Rememberance/Veterans Day Thanks Thread

Submitted by Canadian on
I want to thank anyone who has served and/or protected our great countries whether it be a world war or current missions we all should be very thankful.
Take a moment out of your day to think of those that have been lost and thank those who are still around.

Gobgoblue

November 11th, 2014 at 2:11 AM ^

US and Canadian vets.  

EDIT: Inspired to post by someone below.  One of my grandfathers served with Gerald Ford on the USS Monterey, I believe.  Didn't know my grandfather that well, but he did say he had great respect for him. 

MGomaha

November 11th, 2014 at 12:30 AM ^

Thanks for all that you do. It's because of you that something so minor, like a bad football team, can bring my mood down and that we don't have bigger things to worry about.

 

MGoVoldemort

November 11th, 2014 at 12:41 AM ^

My grandfather was in the South Pacific in WWII, and actually served in the same company as EB Sledge. He was so proud to be apart of the "old breed"; being a Marine was everything to him. He was a great man, and I'm honored to be his grandson, but you could tell the war changed him as my father would say. I would often, at family events, catch him looking into the distance at nothing for long periods of time, and you could tell he was thousands of miles away. I'll never know what all he went through, but this quote from EB Sledge really sums it all up in my estimation.

"To the non-combatants and those on the periphery of action, the war meant only boredom or occasional excitement, but to those who entered the meat grinder itself the war was a netherworld of horror from which escape seemed less and less likely as casualties mounted and the fighting dragged on and on. Time had no meaning, life had no meaning. The fierce struggle for survival in the abyss of Peleliu had eroded the veneer of civilization and made savages of us all."

clarkiefromcanada

November 11th, 2014 at 1:14 AM ^

He served in World War 1 with the 43rd Battery. He saw the worst of it being gassed, fighting at Passchaendale and ultimately taking six in the stomach from the Kaiser. He returned to England, recovered, got married, and returned to fight again a year and half later. 

He knew some things none of us should ever know.

SaigonBlue

November 11th, 2014 at 1:48 AM ^

was a US Navy carrier pilot in WWII and the Korean War. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in WWII.

Here is a photo of him post WWII (circa ~1948) flying an F4U Corsair out of NAS Grosse Ile while he was back at Michigan to finish his degree in Aeronautical Engineering:

King Douche Ornery

November 11th, 2014 at 5:31 AM ^

I'm a former Marine. I can honestly say we haven't "defended freedom" since about WW2. Those guys were heroes.

Now, we just protect some rich white fat fuck and his little princess and princesses so they can have more money from oil and exploitation of humanity.

Yay America.

SalvatoreQuattro

November 11th, 2014 at 6:08 AM ^

Maybe not the best strategy, but it was a legitimate war.



The rest of your post I can understand, but it's more complex than what you let on.



It's also a bit unseemly to rage against exploitation when you were born and raised on stolen land. Never forget that this land once belonged to other people.

coldnjl

November 11th, 2014 at 6:05 AM ^

Happy Veteran's Day to all Veteran's. Today, I especially like to reach out to my brother who served in the last Iraq war as a Marine. I am so proud of him and happy he came home.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

November 11th, 2014 at 9:19 AM ^

My first ship was an amphib too - LPD 15.  I knew a guy who used to like to create his own "entertainment on the mess decks" by going through the Marine berthings (mainly the ones further down where all he had to do was stick his head down and they'd only hear his voice) and announce "ice cream social, mess decks!"

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

November 11th, 2014 at 9:35 AM ^

LCACs were a pain in the butt.  The old Austin-class boats weren't made for them and had to be rigged with special fenders, and amphib ops took extra long.  Fortunately we didn't carry them on deployment.  One LCU (and the LCU guys were really good dudes) and a bunch of AAVs.  Damn near got killed inside an AAV when it started blowing diesel exhaust inside while I was on a "let's put the JOs in the equipment" ride.  I was literally turning tissues black by coughing into them for the next couple hours.

It was pretty cool, though, all things considered.  If I'd stayed in for my department head tours I would've tried like hell for a First Lt. ride on an amphib.

SalvatoreQuattro

November 11th, 2014 at 6:13 AM ^

my great- grandfather served in WWI, an uncle was a Marine in the early 60's, and another uncle served in the Army in the late 50's.



My avatar/ nom de plume served in the Italian Royal Army in the horse artillery in the mid-1890's.

SalvatoreQuattro

November 11th, 2014 at 6:21 AM ^

The 9,000,000 men who perished in the most pointlessly futile war in history deserve our thoughts this day.



This day is not just about vets, but a specific group of people. Those poor men who died in trenches or going over the top for YARDS of Belgium and French soil represent the greatest waste of courage and human potential in the respective histories of the belligerent nations.

GoBLUinTX

November 11th, 2014 at 9:52 AM ^

Was the holiday commerating the veterans of WW1.  Following the Korean War we veterans encouraged congress to amend the 1938 Armistice Day to include veterans of all wars.  Thus President Eisenhower signed the amended act proclaiming November 11 as Veterans Day.

The day we remember our fallen brothers and sisters, whether they fell at Saratogoa, Quebec, Shilo, Belleau Wood, Plieku, Inchon, Khe Sahn, Beirut, Damman, or Fallujah, is the day most Americans have designated for the beginning of summer and their first BBQ of the season, Memorial Day.

LSAClassOf2000

November 11th, 2014 at 6:56 AM ^

Both of my grandfathers served in WWII - one on a torpedo tender, the other in the Royal Army (survived campaigns in North Africa as well as D-Day). My mother's father, who was on the torpedo tender, used to joke that the best and worst thing about that is that it could have been over very quickly, worst case scenario, but fortuantely he lived to see several grandkids and run a successful business. 

Thank you to all who have served. Your sacrifices are not forgotten.

Sam1863

November 11th, 2014 at 7:21 AM ^

I have several vets in my family tree, including: My Dad, who served in the Army Air Force during the Berling Airlift; my step-father, who was a forward artillery observer in WWII; an uncle who was a Marine on Guadalcanal; another uncle, a Marine at the Chosin Resevoir in Korea; and a great-uncle whom I never knew, who was killed on St. Patrick's Day, 1945 in the Phillipines.

The first family vet was Cpl. Samuel W. Phillips, Co. C, 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry (Iron Brigade), Union Army of the Potomac. Wounded at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863 (which explains my screen name and avatar).

To them and all the others who have worn this country's uniform: Thank You ... and Go Blue!

 

Bluemama

November 11th, 2014 at 7:29 AM ^

A big thank you and may God bless all who have served. I come from a very long line of service members and married my husband while he was in the military. He spent some time over in the sandbox and had some friends who were at the bombing of Khobar barracks that killed some of our guys. What really kills me is when soldiers miss the birth of their kids and they video tape the dads meeting their children for the first time i always cry like a baby. My husband only did a six month tour overseas but our daughter grew so much in that short time.     

ToDefyTheFrizzleFry

November 11th, 2014 at 8:03 AM ^

Thank you Dad and Grandpa (RIP)! My father served in the Marines and spent 18 months in Da Nang with the First Marines. My Grandfather served in the Army during WWII and fought in North Africa and Italy. During his time in Africa and Europe he was promoted to officer, shot in the head (and survived and continued to fight), and earned both the Silver and Bronze stars. Our WWII vets are going fast these days. If you have a chance to talk to one, do it. Those folks saved the world.

 

Thank you to all that have served.

AmishRule

November 11th, 2014 at 8:22 AM ^

This is one of those days I really spend time thinking of my deceased father.  Served in Korea and really never said much about the war until much later in his life. As a child I would sneak in our basement and open a cedar chest that held all his war memorabilia and just stare at it. I never understood until much later why he rarely visited the basement chest.

I tell you, some of the best visits I had with him at his retirement community in Florida was hanging out with all of the other war veterans of WWII, Korea, etc. Some stories would make there way to the breakfast table. Met a good friend of my fathers who was one of the few survivors of the USS Indianapolis - if you have not read about this -- google it.

Thank you dad and all the other deceased and living veterans -- we can never thank you enough.

Thorin

November 11th, 2014 at 9:12 AM ^

Veteran here and I just want to say you're all (mostly) a bunch of fucking dumbass muggles. Fuck you to everyone who got a day off because I had to report for macchiato three times a day in Vicenza. You have no idea how much I sacrificed.

GoBLUinTX

November 11th, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^

But I don't think I ever had that particular federal holiday off.  Some mail carrier in Hooterville was enjoying Veterans Day off while I was footslogging along the inner German border knee deep in mud and snow.  Meanwhile, the Cav guys, who would normally be doing this lovely walk in the country side, were vactioning at AFRC Hohenfels or Grafenwoehr.

ToledoWolverine

November 11th, 2014 at 8:49 AM ^

You ain't shit. 19D here. Thinking of my Grandfathers who were both in WWII, one an airplane mechanic, the other was a surgeon. My wife's grandfather was in Korea, fought at pork chop hill. My uncle who did 2 tours in Nam. And my brother in law, god forgive him for being a Marine, fought at Fallujah.



Thankful to all our Veterans, our debt to you will never be paid in full.

Kapitan Howard

November 11th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^

Toxic masculinity and homophobia are large problems in our society that can't simply be stamped out by repealing DADT and gay marriage bans. Being critical of shitty things people say, as you did, at least makes people think about these things, even if they reject the criticism.