To my father, who survived OMAHA Beach on June 6th, 1944 and died on February 3rd, 2010.
For The Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
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 contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
A great tribute. I remembered, I also noticed that "Peanuts" remembered too.
How quick though many have forgot. Most think peace comes from treaties. We old timers know better.
Remembering those that paid the price for our freedom, many with their lives.
Charlie
That was a fine and fitting tribute to your father, and everyone else who sacrificed so we can be free!
The young people of today have absolutely no idea because they have only lived through peace time. Compounding that is their "feelings " that everything should be "instant." A war should only last a couple of weeks, and when you tire of it, bring everybody back home.
Foolishness!
Those of us who are older, we remember! A war is fought to win!
Exit stategy? When we win, we will exit.
What is winning? When the other side gives up and lays down their arms ... that's winning!
For God and Country!!! (American Legion)
biL
Lehigh Susquehanna & Western
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." ~~Abraham Lincoln
It was a bold plan filled with complexities, envisioned to succeed. Saved from failure by the actions of so many making heroic decisions never planned for. A monumental undertaking on French soil that would change the course of the world.
"No plan survives contact with the enemy." Unknown
Mark
Citation Latitude Captain
--and--
Lt Colonel, USAF (Retired)
Thank you for sharing, MM. It is sad that in the not-to-distant future, there will be no one remaining who fought in WWII - an amazing generation who fought for our freedom. I shall remember them.
We owe that generation so much, yet we tend to forget their sacrifice. My grandfather was there and survived. We always "joked" with him saying he was "driving the boat" ashore...but he wasn't. He was holding hands in prayer with his "brothers" 2 minutes before they hit the beach. I would always get choked up just seeing the look in his face when he "tried to describe" what went on. That look stays with me to this day, even 10 years after he passed away.
It's that look that tells me to ask others this:
Can we all just take a moment to "remember" those who have served and have fallen to give us our FREEDOM? Not just on certain days of the year, but everyday of the year. Then can we all just take a moment to say "THANK YOU" to those who continue to serve and protect us. Next time you see a soldier, despite your views or opinions, just THANK THEM for what they have done and continue to do!
Thank a soldier - you owe them that.
Doing my best to stay on track and to live each day to it's fullest, trying not to upset people along the way. I have no enemies.....just friends who don't understand my point of view.
It would be exhilarating to see the day when Faith, throws down religion, and the primary excuse for war is thrown down with it.
It would be nice to see the end of the common human failing of greed, and with that excuse also gone, war could end .
Freedom is a great and precious thing, too often taken for granted, and in that course, dies.
In almost every war this Nation has been part of, Freedom, and Peace, have been our goals. This Nation, has, for the most part ( we aren't really angels ) done "the right thing".
We were born in war....the Revolution
We have grown in war...1812, Spanish American, etc..
We have remained free through many wars.
Treaties, do not always prevent wars, they are usually the reason we get involved. The South East Asia Treaty, signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower, connected us to Viet Nam, and greed escalated our connection to complete involvement ( combat )
It was in this time that I served.
It is good that we have set aside a time to remember those who paid the ultimate price, and those who, for want of a better phrase, paid a discount price ( I survived with no physical injuries ).
It is better, that we remember.
Their souls rest easier, that their deeds and sacrifices, are remembered.
_______________________________
My annual " disappear off the face of the Earth week" has ended. I'm back, rested, and ready for another year of life.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
FedEx13 Wrote:My grandfather was there and survived.
That's all I know about my one grandfather, he was in the pacific theater as a PFC Marine. Besides that I think he took all his memories to the grave when it came to talking about it with the rest of the family. Only thing he talked about was (jokingly) getting captured by cannibals and being put in a large cooking ladle, with him saying "wait til ya taste the gravy"
FedEx13 Wrote:My grandfather was there and survived.
That's all I know about my one grandfather, he was in the pacific theater as a PFC Marine. Besides that I think he took all his memories to the grave when it came to talking about it with the rest of the family. Only thing he talked about was (jokingly) getting captured by cannibals and being put in a large cooking ladle, with him saying "wait til ya taste the gravy"
My grandfathers were the same way. Neither have talked in detail about their time during the war. About all I know is that both were stationed in the pacific (one army and one marine), and one has fond memories of the troop train that took him to California. My family's philosophy is that if they don't talk about it, that means they would rather let it be the past.
-- Kevin
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When I ask my Uncle about the Normandy landing all he would say its was slaughter and those of us that survived will never forget that terrible cost and the friends who died on that beach..After his death I found out he and 7 others was the only survivors out of his company something he found hard to live with..He never would discuss his experiences other to say the wehrmacht and the waffen SS was a force to be reackon with.
Larry
Engineman
Summerset Ry
Make Safety your first thought, Not your last! Safety First!
