Memorial Day - Yearly Repost and Tribute 2012

Bug, would you consider including this in my Michael Yon Dispatches group? Everything in there is military related and this would fit nicely.

can do. Only Buddy gets to call me bug, though, lol.

Well, I joined the group so I could post it in it, but it's still not showing in my groups. I'll try again a little later on.

It shows you joined the group. I agree, try later. It took me 3 tries to log on to Gather and when I wanted to go to another page, I got bounced again, but clicked the back button and everything was alright then. What a mess.

It should show there now.

My dad is inurned at Arlington National Cemetery. He was in WWII in the Army Air Corps. That is so very far from where I live so I could visit him but he's been heavily on my mind all weekend.

I did just get back from a cemetery down the street from me. There I visited a young man who was kidnapped and killed in Iraq. He was 22 years old and he and my oldest son were in Boy Scouts together. He died January 20, 2007 while serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom in Karbala, Iraq, from wounds sustained when his patrol was ambushed while conducting dismounted operations. Also killed were Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, Pfc. Shawn P. Falter and Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. His mom was my youngest's science teacher in high school.

Today is a really, really hard day. Tomorrow will be, too. And probably days after. War is hell and touches everyone in some form, some way. Nobody goes unaffected no matter their denial.

I cried. I cried for Bryan, for Jacob, for Shawn and Johnathon; and for the Marys, Johns, Shawandas, Michaels, Hanzs, Pieters, Gzifas, and Zelgais that I don't know. I cried for my dad, who never spoke about his time in service. I learned a lot of it after his death. And I'm still learning. About my father, and about wars.

Thank you for posting this, Ron. It's very well done.

Almost every uncle I had was a ww2 vet, and a couple died. My father was a Marine, and if it were not for mom telling me about it, I would never have known he was in it, either. Such a gentle man, it's hard to picture, but I inherited a trench knife, with brass knuckles molded into the handle, that has seven slashes on it....

My dad was a very gentle man, too. When one of my aunts told me that he and my uncle would go into caves looking for Japanese, I couldn't imagine the bravery it took to do so, and the sheer terror it must have been, and that it was my dad, a quiet man, very dry sense of humor. You are fortunate to have what your dad held in his hands; to touch something with such a history, almost containing memories. Hoo-rah! (yeah, that's Army, not Marines. My son was 4/10th Mountain Division, Army).

This is always a great tribute for our veterans. Thanks for the repost, Ron.