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Final Tribute
to a warrior
I took this photo at the interment of
Ed Schaffer (Jayne's cousin) on May 23rd, 2008 at
Mitchell, SD. Ed was a veteran of WW2 and served
with the 830th Engineer Aviation Battalion in Europe.
He was also a photographer in civilian life so I figured
he wouldn't mind my taking this photo. |
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...
~Major Michael D. O'Donnell~
January 1, 1970
Dak To, Vietnam
Only 2 defining
forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus
Christ and the
American Soldier.
One died for your soul, the other
for your freedom.
IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS,
PLEASE, FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM!
Our Founding Fathers were not cowards. They made immense
sacrifices to establish this Great Nation in freedom - not the least of
which was going to war with the enemy of that freedom. All of those who
have fought in the subsequent wars and conflicts and those who are
fighting today have continued to make sacrifices in order to defend
those original ideals. Even now, our civil servants, particularly
Firefighters and Police, are making sacrifices to maintain the quality
of our lives in this freedom.
If you are not willing to do everything in your power to defend this
Great Nation, even taking up arms if it is necessary, then who will? If
you will not defend America, that is your choice - but sit in silence
and do not criticize those brave and valiant individuals who have the
sense of duty, the measure of courage and the determination of heart to
protect America... and, I might add, your cowardly soul.
Some people would have us forget that a heavy price has been
paid so that we can live in comfort and security, barely even noticing
the reality of the world around us. But that privilege didn't just fall
out of a box - it was established in blood. The fact that you are
comfortable is no reason to take it for granted. On September 11, 2001 -
taking it for granted was no longer an option.
Don't worry, Brave men will protect you.
Quoted from
Patricia de Jong - www.fdnylodd.com
For those who paid the
price for us, that we may enjoy the lives and freedoms that we
know today, live your lives well and make something good of your life. Remember, freedom is not free,
it was paid for with the blood of patriots and heros
Infantryman
The average age of the Infantryman is 19 years. He is a short haired,
tight-muscled kid who,under normal circumstances is considered by
society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, but old
enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and
he would rather wax his own car than wash his father's; but he has never
collected unemployment either.
He's a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student,
pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and
has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or
swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens
to rock and roll or jazz or swing and 155mm Howitzers. He is 10 or 15
pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or
fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he
can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less. He can
recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and
use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and
can apply first aid like a professional. He can march until he is told
to stop or stop until he is told to march. He obeys orders instantly and
without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity.
He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and
wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He
sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He
can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If
you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his
food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle
when you run low. He has learned to use his hands like weapons and his
weapons like they were his hands. He can save your life -- or take it,
because that is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and
still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death
then he should have in his short lifetime. He has stood atop mountains
of dead bodies, and helped to create them. He has wept in public and in
private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed. Just as
did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the
price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that
has kept this country free for over 200 years. He has asked nothing in
return, except our friendship and understanding. Remember him, always,
for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
He is an INFANTRYMAN!
What
Is A Veteran?
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service..a missing limb,
a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the
evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of
shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the
souls ally forged in adversity.
Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept
America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by
looking.
What is a vet?
She--or He--is the nurse who fought against futility and went to
sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in DaNang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another---or
didn't come back AT ALL.
He is the Quantico Drill Instructor who has never seen combat ---
but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account
rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch
each other's backs.
He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his medals with a
prosthetic hand.
He is the career Quartermaster who watches the medals and ribbons
pass him by.
He is the three anonymous heroes in the Tomb of the Unknowns,
whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must preserve
the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies
unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's
sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket ----palsied
now and aggravatingly slow ----- who helped liberate a Nazi death
camp and wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to
hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet extraordinary human being --- a person
who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of
his country, so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.
He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, he
is nothing more than the finest greatest testimony on behalf of
the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country,
just lean over and say "Thank You." That's all most
people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals
they could have been awarded or were awarded.
Two little words that mean a lot,
THANK
YOU
~author Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC~
A Tribute To Veterans
(a song by Jerry Calow)
In Vietnam, Korea and World Wars Past
Our Men Fought Bravely so Freedom Would Last
Conditions Where Not Always Best They Could Be
Fighting a Foe You Could Not Always See:
From Mountain Highs to Valley Lows
From Jungle Drops to Desert Patrols
Our Sinewy Sons Were Sent Over Seas
Far From Their Families And Far From Their Dreams
They Never Wrote Letters Of Hardships Despair
Only Of Love, Yearning That One Day Soon:
They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On With The Rest of Their Lives
The P.O.W.šS Stood Steadfast
Against the Indignities And Cruelties Of War
They Could Not Have Lasted as Long as They Did
If They Had Relinquished Their Hope That Some Day:
They Would Come Home, They Would Resume
And Carry On the Rest Of Their Lives
Medics, Nurses, and Chaplains Alike
Did What They Needed To Bring Back Life
They Served Our Forces From Day Into Night
Not Questioning If They Would Survive:
They Mended Bones And Bodies Too,
They Soothed the Spirits of Dying Souls
And for Those M.I.AšS, Who Were Left Behind
We Echo This Message Across the Seas
We Will search For as Long As It Takes
Youšre Not Forgotten And Will Always Be:
In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers,
In Our Minds For All Time
A Moment of Silence, a Moment of Summons
Is Their Deliverance of Body And Soul
To a Sacred Place That We All Know
Deep In the Shrines of Our Soul:
In Our Hearts, In Our Prayers
In Our Minds For All Time
INTERLUDE:
GOLD STAR MOTHERS GRIEVE: ENDLESSLY,
ENDLESSLY, ENDLESSLY.......
These Immortalized Soldiers Whose Bravery Abounds
Theyšre Our Husbands, Fathers, and Sons
They Enlisted For the Duty at Hand
To Serve the Cause of Country and Land:
They Had Honor, They Had Valor,
They Found Glory That Change Them Forever
Men Standing Tall and Proud They be
A Country Behind Them in a Solemn Sea
So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly
Unfurled in Their Majesty High:
In the Sun, In the Rain
In the Winds Across This Land
Years of Tears Has Brought Us Here
Gathering Around to Hear This Sound
So Let the Flags of Freedom Fly
Unfurled in Their Majesty High:
In the Sun, In the Rain,
In the Winds Across This Land
REPEAT:
In the Sun, In the Rain,
In the Winds For All Time
Jerry Calow (copyright 2003 )
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