly that we should *actively* honor not only those who have paid in blood for the freedoms we enjoy (and sometimes take for granted), but those who stand watch on the front lines, at this very instant, as I write this. I'm in the service, but this post has much less to do with me than you'd think. My current job is to help train soldiers who will probably be deploying to Iraq or Assghanistan (as one of my bosses likes to refer to it), so that they have the most basic skills they need to complete their assignment and come home.

There are others whose assignment places them in Harm's Way, day in and day out. Some came in for the GI Bill, others to escape the life on the streets, and others pure and simply for "God and Country". Some joined before this all started, and some in spite of it. I don't ask you to agree with the people that sent them over to wherever. I ask only that you remember them day in and day out, and that you support them in any way you can afford to.

If you know a Veteran, go visit them tomorrow, take them some brownies or cake or just sit and visit with them. Thank them for their service, whether in War or Peacetime, you'll be amazed how much those two little words can lift someone's spirit. If you know the family of a Veteran, thank them for their loved ones' service... Help support them any way you can... Trust me, it will make the service men and women overseas rest easier knowing their families are cared for while they are away.

Finally... In whatever language, in whatever faith, pray that they will be kept safe, whether Active or Retired... I can't remember who originally wrote this, but I have it framed above my dresser next to my NCO Creed, so I can see it every morning and remember...

It is the soldier, not the poet, who gives us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the reporter, who gives us freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us freedom to protest.
It is the soldier who serves beneath the flag, who salutes the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who gives the demonstrator the right to burn the flag.

29-May-05, 10:09 PM		#1 (permalink)
GrandpaNoob72 Eleven-Bravo Sitrep Writer	Memorial Day I don't know exactly where I plan to go with this, but it comes from the heart, so please bear with me... Just about every holiday we have is commercialized to some extent. Chocolate and candy sales explode around Easter and Halloween, Christmas and New Year's, let's not even go there. Face it, we're a commercial society. I just think that some holidays should be treated as such, holy (or at least honored as if they were) days. Case in point: Memorial Day. For our Brit Pimp Brothas and Sistahs, it's the day we Yanks honor/pay tribute to our fallen service men and women. To most Americans, though, it's another long weekend off from work, special discount sales left and right, and BBQ. I personally feel very strongly that we should actively honor not only those who have paid in blood for the freedoms we enjoy (and sometimes take for granted), but those who stand watch on the front lines, at this very instant, as I write this. I'm in the service, but this post has much less to do with me than you'd think. My current job is to help train soldiers who will probably be deploying to Iraq or Assghanistan (as one of my bosses likes to refer to it), so that they have the most basic skills they need to complete their assignment and come home. There are others whose assignment places them in Harm's Way, day in and day out. Some came in for the GI Bill, others to escape the life on the streets, and others pure and simply for "God and Country". Some joined before this all started, and some in spite of it. I don't ask you to agree with the people that sent them over to wherever. I ask only that you remember them day in and day out, and that you support them in any way you can afford to. If you know a Veteran, go visit them tomorrow, take them some brownies or cake or just sit and visit with them. Thank them for their service, whether in War or Peacetime, you'll be amazed how much those two little words can lift someone's spirit. If you know the family of a Veteran, thank them for their loved ones' service... Help support them any way you can... Trust me, it will make the service men and women overseas rest easier knowing their families are cared for while they are away. Finally... In whatever language, in whatever faith, pray that they will be kept safe, whether Active or Retired... I can't remember who originally wrote this, but I have it framed above my dresser next to my NCO Creed, so I can see it every morning and remember... It is the soldier, not the poet, who gives us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the reporter, who gives us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us freedom to protest. It is the soldier who serves beneath the flag, who salutes the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who gives the demonstrator the right to burn the flag. Last edited by GrandpaNoob72; 29-May-05 at 11:06 PM..