Memorial Day

[Haggis@wk]

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. Amen.


"Mansion of the Lord"

[jamiebk]

http://www.managedmusic.com/php/BYGIndex.php?page=playBYG

[Shapley]

Normandy's "Name Trees, carved by soldiers during World War II, being chopped down, ground up to make paper.

[jamiebk]

I am sure that some of the "environmental wacko's" feel the same way about our trees and coasts as many do about these trees.

[Haggis@wk]

As sad as it is I don't see it rising to the level that subdividing the 170 acre American Cemetery at Omaha Beach near Colleville-sur-Mer would lead to.

There have been times (not at present) that I believed the French and most Europeans totally capable of that. I certainly don't consider it to be in the realm of the impossible.

I would hope that the American cemetery in Madingley would last longer than those on the Continent but with the growth of anti-American radical Islam in England even that prospect can't be dismissed.



I use to photograph the twins in front of this flagpole year after year. The MRHYN and I made a point of visiting the cemetery several times a year in the 6 1/2 yrs we were there. I'll try to find some slides of the chapel; I was overwhelmed every time I went there.

The ceiling was a mosaic of bombers interspersed with angels flying among them while searchlight beams and flak exploded. This isn't the best photo. I'll get my slides out and scan a few.

Here's a better one.

I found it to be profoundly peaceful and somehow comforting to be in that chapel, over the years I heard many people (mostly Brits) make similar comments.

As long as one person remembers one name from the wall, they all live.

[Shapley]

I agree, the trees will eventually die in any case. However, to be wantonly felled by the axe because it is cheaper than trimming the limbs is a bit sad.

I'm not sure how long one can expect a Beech tree to survive. I have one my property that was carved in the 1930s with a heart and some now-obscured initials. The year is still legible, though only barely. There are other, later, carvings on Beech trees, as well.

My neighbor has one that was carved, I believe, in 1925. Beech trees are somewhat unique in the duration at which carvings will remain, and remain readable.

[analog]

I think that remembering the little kindnesses done by GI's ought to be part of our memorial day tradition. I am moved by stories like "Operation Little Vittles" during Berlin Airlift, where the cargo pilots tossed tiny parachutes loaded with chewing gum out their airplane windows to the German kids lined up at the runway fences.

My son-in-law, just back from Afghanistan, reports there's a lot of good happening there.
We're de-mining large areas, building roads & schools, and women no longer have to wear a tent to go outdoors.

a.

[Haggis@wk]

I think that remembering the little kindnesses done by GI's ought to be part of our memorial day tradition. I am moved by stories like "Operation Little Vittles" during Berlin Airlift, where the cargo pilots tossed tiny parachutes loaded with chewing gum out their airplane windows to the German kids lined up at the runway fences.

My son-in-law, just back from Afghanistan, reports there's a lot of good happening there.
We're de-mining large areas, building roads & schools, and women no longer have to wear a tent to go outdoors.

a.

The pilot who started it, Gail S Halvorsen is still alive.

His actions were soon noticed by the press and gained widespread attention. A wave of public support led to donations which enabled Halvorsen and his crew to drop 850 pounds of candy. By the end of the airlift, around 25 plane crews had dropped 23 tons of chocolate, chewing gum, and other candies over various places in Berlin. The Confectioners Association of America donated large amounts to the effort, and American school children cooperated in attaching the candies to parachutes.

After his retirement from the military, he helped to establish, in 1980, the Airlift of Understanding, a high school student exchange program between the State of Utah and the City of Berlin, which continues to this day.

The following is quoted from Stephen Ambrose’s book, “Citizen Soldiers,”

“In the spring of 1945, around the world, the sight of a twelve-man squad of teenage boys, armed and in uniform, brought terror to people's hearts. Whether it was a Red Army squad in Berlin, Leipzig, or Warsaw, a German squad in Holland, or a Japanese squad in Manila, or Beijing, that squad meant rape, pillage, looting, wanton destruction, senseless killing. But there was an exception: a squad of GIs, a sight that brought the biggest smiles you ever saw to people and joy to their hearts.”

"Around the world this was true, even in Germany, even -- after September 1945— in Japan. This was because GIs meant cigarettes, C-rations, and freedom. America had sent the best of her young men around the world, not to conquer but to liberate, not to terrorize but to help. This was a great moment in our history.”

“But slowly, surely, the spirit of those GIs handing out candy and helping bring democracy to their former enemies spread, and today it is the democracies—not the totalitarians—who are on the march. Today, one can again believe in progress, as thing are getting better. This is thanks to the GIs—along with the millions of others who helped liberate Germany and Japan from their evil rulers, then stood up to Stalin and his successors. That generation has done more to spread freedom—and prosperity—around the globe than any previous generation.”

Analog,
When I was in Somalia we organized shipmets of school; supplies for the kids there. My friends in Iraq are still doing similiar kindnesses.

Its people like Halvorson and your SIL who are the real heroes and despite the efforts of some to tear them do they will continue to be because they do positive things; those who only know negative never contibute to our society and our country.

Your SIL sounds like a good man and a good G.I. Our G.I.s haven't changed but the people who used to support them and recognized their greatness now feel more comfortable calling them "rapists" and "murderers." to push their personal agendas and our news folks no longer think of themselves as "Americans."

Fortunately, most Americans like yourself know the truth.

Give your SIL my best.

[piqaboo]

Rather, I think the degree of outrage expressed when a GI is found guilty (or even strongly suspected) of grossly improper actions like rape and murder reflect the core belief in the general goodness of these young adult volunteers. If there were general low expectations, there would be little contrast and little reaction. Instead, there's a strong reaction, in part because the actions of one could tar the rest, and no one wants to see that.

[Haggis@wk]

and no one wants to see that.

Except some Democrat members of Congress

[barfle]

If Senator Murtha's story is true, the guilty deserve punishment. I doubt that he wants to see that.

[Haggis@wk]

If Senator Murtha's story is true, the guilty deserve punishment. I doubt that he wants to see that.

His accusal was based on the news reports. They've all been exonerated and/or cleared. He's never apologized. He is a despicable human being and I would tell him that to his face.

[barfle]

His accusal was based on the news reports. They've all been exonerated and/or cleared. He's never apologized. He is a despicable human being and I would tell him that to his face.

From the article:

"All the information I get, it comes from the commanders, it comes from people who know what they are talking about."

He's in the Senate. Of course he is a despicable human being.

[Haggis@wk]

His accusal was based on the news reports. They've all been exonerated and/or cleared. He's never apologized. He is a despicable human being and I would tell him that to his face.

From the article:

"All the information I get, it comes from the commanders, it comes from people who know what they are talking about."

He's in the Senate. Of course he is a despicable human being.

I stand by my original accusation. "His accusal was based (solely) on the news reports"

[Haggis@wk]

The remains of two soldiers missing in Iraq for over a year have been found. Alex Jimenez and Byron Fouty were captured in an ambush near the beginning of the “surge” operation, and their abduction touched off a massive search in central Iraq.

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, in whose hands are the living and the dead; We give thee thanks for all those thy servants who have laid down their lives in the service of our country. Grant to them thy mercy and the light of thy presence, that the good work which thou hast begun in them may be perfected; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord.
Amen.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Amen.

[Shapley]

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Caught In Battle.

[jamiebk]

Interesting problem. Some of you may know this, but my father was the superintendent of 2 cemeteries in his lifetime. I literally grew up inside the gates of McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery in McKeesport, PA. The "Superintendent's house" was at the gate.

For years, marble has not been used as a material for markers, tombs, headstones etc. for the very reason described here in the article Shap posted. Granite long since replaced it and is now used. Metals like bronze are good too.

My personal preference here would be to preserve the marble as long as possible. This is a monument, in all its age and glory. Imperfections are a part of it at least until structure or integrity are compromised.

I have seen this tomb many times and in fact had a friend who was an honor guard at the tomb. At some point, the marble will need to be replaced and when that day comes, new material such as granite will need to be used. Needless to say, such a transition would need to be handled with the utmost care, respect, and attention to detail and craft.

[Shapley]

My fear would be that, in the process of replacing the tomb, there would be considerable pressure to 'improve' it politically. A new granite tomb which reproduces the old one in every detail would be fine but I am inclined, like yourself, to believe that the existing tomb should be retained as long as possible.

[piqaboo]

Fix it while getting approval for the replacement. The important thing is honoring those soldiers, not honoring the exact material we first used to honor them. That would be replacing the thing with the symbol in the worst way.