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Memorial Day
Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz send the following Memorial Day message to the Airmen of the U.S. Air Force and their families:
On May 30, 1868, the first official Memorial Day observance was held at Arlington National Cemetery to honor over 20,000 soldiers of the Civil War. Today, Memorial Day serves as an opportunity to pause and remember the sacrifices of more than one million Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen who have given their lives to secure our freedoms.
As we remember our fallen, captured, or missing service men and women, we also express our deep gratitude to those who are currently defending our Nation. Today, more than 33,000 Airmen are deployed around the world, while over 134,000 provide global support from their home station. Among our all-volunteer force, 68 percent of Airmen joined the Air Force after 9/11, and have never known a peacetime military. The men and women who answered the call by saying, "Send me," truly exemplify Service before Self.
In addition to recognizing the service of our fellow Airmen, we also pay tribute to the families of those who have fallen or who have been wounded while serving our country. For these families--the husbands and wives, sons and daughters, mothers and fathers--every day is Memorial Day. We will not forget those whom our fallen, captured, or missing service men and women left behind, and to whom our debt of gratitude can never be repaid.
On this day of remembrance, as we honor those who have given "their last full measure of devotion" in service to our Nation, let us renew our commitment to military family survivors, as well as to our wounded warriors and their families. To all Airmen, whether serving at home or abroad, please know your sacrifices do not go unnoticed. We are grateful for your service and are privileged to stand with you, by you, and for you.
"Day of Remembrance"... that means we honor the fallen on this day. It doesn't mean that we can't honor those who still serve, because one never knows when they might be asked to give "their last full measure of devotion." God bless and thank you all.
This Memorial Day seems more personal; even though he was retired Lex died serving his country. My thoughts go to his family today.
ReplyDeleteAnd my thanks go to all of you in these parts who are serving or have served. I pray that the active among you are never called to give that last full measure of devotion.
This Memorial Day IS more personal than past observances... you're correct. There certainly is a LOT of good stuff at The Lexicans today, as well.
DeleteHear, hear.
ReplyDeleteThank ya, Ma'am.
DeleteThank you Buck.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wK0T4pVHP28
Thanks for that link, marc. VERY poignant.
DeleteBuck, Thank you for this and for your service.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure and my privilege, Dan.
DeleteSimple and elegant. Well done.
ReplyDeleteWe honor those who served with their last breath.
Thank you Buck.
ReplyDeleteMy husband(Viet Nam) and I spent the day driving to the small Iowa town where he grew up...to visit the cemetery where his parents are buried. Memorial Day is a particularly stirring and poignant time to pass through all the small towns of Iowa. We passed numerous cemeteries where Memorial Day services were being held. All the cemeteries are lined with large flags and all the veteran's graves display small flags. We placed a fresh flag on my father-in-law's(WWII)grave...and walked through the cemetery under rows of flags snapping in the breeze.
We were surprised to see a number of personal memorials in tribute to service men & women on the lawns of private homes in the small towns that we passed through. At no small expense, these memorials featured walls of inscribed granite, or inscribed stones, and/or bronze plaques, numerous flag poles, service insignia, and lighting. Such touching displays of love and pride and heartbreak in the heart of America!
Wow. That REALLY puts a personal note on things. But I know from whence you speak, Red, given as how I've lived most of my life in fly-over country. One of my better memories of Memorial Days past was donning the old uniform and participating in Memorial Day ceremonies in Ferndale, MI... a VERY blue-collar suburb of Dee-troit. The occasion and its impact is/was waaay too long to go into in a comment, but suffice to say it was one of my better Memorial Days.
DeleteYou are spot on - as usual. Thanks for your service and for your sons.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank YOU, Lou... for all you do for the troops, day in and day out.
DeleteBuck/
ReplyDeleteLexs' site is back up as of last night! Go see!
I went, I saw, I commented. It's a great good thang Lex is back up, so to speak.
DeleteAmen, Buck.
ReplyDeleteThank ya, Jim.
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