posted 05-27-2002 12:04 PM            

But that isn't the case.

My flag is flying to honor those generations of Americans who have come before us, who fought and died in horrible ways, in far away places, never to see their loved ones again...giving the ultimate sacrifice in order to preserve and protect an American way of life, rooted in the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution.

How very sad today is.

posted 05-27-2002 12:25 PM            

A SOLDIER DIED TODAY

Originally Titled, "JUST A COMMON SOLDIER"

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt ©1985

He was getting old and paunchy
and his hair was falling fast
And he sat around the Legion
telling stories of the past,

Of a war that he had fought in
and the deeds that he had done
In his exploits with his buddies;
they were heroes, everyone.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors,
his tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened,
for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
for old Bob has passed away
And the world's a little poorer,
for a soldier died today.

No he won't be mourned by many,
just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary
very quiet sort of life,

He held a job and raised a family,
quietly going on his way;
And the world won't note his passing;
'tho a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing
and proclaim that they were great,

Papers tell of their life stories
from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier
goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
to the welfare of our land
Some jerk who breaks his promise
and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
who in times of war and strife
Goes off to serve his Country
and offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate
to the services he gives,

While the ordinary soldier,
who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal,
and perhaps a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them,
for it was so long ago
That our Bob's and Jim's and Johnny's
went to battle, but we know

It was not the politicians,
with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
that our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger
with your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out
with his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a soldier
who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin, and country,
and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier
and his ranks are growing thin
But his presence should remind us,
we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
while he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
in the paper that might say:
OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
FOR A SOLDIER DIED TODAY
http://www.jacksjoint.com/soldier.htm

posted 05-27-2002 02:51 PM            

In 1865, Henry C. Welles, a druggist in the village of Waterloo, NY, mentioned at a social gathering that honor should be shown to the patriotic dead of the Civil War by decorating their graves.

In the Spring of 1866, he again mentioned this subject to General John B. Murray, Seneca County Clerk. General Murray embraced the idea and a committee was formulated to plan a day devoted to honoring the dead.

Townspeople adopted the idea wholeheartedly. Wreaths, crosses and bouquets were made for each veteran's grave. The village was decorated with flags at half mast and draped with evergreen boughs and mourning black streamers.

On May 5, 1866, civic societies joined the procession to the three existing cemeteries and were led by veterans marching to martial music. At each cemetery there were impressive and lengthy services including speeches by General Murray and a local clergyman. The ceremonies were repeated on May 5, 1867.

The first official recognition of Memorial Day as such was issued by General John A. Logan, first commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. This was General Order No. 11 establishing "Decoration Day" as it was then known. The date of the order was May 5, 1868, exactly two years after Waterloo's first observance. That year Waterloo joined other communities in the nation by having their ceremony on May 30.

In 1965, a committee of community leaders started plans for the Centennial Celebration of Memorial Day. The committee consisted of VFW Commander James McCann, chairman, American Legion Commander Oliver J. McFall and Mayor Marion DeCicca, co-chairman, along with Village Trustees, M. Lewis Somerville, Roscoe Bartran, Richard Schreck, Tony DiPronio, and VFW Vice-Commander, Kenneth Matoon. Their goals were: "to obtain national recognition of the fact that Waterloo is the birthplace of Memorial Day through Congressional action" and "to plan and execute a proper celebration for such centennial observance."

In May of 1966, just in time for the Centennial, Waterloo was recognized as the "Birthplace of Memorial Day" by the United States Government. This recognition was long in coming and involved hours of painstaking research to prove the claim. While other communities may claim earlier observances of honoring the Civil War dead, none can claim to have been so well planned and complete, nor can they claim the continuity of observances that Waterloo can.

The Centennial Celebration that year brought dignitaries from government, military, veteran's organizations and descendants of the original founders of Memorial Day. A once luxurious home on Waterloo's Main Street, built in 1850, was purchased from the county and restored. Now the Memorial Day Museum, it houses artifacts of the first Memorial Day and the Civil War era.

Memorial Day is commemorated each year in Waterloo. The parade, speeches, and solemn observances keep the meaning of Memorial Day as it was originally intended to be.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~nyseneca/memorial.htm

___________________________________________________________________

Today: May 27, 2002 at 12:00:35 PDT

America Remembers Terror Victims

SHANKSVILLE, Pa.- On a holiday normally reserved for remembering the nation's war dead, victims of the Sept. 11 attacks were given a place of honor alongside soldiers who died in battle.

Memories of the attacks made Memorial Day 2002 particularly painful - and poignant.

Scores of people on Monday visited the western Pennsylvania field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after an apparent struggle between hijackers and passengers.

Ernie Philips, 38, a U.S. Navy commander from Woodbridge, Va., who was in the Pentagon when it was struck by another hijacked jet, stopped at the crash site near Shanksville with his wife and two children during a trip home from Ohio.

"These folks, in my mind, saved so many lives," said Philips, standing by a chain-link fence draped with flags, poems and flowers. "They were on the front line. The enemy was right there."

Army veteran Jay Brunot, 67, and his wife, Jean, 66, a registered nurse, traveled to the site after attending a holiday parade in Latrobe, about 40 miles away.

"The whole day is supposed to be a recognition of those who died to protect us," Jay Brunot said. Flight 93 passengers, his wife added, "were just as important as the veterans were."

Other Sept. 11 victims were remembered in ceremonies around the nation.

About 150 residents gathered in a light rain on the town green in Burlington, Mass., to dedicate a memorial to three men with ties to the Boston suburb who were aboard American Airlines Flight 11 when it struck the World Trade Center.

"Evil tried to obliterate us, but it didn't. The World Trade Center may have been struck down, but we were not destroyed," said Cheryl McGuinness, whose husband, Thomas, was a co-pilot on the doomed flight.

The brick memorial honoring McGuinness, Jay Hayes and James Trentini bears a plaque that reads: "Always Flying High. September 11, 2001. Never to be Forgotten."

The attacks loomed large in more traditional Memorial Day celebrations, and helped draw larger-than-usual crowds to services and parades.

"I am happy to see that so many people came out," said Army veteran Artie Clay at a service Sunday at Lee Street National Cemetery in Danville, Va. "You have to think that we may be seeing more of these headstones with our troops in Afghanistan."

Peter Shoars, a retired Green Beret who lives in Spotsylvania, Va., said he senses a national pride that wasn't evident when he was serving in Vietnam.

"It's completely different," he said. "In our country, we've had a lot of calm Memorial Day weekends where we never even looked back. We need to honor our deceased veterans, all veterans, and now all people."

In Timonium, Md., six names of people killed in the attack on the Pentagon were added to Children of Liberty Memorial, which was dedicated in 1990 to Maryland military personnel killed by terrorists.

The name of Staff Sgt. Walter "Trae" Cohee of Mardela Springs, Md., also was added. Cohee was killed on Jan. 20 when the helicopter he was riding in crashed outside the Afghanistan capital of Kabul.

"I knew my son was going to be something special, but I never dreamed that he would receive this much attention," said his mother, Jeanne Cohee. People from various branches of the military came up to hug her.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2002/may/27/052702855.html