I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their […]
Lest We Forget
Lest We Forget — Memorial Day 2011
My Father was a World War II veteran, like many of his peers he never talked much about his service or the things he’d seen… To him Memorial Day was a day for quiet reflection, for remembering those who had given their full measure, and so it is with me. It is the Soldier It […]
Nine Years Later…
Every of September for the last nine years I’ve tried to make sense of what happened that morning… No matter how hard I try, I can’t, the events of September 11, 2001 were an act of such incomprehensible evil that they defy words. Every moment of that day is burned indelibly into our memories, I […]
Lest We Forget – Memorial Day 2010
This is the my second Memorial Day without my father, he passed away last year just a few days shy of 87th birthday. He was a veteran of the Second World War, having served in Europe with 709th Military Police Battalion and the 351st Engineer Regiment. Much like last year my thoughts today are of him […]
Lest We Forget: Darrell C. “Shifty” Powers
Staff Sergent Darrel C. “Shifty” Powers passed away at his home in Virginia on June 17, 2009. Staff Sergent Powers was a veteran of World War Two having served with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He received two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge. He in fought in […]
Day of Days: June 6, 1944
65 years ago today 160,000 American, British, Canadian and Free French troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, France. It was the single largest amphibious assault ever undertaken. It was a Day of Days: General Eisenhower’s letter to the troops sums up the importance of the Normandy invasion better than I can: Soldiers, Sailors and […]
Memorial Day 2009
My Father passed away in January just a few days shy of his 87th birthday… He was World War Two veteran and like many of his peers he never talked much about his service or the things he’d seen. That all changed a few years ago when I gave him a copy of Band of […]
Lest We Forget: J. Arthur Setaro
This is a sad day for me… Today would have been my father’s 87th birthday. Unfortunately he passed away on Friday, January 30th. We didn’t see eye to eye on many things but he was and still is my hero. Like many of his generation he was a veteran of World War II, he served […]
Lest We Forget: Gaspar Musso
This is a story that will undoubtedly bring a tear to your eye and warm your heart… Last days for Marine were true Finest hours Denis Hamil, Daily News, Tuesday, December 9th 2008, 6:49 PM Sometimes when old Marines die they do fade away into unmarked graves in Potter’s Field. Such might have been the […]
Lest We Forget: 67 Years Ago Today
It was a peaceful Sunday morning 67 years ago today that the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Empire of Japan. The attack killed approximately 3,000 military personal and civilians and wounded approximately 1,300. Something you may not know the first shot in anger that morning was not fired by […]
Lest We Forget: Happy Veterans Day
Yesterday we celebrated the 233rd Birthday of the Marine Corps, today we pause to remember all those who have served this nation in peace and war. Thank You and God Bless You.
Lest We Forget: Col. John Ripley USMC (ret.)
Col. John Ripley USMC (ret.) passed away today. From Examiner.com: ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Retired Marine Col. John Ripley, who was credited with stopping a column of North Vietnamese tanks by blowing up a pair of bridges during the 1972 Easter Offensive of the Vietnam War, died at home at age 69, friends and relatives said […]