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Peaceful, isn’t it? Think about that as you enjoy your Memorial Day,   (136 votes) |
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20 Responses to “Memorial Day (Arlington)”
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Somehow, I find ‘Grass’ by Carl Sandburg most comforting of all. Not everyone may feel the same, I understand; but for those that it may please, here it is.
——————–
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work—
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
Lets not cheapen the sacrifice for freedom by characterizing as “afternoon barbecue or party on the lake”. What was preserved by their sacrifice was are greater and meaningful.
I do not think Nick meant to cheapen anyone’s sacrifice with the reference to an afternoon bar-b-cue or a party on the lake. I think he was merely asking that you remember those that gave the last full measure so that you can enjoy the peaceful, happy times with your friends and family. That, after all, is why they did give all they had to give. It is the fruits of that freedom that Nick is referring to – the very fact that you are free to spend your afternoon in the best way you see fit and not that you are compelled to march in a parade to the glory of the state.
I do not agree with everything Nick has said here on his site, but I think I got his point today. As a veteran myself, knowing some of those that did give their all, I do not think any of them would begrudge you an afternoon of care-free fun. But it could not hurt to remember them in just a minute of silence at some point today.
I’m not Nick, nor do I play him on TV, so this is only my humble opinion on what he meant.
There are always barbarians at the gates, will to destroy civilizations. The only thing that stands between the afternoon barbeque and utter destruction is the soldier or sailor, willing if necessary to give his all to preserve the peace.
That’s something that I’m seeing differently now as I get older, the stratification between those people who have no clue what it actually takes to preserve peace, and those warriors willing to defend it. My generation grew up with Audie Murphy playing, well, himself in “To Hell and Back”. My wife is a nurse at a Veterans Hospital (and herself was a Air Rescue Nurse in Urgent Fury and Desert Storm). I was in an NBC unit (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) during the Cold War.
Today – well, ‘Jersey Shore’ says it all. That’s why we appreciate the show ‘Coming Home’ and the other things that are being done for todays returning warriors.
I don’t think that’s Nick intention. I served ten years. That’s why every Memorial Day, 4th of July, Veteran’s Day, (insert other here) I remember.
http://youtu.be/tCksAwCIhto
Amen, Brother.
I always – ALWAYS – remember this.
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm
As a vet who gave some but not all. Do enjoy your freedoms this day, in rememberance of my brothers and sisters who gave all. I know, if I were there with them, or instead of them, I would want you to. I and others fought for the freedoms you all have, many died in that fight. So enjoy your barbecue, or party at the lake or ocean, or whatever it is you choose to do this day, even if it’s just to sleep in.
All I ask, you take a moment to remember, and maybe that you raise one, whatever that one may be, for those who gave all.
I know I am late to this party, but what you said is what I try to tell people when they want to go all “War Hero,” on me each year. The reason we put on the funny suits is so that they can have the bar-B-Q.
A Lifer
To everyone who has served, Thank You. To those who gave all, I will always remember.
Have a peaceful Memorial Day, everyone. To those of us, and those like us – and those who enjoy this day off, whether they appreciate us and the sacrifice so many have given to guarantee it.
Damn proud to be a part of the tradition.
THANK YOU
Thanks Nick. I hope all of you enjoy your day off while I am at work (5 years and counting in the Army). Yes, there are those of us in the military that must work even on the holiday honoring us.
To any who would think Nick cheapens this day, trust me, he hasn’t. Nick gives his salutes to the military several times through the year, where he stands in support of us is not now, nor has it ever been, in question. To me, he has captured my sentiments perfectly.
Land of the free brought to you and bought for you by those under Sandburg’s grass, those in Flanders’ Field and your friends and neighbors who served. Semper Fidelis and Anchor’s Aweigh.
I have been blessed in that I do not personally know anyone that gave their all for this country. To those that do, I can only say, Thank You.
I have three sons…One an Iraqi war vet(four tours), one currently in Afghanistan (on his second tour) and one who writes software to strip the enemy of their digital hiding places and IED’s.
My Father also served, alas I was to be denied the honor of serving because of asthma…
But I remember and honor those who gave of themselves to protect me and others like me.
I was fortunate; as a US Navy P-3C Orion sub chaser, even our BAD postings – like Keflavic, Iceland, or Thule Greenland, or Adak, Alaska – they were all fairly calm and collected places. Adak was the worst, but if the worst complaint I can come with is so trivial……
If the “balloon had gone up” we’r have had seconds on which to destroy a Soviet ballistic missile submarine – or fail, and let them fire. But it never happened, and all I can say is “We also serve, who only stand and wait…)
I served in Viet Nam for 2 yrs…Sgt in the Marines…we have politicians who believe in limited warfare…punk Truman..and LBJ…more deaths due to rules of engagement…if you make the decision to fight then fight…be brutal, win let you next enemy think twice before starting something and there is always a next someone, if you think not then your a fool or a democrat..samething
I am late to say so, but thank you all who have served, and thank you who have family who gave all while serving. Maybe some people will never get it, but some of us remember, and understand. *snaps to attention and salutes crisply*