Great story clamchucker. Thanks for posting.
Senior Member
Great story clamchucker. Thanks for posting.
Administrator
The only flag that doesn't fly
Sent by Surfstix, thanks!
THE ONLY FLAG THAT DOESN'T FLY!
Between the fields where the flag is planted, there are 9+ miles of flower
Fields that go all the way to the ocean. The flowers are grown by seed
Companies. It's a beautiful place, close to Vandenberg AFB. Check out
The dimensions of the flag. The Floral Flag is 740 feet long and 390 feet
Wide and maintains the proper Flag dimensions, as described in Executive
Order #10834. This Flag is 6.65 acres and is the first Floral Flag to be
Planted with 5 pointed Stars, comprisedof White Larkspur. Each Star is
24 feet in diameter; each Stripe is 30 feet wide. This Flag is estimated to
contain more than 400,000 Larkspur plants, with 4-5 flower stems each,
for a total of more than 2 million flowers.
For our soldiers....Please don'tbreak it!
When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our
servicemen. There is nothing attached.... Just send this to all the people
in your address book. Do not stop the wheel, please.
Senior Member
Very inspiring.
Administrator
When a soldier comes home....
The next time you are whining about having a bad day at work, or the trafffic, please think of these guys.....
Sent in by Finchaser, thanks!
http://www.moww-fw.org/WhenASoldierComesHome.htm
Senior Member
So true, thanks to the soldiers.
Senior Member
An Old Soldier Died Today
He was getting
old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For old Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.
He won’t be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Someone who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?
Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end?
He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."
Administrator
Re: Hand signal to thank the military....
To all the service members I have met, either active or discharged, a big thanks for all you have done to help protect our country....
Administrator
Re: Hand signal to thank the military....
Another big thanks
Administrator
Sent in by Fin, thanks.
What an interesting story................about TRUE American heroes. God Bless them all.
On Tuesday, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, the surviving Doolittle Raiders gathered publicly for the last time.
They once were among the most universally admired and revered men in the United States. There were 80 of the Raiders in April 1942, when they carried out one of the most courageous and heart-stirring military operations in this nation's history. The mere mention of their unit's name, in those years, would bring tears to the eyes of grateful Americans.
Now only four survive.
After Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, with the United States reeling and wounded, something dramatic was needed to turn the war effort around.
Even though there were no friendly airfields close enough to Japan for the United States to launch a retaliation, a daring plan was devised. Sixteen B-25s were modified so that they could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier. This had never before been tried -- sending such big, heavy bombers from a carrier.
The 16 five-man crews, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who himself flew the lead plane off the USS Hornet, knew that they would not be able to return to the carrier. They would have to hit Japan and then hope to make it to China for a safe landing.
But on the day of the raid, the Japanese military caught wind of the plan. The Raiders were told that they would have to take off from much farther out in the Pacific Ocean than they had counted on. They were told that because of this they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety.
And those men went anyway.
They bombed Tokyo, and then flew as far as they could. Four planes crash-landed; 11 more crews bailed out, and three of the Raiders died. Eight more were captured; three were executed. Another died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp. One crew made it to Russia.
The Doolittle Raid sent a message from the United States to its enemies, and to the rest of the world: We will fight. And, no matter what it takes, we will win.
Of the 80 Raiders, 62 survived the war. They were celebrated as national heroes, models of bravery. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced a motion picture based on the raid; "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," starring Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson, was a patriotic and emotional box-office hit, and the phrase became part of the national lexicon. In the movie-theater previews for the film, MGM proclaimed that it was presenting the story "with supreme pride."
Beginning in 1946, the surviving Raiders have held a reunion each April, to commemorate the mission. The reunion is in a different city each year. In 1959, the city of Tucson, Arizona, as a gesture of respect and gratitude, presented the Doolittle Raiders with a set of 80 silver goblets. Each goblet was engraved with the name of a Raider.
Every year, a wooden display case bearing all 80 goblets is transported to the reunion city. Each time a Raider passes away, his goblet is turned upside down in the case at the next reunion, as his old friends bear solemn witness.
Also in the wooden case is a bottle of 1896 Hennessy Very Special cognac. The year is not happenstance: 1896 was when Jimmy Doolittle was born.
There has always been a plan: When there are only two surviving Raiders, they would open the bottle, at last drink from it, and toast their comrades who preceded them in death.
As 2013 began, there were five living Raiders; then, in February, Tom Griffin passed away at age 96. What a man he was. After bailing out of his plane over a mountainous Chinese forest after the Tokyo raid, he became ill with malaria, and almost died. When he recovered, he was sent to Europe to fly more combat missions. He was shot down, captured, and spent 22 months in a German prisoner of war camp.
The selflessness of these men, the sheer guts ... there was a passage in the Cincinnati Enquirer obituary for Mr. Griffin that, on the surface, had nothing to do with the war, but that emblematizes the depth of his sense of duty and devotion:"When his wife became ill and needed to go into a nursing home, he visited her every day. He walked from his house to the nursing home, fed his wife and at the end of the day brought home her clothes. At night, he washed and ironed her clothes. Then he walked them up to her room the next morning. He did that for three years until her death in 2005."
So now, out of the original 80, only four Raiders remain: **** Cole (Doolittle's co-pilot on the Tokyo raid), Robert Hite, Edward Saylor and David Thatcher. All are in their 90s. They have decided that there are too few of them for the public reunions to continue.
The events in Fort Walton Beach this week will mark the end. It has come full circle; Florida's nearby Eglin Field was where the Raiders trained in secrecy for the Tokyo mission. The town is planning to do all it can to honor the men: a six-day celebration of their valor, including luncheons, a dinner and a parade.
Do the men ever wonder if those of us for whom they helped save the country have tended to it in a way that is worthy of their sacrifice? They don't talk about that, at least not around other people. But if you find yourself near Fort Walton Beach this week, and if you should encounter any of the Raiders, you might want to offer them a word of thanks. I can tell you from first hand observation that they appreciate hearing that they are remembered.
The men have decided that after this final public reunion they will wait until a later date -- some time this year -- to get together once more, informally and in absolute privacy. That is when they will open the bottle of brandy. The years are flowing by too swiftly now; they are not going to wait until there are only two of them. They will fill the four remaining upturned goblets. And raise them in a toast to those who are gone.
Administrator
Taylor Morris Quad Amputee...sent in by Fin, thanks.
Had a lump in my throat as I watched this.....simply awe-inspiring...thanks for the inspiration Taylor and Danielle...
Here is his website for those who want to keep up with his life...
http://www.taylormorris.org/home/
Senior Member
That was touching. Doolittle raiders and Taylor Morris thank you for your service.
1000 post club!
^^^^^x2 thanks for the posts great inspiration.
Senior Member
Awesome!
Senior Member
There was a Vietnam vets memorial dedication today. Thank you to all who served. The details-
"May 7, we will be dedicating the fully restored Huey at the NJ Vietnam Veterans Memorial at PNC Arts Center in Holmdel. Ceremony is at 11 a.m.
Featured speaker is Rocky Blier, who was seriously wounded in Nam and recovered sufficiently to play with the Pittsburg Steelers Super Bowl teams. I met him in Washington, at the National VVN memorial, several years ago and he has an amazing story.
The Huey doesn't have any unit insignia; instead it will represent all chopper outfits that served there. Several members of my Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter were part of the restoration team. Did a hell of a job!
If you haven't been to the complex, it's well worth your time. It's the only Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the country that has an Educational Center, in addition to the actual Memorial."
Senior Member
x2 thanks to all
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