Thanks Jim et al! | Syracusefan.com

Thanks Jim et al!

A big, heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to all of you who have sacrificed in the service of our great nation.

My grandmother, who is in her 90's, went to put flags on two of her brothers' graves yesterday. Both served in, and survived, WW2. They were two of my favorite relatives when I was a kid. They always had a good story to tell...and always had a can of beer in their hands.

Beers to you, old amigos!

 
A shout out to my USAF son TexanMatt flying missions in the Middle East...and my other son TexanMike just redeployed back from Eastern Europe.

But more importantly...thank you to all those (and their families) of our troops who didn't make it home...I'm forever indebted to you heroes. WWII, Korea, Cold War, Vietnam, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Panama, Bosnia, Desert Storm, GWOT, ...
 
Last edited:
But more importantly...thank you to all those (and their families) of our troops who didn't make it home...I'm forever indebted to you heroes.

Well said, Mark. While the hearts of Americans are obviously in the right place when they honor all servicemen and women today, I think it's important to remember that today is specifically to honor the heroes that paid the ultimate price. It's different from Veteran's Day.
 
Well said, Mark. While the hearts of Americans are obviously in the right place when they honor all servicemen and women today, I think it's important to remember that today is specifically to honor the heroes that paid the ultimate price. It's different from Veteran's Day.

I agree. As a Marine Corps veteran, I have long felt today was reserved for those who gave their life in the service of their country, fighting for the many freedoms that we enjoy, and some trample on, each and every day. There has always been a great rivalry between the services, and on this day we set this partially aside to honor all members of the military. That being said, as a Marine, it wouldn't be fitting for me to not give a special shout-out to my fallen Marine comrades-for if the Army and the Navy ever look on Heaven's scene, they will find the streets are guarded by United States Marines.
 
Part of this poem is read in Ottawa on every year Remembrance Day, and it touches me deeply. Remembering the fallen on Memorial Day-- including my uncle Joe-- who died in Italy at Anzio Beach, and my son's classmate Chad Clifton, who was killed in Iraq..

From the Ode of Remembrance by Laurence Binyon:

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
 
Last edited:
Today I honor my dad and the buddies he served with. From the time they were 55 or so, they met yearly to remember their comrades. They were airborne, landing by glider in crossing the Rhine, froze during the battle of the bulge, and celebrated the occupation of Berlin. I attended several reunions with my dad and was impressed. Their generation set a high standard. Dad died in 2004 but got to see SU win the Bball NC in 2003, received a masters in the William Tolley era, and made it possible for me to attend SU. Here's to the 517th signal company, 17th airborne division and to all of you that were impacted by your service. The price is high no matter the kind of injuries sustained. Dad was injured by shrapnel in Belgium but was with his buddies through the drive on Berlin. Thank you all for the sacrifices you've made
 
Thanks for your service, and thanks to my son for his current service, but I think this sums things up for me.

main-qimg-3aa07152ae283b0748d90589018e0b2c
 
Well said, Mark. While the hearts of Americans are obviously in the right place when they honor all servicemen and women today, I think it's important to remember that today is specifically to honor the heroes that paid the ultimate price. It's different from Veteran's Day.

You nailed it bro. I've been away from this board awhile(for once by choice ;) ), but came back specifically to honor the fallen and their families. I come from a military family and was taught the importance of this day at a very young age. My grandfather served in WW2, my uncle in Viet Nam, my father managed to avoid war during his time in the Air Force, which I nearly enlisted in after getting a good ASVAB score. Fortunately, my grandfather made it back, or folks here and elsewhere wouldnt get to enjoy my antics and occasional insight. I thought about that for a time while others were putting the holiday to its usual use.

Rather than getting hammered or stuffing my face and socializing which most holidays have devolved to for the majority of this nation, I spent the day alone reading about war, watching/listening to some documentaries, and reflecting about it on my own. I never swore the oath to "protect the Constitutution from all enemies foreign and domestic" like each member of the armed forces, police, and elected officials do. Some may remember brave and honorable Presidents like Andrew Jackson, who not only was a war hero, but almost gave his life defending it the Constitution as President. Jackson had proclaimed he'd kill the 2nd central bank before it killed him. Luckily for us, the pistol of the assassin jammed twice. There are other Americans who have given their lives domestically to uphold that oath to defend the Constitution from all enemies, such as policemen, and unarmed folks who defend the Constitution in a variety of ways such as journalists, whistleblowers, etc.

In the spirit of the golden rule, I want to honor a much more recent war hero. Army Ranger John Needham was awarded 2 purple hearts and 3 medals for heroism, but John did so much more for his country than even that. A lot of people talk about honoring the troops, and some do with more than the occasional lip service. After posting this elsewhere, I remembered this place and came back specifically to ask each of you to honor John Needham by watching this video and learning his story. I feel this would be much more compelling than "American Sniper"(and a hell of a lot more real) if a movie were made about it. I'm honoring this hero and doing what I can do right now to help him uphold that same oath he fought so bravely to keep. It doesn't matter what political views you have if you have any, I am not sure how any American can't consider this man a hero. This is a man I'd love to be able to buy a drink or dinner and have a chat with. This guy's name deserves to be known by the masses 1000x more than the American sniper, although unlike the sniper, he never claimed to have knocked out Jesse Ventura in a bar fight. Sometimes true stories are more compelling than hollywood movies "based on" true stories, and this one is free to watch. John Needham upheld his oath and paid the ultimate price. I didn't spend time writing this for likes, I'm posting this in John's memory and to help uphold that oath he fought bravely to keep.

 

Forum statistics

Threads
167,141
Messages
4,682,899
Members
5,901
Latest member
CarlsbergMD

Online statistics

Members online
169
Guests online
1,138
Total visitors
1,307


Top Bottom