Memorial Day 2017

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Darin

A special thank you to all that served and my undying gratitude for those that gave their all in defense of Freedom-

Band of Brothers,some here might recognize the men in the foreground -Australian 7th RAR in Vietnam-

And NZ W3 Company

 

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21 Responses to Memorial Day 2017

  1. Ronbo says:
    May 29, 2017 at 04:01

    My most memorable Memorial Day experience was in 1969 when I was briefly stationed in the Philippines and ordered to be the NCO of a burial detail.

    The honored veteran? Not a Vietnam War casualty. Not a Korean War KIA. Not a Cold War hero. Nope. A 70 something WW II U.S. Army of the Philippines highly decorated veteran who had survived the Japanese invasion of the P.I. in numerous battles that ended with the mass surrender of the U.S. Army – and the allied Philippine Commonwealth Army at Bataan.

    The old soldier survived that hell of Bataan, but when the order came to surrender from H.Q. his unit decided instead to head for the hills and keep fighting, which they did until the U.S. Army showed up again in 1945; however, his company size unit of over 200 men had been wiped out by the ruthless Japs except for him….so he was awarded with every medal the two countries could give him to include the Medal of Honor, a generous pension for life and honorary American citizenship.

    All these medal given to him personally by Douglas MacArthur.

    Anyhow, the old soldier lived a long and productive life…He was even elected to office as a Philippine Senator for one term…but his last wish was to be buried not by the Philippine military but by the U.S. Army with only Old Glory flying at the ceremony. I under this was only thing he ever asked America for and wish was granted by the higher powers – and since my unit was only U.S. Army outfit still in the P.I. – we were given the honor.

    It’s very colorful and solemn ceremony at a beautiful military cemetery – like the one in Manila – when a soldier is laid to rest with full honors to include the 21 gun salute. Afterwards, the officer or NCO in charge of the detail hands the American flag – carefully folded 13 times – to the widow or the next of kin.

    TAPS!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx4XTZ2mUV0

    • Darin says:
      May 29, 2017 at 04:45

      Thanks for that Ron,I knew there were a lot of Filipino’s that served in the War,what I didn’t know was that Truman stripped away much of what we promised them.Course he was a d-rat at heart,so…

      https://www.stripes.com/news/veterans/filipino-bataan-death-march-survivors-mark-75th-anniversary-1.462579#.WSr8pJLyvIU

      • Ronbo says:
        May 29, 2017 at 08:53

        Those old WW II guys were tough old birds.

        While I was stationed there I checked out all the old major battlefields. I went by air conditioned bus to Bataan to the place of surrender and we drove to the end. The AC was blowing just fine until we started back and then broke down. This was in April when the heat is most intense in this part of the P.I. with little or no rain. I think it was only a couple or three hours without the AC until a bus replacement with functional AC showed up and I bet I sweated a gallon under the shade in a Philippine village well supplied with San Miguel beer.

        I can just imagine what those troops went thru just dealing with just the climate….

        Another little known fact about the P.I. – it was the only country occupied by the Japs in Asia where the natives did not turn on the whites….and they were a colony of America for 40 plus years at the time! I remember talking to this elderly Philippine man with grey hair and intelligence in his eyes while we were waiting for the bus – and I asked him about the loyalty displayed by the natives when the Japs invaded in 1942.

        “It’s simple: America bought us civilization. The Spanish were like the Japs and oppressed us. Americans built all the major roads, airports and railroads still in use today. America built the schools. America rebuilt our cities and did a thousand other good things.”

        “In fact,” he concluded, “We want the Americans back- because Americans are honest – not like our current government.”

  2. Ronbo says:
    May 29, 2017 at 04:06

    ….and a special thanks to the Allied Pacific nations like the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand who fought the battles for freedom with American troops – and suffered heavy loses for their loyalty to liberty.

  3. Darin says:
    May 29, 2017 at 15:30

    Rex Tillerson rides a Harley-

    https://youtu.be/jOsvhgZFjmw
    http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_cool.gif

  4. KG says:
    May 29, 2017 at 16:19

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkYAlLsADzw
    Rolling Thunder – saluting Marine.

  6. Darin says:
    May 29, 2017 at 18:30

    Marines-vs-ROK drum battle-

    https://youtu.be/5UDkCDF28Ns

    :lol:

    • An old friend in a distant place says:
      May 29, 2017 at 21:04

      History teaches us that mutual respect can either avert a civil war. Or it must be learned after a civil war.

      I have to wonder that Greenfield actually wrote this. First, grammatically it is flawed. Second, the left gives no respect even among its own except when it’s needed as a tactic. If he is the author, has he forgotten he’s made that point many times before?

      Frankly, he should have stopped at the title and gone no further. The key memory to preserve is that the left and its promoters give no quarter now and will have earned none when the time comes.

      • KG says:
        May 29, 2017 at 23:22

        I agree, but I thought it was an interesting perspective from Greenfield, since it was so much at odds with what I expected him to write on the subject.
        It’s nice – and unexpected – to know I still have one old friend at least, by the way. I mustn’t have burned a bridge properly. http://falfn.com/CrusaderRabbit/wp-content/plugins/wp-monalisa/icons/wpml_smile.gif

        • Darin says:
          May 30, 2017 at 03:39

          In 1866 reconciliation was possible,because the fight was brother against brother,American against American.We had our differences,those differences were few,we were children of the same culture.
          This is no longer the case,the left today are not our brothers,they are not Americans and we do not share the same culture.They are the enemy and always will be,because they want to destroy our country,our culture and our way of life.
          There will be no reconciliation,the next one will be for all the chips.

  8. paul scott says:
    May 30, 2017 at 15:46

    Makes me sad to read about it