A Memorial Day weekend request from a Vet.

[BikeWriter]

I'm thinking of my fellow vets on this eve of the Memorial Day weekend. The frame I'm most familiar with is VietNam Veterans, of which I am one, but much of this pertains to Veterans of most wars.
There were those of our MIA/POW Brothers and Sisters who never came back at all. Then there were those of us who came back in body bags, missing limbs, or blind. Most of us were able to pick up and continue our lives. There were some of us, though, who came back so wounded in spirit they were unable to readjust to civilian life. A number never held down a productive job again from no fault of their own.
The bottom line of what I'm trying to say can be summed up in one line, "All gave some, some gave all!" Please try to see at least one Vet this Memorial Day weekend. Give them a hug, or a warm handshake, whatever you're comfortable with. Tell them "Welcome home, thank you for your service." It will be appreciated.
Thank you.

[JimmyJazz]

1. Thank you for your service.

[BikeWriter]

5. Thank you, Dear. I know you've been deeply affected by losses, too.

[FuzzySlippers]

2. That was a beautiful post, Bikewriter.

Welcome home. Thank you for your service.:hug:

[BikeWriter]

6. Thank you, Pard. It would be easier to post but I got dust...

in my eyes and can't see very well right now for the tears. We'll have to complain to Skinner about the housekeeping.

[salin]

3. great post

and sentiment. Consider it done.

[BikeWriter]

9. Thank you, Salin. I appreciate anything you can do for a Vet...

I know personally how these holidays can depress some of us.

[blue neen]

4. We appreciate your personal sacrifices

and those made by your families.

:yourock:

[BikeWriter]

14. Yep, our Families made some of the biggest sacrifices. Thanks, Blue!

[blondeatlast]

7. Thank you to all. I will pay my respects to many as I remember

my WW2 vet father at the Vet's Cemetery.

Whenever I visit my father's grave, I am struck by what he would have been doing had he survived. He, a damn good Dem his entire life, would be doing everything he could to stop the insanity in Iraq.

I'm often glad he DIDN'T see what has happened to this government.

He would still be very proud of his nation, but would be sickened by its governance.

But I will let him know about Harry Reid--I think it'll give him a smile...

[BikeWriter]

15. I salute your Dad, Blonde. The WWll Vets were Warriors!

[babylonsister]

8. Thanks for that request/reminder. I will

surely follow through, and thank you, BikeWriter, for your service!

[BikeWriter]

16. Thank you, Ma'am, for remembering.

[billyoc]

10. New York City has a Viet Nam Veterans memorial,

It has a glass structure in the middle of a big plaza with service members last letters home from Viet Nam etched into the glass. It looks out on the Statue of Liberty.

He're a picture of the sun setting on the glass structure in the middle with the sun setting on it.



And here's a link to the official site for it, where you can read some of the letters.
http://www.nyvietnamveteransmemorial.org/vvm/main.html

I'm a tour guide here in NYC, and our double decker busses drive right past it, so we always make a point to stop right beside it and describe it to the tourists. To see the folks crane their necks to get a better look really makes the whole job worthwhile. :) And often, when we stop, you can here the helicopters taking off just out of sight(but not earshot) at the downtown heliport. It is one of the most moving scenes I have ever seen in my life, and I relish being able to go there every day.

Thanks, man.

[BikeWriter]

18. I got tears from the dust in my eyes again from looking at that picture.

So many gave so very much. Thank you for helping folks to remember.

[Pinboy]

41. Also inscribed...

on the NY Vietnam Veterans Memorial is this poem, written by an army chopper pilot, Major Michael Davis O’Donnell, less than 3 months before he was KIA in the Vietnam War:

If you are able,
save for them a place
inside of you…
and save one backward glance
when you are leaving
for the places they can
no longer go….
Be not ashamed to say
you loved them,
though you may
or may not have always…
Take what they have left
and what they have taught you
with their dying
and keep it with your own…
And in that time
when men decide and feel safe
to call the war insane,
take one moment to embrace
those gentle heroes
you left behind…

[BikeWriter]

51. Thank you for posting that, Brother. They are the words of a hero...

and thank you for your own dervice to America. Welcome home!

[Pinboy]

77. Welcome home to you, Brother...

Good OP! Hang in there this Memorial Day . . .

"Those of us who did make it have an obligation to build again . . . to teach to others what we know . . . and to try, with what's left of our lives, to find the goodness, and meaning, to this life."
--Epilogue from Oliver Stone's "Platoon"

[BikeWriter]

92. Thanks, Brother, some of these holidays are rough. Good quote!

[NMDemDist2]

11. kick and thank you. My favorite Vet passed last November (my Dad)

but I'll find someone nearby and do as you ask...

[BikeWriter]

20. I'm saluting your Dad. You are rightfully proud of him. Thank you.

[NMDemDist2]

22. thanks BW he did medivac in Nam in the mountains for 18 months

as a chopper pilot 68-70

he had grit (to say the least)

[BikeWriter]

27. A MediVac pilot? Yes, he served his time in hell! There are many men...

living today because of his service.

[NMDemDist2]

30. yes... n/t

[OhioBlue]

12. Anysoldier.com

I know many of us are p___ed off at the * cartel for what they have done, but let us not forget the many men and women of our country that are currently in harms way b/c of this admistration. They (the powers that be) should in all certainty provide for the troops, but they don't. Please visit anysoldier.com and send letters or care packages as your heart and finances see fit. Thank you.

[BikeWriter]

21. Thank you for throwing that link in, Blue!

Right on!

[Mnemosyne]

13. Thanks so much Bike for all!

And I thank any Vet when I meet them, year round, you all deserve it!

:loveya: :yourock: :headbang: :applause: :toast:

[BikeWriter]

23. Thank you very much, Vickiss, You rock!

[Mnemosyne]

57. I just admire those with courage and brilliant minds! n/t

[BikeWriter]

76. ROFL! Well, uh, I'm just an old country boy, but I see some folks...

Like you describe around here. :)

[Mnemosyne]

108. Hey old country boy,

learn to take a compliment from other "old" country folks! Brilliance of spirit is much more important than just being highly educated!
I sometimes feel like such a dumb ass when reading some posts here, but believe that wisdom and compassion matter also(maybe more!), that's why I admire people like you, my heroes!
:evilgrin: :hi:

[BikeWriter]

125. Thank you, Ma'am. :-)

[Mnemosyne]

134. You're quite welcome, I'm sure Sir. Take care!

[EFerrari]

17. Thank you, BikeWriter

Far off art thou, but ever neigh
I have thee still, and I rejoice;
I prosper, circled with thy voice:
I shall not lose thee though I die.

-- Tennyson, In Memoriam

[BikeWriter]

25. Thank you. That's a beautiful poem!

[EFerrari]

55. He wrote it after losing his gay lover, and before becoming

a rock star. It is really moving.

[Yankee Blue Veteran]

19. "To Our Absent Brothers!"

:patriot:
For many years my wife and I would share that toast with everyone else at 11:00 p.m. every Saturday night dance at our favorite Fraternal Organization. They are beautifully simple words with powerful significance. Well done, BikeWriter. Thank you and welcome home. Uniformed Brothers are now, and always will be, Brothers! This is merely the first of many greetings I will extend to Brother Veterans during this Holiday. I hope other Patriots will do the same!
Yankee Blue Veteran

[BikeWriter]

26. Thank you, Brother. To our absent Brothers and Sisters!

[acmejack]

28. I second

nt

[BikeWriter]

49. Thank you, Pard, and here's to having another Texan among us!

[JimmyJazz]

38. Welcome to Du!

[hickman1937]

24. Reagan's Attrition has taken care of the soldiers that were

injured the worst. I don't have the suicide facts right now, but withhold treatment, convince a country that they're homeless because they want to be(after closing down the va hospitals that gave them a place to go) let them live on the street for awhile, and, like magic, they just go away. Dumped in a potters field, and thanks for the service to your country you sucker.

[BikeWriter]

31. I've had three appointments at the VA in the last two weeks for...

PTSD, but when we came home it wasn't even recognized as a problem. We have to make sure our recent vets get that decompression time and counseling we did not!

[hickman1937]

39. I'll bet you couldn't join the local VFW hall either.

Viet Nam wasn't considered a real war, so no membership. I once read an article about how it was the Korean vets that wanted to keep the Nam vets out. Claimed that they were cry babys from a police action. Any truth to that?

[BikeWriter]

95. I have heard at least one Korean Vet deny PTSD exists. I put it...

down to his own mental problems. One of the Marine Combat Vets who Co-Mods at my Vet's forum is the salt of the Earth, as are most Korean War Vets I've met. I thought about joining the VFW years ago, but was turned off then by the attitudes of some of the older Vets. I know several VietVets now who say it's better and are urging me to join.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

29. I visited the VietNam Wall a few years back

and was completely destroyed by the time I left. But I am 58 and a lot of names on the wall were my friends many years back. One young man received his very first kiss from me when we were fifteen...not too many years before he lost his life over there.
Damn, this Lounge dust is really bad. I believe there is a breeze here stirring it all up.
They are soldiers, but they are our children, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers and lovers. And they are loved and appreciated.

[BikeWriter]

33. Thank you, Dear. War is a tragedy for all of us. Especially those...

we've gone into for questionable motives. It makes the losses that much more bitter. I've not visited the Moving Wall yet. I don't know that I could.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

44. It would be very tough for you. But I'm glad I did.

I think every single American should. Especially now.
But if you go, take a friend with you.

[BikeWriter]

96. I had considered it, but I had a heart attack last July 3rd...

preparing for the ceremonies the next day. I've also been very depressed for about seven years, so I don't think it wise to risk it.

[ralps]

32. I really Thank You For Your Service BikeWriter. Here is a bit from the

old Mike Malloy show. He's reading Dulce et Decorum Est

http://www.whiterosesociety.org/content/malloy/MalloyMemories/Dulce_et_Decorum_Est.mp3

Here is another Mike Malloy bit. He's reading letters from people who've died in Iraq. This always brings tears to my eyes. It's called "A Day To Remember"
http://www.whiterosesociety.org/content/malloy/MalloyMemories/A_Day_to_Remember.mp3

Again Thank You All for your Service
:hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :woohoo: :cry: :cry:

[BikeWriter]

34. Thank you, Pard. Here's to all American and Allied Vets!

[In_The_Wind]

35. Thank YOU ~ BikeWriter ~ Welcome Home!

:hug:



:patriot:

[BikeWriter]

36. Thank you, Joan. Here's to you!

[In_The_Wind]

42. you deserve the best life can offer you

Thanks for everything you did for all of us!

:toast:

[BikeWriter]

45. Thank you, Ma'am. I was so much luckier than many vets in that...

I had supportive and loving Parents and siblings to return to. Still, my military time set me back years in seeking a career and in starting a family. It has been a rough road, and I know so many more who've had it far more difficult.
Thank you for caring.

[In_The_Wind]

50. in that respect ~ you are lucky

I've known so many Namn Vets who are unable to sleep through the night.

... the tragedy of war continues long after the fighting stops

[BikeWriter]

58. Oh, I've had my bouts with PTSD, but I was able to raise a Family...

and retire before it got me down. It has been rough on them, though.

[In_The_Wind]

65. and for you too

:hug:

[11 Bravo]

37. Nicely said, brother, and welcome home.

My Dad was a career Naval officer, baby brother was a peacetime Navy P-3 jock, and I was a dumb grunt. We all couldn't disagree more politically, but at the end of every May, we manage to find each other for a hug.

[BikeWriter]

40. Thank you, Bro. I'm not much of a spokesman, but...

I had to make the effort. Here's to you and your Family! Welcome home, Brother, thank you for your service!

[11 Bravo]

43. It's funny. It has been over 30 years, but

as I was driving east on Route 66 in Northern Virginia this evening, bringing my youngest home from his Little League practice; 5 guys pulled up beside me on their hogs, obviously headed to "Rolling Thunder". One of them caught my eye and I just quietly saluted him. He returned the salute, and all of a sudden the old allergies caused my eyes to water.

[BikeWriter]

47. I know what you mean, Bro. Between the war in Iraq and some...

personal losses I've had over the last several years that happens quite often to me. Vets are still a solid core of those who ride bikes, though the so called upper crust have run up the prices.

[Penndems]

46. Thank you so much for your service

Thanks to all the veterans who served during "my generation's war": Viet Nam.





Rolling Thunder 2005 Memorial Day Tour:
http://www.rollingthunder1.com/rt-run-2005-info.htm

:patriot:






(on edit: additional text)

[BikeWriter]

48. Thank you, and thanks for the pictures of The Wall!

[Penndems]

52. NO - Thank YOU for your service

My brother-in-law is a Viet Nam vet (Captain, USA, 1967-1970). Voted for Nixon in '68 because of his "90-day" plan to get us out of Viet Nam. He's voted for Democratic candidates ever since.

Kent still refers to Nixon as "that lying son of a bitch", and thinks The Village Idiot is "worse than Nixon - and that's saying a hell of a lot."

[BikeWriter]

54. Your brother-in-law sounds like one f the good'ns. We did have...

a few good officers in the military. I'm only teasing; I was honored to serve under all of my Commanding Officers. I hope you'll invite him to visit; he'd be an asset here.

[Penndems]

68. He rarely speaks about his experiences in Viet Nam

It's just too painful for him to talk to anyone about, with the exception of another Viet Nam vet.

He opens up every great once in a while, but not often. I'll tell ya, though - he absolutely hates Nixon and Junior. When the Iraq War started, he broke down and cried.

The horror of Viet Nam is still with him.

[BikeWriter]

97. Most of us didn't talk about the war for years. I think now it is...

a mistake not to verbalize it. I've worked with physical wounds many times before. We'd wrap it up an go on working. That can only work for a finite time when you are badly injured emotionally.

[Redstone]

53. Well said, hoss,

well said.

Redstone

An Loc, RVN, 4-5, '72

Don't ride the skid!

[BikeWriter]

56. Thanks, Redstone, and welcome home! I may be a...

clumsy spokesman, but my heart is in the right place. :patriot:

[Redstone]

59. Not clumsy at all. The truth doesn't need fancy words.

Redstone

[BikeWriter]

62. Thank you, Pard. I appreciate that.

[Redstone]

66. De nada. Enjoy your weekend. We'll raise a glass for

the fallen on Monday.

Redstone

[BikeWriter]

98. Here's another to all our fellow Vets now.

[Floogeldy]

60. You got it!

B-)

[BikeWriter]

63. Thanks, Floogeldy. I take back everything bad I've said about you...

Most of it, anyway! :)

[HawkerHurricane]

61. Poetry for Veterans...

How we treat our soldiers while they serve...


TOMMY

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!


And how we treat them when they're done...


The Last of the Light Brigade

There were thirty million English who talked of England's might,
There were twenty broken troopers who lacked a bed for the night.
They had neither food nor money, they had neither service nor trade;
They were only shiftless soldiers, the last of the Light Brigade.

They felt that life was fleeting; they knew not that art was long,
That though they were dying of famine, they lived in deathless song.
They asked for a little money to keep the wolf from the door;
And the thirty million English sent twenty pounds and four!

They laid their heads together that were scarred and lined and grey;
Keen were the Russian sabres, but want was keener than they;
And an old Troop-Sergeant muttered, "Let us go to the man who writes
The things on Balaclava the kiddies at school recites."

They went without bands or colours, a regiment ten-file strong,
To look for the Master-singer who had crowned them all in his song;
And, waiting his servant's order, by the garden gate they stayed,
A desolate little cluster, the last of the Light Brigade.

They strove to stand to attention, to straighten the toil-bowed back;
They drilled on an empty stomach, the loose-knit files fell slack;
With stooping of weary shoulders, in garments tattered and frayed,
They shambled into his presence, the last of the Light Brigade.

The old Troop-Sergeant was spokesman, and "Beggin' your pardon," he said,
"You wrote o' the Light Brigade, sir. Here's all that isn't dead.
An' it's all come true what you wrote, sir, regardin' the mouth of hell;
For we're all of us nigh to the workhouse, an, we thought we'd call an' tell.

"No, thank you, we don't want food, sir; but couldn't you take an' write
A sort of 'to be continued' and 'see next page' o' the fight?
We think that someone has blundered, an' couldn't you tell 'em how?
You wrote we were heroes once, sir. Please, write we are starving now."

The poor little army departed, limping and lean and forlorn.
And the heart of the Master-singer grew hot with "the scorn of scorn."
And he wrote for them wonderful verses that swept the land like flame,
Till the fatted souls of the English were scourged with the thing called Shame.

O thirty million English that babble of England's might,
Behold there are twenty heroes who lack their food to-night;
Our children's children are lisping to "honour the charge they made-"
And we leave to the streets and the workhouse the charge of the Light Brigade!

-- Rudyard Kipling

[BikeWriter]

67. Thank you, Hawker. Those are both moving poems, and...

appropriate to events of the day.

[HawkerHurricane]

70. As a sailor...

(USN, 1984-2004) I can't claim that I know the intensity of land combat operations... but I do know the seperation (many times) and the drills and, occassionally, the stress when things drop in the pot...
"But to stand and be still
To the Birkenhead drill
Is a damn tough bullet to chew!"

[BikeWriter]

73. With that many years in I'm sure you've seen some hot spots...

Thank you for your own service, Pard.

[johnnie]

64. Good idea

I will call my uncle. He was in Vietnam in 68 and he seems alright, but I'm sure he has his own thing to deal with.
I was a pussy and didn't join up for service, but Reagen didn't make much of a case for me to go back then.
Thanks for your service and may you have a good and peaceful Memorial Day weekend.

[BikeWriter]

69. Thanks, Johnnie. Your Uncle was there when I was. Please...

thank him for us, too. :)

[Aristus]

71. I only wish Billy Ray Cyrus hadn't cheapened the phrase with

his cruddy music.

Be that as it may: Welcome home, brother!

And Happy Memorial Day.

:patriot:

Peace

[BikeWriter]

74. Thank you, Bro. Welcome home, and thank you for your service!

A very Happy Memorial Day to you and yours.

:patriot:

[elshiva]

72. Thank you so much, hon, for all the hard work!

You are a great human being and we all appreciate your presence on this board as well as your service. :hug: :loveya: :toast:

BTW: My grandfather, sweetest man ever, was WWII Seabee. Thanks to him too! :toast:

[BikeWriter]

75. Right on, Sweety. Thank you and a salute to your grandfather...

for his faithful service. Those WWII Seabees were often on contested beaches building landing fields while attacks were still going on.

[elshiva]

78. Yes, thanks! My grandfather was not only fighting for the safety

of Americans, but for the survival of the Jewish religion is someways. He has my respect for that. My father was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War and I think he did honorably to stand up for what he believed in there. I hope that you and others can recognize my father and other COs as fighters, trying to end the war in their own ways, please?

[BikeWriter]

81. Conscientious objectors have my respect in that they stood their ground..

and accepted the consequences. The pResident, on the other hand, used his dad's influence to avoid combat, then deserted. I can't respect that at all.

[elshiva]

83. Great. You understand there is a difference between COs

and deserters like Dubya! Dubya went AWOL he ran and hid. My daddy followed the law he refused to carry a gun, but he did hard work cleaning the ships while waiting for his trial. He stood up and stated his beliefs, he did not run away.
You are a gracious man, BikeWriter!

[BikeWriter]

87. Thank you, Sweety, you're a Doll.

[elshiva]

88. You are welcome, as always hon! Thanks again!

:toast: :yourock:

[Lady Effingbroke]

79. Thank you for your service, BikeWriter.

Welcome home (from a fellow Texan).

I will be sure to thank all the Vets I see!

[BikeWriter]

85. Thank you, Ma'am. I sure do appreciate that.

[Redstone]

80. Damn it. God damn it. I read all these replies,

and now I weep. Haven't done that for years.

I weep for those of us who cannot forget.

I weep for those of us who cannot walk.

I weep for those of us who cannot have a single day when we do not have painful reminder of where we've been and what we've done, and what has been done to us.

I weep for those of us who cannot speak, for having long been consigned to the Earth, with only their memories remaining.

I weep for those of us who cannot forget the ones who have gone before us.

I weep for those of us who cannot even speak of the reasons why we weep.

BikeWriter, you'll never pay for a drink as long as I'm in the same bar as you.

I have to go now.

Redstone

[Lady Effingbroke]

82. Thank you for your service, Redstone.

Welcome home.

[BikeWriter]

84. I know, Brother. The same emotions haunt me every day.

Maybe they've surfaced due to the frustrations and stress of the elections and war being so similiar to VietNam. Perhaps we've only built walls around our feelings and suppressed them for years. I don't know if facing these things and expressing them will help, but I sure hope so.

[Redstone]

89. BW, you're a wise and a good man, and I hope some day

to have the opportunity to shake you hand.

I do miss my "Big Brother," Lance Cpl Michael A. Baronowski, and I miss the part of my own youth that was lost in that small town in the Central Highlands...

But I think you're right. I went for a walk after reading your post, and I believe you have a point, that facing and expressing after all these years (has it really been 33 years? Seems like yesterday) might help, after all.

I'll walk again tonight, and ponder these things further. And I will appreciate your words as I walk. You're one of the Good Guys.

Redstone

[BikeWriter]

91. Thank you, Redstone. I'm an emotional wreck myself, but if...

I can in any way assist you to reconcile your losses and grief nothing would please me more.

[JimmyJazz]

86. Thank you for your service.

:hug: And for being you.

[coffeenap]

105. And here I was, unable to sleep because I was thinking I wrecked

things for my kid by saying the truth at her school and standing up for someone else. I look at what you guys had to do, and look what you have had to deal with for so very long. Then I look at my little problems and, poof, I feel small and selfish.

As an American, I thank you for your sacrifice, I applaud you for continuing to strive for a just society. I cry with you as a fellow human being, and hope you find peace and comfort. This is for you too Redstone.

Good night.

[cassandra uprising]

117. You, your pain and your sacrifices are not forgotten.

Thank you Redstone for sacrificing your innocence so I could have mine.

:hug:

Please see my post below #113.

I wish you and your family peace and solace this weekend. Thank you for everything you are.

[WildEyedLiberal]

90. Thank you for your service BikeWriter

And a :toast: for all veterans, living and passed on. You have the thanks of a grateful nation.

My father was an AF vet, 65-69, and my grandfather was a WWII Navy vet, stationed on a ship at Okinawa. My great-grandfather was a B-25 navigator over Europe; his plane went down and he was written down as MIA. :patriot: God bless our veterans.

[BikeWriter]

99. Your Family has a long and honorable tradition of patriotism...

and sacrifice, Dear. I salute you all! :patriot:

[fleabert]

93. welcome home, and thank you for your service.

seriously, thank you. :hug:

[BikeWriter]

100. Thank you, Dear, for the hug. I needed one of those right now. :-)

:hug:

[fleabert]

104. anytime, my Friend, anytime.

:hug::hug:
:hug:
:hug::hug::hug:
:hug:
:hug:

you deserve as many as you want!

[Vektor]

94. Thank you for your service, BikeWriter!

(and for freeing that possum!)

I will most certainly thank all the vets I know, including my Dad, an Air Force Vet.

[BikeWriter]

101. Thank you, and our thanks to your Dad for his own service, Pard.

[Vektor]

102. I'll tell him!

:-)

[BikeWriter]

103. Please do. :-)

[BikeWriter]

106. Kicking up

[In_The_Wind]

107. ~ good morning

:donut: :hi:

[BikeWriter]

111. Hello, Sweety. Are you up having coffee? It's a little overcast here.

[In_The_Wind]

116. had coffee ~ going out to retrieve my trike from Honda

there were several recalls on the Goldwing ~ it checked out OK good to go :woohoo: I'm outta here till sunset or the rain returns ~ whichever comes first

enjoy your day ... someway that's being good to you!

:hug:

[BikeWriter]

121. I'm glad your bike checked out okay. I hope to get out of here later.

[Redstone]

110. Top o' the day to you, BW--do you ever sleep?

It's warm and sunny here today, and I for one am going to let everything else go for the day and have a nice picinic wirh Mrs R. and the little guy, then we're going out with some friends tonight to celebrate our 10th anniversary.

I'd suggest you do something similar; there's plenty of time for remembering in the deep hours of the night, so let's use the day to enjoy life.

Deal?

Redstone

[BikeWriter]

112. It sounds as if you've a great day planned, Pard. Yes, I take a nap...

sometimes in the morning. I'll probably get out of the house for a while later. You have a super day! :)

[YellowRubberDuckie]

109. Thank you...

:hug: I hate it that no one came back right from Viet Nam. I pray that you are comforted and know that your sacrifice is greatly appreciated.

Skip's dad was in the Navy during Viet Nam and was on a boat nearby. He saw way too many plane crashes and a man burned to death in front of him. He was the head of the fire fighting crew on his ship. He's still not 100%.

To all the veterans of DU: Thank you. :hug: Your sacrifice, be it physical and/or psychological, we appreciate it.

Duckie

[BikeWriter]

114. Thank you, Duckie. Yes, there were few of us who didn't get...

at least some dings in our fenders. Thank you so much for your kind understanding.

[cassandra uprising]

113. Thank for this post and thank you for sacrifices.

I've neglected to take time to remember why it's important to stop and reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day. Like so many "holidays" it's easy to forget why they became holidays in the first place. It gets lost in

'Oh great, a three day weekend to catch up on chores,

or maybe I'll get to see my favorite cousin who's coming up for the weekend,'

My Dad dodged Vietnam. He was a Navy core man and has was deemed unfit to fight by exaggerating a stint he did in a mental institution after a fist fight with his father. As an adolescent I thought this was pretty cool and because of his actions I was lucky to have been born. The father of my best friend growing up served in Vietnam. The conversation came up, I don't remember how or when -we like ten or twelve, and I told her about my Dad and she told me about hers.

"He has really bad nightmares from it, but he won't talk about it" and I remember thinking how strange and in my naivete and ignorance shrugging it off. It wasn't until years later that I was able to put some pieces together and revisit this story with a little perspective. I had the luxury of never having to be confronted with the trauma of war where so many did not.

After reading your post am gratefully humbled and able to stop and reflect on how truly lucky I am. Thank you for your strength and dedication. Thank you for surviving. Thank you for you spirit and your courage. Thank you for my sheltered-ness and privilege. Thank you for your sacrifices. No matter how "sensitive" I can try to be, or how much I try to understand I will never be able to understand your suffering and pain, your fortitude and perseverance. Thank you and everyone who like yourself gave the ultimate sacrifice.

[Redstone]

115. Nothing wrong with your dad doing whatever

he had to in order to be kept out of the meat grinder.

I don't think that self-preservation is anything to be ashamed of--unless you duck out like, say bushyboy and Cheney, then go on to huff and puff and send young Americans off to die for a lie as big ans the lie of Viet Nam.

The bravery of those who fought there notwithstanding, Viet Nam did not have anything more to do with Stopping the Spread of Communism (as the lie was then), than Iraq has to do with Stopping Terrorism (as the lie is now).

Redstone

[cassandra uprising]

118. You are 100% correct, as usual :)

I'm not ashamed of Dad. It just struck me. All the variables that could have been he didn't break his father's nose when he was 17.

[BikeWriter]

122. Don't blame your Dad. We all had our chance at dealing with that war...

Whether it was to accept the draft orders, escape to Canada, or whatever. The ones I despise are those like * who used his Dad's wealth and influence to get into the Champagne Squadron, then deserted. The million dollars it took to train him could have been used to save some troop's life.
I'm glad our posts have helped your understanding of the lasting effects of war on us. The Iraq war has brought it all back to me and I've shed many a tear for our troops who are going through the same things we did. Thank you for your compassion.

[Redstone]

132. And then there were the DUMB FUCKS like me, who didn't have

to be anywhere near there, and furthermore could have bailed out if they had had the sense to notice what they'd gotten themselves into before it was too late...long story.

At least I have the consolation of knowing that is my own obliviousness and pathological lack of fear that caused me the problems I live with to this day--nobody made me do it. I feel MUCH worse for the poor bastards who had no choice but to get drafted and fed into the meat grinder.

I'm not going to feel sorry for myself, because at least I had the choice to avoid the whole thing, which I wasn't smart enough to take...

I wanted to know what Mike Baronowski knew...

Enough rambling.

Redstone

[BikeWriter]

133. I read a few things about your Bro, and his making those tapes...

I'm glad they've found them and published them.

[Redstone]

135. Man, can you imagine how I felt, hearing them on the radio

all that time after hearing them when he sent them home back then?

Mike was my next-door neighbor, my friend, and my "big brother." Imagine how great it was for me, a skinny, brainy, shy 13-yeal-old kid, to go riding around in cars with him and his friends, cussing and smoking Marlboros, and telling dirty jokes?

Just to give you an idea of his character: He sent me a package from basic training: A hand-grenade ring and pin, taped to the cover of a book on topological physics.

I still miss him. I went to look for him six years after he died, and to try to see the things he saw...

Redstone

[BikeWriter]

136. It's a few minutes from Memorial Day. Drinking a toast to your big Bro...

and to you, my Friend. I'm glad you made it back, I wish to hell he had!

[Redstone]

138. Me, too. I still miss him. I made it back with all

my arms and legs, even if a couple of them didn't work too well for a while (and still don't), and most of my mind, so I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

You take care now, old hoss, you hear me?

Remember these words: We have to live in today and tomorrow, and let back then be back then.

Redstone

[Lauri16]

119. Welcome Home BikeWriter!

And Thank you!
:hug: :hug: :hug:

I was fortunate enough to have both my older brothers come home from VietNam in one piece. They both left in 67, I believe, and they came home *I think* in 1970. I was 5 when they came home so that's why I think it was 69 or 70.

[BikeWriter]

123. Thank you, Dear. You were about the same age as my baby Sis...

I still recall her crying every time her "Bubba" had to leave. It broke my heart! She's a GrandMother now, and she fusses about me not taking better care of myself.
Be proud of your Brothers, I'm sure you are!

[Lauri16]

127. They're my heroes

I used to sleep outside their bedroom door when they came home. We lived in Long Island at the time, not too far from JFK and for reasons that i'm sure you're familiar with, they weren't exactly "adjusted" to the sound of the planes flying over late at night. Sometimes they would jump up and start yelling...i don't really recall what they were yelling, but I slept outside their door to "protect" them.

I'm gonna go through the worry again, now. I found out a few days ago that one of my brothers has been recalled. He's going to either Afghanistan or Iraq in August. He retired from the Army almost 20 years ago. I'm not overly thrilled about it, but he made the Army his life, so all I can do is hope for the best for him & everyone else.

[BikeWriter]

130. I'm sorry you'll have to worry about him again. :-(

[Gormy Cuss]

129. My brother was Vietnam Class of 68-69

USA,drafted a year out of high school. I was a kid and internalized my fears for him the whole time. He made it home in one piece. Later when I went to college I realized that most of the kids from the wealthy enclaves knew no one who served. They had older brothers who protested or found every deferment under the sun, but no one who had to put on the boots and go. Funny how that worked.

[BikeWriter]

131. Yep, there were many of us poor and middle class drafted..

One troop who went through basic with us was a politician's kid. He was bound for the Texas Air National Guard. The Drill Instructors made sure he got an extra little dose of every exercise. They resented him, too.

[rasputin1952]

120. I have read through this thread, and I see the great compassion

we, as Progressives have for our Servicemembers...this is a good thing.

This Weekend, there will be various speeches and Grand Orations from those who are used to doing such things.....however, the elegance of those who have posted here, far outshines what mere passages the orators will come up with.

On Memorial Day, as I have for years, I will travel to the Cemeteries in my area, and remember those who have gone on before I. This just my way of showing my fellow Veterans that their Sevice is not forgotten.

For all of the diatribes the politicians will fill the air with, there are few things more eloquent than Taps; or the silence as a tear comes to one's eye, while straightening a windswept flag at a Veterans grave.

:patriot:

[BikeWriter]

124. Thank you, Rasputin, and thank you...

for your own service. Welcome home!

[rasputin1952]

126. Your Welcome, and a warm Welcome Home to you as well...

I just hope I didn't kill off your great thread...:)

[BikeWriter]

128. Oh, we will see. I think it's already been enlightening...

to a couple of people. That has made it worthwhile.

[Redstone]

137. I'm kicking your thread, hoss, because

I don't think enough people have seen your message.

And I think they should.

Redstone