Post by Snowfeather on May 25, 2015 14:59:01 GMT -5
-Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
This will be edited later and fixed
This thread is a tribute to those have lost their lives in the line of duty. The history will be brief and the rest of the thread will be dedicated to the thoughts of Veterans or the Active Duty in the military and a few videos.
"I was once asked what I thought about on Memorial Day, and I said, truthfully, that it's the same thing I think about every day: the men who fought next to me, people whose flesh and futures were destroyed by the violence of armed combat.
In a larger sense, war changes everyone, even those who did not fight in it — or at least it's supposed to. "
-COL. JACK JACOBS, U.S. ARMY (RET.)
"Memorial Day is an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May that honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
Memorial Day may mean just a day off to some, but to others, it marks a day of reflection, remembrance and memorial.
But Memorial Day has a deeper meaning. It started at the end of the Civil War, when it was called Decoration Day, where the newly unified nation came together to honor and remember all of those who perished in the war.
As the 20th Century rolled around, Decoration Day became Memorial Day and was dedicated to the remembrance of all those who fell during military service.
As a wounded veteran who served two tours in Iraq, I've been asked to give speeches at Memorial Day celebrations. It's one of the hardest jobs I've ever done.
Veterans Day is easy. Fourth of July, a piece of cake.
But Memorial Day, that's a tough one.
Service members like me think about the soldiers we lost pretty often. I remember when he was alive, all the stuff we did -- the training, combat and even just hanging out together off duty. Then my mind usually goes to the day of his death. I remember where I was when I heard about it, or what it felt like to see him catastrophically wounded. I picture their faces. They're young; they never get old.
Veteran's Day is easy. Fourth of July, a piece of cake. But Memorial Day, that's a tough one.
-Retired Staff Sgt. Luke Murphy, U.S. Army
~
"When soldiers die, they don't just roll over and quit like in the movies. They fight like hell. They do whatever they can to stay alive -- sometimes that's their hardest fight. And sometimes they lose.
The biggest loser is the family, though. I feel terrible for their parents, their wives, girlfriends or kids. I think about how much it hurts them on a daily basis. They're still suffering, and it's never going to end.
The next biggest losers are the guys who were with the soldier. Many times they've got survivor's guilt. They may have lost an arm or a leg, but they survived. If they made the call related to the soldier's death, they'll carry that with them for the rest of their lives."
-Retired Staff Sgt. Luke Murphy, U.S. Army
National Anthem by Nick Fradiani .
The National Anthem consists of four verses. On almost every occasion only the first verse is sung.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave'
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Memorial Day has been recognized in song, paint and word as well. In 1857, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped to found The Atlantic magazine. Longfellow, known as our “country’s foremost Fireside Poet,” published this poetic observation of Memorial Day in The Atlantic just weeks after his death in 1862:
Decoration Day
Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
Nor sentry’s shot alarms!
Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon’s sudden roar,
Or the drum’s redoubling beat.
But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.
All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!
Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger free.
Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours
Taps preformed in the summer and winter
abcnews.go.com/Politics/memorial-day-2015-powerful-quotes-president-obama-today/story?id=31292118&from=related Obama's speech on this day.
~
Personal experiences and thoughts
At the beginning of the school year they took the gym students to the AFJROTC room (Air force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps).
The group commander, basically the head of all the students in that program, gave a speech, on what it means to be a cadet, and of his personal experiences the 4 years he has been in the program.
His speech was incredibly moving. Most of the gym students looked to him with a bored expression.
His speech wasn't to persuade anyone to join the program. His goal was to show you the meaning of what it meant to be a family , all of the cadets together working towards common goals.
Before hand i never considered anything do to with the military. I had chances to join this program but never took the opportunity. I never thought there was a meaning behind being a cadet.
Your not actually serving the country in high school, so what was the point of it?
My view was that they attempt to get you to join the military and all you do is Physical Training and march , maybe one or two lucky cadets take from it and make a career. Nothing special.
The Group Commanders speech changed by view on that.
On the way out i told him what a wonderful job he did and in return he gave a sheepish grin.
The very same day I went and switched my classes. The next week I walked in.
We have 3 instructors. A Chief, Master Sergeant, and a Colonel.
These are the ranks they uphold. All of them are retired. All of them have their own stories. But all three of them served in the Air force.
All cadets and instructors were very welcoming.
As a cadet you are issued the very same uniform active duty Airman wear. Not the camo, the causal uniform you see military wearing with those colorful pins and metals.
When you wear that uniform YOU represent the Air Force. YOU are part of that 1% of the U.S that gets to put on that uniform.
Those "colorful pins " you see on military officials are called Ribbons.
Ribbons are earned, not worn, and each one represents something. Some are for community service, some are for Color Guard (the people you see holding flags and marching before a football game), some are very selective and it takes a special will to earn one, but all ribbons are well earned and meaningful.
Metals show an accomplishment you did, something you showed the will of a leader to earn. It may be spending hours writing an essay, it might be for all the service you do. Everything you earned that you pin on that uniform shows how you took a goal and turned it into reality.
As a brand new cadet i made friends very easy. Cadets took hours out of their time to come after school and show me How to march, they taught me ranks, how to pin my own, how to properly maintain my uniform, how approach my commanding officers, they taught me leadership.
Months went by. Every event we did, all the community service we did, all the competitions we participated in, we did all of that as a group. We marched in the Veterans Day Parade. We had cadets that were SICK, so sick to the point we had volunteers of the parade walk along side them to pick them up and carry them if they fainted. Those cadets put behind their health to get out there and show their determination . They marched for an hour, starting and stopping in the cold. All of us together as a group. No one quit . Volunteers would attempt to pull out said cadets that were sick and they refused.
That's the kind of leadership and determination you see in this program.
Every day we walked in our JROTC building we were called to attention at our chairs. We say our creed.
I am an Air Force Junior ROTC Cadet.
I am connected and faithful to every Corps of Cadets who served their community and nation with patriotism.
I earn respect when I uphold the Core Values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do.
I will always conduct myself to bring credit to my family, school, Corps of Cadets, community, and to myself.
My character defines me. I will not lie, cheat, or steal. I am accountable for my actions and deeds.
I will hold others accountable for their actions as well.
I will honor those I serve with, those who have gone before me, and those who will come after me.
I am a Patriot, a Leader, and a Wingman devoted to those I follow, serve, and lead.
I am an Air Force Junior ROTC Cadet.
We do our chant, then our Air Force song.
We clean our uniforms weekly, shine our shoes, cut our hair or put it in a bun, carefully pin our ribbons or metals, look as sharp as we can and walk through those school hallways, Military bases, Drill areas, or Parades.
Being a cadet feels like a family. I see now and understand what our Group Commander meant many months ago. When you walk into that recruiters office, when you sign that paper, when you are handed your uniform and assigned you are upholding your beliefs and love for this country. YOU are joining a family, a family that goes out there to uphold the same dream.
Not everyone in the military hold guns. Not all of them are out there dying for this American dream, but all of them go out there and do their job best they can, engineers, pilots, navigators, rescue man. They make up what we call the United States Military, and they are respected.
All of them wake up and fix their bed, clean their uniforms, shine their shoes, put their hair in a bun, then they go out and do the job they love to do, and I am proud to want to serve among them.
So this Memorials day don't think of it as just a day to honor the military, use this day to remember those who did these things daily and got out there to protect the same dream their peers follow, and paid the ultimate price.
Not everyone today will hear that familiar sound of the car door in their driveway. Some today will be mourning the members they lost but their memory will always remain, today is the day to pay your respects to the fallen, those who held up their dream they cared so dearly about.
Today is Memorial Day, if you would take moment of your day to stand in silence, that is appreciated
This will be edited later and fixed
This thread is a tribute to those have lost their lives in the line of duty. The history will be brief and the rest of the thread will be dedicated to the thoughts of Veterans or the Active Duty in the military and a few videos.
"I was once asked what I thought about on Memorial Day, and I said, truthfully, that it's the same thing I think about every day: the men who fought next to me, people whose flesh and futures were destroyed by the violence of armed combat.
In a larger sense, war changes everyone, even those who did not fight in it — or at least it's supposed to. "
-COL. JACK JACOBS, U.S. ARMY (RET.)
"Memorial Day is an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May that honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military.
Memorial Day may mean just a day off to some, but to others, it marks a day of reflection, remembrance and memorial.
But Memorial Day has a deeper meaning. It started at the end of the Civil War, when it was called Decoration Day, where the newly unified nation came together to honor and remember all of those who perished in the war.
As the 20th Century rolled around, Decoration Day became Memorial Day and was dedicated to the remembrance of all those who fell during military service.
As a wounded veteran who served two tours in Iraq, I've been asked to give speeches at Memorial Day celebrations. It's one of the hardest jobs I've ever done.
Veterans Day is easy. Fourth of July, a piece of cake.
But Memorial Day, that's a tough one.
Service members like me think about the soldiers we lost pretty often. I remember when he was alive, all the stuff we did -- the training, combat and even just hanging out together off duty. Then my mind usually goes to the day of his death. I remember where I was when I heard about it, or what it felt like to see him catastrophically wounded. I picture their faces. They're young; they never get old.
Veteran's Day is easy. Fourth of July, a piece of cake. But Memorial Day, that's a tough one.
-Retired Staff Sgt. Luke Murphy, U.S. Army
~
"When soldiers die, they don't just roll over and quit like in the movies. They fight like hell. They do whatever they can to stay alive -- sometimes that's their hardest fight. And sometimes they lose.
The biggest loser is the family, though. I feel terrible for their parents, their wives, girlfriends or kids. I think about how much it hurts them on a daily basis. They're still suffering, and it's never going to end.
The next biggest losers are the guys who were with the soldier. Many times they've got survivor's guilt. They may have lost an arm or a leg, but they survived. If they made the call related to the soldier's death, they'll carry that with them for the rest of their lives."
-Retired Staff Sgt. Luke Murphy, U.S. Army
National Anthem by Nick Fradiani .
The National Anthem consists of four verses. On almost every occasion only the first verse is sung.
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave'
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Memorial Day has been recognized in song, paint and word as well. In 1857, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped to found The Atlantic magazine. Longfellow, known as our “country’s foremost Fireside Poet,” published this poetic observation of Memorial Day in The Atlantic just weeks after his death in 1862:
Decoration Day
Sleep, comrades, sleep and rest
On this Field of the Grounded Arms,
Where foes no more molest,
Nor sentry’s shot alarms!
Ye have slept on the ground before,
And started to your feet
At the cannon’s sudden roar,
Or the drum’s redoubling beat.
But in this camp of Death
No sound your slumber breaks;
Here is no fevered breath,
No wound that bleeds and aches.
All is repose and peace,
Untrampled lies the sod;
The shouts of battle cease,
It is the Truce of God!
Rest, comrades, rest and sleep!
The thoughts of men shall be
As sentinels to keep
Your rest from danger free.
Your silent tents of green
We deck with fragrant flowers
Yours has the suffering been,
The memory shall be ours
Taps preformed in the summer and winter
abcnews.go.com/Politics/memorial-day-2015-powerful-quotes-president-obama-today/story?id=31292118&from=related Obama's speech on this day.
~
Personal experiences and thoughts
At the beginning of the school year they took the gym students to the AFJROTC room (Air force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps).
The group commander, basically the head of all the students in that program, gave a speech, on what it means to be a cadet, and of his personal experiences the 4 years he has been in the program.
His speech was incredibly moving. Most of the gym students looked to him with a bored expression.
His speech wasn't to persuade anyone to join the program. His goal was to show you the meaning of what it meant to be a family , all of the cadets together working towards common goals.
Before hand i never considered anything do to with the military. I had chances to join this program but never took the opportunity. I never thought there was a meaning behind being a cadet.
Your not actually serving the country in high school, so what was the point of it?
My view was that they attempt to get you to join the military and all you do is Physical Training and march , maybe one or two lucky cadets take from it and make a career. Nothing special.
The Group Commanders speech changed by view on that.
On the way out i told him what a wonderful job he did and in return he gave a sheepish grin.
The very same day I went and switched my classes. The next week I walked in.
We have 3 instructors. A Chief, Master Sergeant, and a Colonel.
These are the ranks they uphold. All of them are retired. All of them have their own stories. But all three of them served in the Air force.
All cadets and instructors were very welcoming.
As a cadet you are issued the very same uniform active duty Airman wear. Not the camo, the causal uniform you see military wearing with those colorful pins and metals.
When you wear that uniform YOU represent the Air Force. YOU are part of that 1% of the U.S that gets to put on that uniform.
Those "colorful pins " you see on military officials are called Ribbons.
Ribbons are earned, not worn, and each one represents something. Some are for community service, some are for Color Guard (the people you see holding flags and marching before a football game), some are very selective and it takes a special will to earn one, but all ribbons are well earned and meaningful.
Metals show an accomplishment you did, something you showed the will of a leader to earn. It may be spending hours writing an essay, it might be for all the service you do. Everything you earned that you pin on that uniform shows how you took a goal and turned it into reality.
As a brand new cadet i made friends very easy. Cadets took hours out of their time to come after school and show me How to march, they taught me ranks, how to pin my own, how to properly maintain my uniform, how approach my commanding officers, they taught me leadership.
Months went by. Every event we did, all the community service we did, all the competitions we participated in, we did all of that as a group. We marched in the Veterans Day Parade. We had cadets that were SICK, so sick to the point we had volunteers of the parade walk along side them to pick them up and carry them if they fainted. Those cadets put behind their health to get out there and show their determination . They marched for an hour, starting and stopping in the cold. All of us together as a group. No one quit . Volunteers would attempt to pull out said cadets that were sick and they refused.
That's the kind of leadership and determination you see in this program.
Every day we walked in our JROTC building we were called to attention at our chairs. We say our creed.
I am an Air Force Junior ROTC Cadet.
I am connected and faithful to every Corps of Cadets who served their community and nation with patriotism.
I earn respect when I uphold the Core Values of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence In All We Do.
I will always conduct myself to bring credit to my family, school, Corps of Cadets, community, and to myself.
My character defines me. I will not lie, cheat, or steal. I am accountable for my actions and deeds.
I will hold others accountable for their actions as well.
I will honor those I serve with, those who have gone before me, and those who will come after me.
I am a Patriot, a Leader, and a Wingman devoted to those I follow, serve, and lead.
I am an Air Force Junior ROTC Cadet.
We do our chant, then our Air Force song.
We clean our uniforms weekly, shine our shoes, cut our hair or put it in a bun, carefully pin our ribbons or metals, look as sharp as we can and walk through those school hallways, Military bases, Drill areas, or Parades.
Being a cadet feels like a family. I see now and understand what our Group Commander meant many months ago. When you walk into that recruiters office, when you sign that paper, when you are handed your uniform and assigned you are upholding your beliefs and love for this country. YOU are joining a family, a family that goes out there to uphold the same dream.
Not everyone in the military hold guns. Not all of them are out there dying for this American dream, but all of them go out there and do their job best they can, engineers, pilots, navigators, rescue man. They make up what we call the United States Military, and they are respected.
All of them wake up and fix their bed, clean their uniforms, shine their shoes, put their hair in a bun, then they go out and do the job they love to do, and I am proud to want to serve among them.
So this Memorials day don't think of it as just a day to honor the military, use this day to remember those who did these things daily and got out there to protect the same dream their peers follow, and paid the ultimate price.
Not everyone today will hear that familiar sound of the car door in their driveway. Some today will be mourning the members they lost but their memory will always remain, today is the day to pay your respects to the fallen, those who held up their dream they cared so dearly about.
Today is Memorial Day, if you would take moment of your day to stand in silence, that is appreciated