Memorial Day 2015
- Thread starter old mossy
- Start date
S
SHOOTER13
Guest
" I want all of you to be safe. And please don't feel bad for us. We are warriors. And as warriors have done before us, we joined this organization and are following orders because we believe that what we are doing is right. Many of us have volunteered to do this a second time due to our deep desire to finish the job we started. We fight and sometimes die so that our families don't have to. Stand beside us. Because we would do it for you. Becasue it is our unity that has enabled us to prosper as a nation." - Staff Sergeant Marcus Golczynski, written a week before he was killed in action in Iraq.
(DNJ photo by Aaron Thompson.) Christian Golczynski, 8, receives the flag from his father's casket from Lt. Col. Ric Thompson during the graveside service at Wheeler Cemetery in Bedford County. Golczynski's father, Marcus, was killed by enemy fire in Iraq last week.
(While this says "last week" I believe it from 2007)
http://www.blackfive.net/main/2007/04/marine_staff_se.html
http://m.youtube.com/results?q=just a common soldier&sm=1
Thank you for all that you hsve done to keep us free!
Thank you for all that you hsve done to keep us free!
S
SHOOTER13
Guest
The thought of HIM treading on hallowed ground MAKES ME SICK...!!!
( ...and of course, the jerk-in-chief had to say something political )
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Obama pays tribute to fallen service members at Arlington
ARLINGTON, Va. — President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to Americans who died in battle, saying people their fellow citizens must "never stop trying to fully repay them" for their sacrifice and noting this is first Memorial Day in 14 years without U.S. forces involved in a major ground war.
Speaking under sunny skies to some 5,000 people on the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, including the relatives of the dead, Obama called the burial place "more than a final resting place for fallen heroes"
"It is a reflection of America itself. A reflection of our history, the wars we've waged for democracy, the peace we've laid to preserve it," he said. "It is a reflection of our diversity, of people from different races and creeds who fought for the ideals that bind us as one nation."
His appearance was an annual rite for presidents at the site of the national cemetery nestled among the verdant hills overlooking the Potomac River. It came with the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan reduced to about 10,000, from a peak of over 100,000. Monday's tribute also took place against a backdrop of the increasingly complex U.S. effort to help Iraq defeat a surging Islamic State extremist group that has been gaining momentum in recent weeks, capturing Ramadi there and taking Palmyra in neighboring Syria.
Of Afghanistan, he said "we'll continue to bring them home and reduce our forces further, down to an embassy presence by the end of the year."
"We honor the more than 2,200 patriots who made the sacrifice in Afghanistan," he said there. Earlier Monday, troops still stationed there paused for a moment of silence in honor of those who lost their lives there.
The Arlington observance was among a host of Memorial Day events across the country featuring parades, picnics and tributes. Presaging Monday's solemn event at Arlington was the roar of motorcycle engines throughout the capital Sunday as thousands of bikers saluted veterans with the Rolling Thunder's "Ride for Freedom." That was followed by a concert of patriotic music Sunday evening and Obama's private breakfast at the White House Monday morning with representatives of veteran and military family service organizations, along with the Gold Star Mothers, Gold Star Wives and Sons and Daughters in Touch. A Memorial Day parade was set for downtown Washington Monday afternoon.
"Most Americans don't fully see, don't fully understand, the sacrifices of the 1 percent of the Americans who serve in this all-volunteer force," Obama said in his speech. "Our Gold Star families, our military families, our veterans, they know this intimately."
"Whenever I meet with our "Gold Star" families, as I did this morning, I see that their hearts are still broken, but still full of love," he said. "In the face of unspeakable loss, they represent the best of who we are."
Obama said the markers at Arlington signify the blessings enjoyed by "so many Americans."
"It's a debt we can never fully repay," he said, "but a debt we will never stop trying to fully repay."
Speaking ahead of Obama, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said, "We, your fellow Americans, lack the words to describe what you feel today because try as we may, and try as we do, we can never fully know. But we do know what your sacrifice means to us."
( ...and of course, the jerk-in-chief had to say something political )
=================================
Obama pays tribute to fallen service members at Arlington
ARLINGTON, Va. — President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to Americans who died in battle, saying people their fellow citizens must "never stop trying to fully repay them" for their sacrifice and noting this is first Memorial Day in 14 years without U.S. forces involved in a major ground war.
Speaking under sunny skies to some 5,000 people on the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, including the relatives of the dead, Obama called the burial place "more than a final resting place for fallen heroes"
"It is a reflection of America itself. A reflection of our history, the wars we've waged for democracy, the peace we've laid to preserve it," he said. "It is a reflection of our diversity, of people from different races and creeds who fought for the ideals that bind us as one nation."
His appearance was an annual rite for presidents at the site of the national cemetery nestled among the verdant hills overlooking the Potomac River. It came with the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan reduced to about 10,000, from a peak of over 100,000. Monday's tribute also took place against a backdrop of the increasingly complex U.S. effort to help Iraq defeat a surging Islamic State extremist group that has been gaining momentum in recent weeks, capturing Ramadi there and taking Palmyra in neighboring Syria.
Of Afghanistan, he said "we'll continue to bring them home and reduce our forces further, down to an embassy presence by the end of the year."
"We honor the more than 2,200 patriots who made the sacrifice in Afghanistan," he said there. Earlier Monday, troops still stationed there paused for a moment of silence in honor of those who lost their lives there.
The Arlington observance was among a host of Memorial Day events across the country featuring parades, picnics and tributes. Presaging Monday's solemn event at Arlington was the roar of motorcycle engines throughout the capital Sunday as thousands of bikers saluted veterans with the Rolling Thunder's "Ride for Freedom." That was followed by a concert of patriotic music Sunday evening and Obama's private breakfast at the White House Monday morning with representatives of veteran and military family service organizations, along with the Gold Star Mothers, Gold Star Wives and Sons and Daughters in Touch. A Memorial Day parade was set for downtown Washington Monday afternoon.
"Most Americans don't fully see, don't fully understand, the sacrifices of the 1 percent of the Americans who serve in this all-volunteer force," Obama said in his speech. "Our Gold Star families, our military families, our veterans, they know this intimately."
"Whenever I meet with our "Gold Star" families, as I did this morning, I see that their hearts are still broken, but still full of love," he said. "In the face of unspeakable loss, they represent the best of who we are."
Obama said the markers at Arlington signify the blessings enjoyed by "so many Americans."
"It's a debt we can never fully repay," he said, "but a debt we will never stop trying to fully repay."
Speaking ahead of Obama, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said, "We, your fellow Americans, lack the words to describe what you feel today because try as we may, and try as we do, we can never fully know. But we do know what your sacrifice means to us."
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington
Today it is our duty as Americans to honor the memory of our fallen soldiers and to pass on the memory of their sacrifice to future generations so that they will NEVER be forgotten. To all who have lost family, friends, and brothers in the service of our Country, today we grieve together. As we grieve we also celebrate and cherish the memory of their honor, their valor, and their sacrifice in pursuit of freedom...
Today it is our duty as Americans to honor the memory of our fallen soldiers and to pass on the memory of their sacrifice to future generations so that they will NEVER be forgotten. To all who have lost family, friends, and brothers in the service of our Country, today we grieve together. As we grieve we also celebrate and cherish the memory of their honor, their valor, and their sacrifice in pursuit of freedom...