Let us salute our heroes today. Most of us think of Memorial Day as a day off from work and school, a day to have a barbeque, see a parade, or go to the beach. But today my family takes time to pay our respects. We hang our flag and talk about the lost.
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My heroes are those that have given their lives either while in the military or due to their time in the military. I watched a short series on CNN about Section 60 in Arlington Cemetery, that is where the soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. Unfortunately that section is growing every day. It was so sad to see a young mother and her twins visiting the grave of her husband, their father. He was killed in Iraq before the twins were born.
Here, in the Tampa area, the St. Pete Times ran a section that listed all of the soldiers that died since the beginning of the Iraq war. They showed small photos and gave some details about their lives. It was touching to read, but instilled the reason for today.
My father who was a veteran of WWII survived the war, but had many scars. Most of the pain he suffered was PTSD, which was called, shell shock back then. He never spoke about it, sought help for it, or even tried to get a higher disability rating for it. But he woke up screaming at night, worsened his heart problems and died too young. He is my special hero.
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Twitter: LindaOSki
says:
My father, too, never talked about his time in the Korean War or the Vietnam War and ultimately ended up dieing from non-Hodgkins’ lymphoma that he contracted from exposure to Agent Orange. I never heard him complain, though, or say that he wished he hadn’t been a career military man. He served proudly and I was always very proud of him – and still am to this day.
My belated thanks to your father for the role he played in keeping our country safe and our freedoms free!
My father,step father,my brother and both of his boys have all served. My father served in the Air force and Army. We buried him only a month ago. He was buried with full military honors and my step father, my brother and my nephews all honored him by wearing thier uniforms to the funeral. Both of my nephews were in Iraq at the same time. Thank God they came home safe last year. Thank you for your tribute.
thanks to your father and everyone else who served our country. i think a lot of people forget the reason for memorial day.
Honoring our fathers on this day is more important to me than the “hallmark fathers day.”
As with the rest of you commenting and Connies post here- I have two fathers being honored today. My biological dad- a Vietnam vet, and my real dad, WW2 vet with honors- now passed, but always proud to have been of service for our country.
I also honor my mate, a Vietnam Vet:
It is my hope that our children and great grand children will honor our family’s history in regards to the heroes and unsung heroes in our lives.
Thanks to all who have served our country!
What a great tribute to your dad and all of those who have served our country with pride.
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All of my brothers have served and made it back safely. Thank you for your tribute to all of the heroes!
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I appreciate everything your father, and all members of the service, as well as their families, did and continue to do for us.
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