Memorial Day is a good time to reflect on the sacrifices and services of the American soldiers and veterans and the U.S. military men and women. The American military is, has always been and will always recruit the best and finest of the crop of young men and women of the country and we will continue to shower them with appreciation, support and prayers, as we have always done. Memorial Day is just an opportunity for us to express the special places they have in the hearts of American citizens and more by honoring the people who work in the various branches of the military.
Freedom Is Not Free
- Kelly Strong
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
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Ways To Observe Memorial Day*
Memorial Day reminds us of our duties towards the wounded soldiers and the bereaved families, orphans and widows of the dead soldiers. We should honor the dead by adorning their sacred remains with flowers and garlands and show our gratitude towards them in the following ways:
- Adorning the graves of the soldiers with flags or flowers.
- Visiting cemeteries and memorials.
- Furling the American Flag at half-mast until noon.
- Furling the 'POW/MIA Flag'.
- Keep silence for a minute at 3 p.m., 'National Moment of Remembrance' and listen to Taps being played.
- Make a pledge to aid the disabled veterans, widows, widowers and orphans of the dead and keep it.
- You may support the efforts to restore the traditional day of observance of Memorial Day back to May 30th.
- Offering thanks to the veterans and appreciating the ultimate sacrifices of the soldiers to the bereaved families personally may help too.
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It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote.
It is the VETERAN who salutes the Flag,
It is the VETERAN who serves under the Flag,
ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.
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God Bless Our Troops…those who have served before and those who are serving now……
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ADDED NOTE: I have been asked if it would be okay to borrow some of my ideas…. the answer is YES!!! (This is one of those times I don’t mind….. our troops past and present deserve our support!!!!)
![Summer 2010_thumb[3]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigd1GIULv8gHMsNJUT6dZ1KwHFe5js4SqMgWIs76-Lp0urGU3OYxcKk94TcLMvpDeC9D0HEPEbiprfBYiie_HkBG9-F2QreXgo9F5ftulMBrnm8Fwz4OVel6flQ4jTD7NzPvSk_GjEsyk/?imgmax=800 "Summer 2010_thumb[3]")
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