From a Veteran on Veteran’s day, You are welcome

[tstew]

My father served in Vietnam and overseas in other various capacities. I say a big thank you to him, Ferd, John, and every other veteran here and around the world. I pray today especially for the brave men and women (some children in my opinion) who serve today in hostile situations. I hope we never forget how precious each of them are and how none of them are simply a number or statistic.

[John Atkinson]

Originally Posted by tstew

My father served in Vietnam and overseas in other various capacities. I say a big thank you to him, Ferd, John, and every other veteran here and around the world. I pray today especially for the brave men and women (some children in my opinion) who serve today in hostile situations. I hope we never forget how precious each of them are and how none of them are simply a number or statistic.

I second that in a big way

[Ferd]

You people are mean posting those video's

[Jeffrey]

I'd be interested in hearing your input on the Pacifism thread.

[notofworks]

Originally Posted by Ferd

You are welcome. As a veteran, let me tell you that today isn’t the easiest day of the year for those of us who have been to war. We may have left the war, but in some ways it will never leave us. Don’t forget that when you meet a vet.

Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t looking for sympathy. We aren’t interested in hand wringing and second guessing about having been sent into harms way.

We didn’t join the military and face the bitter reality of war to be molly coddled. We didn’t join so we could be “heroes”.

We joined because we love this country. We joined because we believe in the principles of freedom and justice this country was founded on. We serve because someone must and we aren’t the kind to sit back and let someone else stand in the gap for us. However, we also aren’t the kind to resent that we are standing in that gap for others. We love Americans and we know that by our service others won’t have to serve and we are glad for it.

Someone somewhere first said that war is hell. There is truth in that. But we know that too often a greater hell exists where men and women refuse to stand up and fight tyranny. So we serve. Some of us find ourselves in war. Some of us never return from the war. For the rest, the war never leaves us.

We are happy to have done our part so that every American can live in freedom. All we ask is that you cherish the freedom that we purchased with blood and tears. That you understand that Freedom, real Freedom is the most costly thing there is on this planet.

Please remember that what ever your political persuasion, what ever you stand in defense of or what ever you stand in protest against, you have the right to do so because of some man or woman in the uniform of the United States of America.

You are welcome.

Thank you to all who serve.

[Falla39]

Originally Posted by notofworks

Thank you to all who serve.

Ditto!

Falla39

[freeatlast]

Enjoyed my time in the Navy..even got saved while I was in service.

[rgcraig]

Oh my....this really made me CRY!!!

I would love to be able to do somethin glike this sometime!

> The Sack Lunches
>
> I put my carry-on in the luggage
> compartment and sat down in my
> assigned seat. It was going to be a
> long flight. 'I'm glad I have a
> good book to read. Perhaps I will get
> a short nap,' I thought.
>
> Just before take-off, a line of
> soldiers came down the aisle and
> filled all the vacant seats, totally
> surrounding me. I decided to
> start a conversation.
> 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
>
> 'Petawawa. We'll be there for two
> weeks for special training, and then
> we're being deployed to Afghanistan
>
> After flying for about an hour, an
> announcement was made that sack
> lunches were available for five
> dollars. It would be several hours
> before we reached the east, and I
> quickly decided a lunch would help
> pass the time..
>
> As I reached for my wallet, I
> overheard soldier ask his buddy if he
> planned to buy lunch.
> 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch.
>
>
>
> Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base '
>
> His friend agreed.
>
> I looked around at the other
> soldiers. None were buying lunch. I
> walked to the back of the plane and
> handed the flight attendant a
> fifty dollar bill.
> 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers..' She grabbed my arms and
squeezed
> tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a
> soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
>
> Picking up ten sacks, she headed up
> the aisle to where the soldiers
> were seated. She stopped at my seat
> and asked, 'Which do you like
> best - beef or chicken?'
>
> 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why
> she asked. She turned and went to
> the front of plane, returning a
> minute later with a dinner plate from
> first class. 'This is your thanks.'
>
> After we finished eating, I went
> again to the back of the plane,
> heading for the rest room.
> A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it.
> Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
>
> Soon after I returned to my seat, I
> saw the Flight Captain coming down
> the aisle, looking at the aisle
> numbers as he walked, I hoped he was
> not looking for me, but noticed he
> was looking at the numbers only on
> my side of the plane.
> When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said,
> 'I want to shake your hand.'
>
> Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I
> stood and took the Captain's hand..
> With a booming voice he said, 'I was
> a soldier and I was a military pilot..
> Once, someone bought me a lunch.
> It was an act of kindness I
> never forgot.' I was embarrassed
> when applause was heard from all of
> the passengers.
>
> Later I walked to the front of the
> plane so I could stretch my legs.
> A man who was seated about six rows
> in front of me reached out his
> hand, wanting to shake mine. He left
> another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
>
> When we landed I gathered my
> belongings and started to deplane.
> Waiting just inside the airplane door
> was a man who stopped me, put
> something in my shirt pocket, turned,
> and walked away without saying a
> word. Another twenty-five dollars!
>
> Upon entering the terminal, I saw the
> soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them
> and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to
> reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich.
> God Bless You.'
>
> Ten young men left that flight
> feeling the love and respect of their
> fellow travelers. As I walked
> briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return.
> These soldiers were giving their all for our country.. I could only
> give them a couple of meals.
>
> It seemed so little....
>
> A veteran is someone who, at one
> point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United
> States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including My life.'
>
> That is Honor, and there are way too
> many people in this country who
> no longer understand it.'
>

[Esther]

Originally Posted by rgcraig

Oh my....this really made me CRY!!!

I would love to be able to do somethin glike this sometime!

> The Sack Lunches
>
> I put my carry-on in the luggage
> compartment and sat down in my
> assigned seat. It was going to be a
> long flight. 'I'm glad I have a
> good book to read. Perhaps I will get
> a short nap,' I thought.
>
> Just before take-off, a line of
> soldiers came down the aisle and
> filled all the vacant seats, totally
> surrounding me. I decided to
> start a conversation.
> 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
>
> 'Petawawa. We'll be there for two
> weeks for special training, and then
> we're being deployed to Afghanistan
>
> After flying for about an hour, an
> announcement was made that sack
> lunches were available for five
> dollars. It would be several hours
> before we reached the east, and I
> quickly decided a lunch would help
> pass the time..
>
> As I reached for my wallet, I
> overheard soldier ask his buddy if he
> planned to buy lunch.
> 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch.
>
>
>
> Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base '
>
> His friend agreed.
>
> I looked around at the other
> soldiers. None were buying lunch. I
> walked to the back of the plane and
> handed the flight attendant a
> fifty dollar bill.
> 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers..' She grabbed my arms and
squeezed
> tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a
> soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'
>
> Picking up ten sacks, she headed up
> the aisle to where the soldiers
> were seated. She stopped at my seat
> and asked, 'Which do you like
> best - beef or chicken?'
>
> 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why
> she asked. She turned and went to
> the front of plane, returning a
> minute later with a dinner plate from
> first class. 'This is your thanks.'
>
> After we finished eating, I went
> again to the back of the plane,
> heading for the rest room.
> A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it.
> Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.
>
> Soon after I returned to my seat, I
> saw the Flight Captain coming down
> the aisle, looking at the aisle
> numbers as he walked, I hoped he was
> not looking for me, but noticed he
> was looking at the numbers only on
> my side of the plane.
> When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said,
> 'I want to shake your hand.'
>
> Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I
> stood and took the Captain's hand..
> With a booming voice he said, 'I was
> a soldier and I was a military pilot..
> Once, someone bought me a lunch.
> It was an act of kindness I
> never forgot.' I was embarrassed
> when applause was heard from all of
> the passengers.
>
> Later I walked to the front of the
> plane so I could stretch my legs.
> A man who was seated about six rows
> in front of me reached out his
> hand, wanting to shake mine. He left
> another twenty-five dollars in my palm.
>
> When we landed I gathered my
> belongings and started to deplane.
> Waiting just inside the airplane door
> was a man who stopped me, put
> something in my shirt pocket, turned,
> and walked away without saying a
> word. Another twenty-five dollars!
>
> Upon entering the terminal, I saw the
> soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them
> and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to
> reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich.
> God Bless You.'
>
> Ten young men left that flight
> feeling the love and respect of their
> fellow travelers. As I walked
> briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return.
> These soldiers were giving their all for our country.. I could only
> give them a couple of meals.
>
> It seemed so little....
>
> A veteran is someone who, at one
> point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United
> States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including My life.'
>
> That is Honor, and there are way too
> many people in this country who
> no longer understand it.'
>

Renda how touching!

[Esther]

Originally Posted by Ferd

You are welcome. As a veteran, let me tell you that today isn’t the easiest day of the year for those of us who have been to war. We may have left the war, but in some ways it will never leave us. Don’t forget that when you meet a vet.

Don’t get me wrong, we aren’t looking for sympathy. We aren’t interested in hand wringing and second guessing about having been sent into harms way.

We didn’t join the military and face the bitter reality of war to be molly coddled. We didn’t join so we could be “heroes”.

We joined because we love this country. We joined because we believe in the principles of freedom and justice this country was founded on. We serve because someone must and we aren’t the kind to sit back and let someone else stand in the gap for us. However, we also aren’t the kind to resent that we are standing in that gap for others. We love Americans and we know that by our service others won’t have to serve and we are glad for it.

Someone somewhere first said that war is hell. There is truth in that. But we know that too often a greater hell exists where men and women refuse to stand up and fight tyranny. So we serve. Some of us find ourselves in war. Some of us never return from the war. For the rest, the war never leaves us.

We are happy to have done our part so that every American can live in freedom. All we ask is that you cherish the freedom that we purchased with blood and tears. That you understand that Freedom, real Freedom is the most costly thing there is on this planet.

Please remember that what ever your political persuasion, what ever you stand in defense of or what ever you stand in protest against, you have the right to do so because of some man or woman in the uniform of the United States of America.

You are welcome.

Ferd, I have not had a chance to read this thread before today and I only have time to read this one post for now.

Thank you for serving! I am guessing you served in the Viet Nam war. I know many that can not talk about their experiences. We that have never walked in your shoes can't really relate, but only pray that God will heal the minds and hearts of our soldiers that have experienced war.