From the Saint Crispin’s Day speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V:
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
To all who served before me, to those with whom I served, and to those who serve today — thank you. Of all of my life’s accomplishments and achievements, I am most proud of having been a Soldier.
Heinlein wrote: “The noblest fate that a man can endure is to place his own mortal body between his loved home and the war’s desolation.”
Remember:
- It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
- It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
- It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.
- It is the soldier, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whosecoffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.
To my veteran brother’s, thank you for your valuable service.
I had the pleasant experience, yesterday, to meet a WWII veteran, but he was so much more than that.
After flying P-51’s in the European theater, he returned home in 1945, and enrolled at UT, where he played football with the likes of Tom Landry and Bobby Layne. He was also Tom’s best man at his wedding. He then played in the NFL briefly, before attending law school.
Just a wonderful man, a humble man.
I thanked him for his service to our nation, and he smiled and looked down, not knowing how to accept the praise. I then told him I was so very thankful that he was able to return, and make more meaningful contributions. To that, he said he was too. We talked briefly about the planned invasion of Japan, and that he and others were already back in the states training, for their role, when they heard about the surrender. He, as have all the WWII veterans I’ve talked to, still have high praise for those who developed the atomic bombs, and for Truman having the cajones to use them.
This Veteran is taking it easy surfing the web. Great site I am telling a lot of people about it today.
That has been my experience too when talking with WWII veterans. They are very humble when it comes to accepting praise and thanks.
If you call them heroes (which they are), they will quietly look at you and then tell you that “their” heroes never came home!
When I was living in Dallas, I was walking from work out to the far lot where I parked. I saw a car with the special tag MOH 2. I stood for 2 hours waiting for that gentleman to come out so I could shake the hand of a hero- a recipient of the Medal of Honor.
I am the proud daughter of a career Army man and wife of a retired Army reservist.
armybrat,
When y’all get tired of Boston, you are always welcome back here in Big D. The brisket at Sonny Bryan’s is on me, if you do.
Well, ya know N2L, I’m working hard to spread the gospel of freedom in the cradle of liberty. To bad the locals have shit on their inheritance. We’ll be back in the lonestar state one of these days. I’m a city girl and love that city living…..too bad most of them are infested with moonbats. But I’ll be sure to look you up for ribs and beer when we are blessed to return to Texas!
Good to hear from you, gal!
Hope you and your good man are doing well.
You’re a long way from the Guadelupe.
You should stop over some time and say hello to nuke and Swampwoman.
We are well, thanks. and hope you are too! I lurk often but post rarely…..my usual MO! Beantown is fun and we enjoy the area, but we’ll be heading home to sensibility one of these days (a few other stops along the way, I’m sure). I come here for a sanity check when the moonbats flutter too close.
armybrat,
Moonbats with asshats are the scourge of the earth.
Report back on the mood of the loons in socialist Boston, when B-HO starts breaking his promises.
Read a great piece today.
B-HO will overreach.
Oh, you should know, they finally finished the renovation of the Wycliff toll plaza on the DNT, and all lanes are open, and barricades removed.
I’m living in Southie…..supposedly a bastion of blue collar, union paying dems. I gotta tell you, I don’t find them. I’m well entrenched here, living in a very yuppie address but well connected to main Southie thru friends (who have lived in Southie for more than 4 generations). My building voted overwhelmingly red as did my friends and their families. And the bars in Southie….filled with a bunch of people who didn’t vote obama.
And did I ever mention how I got a bill 12 months after I left Dallas for a $0.40 toll from the tollway from Wycliff? Took the inept bastards more than 12 months get me a bill for less than $1 on a car I sold (thank heavens!) before I left Dallas. And to think that some Americans actually want healthcare run by the same people!
You mean they never stole that Durango for you?
You didn’t do what I said, leaving it on the street with the keys in it.(henh)
So, a 40cent toll, and how much are postage stamps now?
Glad you found a sane sanctuary in the midst of so many liberals.
I should tell you, sadly I lost ma’boy Buddy, almost two months ago. Cardiomyopathy, induced by hyperthyroidism. Sure hope your hound dogs are well. I miss my old friend, terribly.
I did the evil capitalist trick and SOLD that POS Durango. Let the buyer beware and all that shit! And that $.40 was more than $12.00 when all was said and done. I’m so sorry to hear about your boy. I have just the cat left. She’s middle aged, fat and cranky….much like her mama. To have a pet is to know love without bounds. Come to the beantown and I will pay the tab. I’ll introduce to some of the finest kind.
Well, at least you finally got rid of that POS, that’s the main thing.
What, they added penalties and interest to the forty cents?
He was ma’boy, the son I never had. I wrote a couple of pieces at nuke’s. Fill in the field on the comment box, and I can get your email, and send the links.
Nah, won’t be going to bean town, but appreciate the invite. Too close to Europe, for me. My heart and my butt belong in Texas, and as Lewis Grizzard once wrote, when I got back home, I nailed my feet to the ground. Plus, my kids and three grand babies all live in Texas.
field should be filled in for one address. I’ll send you the main one from there.
‘night.
See ya’ armybrat.
Good to see your nic again.
Yeah like you really have alot of respect for former soldiers. I’m sure that’s why you probably voted for a draft dodger like Bush as opposed to John Kerry.
Meanwhile, back in the real world:
Kiwi, you mean this George Bush?
Don’t you ever get tired of showing your idiocy?
Kerry dishonored his own service, as well as that of others.
He was a poseur, and a POS.
The real world? LOL!
An election the Republicans needed to lose.
A Carter-Clinton redux.
Robbie or No2Liberals,
Just a quick question….Is No2Rednecks even from this country?
Your right, his, her or its comments show total idiocy and a total lack of knowledge of this country!
It is my recollection that the only draft dodger this country has ever voted on is one William Jefferson Clinton!
Bush-haters have been calling him a draft-dodger (among many other things) for the last eight years because during the Viet Nam war, he was in the reserves, and did not actually go to Viet Nam.
In reality, only someone who knows nothing at all about the military would ever make the claim that being in the reserves is “draft-dodging”.
WJC, on the other hand, dodged the draft.
BBB, kiwi claims to be an American, living in New Zealand.
I think the tsunami drills have warped what brains he had.
And yes, Clintoon was definitely a draft card burning draft dodger.
Colin,
Of course, you are correct, but since when did facts ever deter a good liberal mantra?
W was rated on the F-102 Delta Dagger, a very fast jet, and while it had stability problems, it wasn’t quite the widowmaker as the F-104.
Many reserve units, of all branches, were called up during that time.
BTW, the gaffe machine received five deferrments, yet never exhibited any health problems, until his rotten brain was operated on.
Meanwhile, Clintoon was trashing America’s involvement, and visiting Moscow.
You sound as though you have experience with the Delta Dagger and the Starfighter. Jeez, just how old are you, anyway?
Just kidding. The oldest fighter with which I have experience was the Phantom II. And, since I was not in the aviation community, my experience was mainly limited to walking around and underneath them in the hanger bay (and listening to them land on the roof while I was trying to sleep).
Collin,
Not only am I a USAF vet, I once had an extensive collection of model airplanes that I assembled. Oh, and cars, too, which the jet age of the fifties and sixties heavily influenced.
I was in Saigon for the evac, as a very young man. So while I am older than many here, I ain’t dead yet. While Robbie is into cruisers, I’m still into sport bikes.
Yeah, the F-4 was quite a bird. Of course, it pales in comparison to the modern fighters. The F-22 Raptor and F-35 JSF are simply amazing, as well as the modern radar systems they employ. They are so powerful, they are basically airborne wifi zones. The radar they employ can identify who is tracking them, and fry those sensors with a power burst.
Amazing!
I once heard a Raptor pilot say that when when they go up against Eagles or Super Hornets the SOP is at least 2 other fighters vs. 1 Raptor. Otherwise it’s so one-sided that there is no training value (for either pilot).
I thought so! Another foreigner to be ignored.
LOL! The F-4 Phantom: a great aircraft, but positive proof that even a brick will fly if you put two really big engines in it!
Colin,
I saw a program about the F-22, and they interviewed the pilots. They did five on two exercises, with all the pilots in the F-15’s being F-22 pilots. The only time they ever even saw the Raptors, was after they had been “splashed.” A Strike Eagle went up, and then got shot down.
And the Eagle is no slouch.
BBB,
Henh…yeah, but those were two honking thrusters they strapped on.
It held the vertical climb rate record for many moons, at four miles standing on it’s tail, in 48 seconds.
It was tough, too, but not sleek, by any measure.