For All My Relatives

Who have served

Their Country

In Peace Time and War

 

 

 

^{I am sure that there are some family members that I have missed and believe me it is not intentional. If you see someone who is not listed please by all mean let me know. Should you see where a correction should be made please let me know that too.}

^{I want to honor each and every family member who has served their country in either Peace Time or War. Even during Peace Time there is/are chances of War and those that served were ready to make the Ultimate sacrfice for their Country.}

 

 

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS

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Subject: THE VETERAN (Author Unknown)

  

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN,
who salutes the Flag,


who serves under the Flag,

 

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,
AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT   SHINE UPON THEM.

I don't know if you saw this in the news but it really impressed me.  Funny,

our US Senate/House took 2 days off as they couldn't work.

On the ABC evening news, it was reported tonight that, because of the dangers from Hurricane Isabelle approaching Washington DC, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment.

They refused. "No way, Sir!"

Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson.

The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930.

I don't usually suggest that many emails be forwarded, but I'd be proud if this one reached as many as possible.

We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.

God Bless them. 
 

***********************

Writen by: Author Unknown

A Timely and Real Christmas Story
 
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell,  a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
 
The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem.
So I slumbered, perhaps started to dream.
 
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eye when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow,
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
I crept to the door to see who was near.
 
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, my wife, and my child.
 
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow off your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.
 
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.
Then he sighed and he said, "It's really all right,
I'm out here by choice.  I'm here every night.
It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask, beg, or implore
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before.
 
My Gramps died at Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas Gram always remembers.
My Dad stood his watch in the jungles of "Nam,
And now it's my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile!"
 
Then he bent and carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... An American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house, and my home,
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat."
 
"I can carry the weight of killing another
Or lay down my life with my sisters and brothers
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To insure for all time that this flag will not fall.
So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright.
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
 
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget."
 
"Fight for our rights back home while we're gone.
Stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either living or dead,
To know you remembered we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you, as you mattered to us."

***********************

Note: If anyone knows the authors to these two pieces above I would be most happy to give them credit.

***********************

Jerry wrote this song and he e-mailed me and asked me to post it to my website,  I am most honored to post it.  Jerry thank you so much, you honor me for asking.

***********************************************************

To Whom It Would Be of Interest,

I wrote this song to pay tribute to All Veterans and

would be honored if you choose to post it on your Patriotic

Web Site.  I thank you and God Bless!

     A Tribute To Veterans

In Vietnam, Korea and World Wars Past
Our Men Fought Bravely so Freedom Would Last
Conditions Were 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.¹S 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.A¹S, Who Were Left Behind
We Echo This Message Across the Seas
We Will search For as Long As It Takes
You¹re 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
They¹re 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 )

You may visit Jerry's web site at: http://www.alighthouse.com/words.htm
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NOW THOSE WERE MEN!

Hope you find this as informative as I did

Be sure and scroll to the very bottom.

In contrast to the ideals, opinions and feelings of today's "Hollywonk" the real actors of yester-year loved the United States.

They had both class and integrity. With the advent of World War many of our actors went to fight rather than stand and rant against this country we all love.

They gave up their wealth, position and fame to become service men & women, many as simple "enlisted men".

This page lists but a few, but from this group of only 18 men came over 70 medals in honor of their valor, spanning from Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, Distinguish Service Cross', Purple Hearts and one Congressional Medal of Honor.

So remember; while the "Entertainers of 2003" have been in all of the news media lately I would like to remind the people of what the entertainers of 1943 were doing, (60 years ago).

Most of these brave men have since passed on.

Real Hollywood Heros

Alec Guinness (Star Wars) operated a British Royal Navy landing craft on D-Day.

James Doohan ("Scotty" on Star Trek) landed in Normandy with the U. S. Army on D-Day.

Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape) really was an R. A. F. pilot who was shot down, held prisoner and tortured by the Germans.

David Niven was a Sandhurst graduate and Lt. Colonel of the British Commandos in Normandy.

James Stewart Entered the Army Air Force as a private and worked his way to the rank of Colonel. During World War II, Stewart served as a bomber pilot, his service record crediting him with leading more than 20 missions over Germany, and taking part in hundreds of air strikes during his tour of duty. Stewart earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, France's Croix de Guerre, and 7 Battle Stars during World War II. In peace time, Stewart continued to be an active member of the Air Force as a reservist, reaching the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in the late 1950s.

Clark Gable (Mega-Movie Star when war broke out) Although he was beyond the draft age at the time the U.S. entered WW II, Clark Gable enlisted as a private in the AAF on Aug. 12, 1942 at Los Angeles. He attended the Officers' CandidateSchool at Miami Beach, Fla.and graduated as a second lieutenant on Oct. 28, 1942. He then attended aerial gunnery school and in Feb. 1943 he was assigned to the 351st Bomb Group at Polebrook where flew operational missions over Europe in B-17s. Capt. Gable returned to the U.S. in Oct. 1943 and was relieved from active duty as a major on Jun. 12, 1944 at his own request, since he was over-age for combat.

Charlton Heston was an Army Air Corps Sergeant in Kodiak

Earnest Borgnine was a U. S. Navy Gunners Mate 1935-1945.

Charles Durning was a U. S. Army Ranger at Normandy earning a Silver Star and awarded the Purple Heart.

Charles Bronson was a tail gunner in the Army Air Corps, more specifically on B-29s in the 20th Air Force out of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan

George C. Scott was a decorated U. S. Marine.

Eddie Albert (Green Acres TV) was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroic action as a U. S. Naval officer aiding Marines at the horrific battle on the island of Tarawa in the Pacific Nov. 1943.

Brian Keith served as a U.S. Marine rear gunner in several actions against the Japanese on Rabal in the Pacific.

Lee Marvin was a U.S. Marine on Saipan during the Marianas campaign when he was wounded earning the Purple Heart

John Russell In 1942, he enlisted in the Marine Corps where he received a battlefield commission and was wounded and highly decorated for valor at Guadalcanal

Robert Ryan was a U. S. Marine who served with the O. S. S. in Yugoslavia.

Tyrone Power (an established movie star when Pearl Harbor was bombed) joined the U.S. Marines, was a pilot flying supplies into, and wounded Marines out of, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Audie Murphy little 5'5" tall 110 pound guy from Texaswho played cowboy parts? Most Decorated serviceman of WWII and earned: Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, 2 Silver Star Medals, Legion of Merit, 2 Bronze Star Medals with "V", 2 Purple Hearts, U.S. Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, 2 Distinguished Unit Emblems, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with One Silver Star, Four Bronze Service Stars (representing nine campaigns) and one Bronze Arrowhead (representing assault landing at Sicily and Southern France) World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Marksman Badge with Rifle Bar, Expert Badge with Bayonet Bar, French Fourragere in Colors of the Croix de Guerre, French Legion of Honor, Grade of Chevalier, French Croix de Guerre With Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre with Palm, Medal of Liberated France, Belgian Croix de Guerre 1940 Palm.

So how do you