Today is Memorial Day, and I think it would be nice if we take a moment to remember those who have given their lives for our freedom!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ata_CGSobC8

Freedom Is Not Free

- Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.

 

I agree. God bless all our active duty service men and women, and all our veterans who have served before.

 

Amen, an everyday occurance for me thanking in my signature on all the sites I go to

 

my hat is off to all folks that have or will have to serve in the millitary. thank you

 

Come on folks, you like your freedoms, that those poor fuckers that had their asses kicked in various ways for your Damned comforts. Show some appreciation for what you didn't have to earn, freedom.

 

I was totally gonna ignore this little circle-jerk (for the sake of the holiday and actual citizen-soldiers who defended actual freedom 150 years ago) until I got goaded.

Uhhh... thanks for keeping the... uhhh... Soviets out of Alaska??

You want sacrifice? Try working full-time through college like a real American at a dead end job that can't pay the rent, much less pay for books... or food. All for the lovely benefit of starting out life tens of thousands of dollars in debt without any employment prospects to recuperate that debt. Pay for your own damn college.

FFS, we only had 35,000 troops between WWI and WWII. In a world with real badguys like Nazis and Soviets and the British Empire and shit. Standing peacetime mercenary forces do not "defend freedom."

How many self-glorifying holidays do you people need? Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Armed Forces Day, the 4th of July, Flag Day, I'm sure all the individual services have their own holidays... Just kill who you're told to kill and STFU.

"No Iraqi ever called me nigger!"

 

I think it may have been better just to ignore it...

 

Thank you to all who have served, are serving, and will serve in the military. May God bless you all. I pray our troops will all return home safe, sound and healthy.

 

Thank you Rockprincess!

 

In honor of those who have served and who serve!! THANK YOU!!:rose::rose::rose::rose::rose:

 

Freedom is meaningless without the struggle to obtain it. I used to have a couple of good foreign friends who always jealous of our culture that promotes individualism and freedom. I've always felt sorry for them, because they are trapped into a strange family culture that entangles the whole family into a big mess. I remember this one guy who wanted to join the military really bad, but his family held him back and he regretted it. Physiologically, the man is trapped beyond measure, even though he is legally and physically free. Yes, in America there are a great deal of failed families, but at the very least you can break away from it.

It is a very unique culture that allows for free will to persist.

 

Freedom was never free and never will be free......I thank all who died in the name so I can have it......and I try never to waste the chance they gave me.

 

All gave some
Some gave all

Memorial day is about those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Those of us who served and those who are serving are celebrated on Veterans Day, Memorial Day is a day to remember those who gave all they had for people they didn't even know regardless of race or skin color.

 

The Fallen Affect Us All

I received this story in an e-mail from a friend and wanted to share it here:


MAY GOD BLESS THIS AIRLINE CAPTAIN:

He writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and said, "We have an H.R. on this flight." (H.R. stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.

'Yes', she said.
'Is there an escort?' I asked.
'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.
'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him early," I said..

A short while later a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about them as if they are still alive and still with us.

'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia,' he said. He proceeded to answer my questions, but offered no words.

I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I told him that he had the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the flight deck to find his seat.

We completed our preflight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful departure. About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead flight attendant in the cabin. 'I just found out the family of the soldier we are carrying, is on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son, husband, and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to see the container that the soldier was in before we left. We were on our way to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the connecting flight home to Virginia.

The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there was anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival. The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being taken off the airplane.. I could hear the desperation in the flight attendants voice when she asked me if there was anything I could do. 'I'm on it', I said. I told her that I would get back to her.

Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight dispatcher directly on a secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher.. I explained the situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted. He said he understood and that he would get back to me.

Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text message asking for an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher and the following is the text:

'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated escort team will meet the aircraft. The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family only. When the connecting aircraft arrives, the family will be escorted onto the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg home. Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans. Please pass our condolences on to the family. Thanks.'

I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, You have no idea how much this will mean to them.'

Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered the ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told that all traffic was being held for us.

'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we were told. It looked like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the copilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp controller said, 'Take your time.'

I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public address button and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain speaking I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His Name is Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is Army Sergeant XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'

We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.

When the family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started to clap his hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the entire aircraft was clapping. Words of 'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the aisle and out of the airplane. They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one.

Many of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I had made. They were just words, I told them, I could say them over and over again, but nothing I say will bring back that brave soldier.

I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and safety in these United States of AMERICA .

 

All cheers and support to those who faithfully serve in the military.









On the other hand, I thought that 'freedom' was just another word for 'nothing left to lose'.......

 

lol

 

May God bless all of those who have sworn and given their lives and fortunes to the defense of the United States of America, her Constitution and her people.

And may God damn all of those who have and will try to use those who serve in our military for their own political and economic ambitions.