Today we honor the men and women who died in the attacks on Hawaii late in 1941. In the photograph below, the Officers and Crew line the flight deck of the USS Ronald Reagan, CVN-76, as they salute the war memorial at the resting place of the USS Arizona.

As always, we ask God to bless and protect the men and women in our military as they perform their duties, often in harm’s way.

Veterans Day is when we recognize the sacrifices and personal commitment made by each and every one of our US Military Veterans. Not only did they enlist into a rigorous lifestyle in the service of our country, but they often (too often) found themselves in harm’s way on their various missions for the good of the nation. We thank them and ask God to bless our veterans, past, present and future.

We’ll be celebrating the holiday with them in mind.

From Michael Ramirez:

From The Patriot Post:

In his 1868 call to celebrate Decoration Day as a national holiday, Maj. Gen. John Logan stated eloquently: “Let us then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of springtime. Let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor. Let us, in this solemn presence, renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the nation’s gratitude—the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.”

In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, which changed Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May, creating a 3-day “holiday weekend.” That significantly diluted the original purpose of this solemn and reverent day. Recent polling indicates that only 28 percent of Americans understand the true meaning of Memorial Day. Many confuse it with Veterans Day (honoring Veterans of all wars, living and deceased) and Armed Forces Day (honoring active duty and reserve military personnel).

Today, Memorial Day provides a stark contrast between the best of our nation’s selfless Patriot sons and daughters versus the worst of our nation’s selfish culture and consumerism. Astoundingly, some businesses actually promote a “Memorial Day Sale.” But Memorial Day is NOT for sale. Millions of Patriots have already paid the full price.

Our prayers go out to the friends and families of those who perished defending our liberty. May God bless them and their honored dead.

The Nation takes the time today to honor those members of The Armed Forces. The Airmen, Soldiers, Marines, Sailors and Guardsmen sacrifice daily to protect our nation. We proudly honor them today.

Here is a throwback pertaining to the armed forces of WW2 which had a personal impact on our family as I was growing up in those times. This is the USS Brooklyn, CL-40 with Palisades Park in the background, as she cruises along the Hudson River near New York City. My Dad, Jack, was an Electricians Mate, First Class, on this vessel.

The Brooklyn departed from Norfolk for the Mediterranean on 24 October 1942. My 20 month old brother, Billy, and Mom, Kate, were in Norfolk, Virginia to give the Brooklyn and Dad a send-off. Mom and Billy then took the train back to California, where I was born about 9 months, or so, afterward.

Dad did not meet me until I was over a year old, since he and the Brooklyn were engaging the Axis in the Mediterranean. Rommel was there, Montgomery was there, Patton was there and the USS Brooklyn’s 5 and 6 inch guns were there helping the Allies to victory.

May God guide and bless our Armed Forces.

Dave Echeverria, a descendant of the family for whom the airstrip was named, presented this 1943 G503 “Peep”, a Ford GPW (Government Pigmy Willy’s) to American Legion Post #12 to be placed on permanent display at the corner of Frontier and Apache streets in Wickenburg as a tribute to veterans and as a reminder of Wickenburg’s World War II history.

Echeverria Field, located near Wickenburg AZ, was used by the Arizona Glider Flight Academy during WWII and the Jeeps (painted yellow for visibility) were used at the airstrip to ferry pilots and other personnel around as they were training the pilots and crews. The Gliders were critical to several operations in Europe, including those deployed on D Day.

Damsel took this photo this week when we were in the downtown area on errands. Click on the image to enlarge.

Damsel captured this photo as we pulled into the grocery store parking lot yesterday. The rider’s helmet made me think of what I imagine the Vikings might have worn for headgear. The motorcycle and sidecar are an unusual sight in this part of the world; it is a classic Russian IMZ-Ural.

From Wikipedia:

IMZ-Ural is a Russian maker of heavy sidecar motorcycles.

In 1940, the Soviet Union acquired the design and production techniques for BMW R71 motorcycles and sidecars.The first M-72 model was finished in 1941. Originally, factories were to be located in Moscow, Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), and Kharkov, but due to the approach of Nazi German troops, the Moscow facilities were moved to Irbit, and the Leningrad and Kharkov facilities to Gorkiy (now called Nizhny Novgorod).

The origins of the IMZ-Ural are linked to developments in the Eastern Front during World War II. The Soviet Union was preparing for possible military action by Nazi Germany. Joseph Stalin ordered the Soviet military to prepare in all possible areas, including the ground forces that would be defending the Soviet Union against invading German tanks and infantry. Mobility was especially stressed after the Soviet Union had witnessed the effect of the blitzkrieg on Poland.

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Other than the headgear on the rider, the man’s vest is also interesting. The patch on his right side is the combat service identification badge of the US Army’s 1st Cavalry Division. On the left side of the vest are more patches and decorations, most of which I can’t make out from the photo. However, there are also military service ribbons. I can’t tell if one of them is a Vietnam service ribbon, again due to resolution issues.

The Viking Rider mounted his unique vehicle and was gone before I could ask about the motorcycle and thank him for his service. Maybe we will see him again. He won’t be hard to notice.

Click on the image to enlarge.

I have a new acquisition to my T-Shirt collection. The words and images on the back of it say it all from my perspective. And, it’s true that I was born in July. Click on the image to enlarge.

I found it in an ad on the FecesBook™ website and Damsel said I NEEDED to get it. So I did. It was a little spendy, but it is now mine to be worn on whatever occasions for which it may be suitable. I’m not trying to pick a fight, but won’t back down from one either.

Most of the time I am not actually grumpy, but that mood gets set into motion when really stupid people do stupid stuff. It could be in traffic, in the supermarket aisle, or practically anywhere else. As we have said in the past, “STUPID SHOULD HURT.”

Image courtesy of The Damsel.