Memorial Day USA

[mikewint]

To all my very dear friends on this forum. I deeply miss all of you especially on this Memorial Day when I look back and see all my dead brothers in arms. Since I stopped posting I have lost my last two childhood friends and fellow Vietnam vets.
So first to my close friend Joseph B, my friend and brother in all but name. We met before kindergarten and became friends through grade school and high school. College was not for you and so the Army called. Born under a lucky star you were sent to Germany. When I was drafted and sent to Vietnam you re-upped and volunteered for Vietnam. By the time Joe got to Vietnam I was back in the states at Walter Reed. By the time I got back he was back home to care for his mother. He soon married, moved to Wisconsin to farm. Many problems and a divorce saw him back in Chicago. His handling and spraying of agent Orange was beginning to show in his body and behavior. The VA threw hand-fulls of drugs at it but he was never the same. When he died his brothers and sisters refused to claim his body. His body was in the hospital morgue for 3 weeks before the VA finally came for it. Not wanting to go through all the expense of a single burial his body remained in a cooler at the VA for 3 months before being taken to a national cemetery.
Second, to my equally close friend Cmdr Richard A. We met in 7th grade when the PE teacher walked you out to my patrol-boy corner and asked me to show you around. Along with Joe we three became the closest of friends through grade and high school. Rick won a full-ride scholarship to IIT. Unfortunately Rick lost his way at such a big and tough campus. He flunked out, lost his deferral, and one step ahead of the draft joined the Navy. It was a total blessing for him and gave him the direction he needed. He joined the submarine service, was based in Honolulu (always sent us Xmas cards), was sent back to school by the Navy for a nuclear engineering degree, and moved into nuclear subs. My friend, in charge of nuclear missiles!!!
He retired a full Naval Commander, moved to Las Vegas to collect Corvettes. But all that radiation took its toll and cancers developed. He fought them for years but lost his battle recently. He was buried at sea.
I miss you both more than words can express and thank God both of you were in my life.
Some of you will also recall that my constant companion for three years, Breena, my Irish Wolfhound, also died 9 months ago on the 23rd.
To any and all Vietnam Vets "Welcome home my brothers". To all veterans on the forum, I salute you and your service and sacrifice whether to our country or to another. Thank you all, may God bless you and keep you all.

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,

Serves beneath the Flag,

And whose coffin is draped by the Flag,

Who allows the protester to burn the Flag.

 

[javlin]

Sorry to hear Mike but a is called for

The Soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

'Step forward now, Soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?'

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
'no, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep.
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills just got too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

'Step forward now, you Soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell.'

~Author Unknown~

 

[Gnomey]

 

[Njaco]

To you and your friends Mike, I am deeply grateful for your service an sacrifice.

and Mike, hang around. We've missed you!

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Never forget!

P.S. Don't be a stranger any more...

 

[at6]

Mike,
So sorry for your loss. I was 4F during that time and my father who was career Air Force was satisfied that I hadn't dodged the draft. Thank you for your service to our nation and may all who sacrificed never be forgotten. I had two friends killed in Vietnam and lost a nephew in Iraq to an I E D in April 2005.

 

[Capt. Vick]

 

[mikewint]

You all truely humble me. I'm trying to get my head pointed in the right direction

 

[pbehn]

Not new Mike


Tommy

I WENT into a public 'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, " We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, go away " ;
But it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's " Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' " Tommy, wait outside ";
But it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's " Special train for Atkins " when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap.
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, 'ow's yer soul? "
But it's " Thin red line of 'eroes " when the drums begin to roll
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's " Thin red line of 'eroes, " when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Tommy, fall be'ind,"
But it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's " Please to walk in front, sir," when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an` Chuck him out, the brute! "
But it's " Saviour of 'is country " when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An 'Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

R Kipling 1892