Long may she fly over the land of the free.
And happy birthday to the United States Army!
Military
Memorial Day 2009
Many in the USA celebrate this holiday as the beginning of the summer season and our household is no exception. We are in the midst of a barbecue weekend and are enjoying it all. But we are also thinking about our fallen heroes in all disciplines of public service, be it first responders, law enforcement and most importantly, our men and women who gave their all in military service. God bless them all.
Our centerpiece this weekend is this patriotic bouquet. Click image to enlarge.
Remembering Pearl Harbor
We remember and honor the fallen at Pearl Harbor sixty-seven years ago today. This post is from December 7th last year:
Pearl Harbor Day
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.
Pre-Thanksgiving Reminders
A couple of things:
First, reach out to our men and women in uniform this holiday by supporting one or more of these important charities.
- Wounded Warrior Project
- Soldier’s Angels
- Any Soldier, Sailor, Marine, Airman or Guardsman
- United Service Organization (USO)
- Packages From Home
Just scroll down in the right sidebar and find our links to these charities. Click on over and check out how you can help our uniformed heroes.
Year end is coming and tax write-offs are a good thing, but not as good as that nice glow you get knowing that you have made a military man. woman or family a little happier this holiday. Just do it.
Next, this article came in today from Afghanistan from Michael Yon. It reminds us of the grim truth that our job is not done when it comes to the Global War on Terror:
Happy Thanksgiving from Zabul Province, Afghanistan.
The Taliban seem to be mostly afraid of American soldiers. They do attack U.S. and inflict damage, but all around I hear from Afghans and U.S. soldiers that the Taliban are mostly trying to avoid contact with U.S., while focusing attacks mostly on Afghans. Some people see the Taliban as courageous, but I am seeing more and more that they use cowardly tactics, often hiding behind women and children.
I am tonight in Zabul Province and have been out with New York National Guard. Their morale is high and they think they are winning the fight, despite the long series of frustrations that come with the terrain of war. Especially in Afghanistan.
Our cell phones are not working tonight; the Taliban forces cell phone operators to turn off the towers at night. The Taliban are afraid of being tracked, and are afraid the Americans will interrupt their sleep. The cell towers are cut off from 5:30 PM to 7:00 AM. An American captain told me that one group of operators decided to turn off the system late one night, so the Taliban came, killed one man, and tortured two others.
On an interesting side, Americans and Afghans are giving very high marks to the Lithuanian Special Forces who operate here. They are less impressed with Romanians; Afghans and Americans say the Romanians are afraid of the Taliban, but that the Lithuanians are having a field day chasing and killing Taliban.
On the Iraq front, please read Down with Barriers, Up with Iraq.
The Iraq war is over, but the Afghan playoffs will begin in 2009. This fight is just getting started. Please send lots of Marines, and lots of training teams for the Afghan Army and police.
Your correspondent,
Michael
Victory In Iraq Day
I’m a couple of days late on this, but there is movement in the blogosphere to proclaim last Saturday as “VICTORY IN IRAQ” day. I have placed this logo in the sidebar for a few days with a link to the Victory in Iraq website.
Despite clear signals from the military and others in a position to know that the war is won, you won’t see or hear much from the media. Congress won’t be declaring victory. The talking heads from the left will continue to trivialize the tremendous effect that the surge had in securing Iraq.
Worst of all, the men and women of our armed forces that took part in this significant achievement will be coming home to the complacent masses who don’t know why they voted the way they did except it ‘felt right.’
We commend our armed forces and wish the best for them as they return to their civilian or military regular jobs. Good work folks, and God Speed.
Hat tip to Kini who put the bug in our ear about this.
Veterans Day
Thank you Veterans for your service, your sacrifices, and your spirit. May God bless you all.
Two years ago, Damsel took this shot of the Lomita, California Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Each year, they fly these brilliant colors all over the property. A large American Flag and the POW flag were on the mast high over the post. We get a nice thrill out of their show of VFW patriotism on Veterans Day.
Two Classics
We stopped at the Point Vicente Lighthouse today for their monthly open house. We didn’t intend to stop, but we saw this beautifully restored 1947 Pontiac station wagon on the road, and the driver pulled into the lighthouse station. We were compelled to follow him in – I just can’t resist a good photo op. Minstrel has some details about the station wagon – A Classic 1947 Pontiac ‘Woody.’
The Point Vicente Lighthouse is an important landmark and beacon light relied on by thousands of ships and pleasure craft. It provides a means of fixing their position, and ensuring their safe passage up and down the coast. The Point Vicente Light Station has been guiding sailing vessels to and from the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors since March 1926. It was first operated and maintained by the United States Lighthouse Service for 13 years prior to the service being merged with the U.S. Coast Guard, which was delegated all aid-to-navigation responsibilities in 1939. The lighthouse was manned until 1971 when it was automated by a remote electronic aids-to-navigation monitoring system.
Wikipedia has details about this classic lighthouse here.
Click on the thumbnail image for the really big picture.