November 11 -- US & Canada: Veteran's Day & Remembrance Day
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In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
- John McCrae
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Reply to Flanders Fields
Oh! sleep in peace where poppies grow;
The torch your falling hands let go
Was caught by us, again held high,
A beacon light in Flanders sky
That dims the stars to those below.
You are our dead, you held the foe,
And ere the poppies cease to blow,
We'll prove our faith in you who lie
In Flanders Fields.
Oh! rest in peace, we quickly go
To you who bravely died, and know
In other fields was heard the cry,
For freedom's cause, of you who lie,
So still asleep where poppies grow,
In Flanders Fields.
As in rumbling sound, to and fro,
The lightning flashes, sky aglow,
The mighty hosts appear, and high
Above the din of battle cry,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below,
Are fearless hearts who fight the foe,
And guard the place where poppies grow.
Oh! sleep in peace, all you who lie
In Flanders Fields.
And still the poppies gently blow,
Between the crosses, row on row.
The larks, still bravely soaring high,
Are singing now their lullaby
To you who sleep where poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.
- John Mitchell
<Poems copied from http://canada.kos.net/remembrance.html >
vetreans numbers
24.5 million
The number of military veterans in the United States.
1.7 million
The number of veterans who are women.
9.5 million
The number of veterans who are age 65 or older.
2.3 million
The number of black veterans. Additionally, 1.1 million veterans are Hispanic; 276,000 are Asian; 185,000 are American Indian or Alaska native; and 25,000 are native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander. (The numbers for blacks, Asians, American Indians, and Alaska natives and native Hawaiians and other Pacific islanders cover only those reporting a single race.)
8.2 million
Number of Vietnam-era veterans. More than 30% of all veterans served in Vietnam, the largest share of any period of service. The next largest share of wartime veterans, 3.9 million or fewer than 20%, served during World War II.
16%
Percentage of Persian Gulf War veterans who are women. In contrast, women account for 5% of World War II vets, 3% of Vietnam vets, and 2% of Korean War vets.
432,000
Number of veterans who served during both the Vietnam era and in the Gulf War.
In addition,
383,000 veterans served during both the Korean War and the Vietnam conflict.
107,000 served during three periods: World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam conflict.
376,000 served in World War II and the Korean War.
each one answered when called, did their job, and wanted to come back home
some made it back only in the memory of those who knew them
and for all the Air crews............................
High Flight
Oh, I have slipped the surley bonds of earth
and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds--and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of--wheeled and soared and swung
High in sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never a lark, or even eagle flew
And, while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sancity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.
Pilot Officer John Macgee, Jr.
short bio on John Macgee jr
Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr., was an American serving with the
Royal Canadian Air Force. He was born in Shanghai, China in 1922, the son of
missionary parents, Reverend and Mrs. John Gillespie Magee; his father was
an American and his mother was originally a British citizen.
He came to the U.S. in 1939 and earned a scholarship to Yale, but in
September 1940 he enlisted in the RCAF and was graduated as a pilot. He was
sent to England for combat duty in July 1941.
In August or September 1941, Pilot Officer Magee composed High Flight and
sent a copy to his parents. Several months later, on December 11, 1941 his
Spitfire collided with another plane over England and Magee, only 19 years
of age, crashed to his death.
His remains are buried in the churchyard cemetery at Scopwick, Lincolnshire
For my buddy mitch, the Phantom Phixer, who kept the birds flying.
We remember, always ...
"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind."
Major Michael Davis O'Donnell
1 January 1970
Dak To, Vietnam
Listed as KIA February 7, 1978
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RIP, Rick Rescorla ... he survived that 'Broken Arrow' in the Ia Drang Valley, November 1965, only to face another hell in New York City on 9/11. In charge of Morgan Stanley security, he got all 2700 people out of the South tower only to go back one last time to search for stragglers. He saved their lives and in the process gave up his own.
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Lt. Rick Rescorla, Platoon Leader, B Co 2/7 Cav: http://www.lzxray.com/18.htm
"His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world 'This was a man!'"
William Shakespeare (Jul.Caesar, Act v, Sc.5)
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In Memoriam:
David Hugh Holmes
O3/US Air Force
(Promoted to O5 while in Missing status)
Date of Loss: 15 March 1966
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 164548N 1060821E (XD214536)
Status: Missing In Action
Captain David Holmes was flying FAC on an O1E "Bird Dog" aircraft on the east side of the Se Nam Kok River Valley, approximately 11 miles northwest of Tchepone, Savannakhet Province, Laos, in the operational area code named "ECHO" on March 15, 1966. His radio call sign was "Hound Dog 54" on this "Tiger Hound" operation. Holmes was flying over a large concentration of NVA toops maintaining a truck park along the Ho Chi Minh Trail when his plane was struck by anti-aircraft fire from at least one of the 6 gun emplacements and crashed into the foliage on the east side of the Se Nam Kok River valley about 300 meters from the village of Ban Keng Khan Kao.
Another FAC O1E, call sign "Hound Dog 50", was dispatched immediately and observed Holmes, apparently unconscious, sitting in the cockpit of his plane. Hound Dog 50 also observed the OV-1 Mohawk flown by Michel Nash and Glenn McElroy enter the line of enemy fire on the west side of the valley. The OV-1 was shot down with Nash and McElroy aboard.
A flight of F-4 Phantoms, call sign "Oxwood 95," and A1E Skyraiders were called into the battle area because of the enemy troops and gun emplacements. They continuously bombed and strafed the area for 4 to 5 hours that afternoon. Because of the constant hostile threat in the area, no ground inspection of either crash site was possible. While the fighters kept enemy troops occupied, numerous photo runs and SAR missions were flown over the wreckage searching for any sign of the downed crew.
On March 16, a search team was inserted into the Se Nam Kok River Valley, went to the crash site of David Holmes' O1E and found the plane empty. Their report states that he was either removed from the plane or left under his own power. URC-10 emergency radio signals were heard four times in the next 6 days, but it was believed the signals were initiated by enemy troops trying to sucker in rescue forces because voice contact could not be established. Holmes, Nash and McElroy all had URC-10 radios.
Just over 20 years from the day the two aircraft went down, U.S. teams had the opportunity to examine and excavate the crash site of Nash and McElroy's OV1A. There was no shred of evidence that anyone died in the aircraft. No human remains or bone fragments were found.
Capt. Holmes is among the nearly 600 Americans who disappeared in Laos. Many of these men were known to be alive on the ground. The Laotians admitted holding American Prisoners of War, but these men were never negotiated for either by direct negotiations between our countries or through the Paris Peace Accords which ended the Vietnam War since the Laotians were not a party to that agreement.
Pilots and aircrews in Vietnam and Laos were called upon to fly in many dangerous circumstances, and they were prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
I just returned from attending a very moving ceremony presented by the VetNet organization at the company where I work. It was here in the auditorium. There was a bag piper, buggler, readings, recognition of veterans from all branches of the military, and a group of wonderful kids from a local high school who brought tears to our eyes with the songs they sang. Most special to me was a presentation by an Army Major employee/friend who just returned from a mission in Iraq. His reserve unit is a teaching unit and they had been sent to Iraq on a special mission to train their army.
It does not matter whether I agree with all of the decisions my government makes but it does matter that I care about and appreciate the sacrifices members of my country's Armed Forces have made throughout the years and continue to make each day. To each of them, I say, "Thank You."
i looked hard in today's newspaper
going past the several "vet's day special sales"
for anything related, but did find this so the media has not forgotten totally !
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WE SHALL KEEP THE FAITH
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Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the
Faith With All who died
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We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields
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And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
by Moira Michael, November 1918
Flags by [url="http://www.3dflags.com/"target="_blank"]3d Flags.com[/url]
Mitch, I meant to tell you that not all the press forgot the Veterans. Our local newspaper was filled with articles and stories about tributes for Veterans.
You might also enjoy this:
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Published on November 11, 2005 © 2005 uclick, L.L.C. Copyright © 2005 Universal Press Syndicate