((Wayyy off topic) What is a Veteran

November 10, 2006

I am proud to say my Dad, my grandfathers, 2 of my uncles and a great uncle are

all veterans, not to mention too many friends and family friends to even try and

count. I am flying my flag for them and all the others who gave a part of

themselves up for the rest of us.

Good Morning In the U.S.A. it is Veterans Day. A day to give

thanks to the men and women that have fought for the freedoms

we all take for granted. Both Past and present.

WHAT IS A VET?

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb,

a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the

evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of

shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the

soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

Except in parades, however, the men and women who have

kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell

a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia

sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel

carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks,

whose overgrown frat boy behavior is outweighed a hundred

times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery

near the 38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went

to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back

another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat,

but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account

rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching

them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons

and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and

medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns,

whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever

preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor

dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's

sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied

now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death

camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to

hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person

who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his

country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not

have to sacrifice theirs.

He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness,

and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on

behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our

country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most

people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any

medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Two little words that mean a lot, " THANK YOU! "

" It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom

of the press.

It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom

of speech.

It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us

the freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the

flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the

protester to burn the flag. "

Father Denis O'Brien, USMC

________________________________________________________________________

Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security

tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free

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November 10, 2006

--- WELL SAID... thank you to your family members. has we sit here

in our comfort zone, there are others over seas going thru living

hell. being shot at, watching freinds die. missing there love ones.

be it you beleive in the war, it is still going on, and support is

so important.... why are we there. well i,d rather have them

fighting the terriost over there than here. if we ignore them, they

will i say will be here in more numbers than we know.. once again

thank you to any man or woman on here that has served or has a love

one serving. thanks .. God bless . c ya donna In GastricBypass-

LOSERS , aladikat@... wrote:

>

> I am proud to say my Dad, my grandfathers, 2 of my uncles and a

great uncle are all veterans, not to mention too many friends and

family friends to even try and count. I am flying my flag for them

and all the others who gave a part of themselves up for the rest of

us.

>

> Good Morning In the U.S.A. it is Veterans Day. A day to give

> thanks to the men and women that have fought for the freedoms

> we all take for granted. Both Past and present.

>

> WHAT IS A VET?

>

> Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb,

> a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the

> evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of

> shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the

> soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.

>

> Except in parades, however, the men and women who have

> kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell

> a vet just by looking.

>

> What is a vet?

>

> He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia

> sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel

> carriers didn't run out of fuel.

>

> He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks,

> whose overgrown frat boy behavior is outweighed a hundred

> times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery

> near the 38th parallel.

>

> She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went

> to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

>

> He is the POW who went away one person and came back

> another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

>

> He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat,

> but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account

> rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching

> them to watch each other's backs.

>

> He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons

> and medals with a prosthetic hand.

>

> He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and

> medals pass him by.

>

> He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns,

> whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever

> preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor

> dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's

> sunless deep.

>

> He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied

> now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death

> camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to

> hold him when the nightmares come.

>

> He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person

> who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of

his

> country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not

> have to sacrifice theirs.

>

> He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness,

> and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on

> behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

>

> So remember, each time you see someone who has served our

> country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most

> people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any

> medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

>

> Two little words that mean a lot, " THANK YOU! "

>

> " It is the soldier, not the reporter, Who has given us freedom

> of the press.

>

> It is the soldier, not the poet, Who has given us freedom

> of speech.

>

> It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, Who has given us

> the freedom to demonstrate.

>

> It is the soldier, Who salutes the flag, Who serves beneath the

> flag, And whose coffin is draped by the flag, Who allows the

> protester to burn the flag. "

>

> Father Denis O'Brien, USMC

>

_____________________________________________________________________

___

> Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and

security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from

across the web, free AOL Mail and more.

>

November 10, 2006