Happy Veterans Day
 

War makes strange giant creatures out of the little routine men who inhabit the Earth.
— WWII correspondent Ernie Pyle.
* * * * *

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg — or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's alloy forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.
You can't tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.
He is the Nebraska farmer who worries every year that this time the bank really will foreclose.
He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 39th Parallel.
She — or he — is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.
He is the POW who went away one person and came back another — or didn't come back at all.
He is the Quantico drill instructor who never has seen combat — but who has saved countless lives by turning slouchy no-'counts into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each others' backs.
He is the parade-riding legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.
He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.
He is the anonymous hero in the Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the other anonymous heroes whose valor died unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket — palsied now and aggravatingly slow — who helped liberate a Nazi death camp, and who wishes all day long his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being — a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.


This editorial first appeared in 1995 .



https://www.youtube.com/embed/uoABty_zE00?rel=0



Veterans Day: Honor the great givers.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/opinion...5cc3b2d2c.html

We must remember all the four legged veterans like Reckless and Warrior.

Warrior:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...rld-War-I.html

http://www.theguardian.com/world/201...ld-war-warrior

Reckless:

http://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2...orse-1953.html

http://www.hrtv.com/videos/inside-information-reckless/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sgt-R...628917?fref=ts

Thanks to all who have served...

Sorry the country does so little for those who have done so much.

You may have seen this before, but it's worth passing along again

The power of your example is greater than the power of what you say.

As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of
groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a
lady sitting inside the car, with the door open.

The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car,
and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm
walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too, and took
a few steps towards him.

I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young
man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade.
He then turned back to the old man. I heard him yell at the old gentleman
saying:

"You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age."

And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of
the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief, and mop his brow as he
went back to his car and again looked at the engine.

He then went to his wife and spoke with her; he appeared to tell her it
would be okay. I had seen enough, and I approached the old man. He saw me
coming and stood straight, and as I got near him I said, 'Looks like you're
having a problem.'

He smiled sheepishly, and quietly nodded his head. I looked under the hood
myself, and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me. Looking
around, I saw a gas station up the road, and I told the old man that I would
be right back. I drove to the station and I went inside. I saw three
attendants working on cars. I approached one of them, and related the
problem the old man had with his car. I offered to pay them if they could
follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared
to be comforting his wife When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me
for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine), I
spoke with the old gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier, he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and
had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded
and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with?'

He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa,
Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal ....

He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was
over. As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics
lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet,
but was stopped by me. I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card.

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his
name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket. We shook hands all
around again, and I said my goodbye's to his wife.

I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the
station. Once at the station, I told them that they had interrupted their
own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay
for the help, but they refused to charge me.

One of them pulled out a card from his pocket, looking exactly like the card
the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then that they were
Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was
leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given
to me. I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks, when I pulled over and took the
card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name of
the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name was
written:'Congressional Medal of Honor Society.'

I sat there motionless, looking at the card and reading it over and over. I
looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on
this day, four Marines had all come together because one of us needed help.
He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to
greatness and courage, and an honor to have been in his presence.

Remember, OLD men like him gave youFREEDOM for America . Thanks to those who
served and still serve, and to all of those who supported them, and who
continue to support them.

America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war. America is at the Mall.
If you don't stand behind our troops, PLEASE feel free to stand in front of
them!

Remember, Freedom IS NOT free. Thousands have paid the price, so you can

Solider adopts dog that saved his life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1NkQhzZXDE#t=228

This is fantastic! Saratoga Warhorse Program..

http://www.hrtv.com/videos/saratoga-...eoCategoryId=0

:tro::tro::tro:

Love it:tro::tro:

National Anthem sang like you never heard it sang before.

http://sfglobe.com/?id=18672&src=share_fb_new_18672

FTFY:) ...luv ya:{>: ..you can get even later:p

My wife is from KY and says Francis Scott Key is from Georgetown:tro: ..

Hard to top this one. An encore today would probably be considered politically incorrect and offensive. :wf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvpxVE_kQXg

A boy finds $20....

http://trendinghot.net/how-this-kid-...ing-priceless/

:tro::tro::{>:

Poppy fields in London commemorate 100 years since WWI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMAoMOk_fd4

Father Kapaun

I've never heard this story before.

This is amazing..... so well done.


https://www.youtube.com/embed/AZuPrQBSDCs