Memorial Day 2009
Posted by the912project on May 24, 2009 · 176 Comments
A bit of history about the holiday.
Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in 1873.
Gen. Logan’s General Order No. 11 contained this direction for the day – “…gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime….let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude,–the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.” –General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868
Links of Interest
DO SOMETHING FOR A SOLDIER AWAY FROM HOME – SEND A PHONE CARD
SUPPORT THE MEN & WOMEN WHO HAVE ALREADY SERVED US
HELP THE FAMILIES OF WOUNDED AMERICAN MILITARY
USE YOUR FREQUENT FLYER MILES TO CONNECTED FAMILIES & WOUNDED SOLDIERS
How To Properly Observe Memorial Day
Tell us how you plan to spend Memorial Day and let us know if there are any websites that you would recommend to better inform how we can pay tribute to our troops.
I am so grateful for the 9.12 Project. Thank you Glenn. I have discovered a voice that I thought had been silenced. I am the Grassroots coordinator for the Lancaster 9.12 Project and because of this, I was asked to speak at a Memorial Day Parade giving their Memorial Day Address. I am an Army Veteran and this was a very proud moment for me and my family. LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v63vvtzRSnk&fe...
The only thing they displayed was a tiny hard to see yellow ribbon.
Memorial Day is very hard for me. I was raised in a Military family, my childhood consisted of watching my dad fight for his benefits he had to go to court to get. He used to take us kids to the gravesites, all year, but on Memorial Day we would pay respect to all our relatives who died. And we helped the American Legion place flags on all of the Vets graves. And we learned at a very young age what the Military was all about. My dad being a disabled Veteran kept me from thinking it was a Holiday for anything else. Little did I know than….I would be placing one on his grave. That's where i was all weekend. Saturday I went to a Military funeral, that was open to the public.
The rest of the weekend I was at my dads grave. This is always the hardest time for me, and far from being a Holiday! I spend alot of my time doing voluntary work on our bases, and at the American Legion….and the disabled Vets is another place I dedicate my time. Thanks to all our Military! You're the BEST!!!! I love you all!
Thanks for your service and thanks for your dad's service to our country. God bless you my friend. Have a great day my friend.
Hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day. I love this poem and wanted to share it. I seem to be having a problem with the length of the poem. Sorry, I had to break it into 2 parts.
THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER
There’s a graveyard near the White House
Where the Unknown Soldier lies,
And the flowers there are sprinkled
With the tears from mother’s eyes.
I stood there not so long ago
With roses for the brave,
And suddenly I heard a voice
Speak from out the grave:
‘I am the Unknown Soldier,’
The spirit voice began,
‘And I think I have the right
To ask some questions man to man.
‘Are my buddies taken care of?
Was their victory so sweet?
Is that big reward you offered
Selling pencils on the street?
‘Did they really win the freedom
They battled to achieve?
Do you still respect that Croix de Guerre
Above that empty sleeve?
‘Does a gold star in the window
Now mean anything at all?
I wonder how my old girl feels
When she hears a bugle call.
For a Uncle I never knew. Merle Johnson. Korea War. Killed in action.
Although I've never known you. Each year I stand at your grave. Your's is always the frist one that calls to me. I stand there honoring you with flowers and flag in hand. I wonder what your life was like before the war. I wonder how your life would have turned out if you had come home to live a life to be proud of. Although I never knew you. I know we would have be great friends as well as family. Thank you for servicing your country and God Bless you for everything you gave up.
As I make my rounds this day throughout the cemetery. My thoughts are with you. The Uncle I've never known. I stop once more at your resting place. Your's is always the first I come to and the last one I leave.
On occasions such as this I have to wonder about the complaints of the 912'ers regarding why it is their responsibility to fix the problems of someone in another state, someone who got himself into a pickle, someone who took advantage of the system and got burned, etc.. What do you suppose the men we honor today were doing when they gave their all? They were doing it for us, for the guy in the next foxhole, regardless of whether he or we got ourselves into a jam through stupidity or the evil of others.
Get a life people! I am your responsibility just as you are mine. That is the price of freedom.
Mam, if you could tell me how to….Nevermind.
Amazing grace.
A Hymn written by a slave trader. Amazing grace, a hymn.
Fallen but not forgotten
Cpl Dominic Varlese
Sgt Adam "Plum" Plumondore
Sgt Benjamin "Rat" Morton
Spc Clint "Gerty" Gertson
Sgt Anthony "Ace" Davis
Msg Brian "Mac-Daddy" Mack
Pfc Nils
Lt Abu Riesh "Blue"
All of you left us before your time, but will be with us always.
The Unknown Solider (Part 2) continued
‘And that baby who sang
“Hello, Central, give me no man’s land”-
Can they replace her daddy
With a military band?
‘I wonder if the profiteers
Have satisfied their greed?
I wonder if a soldier’s mother
Ever is in need?
‘I wonder if the kings, who planned it all
Are really satisfied?
They played their game of checkers
And eleven million died.
‘I am the Unknown Soldier
And maybe I died in vain,
But if I were alive and my country called,
I’d do it all over again.’
BILLY ROSE