Here’s my 2009 Memorial Day video:
Most of the photos come from DoD, and are focused on the current conflicts. The editing is a bit uneven, as I haphazardly imported pictures without a lot of discrimination; but ultimately, what I decided I wanted to convey is the sense of sacrifice of not just the soldiers, but of the military families they leave behind who dare to support them and their mission. I wanted to juxtaposition those photos of them reunited/leaving their families with photos of what their service and sacrifice away from home have gained back in return: Purple fingers….admiration and friendships with Iraqis and Iraqi children….. There’s a poignancy there, because these mothers and fathers should be back home with their own families, who need them in their lives; their children deserve to have their parent holding them- not be half a world away, holding someone else’s child in place of them. And yet, what the soldier does by leaving his family behind, he does on behalf of them…and us.
It is the American soldier who is the best ambassador to other nations; who exemplifies nobility and compassion and who exports our values and traditions. It is the American soldier who represents the best and brightest our country has to offer.
When those Iraqi children in the photos grow up, I hope they remember the kindness and friendship of U.S. soldiers.
A reminder of why America’s military is the most hated around the world.
Take also into consideration, the following:
Just Europe .
1. The American Cemetery at Aisne-Marne , France . A total of 2289 of our m ilitary dead.
We Apologize.2. The American Cemetery at Ardennes , Belgium . A total of 5329 of our dead.
We are arrogant .3. The American Cemetery at Brittany, France . A total of 4410 of our military dead.
Excuse us.4. Brookwood , England American Cemetery. A total of 468 of our dead.
5. Cambridge , England . 3812 of our military dead.
6. Epinal , France American Cemetery. A total of 5525 of our Military dead.
7. Flanders Field , Belgium . A total of 368 of our military.
8. Florence , Italy . A total of 4402 of our military dead.
9. Henri-Chapelle , Belgium . A total of 7992 of our military dead.
10. Lorraine , France . A total of 10,489 of our military dead.
11. Luxembourg , Luxembourg . A total of 5076 of our military dead.
12. Meuse-Argonne. A total of 14246 of our military dead.
13. Netherlands , Netherlands . A total of 8301 of our military dead.
14. Normandy , France . A total of 9387 of our military dead.
15. Oise-Aisne , France . A total of 6012 of our military dead.
16. Rhone , France . A total of 861 of our military dead.
17. Sicily , Italy . A total of 7861 of our military dead.
18. Somme , France . A total of 1844 of our military dead.
19. St. Mihiel , France . A total of 4153 of our military dead.
20. Suresnes , France . a total of 1541 of our military dead.
IF I ADDED CORRECTLY
THE COUNT IS 104,366Apologize to no one. Remind those of our sacrifice and don’t confuse
arrogance with leadership.
From 2008:
From 2007:
Hat tip Cox and Forum for the following:
The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the birthplace because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter, and because it is likely that the friendship of General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A Logan, who led the call for the day to be observed each year and helped spread the event nationwide, was a key factor in its growth.
General Logan had been impressed by the way the South honored their dead with a special day and decided the Union needed a similar day. Reportedly, Logan said that it was most fitting; that the ancients, especially the Greeks, had honored their dead, particularly their heroes, by chaplets of laurel and flowers, and that he intended to issue an order designating a day for decorating the grave of every soldier in the land, and if he could he would have made it a holiday.
Logan had been the principal speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans’ organization, Logan issued a proclamation that “Decoration Day” be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance of this day. …
The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882, but did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved four holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend.
Other FA Memorial Day posts:
“Earn this. Earn it.”
A Memorial Day Message for the Ages
Today I Remember Sgt. Eddie Jeffers
“God must have a special place for soldiers.”
Interactive search of the Vietnam Wall Memorial
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.