MR

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take the time to thank all of you who are serving/have served in the military. I hope you get to get out and do something fun for the day. As for me...I'm playing the brand new Call of Duty- World at war game on the 360. Gotta get back to saving the world from those Japanese! Have a great day.

I always try to take today as a holiday.
USMC, 0311, '83-89
Semper Fi.


later~

Thanks to all who have and do serve!

I always have to work.
Thanks Vets.

My family and I had a good time at the Marine Ball last night. Happy belated birthday Marines and Happy Veterans Day.

Yes, thank you WWII vets.....thank you.

Awesome story!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/11/11/ac ... pstoryview


later~

Thank you to all the Vets and those who serve. In Canada today, Nov. 11 is called Remembrance Day.

Deb wrote:Thank you to all the Vets and those who serve. In Canada today, Nov. 11 is called Remembrance Day.

Its called that here, too.
I watched the BBC broadcast from the Cenotaph in London this morning and I observed the two minutes silence with tears of pride and gratitude in my eyes. Those servicemen sacrificed so much.

The three oldest UK veterans were present.
Henry Allingham who is 112. He served in the Royal Air Force and was a founder member of it.
Harry Patch who is 110 today. He is the last surviving soldier who fought in the trenches.
And Bill Stone who is 108. He served in both World Wars in the Navy [I think.]

These noble gentlemen where wheeled in their chairs up to the monument to lay their poppy wreaths by young servicemen and women who have won medals of valour themselves.
It was so very, very moving.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/u ... 131342.ece

SusieP wrote:Harry Patch who is 110 today.

No shit, that's his real name, huh? Awesome...

...BTW, thanks to our men & women who fight and serve everywhere. Hug a vet!

Rhiannon wrote:

SusieP wrote:Harry Patch who is 110 today.

No shit, that's his real name, huh? Awesome...

...BTW, thanks to our men & women who fight and serve everywhere. Hug a vet!

Yes. That's his name.
He has refused a Knighthood, and he was asked if he wanted a State Funeral when he passes, and he refused that, too. He says he was just doing his duty.
And he never spoke a word about his experiences in the trenches until he was 100 - he just couldn't bear it.
And when he is interviewed on tv, you can see the deep sorrow in his eyes.
This guy really makes you feel humble.

We salute you Harry.

Gunbot wrote:We salute you Harry.

We certainly bloody do.
How horrid must his experiences have been to not be able to face talking about them until he was 100 years old.
What a guy.


Can I just ask my American and Canadian friends on here a question, please?
Do you have Poppies like we do and do you lay Poppy wreaths at the war memorials of your Towns etc on 11th November or is that just a European/Australian thing?

SusieP wrote:

Gunbot wrote:We salute you Harry.

We certainly bloody do.
How horrid must his experiences have been to not be able to face talking about them until he was 100 years old.
What a guy.


Can I just ask my American and Canadian friends on here a question, please?
Do you have Poppies like we do and do you lay Poppy wreaths at the war memorials of your Towns etc on 11th November or is that just a European/Australian thing?

The American Legion exchanges paper poppies for donations, but that is the extent of it, you'll see a few wearing them at ceremonies but not too many. We do tend to leave a wreath at the tombs or grave sites of veterans.

Canada and New Zealand follow the UK in giving significance to the Poppy. I ripped this straight from Wikipedia:

"The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare."

Yes we do the poppy thing in Canada also. I remember reciting this poem many times in school on Remembrance Day (I think our class even did the recital on local TV once). Beautiful piece and I still remember all the words to this day.

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I'm glad we all have that in common.
It is such a beautifully simple little bloom, and has such delicate petals. It is not ostentatious or showy. But the wearing of a paper one in your lapel in return for a donation says it all. We can only TRY to imagine what they went through, but it shows in a tiny way that we thank them, we remember them, we are grateful to them and that, most of all, we respect them.
I really do wear my Poppy with pride.

God Bless all the veterans from all over the World.

SusieP wrote:I'm glad we all have that in common.
It is such a beautifully simple little bloom, and has such delicate petals. It is not ostentatious or showy. But the wearing of a paper one in your lapel in return for a donation says it all. We can only TRY to imagine what they went through, but it shows in a tiny way that we thank them, we remember them, we are grateful to them and that, most of all, we respect them.
I really do wear my Poppy with pride.

God Bless all the veterans from all over the World.

Unfortunately I'm not seeing as many of the veterans with their donation kettles selling poppies this year. Could be because last year (in this general area anyway) there were a rash of 'robberies' - idiots stealing the donation kettles. Unbelievable.

To ALL Veterans...................


T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

As an 11 year US Navy vet, I'd like to Thank Everyone for their well wishes as well as Me Thanking The Men and Women I have served with along with the brave that serve right now !! Thanks one and All

God bless each and every man & woman who sreved.And to all the men & women who serve now.Thank You!

Michigan Girl wrote:To ALL Veterans...................


T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Quit hitting on me MG...people are going to start talking!

THANK YOU VETS!

For your service to our great country and for fighting for my freedoms.

God Bless You and God Bless America.

G.I.Jim wrote:

Michigan Girl wrote:To ALL Veterans...................


T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Quit hitting on me MG...people are going to start talking!

LOL..............
etreintes, GI JIMBO!!!

Michigan Girl wrote:

G.I.Jim wrote:

Michigan Girl wrote:To ALL Veterans...................


T-H-A-N-K-Y-O-U

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Quit hitting on me MG...people are going to start talking!

LOL..............
etreintes, GI JIMBO!!!

Damnit!!!