Thank You Veterans

[Brian Degulis]

Just saying thanks seems terribly inadequate but thank you for your service and sacrifice.

Brian

 

[ThirdHatt]

Yes, THANK YOU to all men and women in the U.S. Military for keeping our lives safe and our United States free.

My Grandfather fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII and was seriously injured and came home with a Purple Heart. He doesn't like when I bring it up every Memorial Day, but I thank him for his service anyway. Even 55yrs is not enough time for him to be comfortable talking about losing so many of his friends. He didn't even care much that I got him a Purple Heart license plate the last time we got him a new car, but I thought it was important that others know what type of man is in that vehicle.

This is a very important national holiday and I hope that everyone takes a moment to think about it and be thankful.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!!

 

[kwerges]

In honor of, and in memory of, all of our veterans, my family and I thank you...

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

As one who was never in the military (my draft lottery number in 1969 saved me from Vietnam) but lost friends over there, and having one of my buddy's die in the line of duty as a police officer, I get to spend the day on my boat today due to you.....
This beer's for you

 

[StratPlan61]

Brian and everyone else, just saying Thank You means much more than you know. As I speak with veterans everyday - they universally agree that someone just saying Thank You is the most meaningful thing anyone can do for a veteran. My service fails to compare to the service of my son and so many others which have served so valiantly and sacrificed so much.

It is really great of you guys to remember and say Thank You, really great! Most veterans would agree with me - it was our pleasure and honor to serve you!

 

[MikeP]

Although Veteran's day is the real day for him, I have to salute my dad who was a combat soldier in three wars - WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He's still going strong at 91, just got back to San Antonio from a reunion of WWII compatriots in Nashville. As he noted, "not many of us left." He still plays golf a couple times a week and he's the JUNIOR member of his golfing duo!

I hope to do as well...

Thanks DAD!

 

[Paul45c]

Hear, hear...the sacrifices are too many and too important to note in a mere forum posting, but the thanks are sincere from me and so many. I hope I never take all our freedoms for granted.

 

[Canuck Dennis]

Yes, and a special thank you from the this ex Brit and now Canuck, may we always maintain tight lines and friendships across our borders.
D

 

[krush]

Now that I'm a Navy wife, I not only thank the vets and active duty, but also the families that support them.

 

[Sparky1]

I too am grateful to those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to all who serve.

I'll share a little story that happened yesterday evening when I joined some friends for dinner at a restaurant. During our meal, our waitress came to our table and asked my friend if he was a veteran. He acknowledged he was, and with that, she told him that one of her other customers wanted to pay for his dinner as his way of saying, "thank you". Needless to say, he was very touched and quite surprised by this gesture as were the rest of us at the table.

 

[Danali Star]

Let me echo, thanks for the thanks.........especially from us Viet Nam Vets. Ever been spit on from fellow Americans (San Francisco)? Not fun.

I was a rare one..........my draft number was number 1. Never will forget it..... Tricky Dick reached into that glass bowl and drew July 9th. I was living in Santa Barbara at the time watching TV, and all I could say was Holy S**T........did he just say July 9th??

I sold everything, moved back to Florida and joined the Navy. I ended up in rescue helicopters in the Tonkin Gulf. I also have friends who never made it back. Good tour of duty though. Also lived in Japan for a year, picked up Apollo 17, etc. Great experiences for a young lad.

Thanks again from a Viet Nam Vet.

Dan

 

[Danali Star]

Just to tie this back to boating.........

When I first reported aboard the USS Hancock (to meet my Helo squadron. I was in HC1 Det 7 out of Imperial Beach and we were detached to the Hancock for this tour) I watched as they were repairing the flight deck. I was surprised to see it was made out of lumber. It was covered with some type of covering that didn't last long. During air ops, there was a guy that had the job of running on deck after each aircraft launched with a fire extinguisher to put the flight deck out..........esp after the F8's and A7's took off.

Also, the USS Hancock was a much older carrier in the Tonkin Gulf at the time. It had a bent drive shaft, and the whole boat shook on calm days when we had to get our 30 knots of winds over the deck the hard way. No way could you write on a table etc, as the whole boat vibrated. However, it never broke......we were on our way to liberty many times only to be called back to the line because a newer carrier broke down, and we had to take their place.

Just a FYI...........

Dan

 

[MikeP]

Although I agree that the feeling about Vietnam soldiers at the time was nothing like the positive feeling about our current troops, one has to understand that one of the primary reasons for that is the fact that the draft does not exist. I'd bet a lot of money that if the draft was reinstated, you'd quickly see the same level of dislike and hostility...

 

[Danali Star]

I am confused..........we spit on folks who were drafted, but not on volunteers. I think your logic is way off on this one........

 

[MikeP]

It's easy to be supportive when, as a young person, you are not threatened by the fact that you could be removed from your comfortable life and placed in combat. Now, with absolutely no possibility of that happening, it's easy for everyone to "support our military." Ask them if "supporting our military" means they will join up and see their response.

OTOH and IMHO, although "spitting" happened, it was grossly over stated and, like everything else, over reported for sensationalism...

 

[Danali Star]

I think we are talking about 2 different things. The folks that I referenced in San Fran belonged to a far left fringe that was against the war. These lovely citizens would be far more proned to spit on someone who volunteered to fight for the war they were protesting versus someone who was drafted.....if you follow my point.

 

[MikeP]

I understand, there were a lot of those "fringes" at the time. But my feeling is that these fringes don't (for the most part) exist now because they don't face the prospect of being drafted.

In any case, thanks for your service!

 

[Danali Star]

Thank You

 

[Walter P]

While I did hear of the spitting incidents, I never witnessed one myself, which is probably a good thing as I would have probably ended up in jail for busting some heads. I served in the Navy for 6 years from 1955 to 1961. The vietnam disaster was not yet recognized as an official action of the US, but we did have a presence there in various capacities toward the end of the Eisenhower Presidency. My family lost six members during WW2 and Korea. We have been raised by a very patriotic family and did not take kindly to any anti American activitists, if you get my drift. What the bleeding heart liberals seem to forget is that if if were not for our men and women in uniform, they probbly would not have the right to protest anything about their government's actions that they disagreed with. Now I realize that there are a lot of misinformed folks out there, but under no circumstances should their ignorance be taken out on our brave Americans who have volunteered to put their lives on the line if necessary to protect our way of life.

As far as San Francisco is concerned, I still think that that city is like a breakfast cereal, take away all the fruits and nuts and all that's left are the flakes. Ignore them and they may go away.

Walt

 

[Danali Star]

While I did hear of the spitting incidents, I never witnessed one myself, which is probably a good thing as I would have probably ended up in jail for busting some heads. Now I realize that there are a lot of misinformed folks out there, but under no circumstances should their ignorance be taken out on our brave Americans who have volunteered to put their lives on the line if necessary to protect our way of life.

As far as San Francisco is concerned, I still think that that city is like a breakfast cereal, take away all the fruits and nuts and all that's left are the flakes. Ignore them and they may go away.

Walt

Couldn't agree more.......about all of it. I was working overtime talking some of our squadron out of busting heads......only because, we had just got home from a 10 month Tonkin Gulf tour. I was dieing for a hamburger and shake. There were far too many MP's around to get away with anything, and they would have locked their butts up. I finally talked them into just getting our things and heading back to San Diego. We had rented a van cause 2 of us bought motorcycles in Japan and brought them back. Too cool.............

Dan