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The Memorial Day Weekend is upon us. I know that we are all looking forward to picnics,getting together with friends and family,etc. But, let's not forget the real reason to celebrate the holiday - remembering the brave soldiers,past and present, who put their lives on the line so that we can enjoy that most precious gift of liberty.

I especially honor the memory of my Father who served with the Marines during World War II. How I wish he was here so I could thank him in person.

Thank you to Rich and the other members of this Forum who have served their country in the past.

And, finally, a big shout out to members of our Forum family who are currently serving in the military, especially one SSG Kasey Schmidt.  Kasey  - YOU ROCK!! Thank you for your service and sacrifice. You make me proud to be an American!


Zee

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From "For the Fallen" by Lawrence Binyon...

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

/salute

Dave and I will be paying our respects to his parents, buried in Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell,
and all the other Veterans buried and remembered there.

His Dad enlisted in the US Navy in 1936, served in WWII and Korea.
We discovered after her death that Dave's Mother had also served, in the USAAF. She never mentioned it,
and we suspect she worked in Intelligence. She only told us about her work with the International Red Cross in London.
She certainly had many friends in the Intelligence field. Dave's Godfather, who was a great friend of hers,
was a Major in British Intelligence.
I guess that's why Dave went into that field too....it's in the blood!
When we saw her grave marker, we told Staff at the Cemetery we thought they had made a mistake...
..they said no, they had checked her records, she had served.
Here's a quote about those brave ladies in WWII, including Dave's Mom:

"Women served more successfully as part of the war-time Army Air Forces.
Nearly 40,000 served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps/Women's Army Corps as AAF personnel,
more than 1,000 as Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs), and 6,500 as nurses in the Army Air Forces,
including 500 flight nurses. 7,601 USAAF WACs served overseas in April 1945, and women performed
in more than 200 job categories."

At my church we have veterans from believe it or not all five branches of service ; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and even the U.S. Coast Guard. One of the World War II vets was a POW.

My grandmothers brother is a WW II vet. He became rear admiral in the Navy, he was on Admiral Nimitz's staff. He was in naval intelligance. He was among the many standing on the USS Missouri, in Tokyo harbor when the Japanese surendered.

Thanks, Zee, for starting this thread.  And thanks to the others who have commented so far.

I would just like to add my thanks to all vets, past, present, and future, for serving your country the way you do.  You will forever have the gratitude of a nation supporting you.

This Memorial Day I remember my father who served in the Pacific during WWII.  He was proud of his service, even though he rarely spoke of it.  He passed away 8 years ago this June and I think of him every day. 

He had quite a library of books dealing with military history.  After his passing I created a spreadsheet summarizing his holdings.  I made sure that his 2 sons and 1 daughter received some of these books - the ones that seemed most interesting at the time.  The rest, numbering near 1000 books, were donated in his name to the NYS Military Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY.  They were placed in their library for others to use in research. We feel honored that his name will be seen by many users of this library.

Brad T

Wow, that's awesome Brad...

US Flag Code:

http://www.usflag.org/us.code36.html

Specific to Memorial Day, for verticle flag poles, the US Flag shall be raised to half staff until noon local time. (Correct raising to half staff is accomplished by first raising the flag quickly to the peak, then slowly lowering it to half staff.)

At noon the flag shall be raised to full staff for the remainder of the day.

As always, the flag should be lowered, properly folded and retired for the night (or at close of business) unless lighted all night long.

On this Memorial Day, I want to tell you about two brilliant young women who gave all.

Captain Lisa Jade Head was a Yorkshire Lass, from a town I know very well.
She was a member of the British Army EOD Team, her unit was fighting alongside American troops in Afghanistan.
She had just disabled one IED. Then she took the long lonely walk to disable another....it exploded, causing critical injuries.
Lisa's wounds were treated immediately, then she was taken home to England.
She died in hospital in her hometown of Huddersfield, Yorkshire, surrounded by her family.
She was described as the heart and soul of the party, well known for her kindness, sense of humour and Yorkshire wit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnE_DYyo0Oo&feature=related

Captain Lisa Jade Head, RIP:

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26-year old Corporal Sarah Bryant was in the British Army Intelligence Corps. She had been married for 2 years.
She and 3 male SAS troops were killed by a roadside IED in Afghanistan.

This is how Sarah and her 3 colleagues were brought home:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sQo9DKtaEo&feature=related

Corporal Sarah Bryant, RIP:

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HroXndZ3mk&feature=related

Tonight live on PBS, a memorial Day Concert with a fantastic star-studded line-up,
including Hayley Westenra.

An American Tradition Honoring Our Servicemen and Women

Live on PBS from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol in High Definition!

Sunday, May 29th, from 8:00 to 9:30 pm ET (check local listings).

The Performers

The 2011 National Memorial Day Concert features award-winning stars and well-known personalities:
Gary Sinise
Joe Mantegna
General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.)
Kris Allen
Dianne Wiest
B.B. King
***Hayley Westenra***
Forest Whitaker
Jason Ritter
Pia Toscano
A.J. Cook
Daniel Rodriguez
Yolanda Adams
Maestro Jack Everly
The National Symphony Orchestra
Military District of Washington
U.S. Army Herald Trumpets
The U.S. Army Chorus
The Soldiers’ Chorus of The United States Army Field Band
U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters
U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants
Behind the Scenes: Our award-winning production team

Taps
   
Day is done, gone the sun,
From the lake, from the hills, from the sky;
All is well, safely rest, God is nigh.

Fading light, dims the sight,
And a star gems the sky, gleaming bright.
From afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.

Thanks and praise, for our days,
'Neath the sun, 'neath the stars, neath the sky;
As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

Sun has set, shadows come,
Time has fled, Scouts must go to their beds
Always true to the promise that they made.

While the light fades from sight,
And the stars gleaming rays softly send,
To thy hands we our souls, Lord, commend.

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(http://lisakellyfan.com/nam/vietnam_medic.jpg)

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I served in the US Air Force from July 1984 - July 1994. I was at a pilot training base in Mississippi, Columbas AFB . They figured during that time I helped train over 3000 US Air Force pilots, and some from other countries .

Today also in my town of Alton , Illinois, we had our anual Memorial Day Parade. This parade from what I've heard is the oldest in the US. Today was the 144th yr of the parade.

The National Memorial Day Concert 2017 is tonight at 8pm ET on PBS.  (Check local listings)

http://www.pbs.org/national-memorial-day-concert/home/

Performers include Ronan Tynan and Vanessa Williams.

Thanks  for  the  heads  up Jim....  wow... Ronan  Tynan  !       8)    That  reminds  me  of  this....   https://youtu.be/1iUitBNakj0