Tribute to fallen soldiers.

[voyager35]

Let's say thanks!

http://www.letssaythanks.com/Home1024.html

If you go to this site above you can choose a card which will be sent to a member of the millitary.

Way Cool!

[strikezone31]

We need to pay honor to the men who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

Attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941

The surprise was complete. The attacking planes came in two waves; the first hit its target at 7:53 AM, the second at 8:55. By 9:55 it was all over. By 1:00 PM the carriers that launched the planes from 274 miles off the coast of Oahu were heading back to Japan.

Poster commemorating
the attack, 1942Behind them they left chaos, 2,403 dead, 188 destroyed planes and a crippled Pacific Fleet that included 8 damaged or destroyed battleships. In one stroke the Japanese action silenced the debate that had divided Americans ever since the German defeat of France left England alone in the fight against the Nazi terror.

Approximately three hours later, Japanese planes began a day-long attack on American facilities in the Philippines. (Because the islands are located across the International Dateline, the local Philippine time was just after 5 AM on December 8.) Farther to the west, the Japanese struck at Hong Kong, Malaysia and Thailand in a coordinated attempt to use surprise in order inflict as much damage as quickly as possible to strategic targets.

Although stunned by the attack at Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers, submarines and, most importantly, its fuel oil storage facilities emerged unscathed. These assets formed the foundation for the American response that led to victory at the Battle of Midway the following June and ultimately to the total destruction of the Japanese Empire four years later.

Aboard the USS Arizona
The battleships moored along "Battleship Row" are the primary target of the attack's first wave. Ten minutes after the beginning of the attack a bomb crashes through the Arizona's two armored decks igniting its magazine. The explosion rips the ship's sides open like a tin can starting a fire that engulfs the entire ship. Within minutes she sinks to the bottom taking 1,300 lives with her. The sunken ship remains as a memorial to those who sacrificed their lives during the attack. Marine Corporal E.C. Nightingale was aboard the Arizona that fateful Sunday morning:

"At approximately eight o'clock on the morning of December 7, 1941, I was leaving the breakfast table when the ship's siren for air defense sounded. Having no anti-aircraft battle station, I paid little attention to it. Suddenly I heard an explosion. I ran to the port door leading to the quarterdeck and saw a bomb strike a barge of some sort alongside the NEVADA, or in that vicinity. The marine color guard came in at this point saying we were being attacked. I could distinctly hear machine gun fire. I believe at this point our anti-aircraft battery opened up.
"We stood around awaiting orders of some kind. General Quarters sounded and I started for my battle station in secondary aft. As I passed through casement nine I noted the gun was manned and being trained out. The men seemed extremely calm and collected. I reached the boat deck and our anti-aircraft guns were in full action, firing very rapidly. I was about three quarters of the way to the first platform on the mast when it seemed as though a bomb struck our quarterdeck. I could hear shrapnel or fragments whistling past me.

As
A captured Japanese photo shows
Battleship Row under attack.
Hickam Field burns in the distance
soon as I reached the first platform, I saw Second Lieutenant Simonson lying on his back with blood on his shirt front. I bent over him and taking him by the shoulders asked if there was anything I could do. He was dead, or so nearly so that speech was impossible. Seeing there was nothing I could do for the Lieutenant, I continued to my battle station.

"When I arrived in secondary aft I reported to Major Shapley that Mr. Simonson had been hit and there was nothing to be done for him. There was a lot of talking going on and I shouted for silence which came immediately. I had only been there a short time when a terrible explosion caused the ship to shake violently. I looked at the boat deck and everything seemed aflame forward of the mainmast. I reported to the Major that the ship was aflame, which was rather needless, and after looking about, the Major ordered us to leave.

"I was the last man to leave secondary aft because I looked around and there was no one left. I followed the Major down the port side of the tripod mast. The railings, as we ascended, were very hot and as we reached the boat deck I noted that it was torn up and burned. The bodies of the dead were thick, and badly burned men were heading for the quarterdeck, only to fall apparently dead or badly wounded. The Major and I went between No. 3 and No. 4 turret to the starboard side and found Lieutenant Commander Fuqua ordering the men over the side and assisting the wounded. He seemed exceptionally calm and the Major stopped and they talked for a moment. Charred bodies were everywhere.

"I made my way to the quay and started to remove my shoes when I suddenly found myself in the water. I think the concussion of a bomb threw me in. I started swimming for the pipe line which was about one hundred and fifty feet away. I was about half way when my strength gave out entirely. My clothes and shocked The USS Shaw explodescondition sapped my strength, and I was about to go under when Major Shapley started to swim by, and seeing my distress, grasped my shirt and told me to hang to his shoulders while he swam in.
"We were perhaps twenty-five feet from the pipe line when the Major's strength gave out and I saw he was floundering, so I loosened my grip on him and told him to make it alone. He stopped and grabbed me by the shirt and refused to let go. I would have drowned but for the Major. We finally reached the beach where a marine directed us to a bomb shelter, where I was given dry clothes and a place to rest."

References:
Lord, Walter, Day of Infamy (1957), Prange, Gordon, At Dawn We Slept (1981), Wallin, VAdm. Homer N. Pearl Harbor: Why, How, Fleet Salvage and Final Appraisal (1968). How To Cite This Article:
"Attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (1997).

[Pebbles]

Heartbreaking

[DarkSkies]

Heartbreaking

Just saw this Pebbles, yes it is.

[DarkSkies]

Sent in by Surfstix, thanks!

















A *New* Christmas Poem



TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,

HE LIVED ALL ALONE,

IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF

PLASTER AND STONE.



I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY

WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,

AND TO SEE JUST WHO

IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.



I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,

A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,

NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,

NOT EVEN A TREE.



NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,

JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,

ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES

OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.



WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,

AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,

A SOBER THOUGHT

CAME THROUGH MY MIND.



FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,

IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,

I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,

ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.



THE SOLDIER IN IRAQ , LAY SLEEPING,

SILENT, ALONE,

CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR

IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.



THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,

THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,

NOT HOW I PICTURED

A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.



WAS THIS THE HERO

OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?

CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,

THE FLOOR FOR A BED?



I REALIZED THE FAMILIES

THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,

OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS

WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.



SOON ROUND THE WORLD,

THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,

AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE

A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.



THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM

EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,

BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,

LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.



I COULDN'T HELP WONDER

HOW MANY LAY ALONE,

ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE

IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.



THE VERY THOUGHT

BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,

I DROPPED TO MY KNEES

AND STARTED TO CRY.



THE SOLDIER AWAKENED

AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,

'SANTA DON'T CRY,

THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;



I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,

I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,

MY LIFE IS MY GOD,

MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'



THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER

AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,

I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,

I CONTINUED TO WEEP.



I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,

SO SILENT AND STILL

AND WE BOTH SHIVERED

FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.



I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE

ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,

THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR

SO WILLING TO FIGHT.



THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,

WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,

WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,

IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'



ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,

AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.

'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!

AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'



This poem was written by a Marine.



The following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....

PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending

this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming

soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and

women for our being able to celebrate these festivities.

Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we

owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and

dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your

small part to plant this small seed.

[stripermania]

My condolences to his family, may he RIP.

Marine from Bergen County killed in Afghanistan will receive Bronze Star

By Star-Ledger Staff

January 15, 2010, 8:55PM

WESTWOOD -- On Christmas Day, Marine Sgt. Christopher Hrbek called home to Bergen County from Afghanistan with the news he had been nominated for a Bronze Star.

A fellow Marine, a master sergeant, had been gravely injured by a bomb buried in the dirt. Under heavy enemy fire, Hrbek and a Navy corpsman had rushed to the man’s aid, applying tourniquets to the stumps of his severed legs and carrying him to safety.
Family members learned today Hrbek will receive the award posthumously.

Hrbek, 25, a married Westwood native, was killed Thursday when he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Helmand Province, his family and the Department of Defense said. He had previously served three tours of duty in Iraq.
U.S. MarinesMarine Christopher Hrbek, of Westwood, Bergen County, was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

“He was born a Marine. He wanted to die a Marine,” said Beau Hodges, 28, Hrbek’s stepbrother. “He was proud to die for his country.”

Hrbek is at least the 14th service member with ties to New Jersey to die in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001. At least 96 others have died in Iraq since 2003.

• New Jersey's fallen servicemembers
A full-size flagpole springs from the lawn of the brick, colonial-style home where Hrbek grew up with his mother, Cheryl, and stepfather, JayMee Hodges. An American flag and a Marine Corps flag flew at half-staff today. Relatives gathered throughout the day, by turns crying and laughing as they shared stories.
Once a slight kid who had been afraid of the dark well into his teens, Hrbek grew into a fearless, muscled warrior who planned to make a career of the Corps.

“He loved it over there,” said another stepbrother, Jim Hodges, 31. “He wanted to do this for the rest of his life.”
Hrbek made the point to one of his two sisters, Amy Dellentash, in a recent phone call home, after she had learned of his nomination for the Bronze Star. He had spoken of three-hour firefights and of coming under attack every time his unit went out on patrol. Dellentash, 33, knew American service members were falling.
“I knew he was at war and in a terrible situation, and I just wanted to know if he was really okay,” she said.
She said her brother responded, “Are you kidding me? I love what I do.”

Hrbek’s admiration for the Marine Corps took root as a sophomore at Westwood High School, where he was a member of the wrestling team and something of a class clown, relatives said. He began reading and watching movies about the Corps after scoring well on a physical evaluation used by the service, his family said.

Seven months after graduation, he was off to Parris Island for basic training. His service brought him to Iraq three times, first in 2005. He served again from February to September 2007 and then from August 2008 to March 2009. He left for Afghanistan in November. Hrbek was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Family members said Hrbek might have taken a different route, fighting fires instead of wars. Both his stepbrothers are firefighters in New York City, and his stepfather is a member of the Westwood Volunteer Fire Department. Hrbek, too, began volunteering at age 16.

The lure was strong. Beau Hodges said his stepbrother had a place in the academy last year in the New York Fire Department but chose instead to re-enlist in the Marines.

Hrbek’s career kept him away for long stretches from his wife, Jamie Hrbek, 23, but in an interview this evening at her Emerson home, she said distance and time never seemed to take anything from their relationship.

When they first saw each other three years ago, it was only for a few seconds, she said. She was a waitress in a local restaurant. He was a customer. Hrbek was about to talk to her when he was summoned to a fire scene. It would be a month before he got her number from a friend.

“We could have said we loved each other without really seeing each other,” she said.

They talked for six hours in that first phone conversation. Late in 2007, they married.
“I could say a thousand things about him,” she said. “He was filled with a sense of adventure.”
Funeral arrangements are incomplete. Hrbek also is survived by his father, Richard Hrbek of Emerson.
By Tomás Dinges and Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/201...unty_kill.html

[paco33]

bump for the soldiers. freedom isn't free.

[stripermania]

Remember what they do for us.

[DarkSkies]

Heartbreaking

Bump for another good post, thanks Pebbles.