Memorial Day - Lest We Forget...


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Thank you all for your service.

PHOTOS: 10 U.S. Memorials to Honor Those Who Served

Kelsey Harris

May 26, 2014 at 8:30 am

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Today, Americans remember the men and women who lost their lives in service for the United States. Some people will gather with their loved ones in reverent celebration, while others will visit cemeteries and memorials to mourn.

Across the nation, there are memorials and museums constructed to honor our fallen countrymen and women. Here’s a closer look at 10 of those special memorials where you can pay your respects.

1. Arlington National Cemetery is located in Arlington, Va., right outside of Washington, D.C.. The 150-year-old cemetery holds more than 400,000 graves of men and women who’ve lost their lives from Civil War battles to our present conflicts.

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http://blog.heritage.org/2014/05/26/memorials/?utm_source=heritagefoundation&utm_medium=email&utm_content=DD140526&utm_campaign=dailydigest

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I'm watching the closing scenes of "We Were Soldiers" (Mel Gibson). Potent imagery.

Such a senseless war.

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Joe:

Great movie. Book was also excellent.

It was a pivotal battle in terms of testing new strategms.

The N. Viets knew they had to use that "grab the belt" consept to get inside of the air and artillery concentrations we could deliver.

This and Hamburger Hill were the two (2) movies that appear to give a brutally true view of how senseless it was.

The Pork Chop Hill of the Vietnam War.

A,,,

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Miniguns are strange weapons.

In real life they sound like chainsaws.

Greg

I always referred to them as "gatling guns."

http://www.dillonaero.com/ nice little

The M134 Minigun is a 7.62x51 mm NATO, six-barreled machine gun with a high rate of fire (2,000 to 6,000 rounds per minute). It features Gatling-style rotating barrels with an external power source, normally an electric motor. The "Mini" in the name is in comparison to designs that use a similar firing mechanism but larger shells, such as General Electric's earlier 20-millimeter M61 Vulcan, and "gun" for a caliber size smaller than that of a cannon, typically 20 mm and higher.

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Joe:

Great movie. Book was also excellent.

It was a pivotal battle in terms of testing new strategms.

The N. Viets knew they had to use that "grab the belt" consept to get inside of the air and artillery concentrations we could deliver.

This and Hamburger Hill were the two (2) movies that appear to give a brutally true view of how senseless it was.

The Pork Chop Hill of the Vietnam War.

A,,,

+1

Add to that the N. Viets had their version of the Jersey Tpke (1968), underground. Brilliant, for a while.

I was close to the action then, assigned to a support group in Japan. I kept up with the buzz. There was a lot going on.

Hamburger Hill & Pork Chop Hill movies. Both 2 thumbs up for me.

Midway is another movie I thought was done well. Lots going on there.

I salute America's fallen & I ache for those who loved them.

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Miniguns are strange weapons.

In real life they sound like chainsaws.

Greg

They sure do Greg.

I speculate they might also feel like chainsaws when their projectiles enter the body.

J

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I always referred to them as "gatling guns."

Yeah, that was the original name. I knew them as miniguns in 'Nam. At night, the tracer rounds looked like a red snake writhing in the sky.

Greg

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I always referred to them as "gatling guns."

Yeah, that was the original name. I knew them as miniguns in 'Nam. At night, the tracer rounds looked like a red snake writhing in the sky.

Greg

Greg,

Did you get any R&R in Japan? What yr(s) were you there?

-J

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I always referred to them as "gatling guns."

Yeah, that was the original name. I knew them as miniguns in 'Nam. At night, the tracer rounds looked like a red snake writhing in the sky.

Greg

Greg,

Did you get any R&R in Japan? What yr(s) were you there?

-J

'70-'71. 14 months straight, no R&R. :wink:

Greg

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I always referred to them as "gatling guns."

Yeah, that was the original name. I knew them as miniguns in 'Nam. At night, the tracer rounds looked like a red snake writhing in the sky.

Greg

Greg,

Did you get any R&R in Japan? What yr(s) were you there?

-J

'70-'71. 14 months straight, no R&R. :wink:

Greg

14 straight, ouch.

Were you drafted?

-J

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I have posted this several times since I joined OL.

I avoided visiting the Wall for decades. When I finally found the panel which had close friends that I new in Pennsylvania, country boys who never came back, I knew the reasons that I had avoideed this monument.

However, with the emergence of the Virtual Wall Project, a home was found for many families and friends...

http://www.virtualwall.org/

There is also, I discovered this morning a "Touch the Wall" project/network:

http://www.touchthewall.org/

As the volunteer who runs it, explained:

I care because many in my generation can no longer "touch the wall" for themselves.

It also has the 2014 schedule for the Moving Wall:

2014 Schedule
05/01 - 05/05 Wilson, North Carolina
05/08 - 05/12 Kannapolis, North Carolina
05/15 - 05/19 Lenner, Louisana
05/22 - 05/26 Glendale, Kentucky
05/29 - 06/02 Shamolin, Pennsylvania
06/05 - 06/09 Winchendon, Massachusetts
06/12 - 06/16 Defiance, Ohio
06/19 - 06/23 Elgin, Nebraska
06/26 - 06/30 Boonville, Missouri
07/10 - 07/14 Calumet, Michigan
07/17 - 07/21 Sandstone, Minnesota
07/24 - 07/28 Cleveland, Minnesota
07/31 - 08/04 Rock Rapids, Iowa
08/07 - 08/11 Berwyn, Illinois
08/14 - 08/18 Carl Vinson VA medical, Dublin, GA
08/21 - 08/25 Gallatin, Missouri
08/28 - 09/01 Hamburg, Michigan
09/04 - 09/08 Roscommon, Michigan
09/11 - 09/15 Lisbon, Ohio
09/18 - 09/22 Princeton, Indiana
10/02 - 10/06
10/09 - 10/13 Anza, California
10/16 - 10/20 Madera, California
10/23 - 10/27 Covina, California
11/06 - 11/10 Danville, Illinois
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Too bad the Wall isn't scheduled for Las Vegas. I'd welcome the opportunity to view it.

-J

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Too bad the Wall isn't scheduled for Las Vegas. I'd welcome the opportunity to view it.

-J

I know - thought it was a "unique" schedule.

Have you looked at the Virtual Wall it is very impressive - dates, units, personal letters, photos, etc. astounding piece of work.

A...

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14 straight, ouch.

Were you drafted?

-J

Yes.

The Army had a program that if you had less than 5 months active duty left when you returned from the war, you got out of the Army the day you arrived in the US... so I took them up on the deal by staying two extra months. :smile: Heck, I was already there and acclimated to the place, so I just kept working. I was a CH47 Chinook mechanic in the 213th Assault Support Helicopter Company.

This is one of the choppers I worked on and flew in...

No-where.jpg

Greg

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Too bad the Wall isn't scheduled for Las Vegas. I'd welcome the opportunity to view it.

-J

I know - thought it was a "unique" schedule.

Have you looked at the Virtual Wall it is very impressive - dates, units, personal letters, photos, etc. astounding piece of work.

A...

Looked at the Wall, impressive it is.

Adam, if you can get to Pearl Harbor, by all means go. I recommend it......Honolulu is also a nice place to visit, particularly in the fall & spring.

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14 straight, ouch.

Were you drafted?

-J

Yes.

The Army had a program that if you had less than 5 months active duty left when you returned from the war, you got out of the Army the day you arrived in the US... so I took them up on the deal by staying two extra months. :smile: Heck, I was already there and acclimated to the place, so I just kept working. I was a CH47 Chinook mechanic in the 213th Assault Support Helicopter Company.

This is one of the choppers I worked on and flew in...

No-where.jpg

Greg

For its time, it was an effective transport of troops/ supplies. I'd hate to be in one though, at that time, with the V.C. & their rocket launchers below. Glad you made it back.

-J

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_CH-47_Chinook

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  • 11 months later...

Perfect...absolutely perfect...

 

 

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I have posted this several times since I joined OL.

I avoided visiting the Wall for decades. When I finally found the panel which had close friends that I new in Pennsylvania, country boys who never came back, I knew the reasons that I had avoideed this monument.

However, with the emergence of the Virtual Wall Project, a home was found for many families and friends...

http://www.virtualwall.org/

There is also, I discovered this morning a "Touch the Wall" project/network:

http://www.touchthewall.org/

As the volunteer who runs it, explained:

I care because many in my generation can no longer "touch the wall" for themselves.

It also has the 2014 schedule for the Moving Wall:

2014 Schedule

05/01 - 05/05 Wilson, North Carolina

05/08 - 05/12 Kannapolis, North Carolina

05/15 - 05/19 Lenner, Louisana

05/22 - 05/26 Glendale, Kentucky

05/29 - 06/02 Shamolin, Pennsylvania

06/05 - 06/09 Winchendon, Massachusetts

06/12 - 06/16 Defiance, Ohio

06/19 - 06/23 Elgin, Nebraska

06/26 - 06/30 Boonville, Missouri

07/10 - 07/14 Calumet, Michigan

07/17 - 07/21 Sandstone, Minnesota

07/24 - 07/28 Cleveland, Minnesota

07/31 - 08/04 Rock Rapids, Iowa

08/07 - 08/11 Berwyn, Illinois

08/14 - 08/18 Carl Vinson VA medical, Dublin, GA

08/21 - 08/25 Gallatin, Missouri

08/28 - 09/01 Hamburg, Michigan

09/04 - 09/08 Roscommon, Michigan

09/11 - 09/15 Lisbon, Ohio

09/18 - 09/22 Princeton, Indiana

10/02 - 10/06

10/09 - 10/13 Anza, California

10/16 - 10/20 Madera, California

10/23 - 10/27 Covina, California

11/06 - 11/10 Danville, Illinois

Defiance, Ohio. I went there in 1993 to see where two uncles I could never had known, were killed as babies in a streetcar-train accident over 90 years before. It's hard to understand why they would pick a small town for this.

--Brant

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Perfect...absolutely perfect...

 

 

 

For those of you that have never stood in an August heat wave and watched a changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington D.C., it is an extremely humbling experience.

 

 

 

 

To those that gave their lives, watching this for ten (10) minutes is an extremely moving experience.

 

Not to mention the remarkable discipline and skill that it requires to stay perfectly focused.

 

Remarkable men.

 

Has there been a woman who did a changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

 

A...

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Thanks Adam for posting that.

In 1968, while attending A.I.T @ Ft. Belvoir VA., me & a few others went to see the ceremony.

Moving, indeed.

-J

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A woman? It's hard to think so. The unknown soldier who died in combat guarded by a woman? Doesn't work.

--Brant

the little that I know

I reached out to a friend who is close to one of the folks who have served as a guard at the Tomb.

An inch shy of six feet, the sergeant epitomizes the spirit of The Old Guard. With a spotless M-14 rifle at port arms, the impeccably uniformed troop stands ready at the Tomb of the Unknowns. In March, Sergeant Heather Lynn Johnsen became the first woman to earn the prestigious tomb guard identification badge, an honor afforded to only 389 soldiers since it was created in 1958.

"There is no higher honor, there is no greater honor," she said. "I can't think of anything else I'd rather do for my country than to guard the unknowns." The badge is a temporary award until the sentinel has honorably served at the Tomb of the Unknowns for nine months. Then it will be a permanent part of her uniform.

The 3rd U.S. Infantry, The Old Guard, is the oldest continuously active unit in the Army. Because it is a combat arms unit, The Old Guard did not allow women into its ranks until 1994 when the 289th Military Police Company was attached to it.

Johnsen, an MP who served in the Reserves as a personnel administrative specialist, joined the unit in 1994. After serving in The Old Guard for one year, in June 1995 she applied for training as a tomb sentinel. "My desire to guard the unknowns was always there," she said. "It didn't matter to me if I was the first or the eighth."

After nine months of memorizing and reciting the history of Arlington National Cemetery and of the Army, polishing shoes and perfecting her uniform, after hundreds of bone-jarring heel clicks, Johnsen passed the final written test.

Johnsen said examiners didn't cut her any slack, but they didn't stiffen the standards either. "I don't think it was any more or less difficult than it would be for any male sentinel," she said. "Once you prove yourself as a soldier and a sentinel, then you can earn the tomb guard identification badge. I would not be here if I had not proven myself."

Johnsen made her first walk at the tomb in a pair of low quarters that belonged to her former squad leader, Sgt. Daniel Torrez, now an instructor at the Military District of Washington Air Assault School. By Torrez's recollection, Johnsen is a strong leader and soldier. As a team leader, Johnsen counselled two marginal soldiers lagging in physical training. He credits her with turning them around.

"She's highly motivated all the time," said Torrez. "She'll probably finish her tour as assistant commander of the relief and get promoted to staff sergeant."

Johnsen's new co-workers hold similar opinions of her. SFC Anthony Mills said he knew when he first started working with her that she had what it takes to become a sentinel. "Sgt. Johnsen is a great soldier," said SFC Samuel Smith, sergeant of the guard at the tomb. "I'd be proud to serve with her anywhere."

Only one other female has volunteered for training as a sentinel, but she ultimately chose to withdraw. Still, Johnsen said she hopes other women will be encouraged by her achievement. "I'd hate to think of myself as the one and only," she said. "I would love to see more female soldiers give it a try and make it."

heather-johnsen02.giftusbadge.gifheather-johnsen.jpg

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/heather-johnsen.htm

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