Memorial Day

If it causes you anguish, step outside the box...forget that these words are being spoken by a Greman General during WWII...listen only to what he is saying...


Thank you to all who have served and to all who have worked behind the scenes to give them the opportunity to serve. May God Bless...

A Poem

This poem was sent to me by a dear friend. Her grandson recently lost part of both legs and the little finger on one hand. He did not give up his life for his country...but he came close. And yet, he still serves with pride and is determined to do whatever it takes to carry his load once again.

JUST A COMMON SOLDIER

(A Soldier Died Today)

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,

And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,

In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.

And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,

All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,

And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.

He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,

For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.

Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,

And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,

While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,

But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land

A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,

Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?

A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives

Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.

While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,

Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.

It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,

That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know

It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,

Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,

Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?

Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend

His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?

He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,

But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part

Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor while he's here to hear the praise,

Then at least let's give him homage at the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline in a paper that would say,

                        Our Country is in mourning, for a soldier died today.

by A. Lawrence Vaincourt @1985
Reprinted with permission:
On behalf of the author, my late father, I'd be happy to have you reprint this poem in your blog. A mention of our web address would be appreciated. Rhymes & Reflections
My father was a WW II Air Force veteran and a newspaper columnist of many decades. He wrote this poem for his 1987 Remembrance Day column and it has since spread around the world.

-Randy Vaincourt

9/11 Memorial Service?

Wait! It's a Memorial for the 10th anniversary of a horrifying event in which we saw carnage, pain, sorrow and destruction. We also saw acts of courage and self-sacrifice that helped hold us together, these acts gave us comfort and strength in the face of such heartbreak.

NY City Mayor Bloomberg has announced that "First Responders" will not be invited to the service. Neither are clergy, of any type. The Mayor says there just isn't enough room for them. They are merely the ones who rescue us, protect us, face danger for us, tend our wounds, console us, bless us, pray with and for us and bury us. But then again, that is their way. They come to the rescue and then fade into the background once their job is done.

And so, although they won't be at the service, we won't forget what they have done...and continue to do, day after day.

Armed Forces Day...

According to the US DOD:


The theme for 2011 is United in Strength
On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense. Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.


"The heritage of freedom must be guarded as carefully in peace as it was in war. Faith, not suspicion, must be the key to our relationships. Sacrifice, not selfishness, must be the eternal price of liberty. Vigilance, not appeasement, is the byword of living freedoms. Our Armed Forces in 1950--protecting the peace, building for security with freedom--are "Teamed for Defense ..."
General Omar N. Bradley
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

"... Our Servicemen and women are serving throughout the world as guardians of peace--many of them away from their homes, their friends and their families. They are visible evidence of our determination to meet any threat to the peace with measured strength and high resolve. They are also evidence of a harsh but inescapable truth--that the survival of freedom requires great cost and commitment, and great personal sacrifice."
President John F. Kennedy, 1963

Remebering those who paid the price...

A story worth telling of honoring the sacrifice...

Veterans Day...

A Prayer in Remembrance...

Lord,
Source of Life, Creator of all flesh,
From out of the depths we call unto you.
Protect us from the hand of all our enemies.
Comfort Your children who now stand alone
without parent or brother or sister or child.

Strengthen us to stand with those orphaned by this attack on our country.
This country, our country, shelter of peace to the downtrodden,
which has gathered in millions of the peoples of the world
stands as a beacon of light and justice,
but has been dimmed with horror and tragedy.

New York and Washington, shining cities,
Diminished like Jerusalem after the destruction of the holy Temple,
still need Your comfort, and our aid;
help us to maintain our courage and our efforts to support our people.

Strengthen the hands of those who defend this country,
and those who try to maintain peace against such attacks.
Teach us to speak to our children
with love and support and courage and understanding,
for we are all fearful, although their fears may not be our fears.

Gain for us a heart of wisdom,
that we may act out of compassion and thoughtfulness,
and not out of anger or prejudice.

Accept with mercy our prayers for our country and
its government for its president, judges, officials and
institutions who faithfully toil for the good of our country.

May they, with Your guidance, lead us back to lives
of peace in a land we have come to love.

Amen

Memorial Day

The Mansions of the Lord

To fallen soldiers let us sing,
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing,
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight,
No prayers pleading through the night,
Just divine embrace, eternal light
In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep,
We will stand and guard though the angels sleep,
Oh through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord.

Written by Randall Wallace and Nick Glennie-Smith

I posted this for the first time on 11/11/09, it seemed proper to repeat it.

Never forget...

65 years ago today the Soviets liberated the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz...

In the second movement of Henryk Gorecki's Sorrowful Songs (Symphony No. 3), the words of an 18 year old girl are used...they were found on the wall of a Gestapo cell.



We must never forget...

Mansions of the Lord

In honor of all our Veterans...living and dead...Mansions of the Lord

To fallen soldiers let us sing,

Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing,

Our broken brothers let us bring

To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more bleeding, no more fight,

No prayers pleading through the night,

Just divine embrace, eternal light

In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry and no children weep,

We will stand and guard though the angels sleep,

Oh through the ages safely keep

The Mansions of the Lord.

Written by Randall Wallace and Nick Glennie-Smith

War and Sand Art

I saw this first on The Anchoress website...

This video tells the story of life in the Ukraine during WWII. I read her piece and it made me search to verify the facts...This country was one of the most devastated In WWII. They lost almost 25% of their population and accounted for nearly 20% of ALL the people killed in the war.

While the young lady's talent is obvious, her message is moving and I believe it was meant to make us stop and think. We should never forget the cost of war!

Sand Art

D-Day + 65

Today we honor those who fought and died in the invasion of Europe. Many have said this will probably be the last time most of those who actually fought will be able to make the trip as they are in their 80's...

I have had the privilege of visiting the museum, the American cemetery and to stand upon those beaches. To pause and think of what price was paid will truly take your breath. Today it is hard to imagine the chaos, anguish, death, fear and valor of that day. France has left many of the bunkers on the beach so that we may remember. As you leave the beaches and stand amongst the graves in the cemetery, you come face to face with the cost of war, so many lost...9,387 graves and a memorial wall engraved with an additional 1,557 names of those whose remains were never found.

There is a large bronze statue in the center called "Spirit of American Youth rising from the waves" and it is surrounded at the base by these well known words "For mine eyes have seen the glory...". Our hats are off to those who have been called the "Greatest Generation".