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Freedom isn’t free. It’s bought and paid for—sometimes very dearly—by the blood of patriots. Enjoy your Memorial Day, but take a moment and remember why it’s called Memorial Day. Image © John Moore/Getty Images  |
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51 Responses to “Memorial Day (Graveside)”
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Amen Nick and thank you. And thank you to all those who selflessly help protect our freedoms every day; now, in the past and in the future.
I could not have said it any better.
Thank you to Nick and the Photographer.
And of course my deepest thanks to those who gave all for our freedoms and the ones they left behind.
Doc Nickel says it well: http://www.the-whiteboard.com/autotwb1222.gif
JAMES JOHN REGAN
SGT US ARMY
JUN 80 FEB 07
BRONZE STAR
PH MSM
OEF OIF
C CO 3RD BN
75TH RANGERS
BBELOVED SON
REGS
BURIED AT: SECTION 60 SITE 8535
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
Detailed stories and more photos are here:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jjregan.htm
Excerpted from that site:
Photog Discusses Widely Seen Picture of Woman at Grave of Her Soldier Fiance
Published: May 31, 2007
NEW YORK Getty Images photographer John Moore discussed his memorable picture of a grieving Iraq War fiancee in a blog post yesterday.
The photo — widely published in newspapers — showed a distraught Mary McHugh lying on her stomach in front of the grave of her late fiance, James Regan, who was killed in Iraq this February by a roadside bomb. The picture was taken at Arlington National Cemetery during Memorial Day weekend.
“She sat in front of the grave…, talking to the stone,” wrote Moore, who has been a photojournalist in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past five years. “She spoke in broken sentences between sobs, gesturing with her hands, sometimes pausing as if she was trying to explain, with so much left needed to say. …
“Clearly, she had not only loved him but truly admired him. When he graduated from Duke, he decided to enlist in the Army to serve his country. He chose not to be an officer, though he could have been, because he didn’t want to risk a desk job. Instead, he became an Army Ranger and was sent twice to Aghanistan and Iraq — an incredible four deployments in just three years.”
Moore concluded: “Some people feel the photo I took at the moment was too intimate, too personal. Like many who have seen the picture, I felt overwhelmed by her grief, and moved by the love she felt for her fallen sweetheart.
“After so much time covering these wars, I have some difficult memories and have seen some of the worst a person can see — so much hatred and rage, so much despair and sadness. All that destruction, so much killing. And now, one beautiful and terribly sad spring afternoon amongst the rows and rows of marble stones — a young woman’s lost love.
“I felt I owed the Arlington National Cemetery a little time — and I think I still do. Maybe we all do.”
– - – - – - – - – -
Story in Sgt. Regan’s hometown newspaper:
http://www.antonnews.com/manhassetpress/2007/02/16/news/
*takes some time to remember the fallen of our military, snapping to and giving a crisp salute while playing a recording of “Taps”, despite never having entered the service himself*
Maybe the damn sheep who actually believe that “violence never settled anything” can forget our men and women in uniform and forget the sacrifices they have made, but I never will.
“We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” – Churchill
Here’s to each and every one of them. May they all come home some day to enjoy the homecoming Sgt. Regan never got.
I think of my Fallen Comrades every day. Just a little more so today.
Trying to come up with the right words to convey my feelings. But words seem so hopelessly inadequate.
Nick, the photo you selected really says it all, more eloquently and tragically than words can convey. Thank you for your selection for Memorial Day.
But what a waste.
As a retired member of USAF, and a survivor of the Iranian Hostage Raid, Panama, Grenada, and the fist Gulf War, THANK YOU Nick.
We mourn the loss of heroes while ignoring the criminals that sent them to their deaths.
Every Memorial Day in which Bush and Cheney reside outside of prison is a day in which we mock the fallen.
“The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.”
http://www.rjgeib.com/heroes/owen/owen-poetry.html
Oh, pu-lease. Shut the fuck up and take your Liberal whining somewhere else.
You know Nick, I have to wonder what these types use for brains. I’d call them assholes, but every asshole I know has better sense.
My closest friend is a veteran of two tours in Vietnam as a US Navy Corpsman. He spent his days humping a med pack around the jungle, saw a lot of fighting and death and saved many lives. He volunteered, he was not drafted, and he was a liberal thinking pacifist at the time.
After recovering from his own wounds my friend served out his enlistment working in military hospitals.
He is still a strong liberal, a bit less of a pacifist I would say, and a combat veteran deserving of complete respect.
I am a conservative, but I do not use or believe in such words as you use against liberals. I have known too many who paid a heavy price for your freedom to behave so rudely as you do.
Although I am a conservative myself, I agree with Buzzcook on Bush and Cheney. I would never have said so on Memorial Day, would not have made so much discordant noise on such a day. Making that noise was wrong of Buzzcook.
But that was yesterday, now it is the day after.
We were attacked by a terrorist organization who’s leaders resided in Afghanistan. That organization was protected by the government of Afghanistan. Al Qaeda maintained training camps and operational bases in the country, all under the protection of the Taliban.
Bush voiced his desire to attack Iraq before he was elected. He voiced it again right after taking office. He asked incessantly for evidence of Saddam’s involvement on September 11th. He looked for every opportunity to quit the war in Afghanistan and go after Saddam as quickly as possible.
The fight against those who attacked us was left to starve for resources as Bush took the country down an unrelated and unnecessary path. Iraq was certainly not a nice place, but it was contained at a low cost and was not a threat requiring even a fraction of the war effort directed against it. All it seems to satisfy some personal need to settle a family score, to build a legacy for himself.
And they gave the job of Secretary of Defense to a man who looked at all his own minimalist warfare ideas through rose colored glasses, and would tolerate no dissent. The result being we went to war in Iraq with far too small a force, with too little of everything from water and ammo to armor and night vision goggles … and no plan what to do once they won or if anything went wrong.
I take all that together and while it may be a stretch to call it Treason it sure pegs the hell out of my moral outrage meter.
Bush and Cheney deserve to be despised. They worked hard to earn that, it is wrong to deny it to them.
Because not that those evil war mongers are out of office all our men are out of Iraq and almost out of Afghanistan!
Oh wait…what?
This is not the day for waging political battles from our keyboards, tossing our outrage back and forth. This is a day, a most special day, for Respecful Remembrance!
How do you not know this?
There is available the entire rest of the year to rant/rave. This day is to reflect on the privilege of being able to do so.
Give it some thought.
Today I went to my parents’ grave site to honor them.
My father was a career Marine and my mother served in the Navy during WWII signing up “For the duration” right after Pearl Harbor was bombed as did both of her brothers.
None of them was concerned with who sat in the Oval Office, their country needed them and they answered the call.
Without my parents I wouldn’t be here at all, without their service I would not have the freedoms I enjoy and sometimes take for granted.
“I may not agree with what you say, Sir, but I will defend with my life your right to say it”
Again my thanks to all those who served and especially those who did not return home.
…and now we have a president who doesn’t give a fuck about anyone who fought for this country. Instead of honoring these fallen veterans like every other president would, he decides to go on vacation.
Now that Memorial Day is done, I’ll ask you what you mean by this:
Please explain that statement.
Not to speak for MisterFreeze, but I believe he is referring to the President going home to Chicago, instead of visiting Arlington. See the article linked by Tech Reader:
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/05/31/the-price-of-freedom/
I’m not as critical of him on this issue as some: just disappointed.
Oh, I knew exactly what he was talking about. I just wanted him to justify his comments and then apply that same logic to the elder Bush and Reagen.
After all, if all it takes is a visit to Arlington to show dedication and respect for service members, then Bill Clinton loved the military the most of any recent president.
This whole thing is a cheap shot, using the memory of fallen heroes to score some cheap political points and put yet another lie in circulation.
You know he’s not the only one who hasn’t been at Arlington before. And he did give a speech at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Chicago on Memorial Day.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/memorialday.asp
you should have more respect for the people that have put there life on the line and to the ones that have lost there life to give you the right to and freedom to bitch complain about your leaders. NEVER FORGET those that fight and die for YOUR freedom!
A big thank you to all our soldiers out there fighting for us. I’m sorry I can’t be there with you on the front lines.
Nick, thank you. You are a class act. While I enjoy the usual fare here on the POD page I also know where your soul is.
Thank you for yet anther powerful respectful and thoughtful POD on this solemn day.
Today’s post really got to me. So often we think about the soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice for all of us. Not often enough are those thoughts extended to a lifetime of soul crushing grief for the loved ones of the fallen.
I cannot imagine their pain.
To those of you who wear or have worn the uniform you have my heartfelt thanks and gratitude. God Bless you all.
I need to go wipe my eyes now before things get out of hand.
Words fail; pictures do not. Thanks, Nick.
Thanks Nick, that picture is a solemn reminder of the price of freedom.
God Bless our troops!
Thank you for the photo. It says it all.
As a vet, I say a prayer everyday for those who serve our country.
Be safe. God Speed.
* GOD BLESS AMERICA *
For the twerp that had to go political on this and raised his middle finger to this day….
I offer…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZdq62ThVQM
Thank you to all who serve now, who have served in the past and Thanks in particular to those… like the photo shows… who served and gave all.
I realize this will likely won’t be read, but I will say it anyway.
I agree with your sentiments, but I watched that video and I had to wonder how she knew the lady in the minivan flipped her the bird over her USMC bumper sticker? Why does the singer assume that is the reason? Could it have been her driving? Maybe it was meant for a different driver?
That’s the trouble you see, so many of us Americans are on a hair trigger to think the worst of other Americans. We take the littlest thing and imagine up all sorts of circumstances to make it worse.
Cheryl Wright sung some fine sentiments in that song, I really do find them touching. But the very premise of the song is wrong headed from the start. It is thinking like that which has hurt this country, made it difficult to get anything done or even to like each other anymore.
I think that is dangerous.
As the son of a WWII vet and the half brother of 2 Vietnam vets I can’t agree more.
Thank a vet, pray for them if you are spiritual and think about giving your charitable donations this year to veteran and survivors or fallen veteran related charities.
Pictures like this terrify me. My son will be in Afghanistan by the end of the year. Proud of his decision to step up, but it’s definitely a sobering thought.
May he go forth proudly and return home whole and safe.
Tech Reader
LT USN (Ret)
A truly poignant moment and a reminder of loss.
That fiance’s heart broken future reminds me of my Sergeant’s rather mercenary view. “If you buy the farm, would you rather have a heart broken fiance or a heart broken wife with Veteran’s benefits… Marry the girl you idiot!”
I did and I have never regretted it.
Regardless of politics, young men like James Regan answer the call of their country. Those who criticize and belittle that service lack the moral character to commit to a cause, to walk the walk, so to speak. We should bow our heads in prayer and give thanks to God that there are such dedicated and brave men as exemplified by Sgt. James Regan.
RIP soldier. We shall remember.
Nick, I am a member of what Bill Mauldin called “The Benevolent & Protective Brotherhood of Them What Has Been Shot At”; i.e.- a veteran from “the pointy end of the stick”. I am also =damn= =Proud= to be a “liberal”, or a “progressive” if you will. While I & literally every VN veteran I know have =extremely= =harsh= opinions of ‘the two draft-dodging chicken-hawks’, you are absolutely correct: today is =NOT= the day for any of that.
Today is the day to remember all ‘the ponchos’ laid out waiting for the choppers. To remember all the old men & women who did their bit to make the world safe for democracy. To remember those who gave up their ‘tomorrows’ so the rest of us can have many ‘todays’. But it is not just a day to remember those who’ve served .. and died for .. our country.
It is a day to remember =all= who have ‘gone before’. Because no matter how large or small, how ‘important’ or ‘insignificant’, no matter -what- the contribution, =all= of those who’ve ‘gone before’ have helped make this country what it is. I remember my father: shot down over Bastone, bombed while in a German POW camp, businessman & ‘rabble-rouser’ for his community until the very end. I remember my grandparents/his parents, who came to this country with barely the clothes on their backs, and raised a family of good Americans. (My Grandmother would give one President a tongue-lashing like he hadn’t had since he was a Plebe .. because he didn’t know how to ‘properly’ cook vegetables (okay, okay, and also because she didn’t recognize him) .. and kiss another one’s hands and bless him for bringing such hope once again to America. She then wept bitterly at the waste when he was murdered — after all, this was =America= and things like that just don’t happen -here-!)
So… no matter who it is, remember them. They have ‘gone before’ and deserve no less Honor.
I don’t get you. You put your life on the line for this country, and yet you espouse a political philosophy that’s all about tearing down what America stands for. People like you confuse me. However, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your service.
Try to step back and take a far wider view. Veterans of our wars are of many faiths, colors, ethnicities and political outlooks. Yet they all see and serve the same Republic. They all take the same risks, pay the same price and look to their right or left and see comrades in arms right there with them.
I have known Veterans of combat who were of a Christian faith, Jewish, Athiest, Liberal and Conservative. I know that there are gravestones in Arlington with the crescent moon symbol of Islam.
Apparently none of that stuff stands out as a measure of a warrior’s commitment to Country. What stands out is a shared risk, a shared sense of purpose and duty.
So when I read remarks saying someone does not understand a Veteran who could also be a Liberal, or anything else for that matter, it strikes me that perhaps it is not that some of our Veterans are confused in their choice of a political party or outlook.
Perhaps it is that some of us have misinterpreted the views we disagree with as “The Enemy” or “Anti-American”, rather than as the “Loyal Opposition” to which ever political philosophy we choose for ourselves.
Perhaps it is the Veteran who is the least confused among us.
Okay so here’s the thing, it bugs me when people just do not seem to grasp the solemn nature of a concept like Memorial Day and trash it with their political outrage.
Now, I know conservatives and liberals both who have fought in combat, been wounded and still have all sorts of opinions on various politicians. Some good, some real angry, I’d have to say that they run the gamut.
I agree with some of those opinions, disagree with others and never on my worst day would I insult anyone of those Veterans opinions. On a day like Memorial Day I wouldn’t even voice my political views, no matter that it be my right to do so.
Why I do not is simple enough. I recognize that bringing up those political arguments on Memorial Day, and mixing it in with respectful words towards Veterans ends up sending mixed messages. One way or another you are going to offend some of the people you are trying to show respect for.
Now that ain’t the way to behave on Memorial Day!
So I just wish people would stick a sock in that political talk sometimes. Yeah I know we all have the right to say whatever we want, it is a free country. But we should also have learned about there being a proper time and place for getting hot under the collar.
I mean, do not people like Sgt. James J. Regan and Ms. Mary McHugh deserve better of us at least once in a while?
I think they do.
I am an Air Force Veteran. I am a social liberal and fiscal conservative. I am a father. I am a Democrat that used to lean Republican. I agreed with the necessity of the war in Afghanistan and cannot understand what was the compelling national interest that led us to sacrifice so much of our future in Iraq. I have faith in my God, but that is I believe between my God and me.
I may disagree with you and you may disagree with me, but at the end of the day all that matters is that you are an American. We are bound to each other by the same piece of paper, by the same words that hold we are all valued the same, entitled to our views and free to express them. We agree to abide by the rule of law and to honor the sacrifice of so much Patriot’s blood by respecting the words that they died for. We are bound to settle our differences by the ballot and respect the rule of the majority while ensuring the rights of the minority.
We are not all the same, but we are all equal.
A young family member put this together for a history class. It’s not a Memorial Day piece, but I think it fits the occasion just fine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z8hh7WGLNw
I wrote this about 10 years ago, pre 9/11 and the current wars. I still follow the same routine:
My Memorial Day
I sit here at my computer on the night before Memorial Day, and ponder what my day will be like. I intend to take a little trip, you see, and like any intelligent being, I am planning it in advance. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be overcast and rainy, but rather than dampen the mood, I imagine it will enhance it. It is altogether fitting that the weather reflect the somber yet joyful emotions required for my trip. I plan on visiting my local cemetery.
I see myself strolling through the even graves, row upon row. I shall consider all the lives represented by the seemingly endless markers, and I imagine I will be drawn to one or more adorned with the flag of the United States. As I peer down upon the hallowed resting place of a man or woman who gave a portion, or perhaps, all, of their life in service of this country I will remember. I will remember how lucky I am to be well fed while so many in this world go to bed hungry. I will remember the privilege I enjoy of living among others with the freedom to live, be happy and prosper. I will remember that there are places where a group of government thugs could tear me from my home and family to imprison or kill me, with nothing more than a whim or the whispered suggestion of wrong thinking to condemn me. Most of all I will remember that the liberties that I so blissfully take for granted were paid for at a terrible price.
At some point during my stroll, I will probably fall to my knees and silently pray to a God whose form I am not sure of, asking that the fallen never be forgotten and entreating him for the strength within myself to make sure their sacrifices were not in vain.
I will commend the courage of the 4,435 who died standing up to the most powerful empire in the world, saying ‘Enough! All men are created equal!”
I will regret the passing of those 2,260 who, in the War of 1812, gave their lives in a war which was fairly pointless, but none the less validated the United States as a power to rival those in Europe.
I will cherish the memory of 13,283 who followed the lead of a heroic few Texans and stood off an invading Mexican army.
I will weep bitter tears as I consider that 558,052 American men, women and children paid the ultimate price while fighting each other, and the result is a union that would never again be questioned. These people died in the cause of unity, and the nation they fought to save has gone on to lead the world.
I will consider what it must have been like for the 2,446 who died fighting a minor European power in 1898. Historically, the Spanish American War may be trivial, but they answered the call all the same.
I will give endless thanks that I did not have to experience the absolute horror of trench warfare in Europe, while honoring the 116,708 who were killed doing nothing less than standing against the Kaiser’s crack troops, fresh from the Eastern front, expecting to roll the Allies into the channel. WWI could easily have been a German victory without them.
I will stand in awe of the willingness displayed by 407,316 ordinary men and women who left their homes and paid the ultimate price to ensure that fascism did not engulf the world and lead to the darkest time in history. The everyman of WWII is an amazing concept, yet that is how it has been throughout history. Just plain folks doing their duty.
I will reflect on how 33,651 Americans passed the torch of freedom from their failing hands to a little country called South Korea, proving that they may look different and speak what to us is a very strange language, but they are no less deserving of freedom than we.
I will ponder the plight of the Vietnam veteran, along with his 58,163 comrades who did not come home. How must it have been, to go to an unknown place, to fight and die for a people who often didn’t want them there. How terrible to come home to a population who scorned them, whoes only answer to the anguished plea, ” I answered the call, I did my duty” was all to often a turned back?
I will rejoice that only 293 Americans were called to sacrifice themselves in 1991, but remember that thousands of opposing troops, people who do not have our freedom to set the course their government takes, died as well.
I will remember that the cost has been great, but celebrate that the results have been greater. As I raise my eyes again, and peer at the carved stone remembering only one such life, I will whisper from the depth of my soul the two words that are completely inadequate, and yet are all that I have to offer.
“THANK YOU”
Another article about the same photo. Nick, this is without doubt the most poignant and painful photo you have ever selected as the POD.
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/05/31/the-price-of-freedom/
Thank you.
Tech Reader
LT USN (Ret)
to those that bitch and moan about the leaders of your country just rember this its becsuse of the ppl that put the life on the line and sometimes lose there life that YOU! can bitch and moan about the leaders you REMBER THAT! and NEVER! foget the price that has been paid by those that are willing to fight to give you that right.
Great choice of POD, Nick. It helps to remind those of us who have not lost a loved one to war that many do, and we could be next. My dad served in the Army in WWII & Korea, I was in the Navy ’87 to ’92, and several of my cousins are serving now in the Army, Navy, and Marines.
My deepest thank you to those who have given all.
May there someday come a day when no one dies in wars any more… but may we always honor the memories of those who did.
Did anyone watch the Memorial Day concert?
I am most unhappy. I thought our country had grown in the last 40+ years, but it seems I was mistaken. My wife and I have just finished watching the “National Memorial Day Concert”, which for reasons that escape me all but ignored the War in Viet Nam. As a Viet Vet I must protest loudly and repeatedly. I served with honor in a war that I did not agree with, but served because I felt I owed my service for the wonderful life I have here.
We need not go into how we were treated on our return; that is water under the bridge. However, I had hoped with “The Wall” these wounds were healing. I guess I was wrong. WW I and WW II, Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan were mentioned for the honor of those who served in those conflicts. Did we do less? I think not.
Does anyone know how to contact this photographer? I would gladly pay for a print.
Hope you may find this information of use:
http://www.gettyimages.com/
Toll-free sales assistance for imagery, footage and music in the US and Canada: call 800 IMAGERY (462-4379) or email us at sales@gettyimages.com
http://blog.gettyimages.com/author/john-moore/