Tribute to fallen soldiers.

[DarkSkies]

I belatedly opened this. It came from Mike Nashif, who runs Operation "Take a Soldier Fishing".
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=1628

The Memorial day message coming from a veteran such as Mike, who was in the Operation Iraqui Freedom (OIF) conflict, was moving. So I thought I would post it here. Thanks for sending it, Mike!

Thanks to all the soldiers past and present, and Mike and his fellow soldiers. and their families for the sacrifices you have made for this country.



***********************


Here are some pictures that were given to me when I was in Iraq during OIF II back in 2004. They were inspirational then and I think they are inspirational now. They have stood the test of time a lot like the will of the American People despite war and things that should be considered acts of war.

Let us remember what today is about and remember those that have given their lives and paid the Ultimate Sacrifice for our country. I am not going to make this a long drawn out email because the only thing I would like for you to do is pick at least one person that you know that has given their life for our Country and say their name out loud in Remembrance.

In loving memory of SPC Charles Odums II – Combat Medic who died while on night patrol in SE Baghdad in 2004 by a roadside bomb. Father, Husband, soldier and friend.

In loving memory of SPC Raymond White – Cav Scout who died when his convoy was ambushed. He died squeezing the trigger in SE Baghdad in 2004 – Friend and soldier.

Please also take the time to remember all the people that lost their lives when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers. Feel the heat from the flames and smell the smoke from the fuel. Listen to the screams and taste the dust and ash. Don’t lose focus as to why we are at war with terrorists because they will always be there hiding and waiting cowardly in the shadows. Pretending to be something they are not and wishing they were something that they very well could possibly be…. FREE.

If you feel this worthy then pass it along otherwise just say the names you know out loud.

May you Rest In Peace as you are not Forgotten.

Freedom Isn’t Free

Thank you

[DarkSkies]

I belatedly opened this. It came from Mike Nashif, who runs Operation "Take a Soldier Fishing".
http://stripersandanglers.com/Forum/...ead.php?t=1628

The Memorial day message coming from a veteran such as Mike, who was in the Operation Iraqui Freedom (OIF) conflict, was moving. So I thought I would post it here. Thanks for sending it, Mike!

Thanks to all the soldiers past and present, and Mike and his fellow soldiers. and their families for the sacrifices you have made for this country.



***********************


Here are some pictures that were given to me when I was in Iraq during OIF II back in 2004. They were inspirational then and I think they are inspirational now. They have stood the test of time a lot like the will of the American People despite war and things that should be considered acts of war.

Let us remember what today is about and remember those that have given their lives and paid the Ultimate Sacrifice for our country. I am not going to make this a long drawn out email because the only thing I would like for you to do is pick at least one person that you know that has given their life for our Country and say their name out loud in Remembrance.

In loving memory of SPC Charles Odums II – Combat Medic who died while on night patrol in SE Baghdad in 2004 by a roadside bomb. Father, Husband, soldier and friend.

In loving memory of SPC Raymond White – Cav Scout who died when his convoy was ambushed. He died squeezing the trigger in SE Baghdad in 2004 – Friend and soldier.

Please also take the time to remember all the people that lost their lives when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers. Feel the heat from the flames and smell the smoke from the fuel. Listen to the screams and taste the dust and ash. Don’t lose focus as to why we are at war with terrorists because they will always be there hiding and waiting cowardly in the shadows. Pretending to be something they are not and wishing they were something that they very well could possibly be…. FREE.

If you feel this worthy then pass it along otherwise just say the names you know out loud.

May you Rest In Peace as you are not Forgotten.

Freedom Isn’t Free

Thank you

Mike Nashif runs the original "Take a Soldier Fishing" Project, along with a few others, out of Fort Hood, Tx.
Thought I would bump his post as well.
His words about our soldiers who have given their lives to this country on Memorial Day Weekend, are more compelling than anything I could ever write.

Thanks Mike, and thanks for all you and your Group do.
And above all, thanks to all the Fallen Soldiers who have sacrificed their lives for our country, for that is what Memorial Day is truly about.......

[storminsteve]

Powerful stuff. Thanks to all the soldiers. That is the true meaning of Memorial Day. Amen.

[albiealert]

How true. Thank you for posting that.

[captnemo]

The longest wait - WWII Widow's Journey


http://www.youtube.com/embed/8TT1XFS1LA0

[DarkSkies]

Sent in by OGB, thanks!

The Wall

A little history most people will never know.
Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

* There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

* The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.





The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.




There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.



39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.



8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.
12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.



5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.



One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.



997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam ..



1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam ..



31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.



Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.



54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.



8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.



244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.



Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.



West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.



The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football an d basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.



The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Th anksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.



The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.



The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.



For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.



Please pass this on to those who served during this time, and those who DO Care.

[captnemo]

That was moving DS. Thanks for posting. One that I got in my e-mail.

Chris Kyle #1 sniper, RIP


Patriotism, Texas and Chris Kyle

I just wanted to share with you all that out of a horrible tragedy we were blessed by so many people. Chris was Derek's teammate through 10 years of training and battle. They both suffer/suffered from PTSD to some extent and took great care of each other because of it. 2006 in Ramadi was horrible for young men that never had any more aggressive physical contact with another human than on a Texas football field. They lost many friends. Chris became the armed services number #1 sniper of all time. Not something he was happy about other than the fact that in doing so he saved a lot of American lives. Three years ago, his wife Taya asked him to leave the SEAL teams as he had a huge bounty on his head by Al Qaeda. He did and wrote the book The American Sniper. 100% of the proceeds from the book went to two of the SEAL families who had lost their son in Iraq . That was the guy Chris was. He formed a company in Dallas to train military, police and I think firemen as far as protecting themselves in difficult situations. He also formed a foundation to work with military people suffering from PTSD. Chris was a giver not a taker. He along with a friend and neighbor, Chad Littlefield, were murdered trying to help a young man that had served 6 months in Iraq and claiming to have PTSD.

Now I need to tell you about all of the blessings. Southwest Airlines flew in any SEAL and their family from any airport they flew into free of charge. The employees donated buddy passes and one lady worked for 4 days without much of a break to see that it happened. Volunteers were at both airports in Dallas to drive them to the hotel. The Marriott reduced their rates to $45 a night and cleared the hotel for only SEALs and family. The Midlothian , TX. police department paid the $45 a night for each room. I would guess there were about 200 people staying at the hotel. 100 of them SEALs. Two large buses were chartered to transport people to the different events and they also had a few rent cars. The police and secret service were on duty 24 hours during the stay at our hotel.

At the house the Texas DPS parked a large motor home in front to block the view from reporters. It remained there the entire 5 days for the SEALs to congregate in and all to use the restroom so as not to have to go in the house. Taya, their two small children and both sets of parents were staying in the home. Only a hand full of SEALs went into the home as they had different duties and meetings were held sometimes on a hourly basis. It was a huge coordination of many different events and security. Derek was assigned to be a pall bearer, to escort Chris' body when it was transferred from Midlothian Funeral Home to Arlington Funeral Home and to be with Taya. Tough job. Taya seldom came out of her bedroom. The home was full with people from the church and other family members that would come each day to help. I spent one morning in a bedroom with Chris' mom and the next morning with Chad Littlefield's parents (the other man murdered with Chris). Tough job.

Nolan Ryan sent his cooking team, a huge grill and lots of steaks, chicken and hamburgers. They set up in the front yard and fed people all day long. The 200 SEALs and their family. The next day a BBQ restaurant set up a buffet in front of the house and fed all once again. Food was plentiful and all were taken care of. The church kept those inside the house well fed.

Jerry Jones, the man everyone loves to hate, was a rock star. He donated use of Cowboy Stadium for the services as it was determined that so many wanted to attend. The charter buses transported us to the stadium on Monday at 10:30. Every car, bus, motorcycle was searched with bomb dogs and police. I am not sure if kooks were making threats trying to make a name for themselves or if so many SEALs in one place was a security risk...I don't know. We willing obliged. No purses into stadium! We were taken to The Legends room high up and a large buffet was available. That was about 300 people. We were growing. A Medal of Honor recipient was there, lots of secret service and police and Sarah Palin and her husband. The service started at 1:00 and when we were escorted onto the field I was shocked. We heard about 10,000 people had come to attend also. They were seated in the stadium seats behind us. It was a beautiful and emotional service. Bagpipe and drum corps was wonderful and the A&M men’s choir stood through the entire service and sang right at the end. We were all in tears.

The next day was the 200 miles procession from Midlothian, TX. to Austin for burial. It was a cold, drizzly, windy day, but the people were out. We had dozens of police motorcycles riders, freedom riders 5 chartered buses and lots of cars. You had to have a pass to be in the procession and still it was huge. Two helicopters circled the procession with snipers sitting out the side door for protection. It was the longest funeral procession ever in the state of Texas . People were everywhere. The entire route was shut down ahead of us the and people were lined up on the side of the road the entire way. Firemen down on one knee, police officers holding their hats over their hearts, children waving flags, veterans saluting as we went by.. Every bridge had fire trucks with large flags displayed from their tall ladders....people all along the entire 200 miles standing in the cold weather. It was so heartwarming. Taya rode in the hearse with Chris' body so Derek rode the route with us. I was so grateful to have that time with him.

The services were at Texas National Cemetery . Very few are buried there and you have to apply to get in. It is like people from Civil War, Medal of Honor winners a few from the Alamo and all the historical people of Texas . It was a nice service and the Freedom Riders surrounded the outside of the entire cemetery to keep the crazy church from Kansas that protests at military funerals away from us. Each SEAL put his Trident ( metal SEAL badge) on the top of Chris' casket one at a time. A lot hit it in with one blow, Derek was the only one to take 4 taps to put his in and it was almost like he was caressing it as he did it. Another tearful moment.

After the service the governor's wife, Anita Perry, invited us to the governor's mansion. She stood at the door and greeted each of us individually and gave the SEALs a coin of Texas . We were able to tour the ground floor and then went into the garden for beer and BBQ. So many of the team guys said that after they get out they are moving to Texas . That they had never felt so much love and hospitality. The charter buses then took the guys to the airport to catch their returning flights. Derek just now called and after a 20 hours flight he is back in his spot.

Quite an emotional, but blessed week.