And so comes the dawn...

[Cuban_Liberal]

We woke up early today, at around 5:00. Although it was still dark, we could tell that the day would dawn cool, damp and gray--- fitting, really, because it matches my mood.

Paddy made tea while I let the dogs out, and afterward we both sat on the deck drinking it, watching light creep into the overcast eastern sky. I wasn't much in the mood to talk last night, so he just held me until I fell asleep, but this morning I needed to talk, and so I did. Paddy listens well, what some people call 'active listening', and so he actually hears what I say when I say it, and not simply the words I use. I'm so lucky to have that.

Until the Army gets its act together and gets Chuckie's body to the funeral home so that we can get on with the funeral arrangements, things are pretty much at a standstill, and I need to be doing something. Paddy had an excellent suggestion--- that we go get my younger brothers and have them spend a night or two--- and I just got off the phone with my folks; we're going to go pick them up in a little while, and they'll be staying with us for the next few days, at least until the funeral. As much as I'm hurting, I'm sure they're hurting worse, because they're not as old as I am and haven't had to deal with death much, and I think maybe I can help them deal with this. I hope so, any way.

You guys have been great! I've sat here and cried like a baby this morning reading all the kind things you've written here, and in GD; I'm honored to know each and every one of you, and I think that I finally understand what it is that makes DU so special.

God bless!

---Tony

:grouphug::loveya:

[burrowowl]

1. My sincere condolences

to all your family.
:grouphug:

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. Thank you!

:hug:

[Catch22Dem]

3. CL, my thoughts are with you, friend.

Hopefully by helping the younger boys get through this, it will help you even more. PEACE!

[Cuban_Liberal]

4. Thank you.

:hug:

[JohnKleeb]

5. I am sorry about your nephew man

He was old enough to be an older brother to me, in fact the distant between his age and mine is closer than it is for me and my brother. I am sorry for your loss. If you like, I'll post some beautiful anti war quotes I found in all things one of my favorite computer games.

[Cuban_Liberal]

6. Thank you, John!

Please do post some. I'm in a very anti-war mood, as you can imagine. Peace.

:hug:

[JohnKleeb]

9. ok here you go

Not all them are anti war persay but alot are and a lot are about the brotherhood guys develop.

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that
counts."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"In war there is no prize for the runner-up."
- General Omar Bradley

===============================================================================

"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war
than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living."
- General Omar Bradley

===============================================================================

"It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it."
- General Douglas MacArthur

===============================================================================

"In war, you win or lose, live or die-and the difference is just an eyelash."
- General Douglas MacArthur

===============================================================================

"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must
suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."
- General Douglas MacArthur

===============================================================================

"They died hard, those savage men - like wounded wolves at bay. They were
filthy, and they were lousy, and they stunk. And I loved them."
- General Douglas MacArthur

===============================================================================

"So long as there are men there will be wars."
- Albert Einstein

===============================================================================

"We must be prepared to make heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we
make ungrudgingly for the cause of war. There is no task that is more important
or closer to my heart."
- Albert Einstein

===============================================================================

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded
state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is
much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight,
nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable
creature, and has no chance of being free unless made or kept so by the
exertions of better men than himself."
- John Stuart Mill

===============================================================================

"Future years will never know the seething hell and the black infernal
background, the countless minor scenes and interiors of the secession war; and
it is best they should not. The real war will never get in the books."
- Walt Whitman

===============================================================================

"There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing
good in war. Except its ending."
- Abraham Lincoln

===============================================================================

"The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic."
- Joseph Stalin

===============================================================================

"Death solves all problems - no man, no problem."
- Joseph Stalin

===============================================================================

"In the Soviet army it takes more courage to retreat than advance."
- Joseph Stalin

===============================================================================

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard
die for his."
- General George S. Patton

===============================================================================

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God
that such men lived."
- General George S. Patton

===============================================================================

"Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a
crime."
- Ernest Hemingway

===============================================================================

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and
how he died that distinguish one man from another."
- Ernest Hemingway

===============================================================================

"All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers."
- Francois Fenelon

===============================================================================

"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace."
- Ulysses S. Grant

===============================================================================

"Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die."
- Herbert Hoover

===============================================================================

"Only the dead have seen the end of the war."
- Plato

===============================================================================

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left."
- Bertrand Russell

===============================================================================

"Death is nothing, but to live defeated and inglorious is to die daily."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

===============================================================================

"Patriots always talk of dying for their country and never of killing for their
country."
- Bertrand Russell

===============================================================================

"All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke, British statesman and philosopher

===============================================================================

"It is well that war is so terrible, or we should get too fond of it."
- Robert E. Lee

===============================================================================

"A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

===============================================================================

"He who fears being conquered is sure of defeat."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

===============================================================================

"You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your
art of war."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

===============================================================================

"There's a graveyard in northern France where all the dead boys from D-Day are
buried. The white crosses reach from one horizon to the other. I remember
looking it over and thinking it was a forest of graves. But the rows were like
this, dizzying, diagonal, perfectly straight, so after all it wasn't a forest
but an orchard of graves. Nothing to do with nature, unless you count human
nature."
- Barbara Kingsolver

===============================================================================

"If we don't end war, war will end us."
- H. G. Wells

===============================================================================

"From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is
eternity."
- Edvard Munch

===============================================================================

"He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, And he who has one
enemy will meet him everywhere."
- Ali ibn-Abi-Talib

===============================================================================

"For the Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast,
And breathed in the face of the foe as he pass'd;
And the eyes of the sleepers wax'd deadly and chill,
And their hearts but once heaved, and for ever grew still!"
- George Gordon Byron, "The Destruction of Sennacherib"

===============================================================================

"They wrote in the old days that it is sweet and fitting to die for one's
country. But in modern war, there is nothing sweet nor fitting in your dying.
You will die like a dog for no good reason."
- Ernest Hemmingway

===============================================================================

"There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is
all hell. You can bear this warning voice to generations yet to come. I look
upon war with horror."
- General William Tecumseh Sherman

===============================================================================

"War is delightful to those who have not experienced it."
- Erasmus

===============================================================================

"War is as much a punishment to the punisher as it is to the sufferer."
- Thomas Jefferson

===============================================================================

"War would end if the dead could return."
- Stanley Baldwin

===============================================================================

###############################################################################

V I C T O R Y Q U O T E S

###############################################################################

===============================================================================

"When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more
he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that
counts."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the
beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields
and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."
- Winston Churchill

===============================================================================

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

===============================================================================

"The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

===============================================================================

"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes
longer."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

===============================================================================

"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we
fail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

===============================================================================

"The characteristic of a genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have
wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved
to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself
with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

===============================================================================

"If the opposition disarms, well and good. If it refuses to disarm, we shall
disarm it ourselves."
- Joseph Stalin

===============================================================================

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard
die for his."
- General George S. Patton

===============================================================================

"Better to fight for something than live for nothing."
- General George S. Patton

===============================================================================

"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."
- General George S. Patton

===============================================================================

"If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George S. Patton

===============================================================================

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God
that such men lived."
- General George S. Patton

===============================================================================

"Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and
how he died that distinguish one man from another."
- Ernest Hemingway

===============================================================================

"All wars are civil wars, because all men are brothers."
- Francois Fenelon

===============================================================================

"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace."
- Ulysses S. Grant

===============================================================================

"We happy few, we band of brothers/For he today that sheds his blood with
me/Shall be my brother."
- William Shakespeare, King Henry V

===============================================================================

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death
but once."
- William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

===============================================================================

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

===============================================================================

"There are only two forces in the world, the sword and the spirit. In the long
run the sword will always be conquered by the spirit."
- Napoleon Bonaparte

===============================================================================

"There will one day spring from the brain of science a machine or force so
fearful in its potentialities, so absolutely terrifying, that even man, the
fighter, who will dare torture and death in order to inflict torture and death,
will be appalled, and so abandon war forever."
- Thomas A. Edison

===============================================================================

"There are no atheists in foxholes" isn't an argument against atheism, it's an
argument against foxholes."
- James Morrow

===============================================================================

"If we don't end war, war will end us."
- H. G. Wells

===============================================================================

"Live as brave men; and if fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave
hearts."
- Cicero

===============================================================================

"Courage and perseverance have a magical talisman, before which difficulties
disappear and obstacles vanish into air."
- John Quincy Adams

===============================================================================

"Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway."
- John Wayne

===============================================================================

"Above all things, never be afraid. The enemy who forces you to retreat is
himself afraid of you at that very moment."
- Andre Maurois

===============================================================================

"I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord, make my
enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it."
- Voltaire

===============================================================================

"Safeguarding the rights of others is the most noble and beautiful end of a
human being."
- Kahlil Gibran, "The Voice of the Poet

===============================================================================

"He conquers who endures."
- Persius

===============================================================================

"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!"
- Emiliano Zapata

===============================================================================

"You know the real meaning of peace only if you have been through the war."
- Kosovar

===============================================================================

"Those who have long enjoyed such privileges as we enjoy forget in time that
men have died to win them."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

===============================================================================

"In war there is no substitute for victory."
- General Douglas MacArthur

===============================================================================

"War is a series of catastrophes which result in victory."
- Georges Clemenceau

Thanks to Call of Duty for the quotes, as I said not all are anti war but all I think really put what war is pretty well, I added all of them.

[kikiek]

7. I am so sorry to hear about your nephew. Words escape me.

My heart breaks for your family. I am so sorry.

[Cuban_Liberal]

10. Thank you.

:hug:

[ET Awful]

8. My condolences Tony. . . been thinking of you

since I heard the news. It's been a sad week on DU.

Stay strong and take care of the younger brothers, sunds like you're doing a great job with them.

[Cuban_Liberal]

11. Poor Mari333 and surfermaw.

It's been a very sad week for our DU family.

:hug:

[JohnKleeb]

13. Its just so sad

Every day I think of my godmother who died in June 2001 and her nephew she never knew, my youngest brother. He was a mere two month old when she died, and now he's growing up. I had a relative KIA in WWII, so I can emphiaze a little.

[Misunderestimator]

12. Tony, that was beautiful.

My thoughts and prayers are with you. You and Paddy are lucky to have eachother, and you're doing a wonderful thing having your brothers stay with you. :hug:

[Cuban_Liberal]

14. I need them as much as they need me right now.

Thank you.

:hug:

[MuseRider]

15. Tony, you are inspiring.

You are taking your grief and using it to help your younger brothers and in turn it will help you. That is so amazing, so giving and one of the reasons we all love you so and share so much of your pain. Enjoy your time with them as you course through the process. Sending thoughts of love and healing to you and Paddy and the rest of your family. :loveya:

[Cuban_Liberal]

16. When someone you love is in pain, you help them.

That's what being a family is about, IMO. I love all my siblings very much, rsprcially the younger ones. Thank you for your lovely post!

:hug:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

17. My thoughts and prayers are with you

eom

[Cuban_Liberal]

18. Thank you.

:hug:

[JanMichael]

19. I am truly saddened by your loss. They are all sad but this hits closer...

...to home because of DU.

I'm glad though that you've got the family support that means so much.

[flamingyouth]

20. I am so sorry for your family's loss, Tony

What a week we've had on DU. Your tragedy has hit me very hard. I can't stop looking at his photo and reading your original post about him.

He should have been hanging out with friends, going to school, going to parties, being with his family at that age. So young. I admire his dedication to serve his country, but I will never forgive those responsible for his death.

You are all in my prayers.
Lisa

[Cuban_Liberal]

21. Thank you, Lisa

Neither Chuckie, nor anyone else should have been there.

:hug:

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

22. With strength from God , may your heart be healed in time ...

I prayed for your nephew last night as well as you and your family . Stay strong my DU friend . We are here when you need us :hug:

PS : From your posts I have been inspired to volunteer more to get Kerry into office and I am wearing a black armband ,which I PROMISE I will not remove until every soldier returns home safe and sound ... That sounds weak I know but it reminds me of that we have sons and daughters over there that need to be home ...

[trof]

23. It's the time that's the hardest.

Between the happening and the knowing and the closure.
You're right, the youngsters will be a help.
How old are they?
Like weinie roast and marshmellow age?
Whatever.
Do something together.

[Cuban_Liberal]

24. They're 17, 15 and 11...

They're here now, and I feel better, just having them close.

:)

[trof]

26. In good times and bad,

happy and sad,
the kitchen is the best damned place in the house.
Cook.
And everybody helps.
Works for me and mine.

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

25. We will find a way to make Chuckie's death count for something.

I have been crying since I read your first thread, off and on. :cry:

God bless your family, Tony. :hug:

[Cuban_Liberal]

27. NEVER forget, Walt--- never.

This madness must come to an end!

:hug: