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The Greatest Casualty

The greatest tragedy is being forgotten.

Today is Memorial Day, and whether you support or oppose the war, it's a day to proudly remember and be grateful to those who gave their lives for our country.

What will you do to remember the fallen members of our military today?

This is an open thread for topics related to Memorial Day.

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    Our soldier is home now :) (5.00 / 8) (#1)
    by Militarytracy on Mon May 31, 2010 at 06:19:17 AM EST
    We will cook some yummy food today.  Don't think we will be BBQing though because we are due a large dollop of rain today and we need it.  When I was at the grocery store last night they had a special on one of those new five blade razors.  I live with someone who has to shave five mornings a week and good razors and shave cream are MUSTS.  My husband said that five blades was getting ridiculous though, but they were offering a new razor with six cartridges and a really large can of excellent shave cream for $10.  I couldn't pass that up with what we spend on shaving in the household.  When I got to the check out there was a little girl there who goes to school with Josh, same grade.  She too had to have a surgery this year, so Joshua introduced her to me once.  They were both healing at the same time around Christmas and not going outside to play like everyone else everyday yet.  She saw the razor and said they were thinking about getting it too and sending it her daddy in Afghanistan and then my eyes welled up.  I do my stint as the single mom even with a needy child and hardly blink because I believe in the mission.  I have my plans set, Joshua and I did special things everyday together when my husband was gone.  I used the time to hog him up, my time with him being little and wanting me grows shorter and shorter.  I believe in co-creating my life to the last drop, but it is sacrifice at this time....even if I can only touch that reality in the face of another child missing her dad and having to go through hard things without him right now.  The granddaughters stayed the night last night and are still asleep.  I love waking up with them and Joshua and my husband.  It is the perfect mix of rowdy loving chaos and breakfast food.

    Give your (5.00 / 3) (#2)
    by Ga6thDem on Mon May 31, 2010 at 07:55:55 AM EST
    husband our thanks and best wishes!

    Parent
    I will (none / 0) (#3)
    by Militarytracy on Mon May 31, 2010 at 08:53:38 AM EST
    MT, this is for (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Zorba on Mon May 31, 2010 at 11:53:35 AM EST
    your husband, and you, and all who serve and have served in our country's military, and their families "back home" who support them.  Thank you.

    Gene Simmons Military Tribute

    Parent

    Here's to Dick and "Pappy" (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon May 31, 2010 at 09:31:12 AM EST
    and Montgomery and Knudson

    You haven't been forgotten.

    And MT your husband's and your sacrifice is still understood and appreciated by millions of us.

    Anybody in the NE smelling smoke? (5.00 / 2) (#6)
    by gyrfalcon on Mon May 31, 2010 at 09:55:19 AM EST
    Woke up this AM to the strong smell of smoke and a haze over my valley, and after reassuring myself it wasn't my house on fire, called a neighbor, who told me about this gigantic forest fire up in Quebec I hadn't heard about-- 50 separate fires.

    I hit Google news, and the smoke from these fires is just blanketing big parts of New England, as far south as Cape Cod.  It's so bad in northern VT, parts of Maine and NH that people are being told to stay indoors until the wind shifts later today and blows it back.

    Yes! (none / 0) (#52)
    by CST on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 08:50:01 AM EST
    Actually a little further south than the cape.

    I was coming back from MV yesterday with my sisters and we had to walk about five miles in the smoke to get back to the boat, since we were down there without a car.  It was pretty terrible, couldn't stop sneezing.

    However, to keep ourselves otherwise occupied on the walk we sang pretty much every song from the sound of music and all the childhood songs we learned from our parents.  Some of which had a decidedly Memorial's Day bend like:

    Where have all the flower's gone? - a personal favorite

    One Tin Soldier

    and "Edelweiss" which isn't really about war so much as why we go to war.  To this day, I still get choked up watching Captain Von Trapp sing it at the end of the sound of music during the music festival.

    Parent

    The greatest casualty (5.00 / 7) (#7)
    by lentinel on Mon May 31, 2010 at 10:09:36 AM EST
    is of course the loss of life.

    I have had a loss of life in my family.
    None of us have ever recovered from it.

    The other greatest casualty is truth.
    We seem to have become accustomed to it.
    All we can do is mourn.

    I will admit that I feel angry and I will never get over it.

    Sadly, this year, what I'll remember... (5.00 / 8) (#8)
    by Dadler on Mon May 31, 2010 at 10:14:48 AM EST
    ...are the many brave and committed men and women who are simply used and abused every day by the military industrial complex and its never-ending wars of choice for profit.  

    And I'll remember how my brother's life was utterly turned upside down by his last deployment, which was unethical of the military to foist on him, and which resulted in the end of his barely begun marriage. The kid will never be the same, his bitterness is profound.

    It is a terrible and inexcusable thing, in supposedly free and civilized America, that the military is run by men who had to read "Three Cups of Tea" to understand what most sentient human beings grasp when they are CHILDREN.  

    Sad tidings. (none / 0) (#18)
    by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 01:42:42 PM EST
    Prayers (5.00 / 2) (#12)
    by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:24:52 PM EST
    For a future generation where Memorial Day is an anachronism.

    And for those who are not going to be able to go to a cemetery and decorate the graves of war dead, you can listen to Charles Ives' Decoration Day

    Ain't gonna happen (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by lentinel on Mon May 31, 2010 at 01:14:54 PM EST
    Memorial Day will always be with us.
    It is a day when the politicians who send young people to senseless deaths can pretend that they give a sh-t about it.

    Parent
    Well Not For A Long Time Anyway (5.00 / 1) (#15)
    by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 01:22:38 PM EST
    Maybe if we start by instituting a National day of Mourning for all those who died at our hands, people would start to get the idea that the prosecution of war should be remanded to the dustbin of history.

    Parent
    Not looking good. See Israel (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 01:31:35 PM EST
    military rapelling from helicopter onto flotilla (in international waters) bound for Gaza.  

    Parent
    And see: (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 01:42:10 PM EST
    Not "for our country" (5.00 / 3) (#13)
    by Andreas on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:48:42 PM EST
    Those who were involved in the recent imperialist wars and died were not giving "their lives for our country." They were sent to war by the ruling capitalist class and its representatives such as George Walker Bush, Richard Cheney and Barak Obama.

    Although I prefer to think of war veterans (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:10:31 PM EST
    from their perspective.  Hate to think any of them died thinking they were giving their lives for politics and the enrichment of others.

    Parent
    Quite a few knew that the were used ... (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by Andreas on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:52:36 PM EST
    but most of them were not aware of any alternative.

    To falsely state that they "died for our country" does not honor them.

    Parent

    I was prepared to say Steven Ambrose (none / 0) (#29)
    by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:17:57 PM EST
    didn't mention this in "Band of Brothers" or "D-Day."  Stumbled on this New Yorker article refuting Ambrose's claims of the dates he met with Eisenhower at Gettysburg.  Still a big fan of Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage," though.

    Parent
    New Yorker article link: (none / 0) (#31)
    by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:19:04 PM EST
    War veterans don't share (5.00 / 4) (#40)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Mon May 31, 2010 at 08:49:54 PM EST
    a standardized "perspective" on the nature of the wars they fought, nor do they share a standardized perspective on their participation.

    My father was a decorated veteran of WWll, a volunteer rather than a draftee. He wasn't at all proud of what he did in the service. He didn't expect, nor want, anyone to thank him for his sacrifice.

    He came home and became a man of faith and a man of peace who was appalled by war for the rest of his life. He couldn't bear the sight or sound of fireworks and he went to his grave without ever attending, or acknowledging, a single Memorial Day event.

    My father wouldn't want anybody to remember him today for what he did in the war. On this day, I honor the will and courage it took for him to part ways with mainstream sentiment and formulate an altogether different perspective on war.

    I say this not to suggest that everyone ought to share his outlook, but to demonstrate that there is a wide diversity of opinion among veterans.

    Parent

    Well (none / 0) (#24)
    by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:46:04 PM EST
    I would hazard a guess that in the US wars in the last 50 years,  the greater the wealth of the soldier, the less that they would think that they were giving up their lives for the politics and enrichment of others.

    Parent
    whoa (5.00 / 6) (#33)
    by The Addams Family on Mon May 31, 2010 at 04:11:17 PM EST
    imperialist wars or not - and they are - the job of soldiers is to follow lawful orders in the defense of our country, ultimately the orders of the comdr-in chief, a civilian

    if soldiers did not follow orders - again, ultimately civilian orders - we could easily have a military dictatorship

    imo, every soldier who dies in the line of duty has died for his or her country by virtue of being in uniform and available to defend the rest of us should the need arise

    imo, that is true no matter what the imperialist plans of the civilian leaders may be

    i do not like to see the soldiers' sacrifice understood only thru the lens of disagreement w/civilian leaders' ambitions

    Parent

    Well said (none / 0) (#34)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon May 31, 2010 at 06:55:58 PM EST
    thanks (none / 0) (#38)
    by The Addams Family on Mon May 31, 2010 at 08:00:04 PM EST
    hope it's clear that i do not disagree with how Andreas characterized most of our country's military involvements (and on that you and i may disagree jim, i don't know)

    Parent
    Yes we would (none / 0) (#53)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 08:59:17 AM EST
    Very much so. But with courtesy.

    Parent
    I will always think (none / 0) (#41)
    by JamesTX on Mon May 31, 2010 at 08:53:53 PM EST
    of wars since WWII in this way, Andreas, but I will always think of our brave service members who gave their lives as sacred souls whose lives were more than I deserve. Like most people, I have personally lost family and seen the effects. These men and women may have at times been manipulated. At times maybe not. Maybe they actually believed in the corrupt system and had no concern for people like me. I don't care about that, though. Yes, the missions they have been assigned have at times been absolutely immoral and absurd, but their job was not to ask or evaluate. It was to perform their duty. They did their duty, and I think most of them did it for you and me believing that they were acting ethically and honorably for our benefit. It doesn't matter what their leaders did. It doesn't matter that their leaders sent them on missions which were often senseless or even immoral. That is our fault -- not theirs. What matters is that they gave all that can possibly be asked of any human for any reason, and they did it in our name. I don't think we should stink up with politics this day of honor for our fellow countrymen who have paid the ultimate price. I am forever in their debt, and this day reminds me that every day of life in this country is a gift from those brave souls, and every one of us owes it to them to make this country resemble what they died for. We will all take on that task in different ways and with different convictions, but this day is not about that. This day is to remind us that somebody paid our fare, and we should make the most of the ride.

    Parent
    A proud day! (5.00 / 4) (#23)
    by Gerald USN Ret on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:39:32 PM EST
    God bless the United States of America.

    God bless our friends and loved ones, those living and those passed.

    God bless you Jeralyn for your work here.

    A very happy... (5.00 / 2) (#32)
    by desertswine on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:32:37 PM EST
    This was my Memorial Day: (5.00 / 3) (#35)
    by snstara on Mon May 31, 2010 at 07:10:41 PM EST
    Honoring my third cousin, Lt. Joseph J. "Joey" Auld, whose plane went down in Myanmar during WWII. His remains were recently recovered and identified through mitochondrial DNA. This is a bit about this journey: http://bit.ly/cgQbyF

    It's closure no one in our family ever expected to have.  I know there are many parents, partners, and children still waiting - waiting for loved ones and lost ones to come home.  May the wait be short, and may the news be good.

    I feel despair. Having been a nurse (5.00 / 2) (#45)
    by hairspray on Mon May 31, 2010 at 11:44:44 PM EST
    in a VA hospital, I know how much it really costs these people.  It is disgusting to realize so many people could care less.

    saluted, thanked, and placed an individual American flag in front of each and every one of the 85,000+ gravestones in Los Angeles National Cemetary.

    is from that cemetery...

    Parent
    A wonderful (none / 0) (#5)
    by CoralGables on Mon May 31, 2010 at 09:48:15 AM EST
    Memorial Day article on former Senator from Montana, Mike Mansfield

    Thx for that remembrance. (none / 0) (#9)
    by brodie on Mon May 31, 2010 at 10:36:01 AM EST
    Mansfield was the best ML Dems have ever had, imo.  Stood for solid liberal principles, worked to get things done, tried to keep the US out of a disastrous war.  

    Kennedy listened to him and took his advice seriously; they made for a good team, both working on the same page in DP and FP.  Johnson though didn't care for Mike's failure to go along with escalating in VN, and increasingly sought to limit his input on that area.

    If Mansfield can be faulted, it would be for failing to publicly criticize Lyndon's war when it might have made a difference, but in his view that was not the job of the ML which he felt had to publicly back the party's leader in the WH.

    Still though, better than anyone in that post before or since.  

    Parent

    There will be a ceremony honoring (none / 0) (#11)
    by oculus on Mon May 31, 2010 at 12:15:37 PM EST
    the military, in this military city, at tonight's baseball game.  The ceremony will center on the Midway, which is docked here and a very popular place for people to go to learn about WWII.  

    But nothing like Memorial Day in the midwest back in the day.  Played in the Municipal Band which was very busy on Memorial Day.

    It seems clear to me that the (none / 0) (#19)
    by observed on Mon May 31, 2010 at 01:59:00 PM EST
    "American way" depends on perpetual war. I'm not quite sure why this is the case. I'm inclined to accept Marxist explanations---e.g. Monbiot's explanation for the Iraq war. War seems to be connected with domestic political control as well.
    I am ashamed that the world's "greatest nation" has become the greatest threat to world peace in the decades since WWII.


    Oh Really? (none / 0) (#20)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:06:14 PM EST
    Assuming that we had not faced off with the Soviet Union..... what do you think the Soviets would have done after gobbling up Eastern Europe??

    Perhaps you are too young to remember the Cold War and those who died fighting in it, and all the proxy wars that came with it.

    Parent

    I believe I said that the US has become (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by observed on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:10:04 PM EST
    the greatest threat to peace---in other words, it has been a process. There is no Soviet Union now.
    Furthermore, the United States was at least an equal partner in creating the cold war in the 40's and 50's, which I know from reading history.


    Parent
    Oh really? (none / 0) (#27)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:11:51 PM EST
    WWWII ended 67 years ago. The Cold War started when the Soviets started taking over country after country, imposing communism.

    You are entitled to not knowing history, but not to misstating facts.

    Parent

    Really.. (none / 0) (#36)
    by jondee on Mon May 31, 2010 at 07:19:02 PM EST
    You have to wonder how many countries the U.S would've "taken over" post-WWII, if those countries had cooperated with the Nazis, and, or, had been used as staging areas for an invasion that resulted in tens-of-millions of American deaths. As it is, without ever having been invaded, we have 700 + bases scattered across the globe..

       

    Parent

    Really.. (none / 0) (#37)
    by jondee on Mon May 31, 2010 at 07:28:05 PM EST
    You have to wonder how many countries the U.S would've "taken over" post-WWII, if those countries had cooperated with the Nazis, or had been used as staging areas for an invasion that resulted in tens-of-millions of American civilian deaths.

    As it is, there's only ONE country that still has upwards of 700+ military bases scattered across the globe, and it isn't Russia.

       

    Parent

    You are stuttering again (none / 0) (#54)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 09:03:18 AM EST
    The bases are the result of our military commitment.

    And we both know that there were no countries besides the capable of blocking the Soviets imperial aims after the end of WWII.

    BTW - Apologizing for Stalin now? Wow.

    Parent

    "Taking over countries" (none / 0) (#59)
    by jondee on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 11:48:58 AM EST
    was THIER "military commitment"..

    Are you trying to claim the U.S wouldnt have permanently occupied border nations if it had endured and turned back a similar invasion? Even you're not that dumb..

    And btw Einstein, before you you an inclination to repost revisionist idiocy about the civil rights era, look up Malcom X.

    Parent

    That is a typical Jondee argument (none / 0) (#60)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 11:57:07 AM EST
    "The US would do bad stuff...."

    heh

    Parent

    "Heh": (none / 0) (#63)
    by jondee on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 12:08:13 PM EST
    one of your more insightful comments in the last few months.

    Parent
    ..Yet a country (none / 0) (#44)
    by jondee on Mon May 31, 2010 at 09:42:07 PM EST
    that had been barely fully industrialized before WWII began and had endured a devastating invasion during the war -- in the process of engaging 80% of the German Army on the Eastern Front -- somehow emerged from all of that a lean and mean, evil empire with it's tentacles menacing every cranny of the free world..

    Or so the Captain America comics - Micky Spillane gangbusters narrative went..

    Parent

    You are old enough to know better. (none / 0) (#50)
    by observed on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 08:44:30 AM EST
    The Cold War was not fully determined until well after WWII. There were opportunities in the 40's and 50's to reduce tension, but hawks in the US (those two brothers.. can't remember their names) were instrumental in blocking any talks.
    Sure, the USSR took territory--that was spoils of war, and distinct from the Cold War.
    As  a Russian told me last week, the USSR was the winner of WWII, judging by the usual metric.

    Parent
    Tell your Russian friend (none / 0) (#56)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 09:13:54 AM EST
    that he should get all the Russians who've came here after the cold war and take'em home. I'm sure they would not want to live in a second class country.

    Make all the excuses you want but the Berlin Blockage was not an attempt to be friendly. The Soviets could have ended the Korean war immediately by just telling the world that they would not protect China if we nuked China as a way to defeat their forces in Korea.

    As I said. You have the right to be wrong, but not to misstate history.

    Parent

    Nuke China.. (none / 0) (#64)
    by jondee on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 12:22:17 PM EST
    nuke Hannoi..more flppant beastiality from the chronic non-combatant quarter..

    Parent
    I really don't care (none / 0) (#55)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 09:08:20 AM EST
    how many times Russia had been invaded. I was and am interested in the security of the US.

    The USSR attempted to take over the world to spread their ideology, communism, not to protect themselves from invasion.

    I hate to be blunt but your attempt to rewrite history is laughable.

    Parent

    Take over the world.. (none / 0) (#58)
    by jondee on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 11:42:14 AM EST
    are you talking about the old SU, the radical muslims or Dr Goldfinger?

    I think somewhere, they're all jumbled up in your mind..

    Parent

    Your lack of knowledge (none / 0) (#61)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 11:58:21 AM EST
    re the Cold war is impressive.

    Parent
    Im just glad the purity (none / 0) (#62)
    by jondee on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 12:05:55 PM EST
    of your precious bodily fluids has remained intact, Jim..

    Stick with the rainwater and grain alcohol.

    Parent

    More from The Oil Drum Blog (none / 0) (#26)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Mon May 31, 2010 at 02:59:13 PM EST
    The Oil Drum (TOD) Mission Statement

    The Oil Drum's mission is to facilitate civil, evidence-based discussions about energy and its impact on our future. We near the point where new oil production cannot keep up with increased energy demand and the depletion of older oil fields, resulting in a decline of total world oil production. Because we are increasingly dependent upon petroleum, declining production has the potential to disrupt our lives through much higher prices and fuel shortages. The extent of the impact of this supply shortfall will depend on its timing, the magnitude of production decline rates, the feasibility of petroleum alternatives, and our ability to curtail energy consumption.

    Many have noted how we seem to stand alone in a fact and logic based search for facts regarding the BP Deepwater spill, with some quite experienced oil industry types on board. This is a simple re-purposing or change in focus of what we do, week after week, struggling with a much larger intractable problem.

    ---------------------------------------------------
    TOD recently linked to this May 19/10 story from Matthew Stein: The Perfect Storm: Six Trends Converging on Collapse:
    There are dark clouds gathering on the horizon. They are the clouds of six hugely troubling global trends. Individually, each of these trends is a potential civilization buster: 1) Climate Change; 2) Peak Oil; 3) Collapse of the World's Oceans; 4) Deforestation; 5) The Global Food Crisis; 6) Overpopulation...

    TOD is fascinating to read although, in the comments section, it's important to check whether the commenter is a novice or a regular TOD contributor.

    I think we have been running out of oil (none / 0) (#28)
    by jimakaPPJ on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:15:32 PM EST
    for a 100 years.

    Parent
    We have been running out of (none / 0) (#51)
    by observed on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 08:46:02 AM EST
    patience with know-nothing reactionaries for 200 years.

    Parent
    Yes democracy is such a drag (none / 0) (#57)
    by jimakaPPJ on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 09:15:43 AM EST
    Maybe we should form collective farms and force all the peasants on them... Probably wouldn't kill more than 4 million or so.

    Parent
    Sorry, I plunked the Oil Drum (none / 0) (#42)
    by FoxholeAtheist on Mon May 31, 2010 at 09:09:20 PM EST
    comment down in this "open thread for topics related to Memorial Day".

    I mistook it for a fully open thread. All apologies.

    Parent

    Our Current Wars (none / 0) (#30)
    by squeaky on Mon May 31, 2010 at 03:18:44 PM EST
    President Horst Köhler of Germany resigned on Monday amid a barrage of criticism for remarks he made a week ago during a surprise visit to Afghanistan.
    It is the first time that a German president has ever resigned.

    [...]
    Mr. Köhler, a former director of the International Monetary Fund and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shocked Germans earlier this month when he said that the country's soldiers serving in Afghanistan or other peacekeeping missions were deployed to protect German economic interests.

    But, in his contentious remarks, Mr. Köhler said: "A country of our size, with its focus on exports and thus reliance on foreign trade, must be aware that military deployments are necessary in an emergency to protect our interests, for example, when it comes to trade routes, for example, when it comes to preventing regional instabilities that could negatively influence our trade, jobs and incomes."

    digby

    As dibgy said:

    Oooops!
     

    Today is not "Memorial Day" (none / 0) (#48)
    by mcl on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 03:33:20 AM EST
    It's Armistice Day, originally commemorating the pointless deaths of the most destructive and brutal war in Europe. In some battles of WW I more than 100,000 soldiers died -- for no reason. Thousands upon thousands of young men charged up out of mud-and-blood-soaked trenches filled with rats and disease, and all those young men got cut down by machine gun fire in a shell-pocked wasteland filled with the corpses of rotting horses and stagnant water.

    During the gas attacks of WW I, entires corps of men screamed and died in agony as their lungs got eaten away by corrosive chlorine gas. Blister agents burned soldiers' skin and killed them clawing at their suppurating flesh as it rotted from their bones.

    Men went made during the endless trench bombardments and during years of seemingly endless attacks and counterattacks, as little as several hundreds of blood-soaked mud were ultimately gained as the futile prize of war.

    WW II was horrible, but for sheer monstrous inhumanity nothing compares to the rat-infested corpse-filled rotting trenches of WW I swept by chlorine and blister agent gas attacks and constantly bombarded by high explosive shells that ripped soldiers' faces off and shattered their arms and legs.

    When WW II in Europe ended on 5 May 1945, Armistice Day was changed to "Memorial Day" as a general day of mourning for America's war dead. The near coincidence of those two ending dates for two different world wars should have provided a warning to America not to engage in further foreign adventures.

    Armistice Day is in Nov (none / 0) (#49)
    by BTAL on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 07:37:44 AM EST
    Yesterday was Memorial Day.

    Parent
    Yep (none / 0) (#65)
    by jbindc on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 01:12:10 PM EST
    On the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month, at the Eleventh Hour was Armistice Day.

    Actually, yesterday was originally "Decoration Day"

    From Wiki:

    Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (May 31 in 2010). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service.[1] First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War - it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the Civil War - it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.



    Parent
    As for me... (none / 0) (#66)
    by DancingOpossum on Tue Jun 01, 2010 at 04:35:56 PM EST

    I feel sorry for the ones who were wounded and died for the sake of our military-industrial empire, and I feel sympathy for their families.

    But I also extend my sympathy and my compassion to those whom our "brave boys" have raped, bombed, and slaughtered--people who did nothing to us, nothing to deserve this. Where is their memorial day?

    And I reserve my honor and my thanks for people like Lt. Watada, who showed the courage to stand up to the jingoism and false patriotism and flatly declare that he would fight no more in these illegal wars. THAT is true heroism. He and the other war resisters are the ones who deserve our respect and our thanks.