Least we forget

[Ben's Car Wash]

Reminder about Memorial day

Today at 3 PM TAPS will be played across the Nation at all National Cemeteries. I'll be taking my family to Busnell's Florida National Cemetery to hinor our fallen.

See this site:http://xeml.buglesacrossamerica.org/index.xeml

God Bless

 

[pitzerwm]

Memorial Day is a very special holiday.
And when I was young it seemed to be even more important to us.
It was more than a three-day weekend and the start of summer.
There was always a parade and we would all watch or even participate in it.
Veterans and service groups would march proudly and we would cheer them on.
As the end of the parade participants came into view, we kids who had also decorated our bicycles in flags and crepe paper, would join it and follow along.
The parade would end at the local cemetery.
The graves of all the veterans would be decorated with new flags.
And there were flowers everywhere put down in remembrance of those who had died.
There was a service of remembrance, the honor guard fired their rifles and children would scramble for the shells as souvenirs of the day.
And then the bugler would play the Taps!
We don?t do that as much anymore today.
We are more urban, on the go, and in a hurry for the long weekend.
And perhaps we are poorer for it
You see, appreciation and thankfulness are a part of successful living and making our mark.
It is only those who are truly grateful to God and others who have any hope for a future.
We need to appreciate the prices others have paid, and the sacrifices they have made.
We are called by God to be a grateful people and a remembering nation.


Compliments to Stan Husted

 

[ted mcmeekin]

Amen, We had another great free car wash Memorial day. At the service at a cemetary on top a mountain, vets of all services were remembered. A retired Master Sergent has led these services for years. At the closing, he reminded everyone of our free washes and the local news channel came to the wash and interviewed my son. I am out of town but hope to catch on news tonight.

Thank a Vet

Ted

 

[Ben's Car Wash]

I took my children, wife and mother in law (who was a WAVE durring WWII) to Florida's National Cemetery (no wise cracks). I've been to Arlington several times and Florida's National was very nice... large, well groomed and sectioned for ancellary groups of service branches (WACS, WAVES). They DID NOT HAVE ANYONE PLAYING TAPS... no progams at all. I was very disapointed in that.

But I did find a relative burried there that I never met. A cousin with the same last name who served in WWII both in the Army and Marines. I walked through nearly a thousand head stones until I found him ( I looked up the section but forgot the plot number). I found a few other things that day that really stood out; The number of young kids recently burried amoung the aging vets, the few vets who died in Iraq that also served in Nam, and the huge number of hispanic names on the head stones that have died recently! I found a lot of personal cards and letters written by the kids of the soilders, lots of flowers, a bottle of Jack Daniels, a pencil bag and an apple for a guy who was a teacher (that broke my heart) and some one who place their markmanship metals and ribbons on top of a kids headstone. It was a somber day.

I will have my youngest play taps their next year or I will learn my self.... I'll write to my congress critters to find out what happened.