It's hard to argue...

[Ben Sims]

...that the legacy of our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen is the freedom we enjoy. Whatever your affiliation or belief, I hope we can agree on this wonderful truth.

Thank you to all who serve, have served and especially to the individuals and families that have paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their countries.

[RJ_Daley]

If you missed it, here are some re-air dates you can find for your area to watch this year's Memorial Day Concert at the U.S. Capitol.  I thought it was particularly great this year, as always.  And, there is a convenient donate button on the website with several ways to support those who gave and give so much:

http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/airdates.html/\

[Mike Sweeney]

Sorry Ben, just saw this. Here is a duplicate:

___________________________________

I know it is cliche, but these guys deserve our respect:

http://www.hopeforthewarriors.org/

Michael Breen is covering right now.

PS. We work closely with US Navy Captain Ed Zellem so take it for what it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Zellem

[Mike Nuzzo]

Thank you Ben!

[Phil McDade]

For the past several years, I've been asked -- and honored to serve -- as the announcer (local cable broadcast!) for our Memorial Day parade on the East Side of Madison. The parade, organized by the local chamber of commerce, features a grand marshal, usually a local dignitary or politician.

This year's grand marshal was this guy, who came to the parade a few years ago as a spectator, dressed in full Marine uniform, and was so moved by the parade he decided to jump right in and march along. A parade volunteer tried to dissuade him, noting he wasn't part of the "official" parade. His response:

“I says, ‘Listen, fella, if you want to mess with a Marine, it’s up to you,’” Carey said. “I says, ‘If I wasn’t in World War II, you might not be standing here.’”

Here's his story:

http://host.madison.com/news/local/world-war-ii-marine-vet-goes-from-parade-crasher-to/article_8da7a762-2aa0-5b97-901d-1776ade59948.html#ixzz2UXyBrB6Z

[Dan Kelly]

Bumping the thread ...

... because it deserved to be bumped;

... because it's not in the least hard to argue that; it's hard to *dispute* it (the editor never rests!);

... because, as the son of a WWII vet (and the guardian of his WWII letters), I enthusiastically agree with you, Ben.

I did not serve, myself (genetic spine malformation made me 4F), and would not have been happy to serve in those days (late Vietnam), but have since then become considerably more aware of the essential sacrifices others have made -- on their own behalf, and on behalf of all of the rest of us, who can got out to the cemetery on Memorial Day and peacefully decorate their graves with flowers and little flags.

If you have not watched Ken Burns's "The War," I heartily recommend that you do so at your first opportunity.

Dan

[Mac Plumart]

Good post, Ben.

[BHoover]

Great post, Ben.  Please do not forget, however, that we Americans also owe a debt of gratitude to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen of our allies who made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of freedom.  I think that too often Americans tend to overlook the sacrifices made by our friends, specifically the British, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, French, Dutch, Belgians and others. 

We lose far too many veterans daily, and it is imperative that we remember the previous generations.

[Dan Herrmann]

+1

[Ben Sims]

Great post, Ben.  Please do not forget, however, that we Americans also owe a debt of gratitude to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen of our allies who made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of freedom.  I think that too often Americans tend to overlook the sacrifices made by our friends, specifically the British, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, French, Dutch, Belgians and others. 

We lose far too many veterans daily, and it is imperative that we remember the previous generations.

Brian,

Not to belabor the point, but you will notice how I worded my last sentence.  I've served with phenomenal individuals from a dozen or so countries other than my own.  We all owe a debt to each other, past and present.  Here's a toast...

[BHoover]

Great post, Ben.  Please do not forget, however, that we Americans also owe a debt of gratitude to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen of our allies who made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of freedom.  I think that too often Americans tend to overlook the sacrifices made by our friends, specifically the British, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, French, Dutch, Belgians and others.  

We lose far too many veterans daily, and it is imperative that we remember the previous generations.

Brian,

Not to belabor the point, but you will notice how I worded my last sentence.  I've served with phenomenal individuals from a dozen or so countries other than my own.  We all owe a debt to each other, past and present.  Here's a toast...

Ben, you are absolutely right. I was not suggesting that you personally forgot to include those from our allies who have fallen. I was speaking in generalities. I think that we should also remember our allies who have given the last full measure of devotion, and unfortunately, I see a lot of Americans in general who don't seem to remember our fallen allies as much as they should. That was my point.

[Ben Sims]

Great post, Ben.  Please do not forget, however, that we Americans also owe a debt of gratitude to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen of our allies who made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of freedom.  I think that too often Americans tend to overlook the sacrifices made by our friends, specifically the British, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, French, Dutch, Belgians and others.  

We lose far too many veterans daily, and it is imperative that we remember the previous generations.

Brian,

Not to belabor the point, but you will notice how I worded my last sentence.  I've served with phenomenal individuals from a dozen or so countries other than my own.  We all owe a debt to each other, past and present.  Here's a toast...

Ben, you are absolutely right. I was not suggesting that you personally forgot to include those from our allies who have fallen. I was speaking in generalities. I think that we should also remember our allies who have given the last full measure of devotion, and unfortunately, I see a lot of Americans in general who don't seem to remember our fallen allies as much as they should. That was my point.

Brian,

Same same.  Thanks for the words. 

[Sean_A]

Great post, Ben.  Please do not forget, however, that we Americans also owe a debt of gratitude to the many soldiers, sailors and airmen of our allies who made the supreme sacrifice on behalf of freedom.  I think that too often Americans tend to overlook the sacrifices made by our friends, specifically the British, Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, French, Dutch, Belgians and others.  

We lose far too many veterans daily, and it is imperative that we remember the previous generations.

Brian,

Not to belabor the point, but you will notice how I worded my last sentence.  I've served with phenomenal individuals from a dozen or so countries other than my own.  We all owe a debt to each other, past and present.  Here's a toast...

Ben, you are absolutely right. I was not suggesting that you personally forgot to include those from our allies who have fallen. I was speaking in generalities. I think that we should also remember our allies who have given the last full measure of devotion, and unfortunately, I see a lot of Americans in general who don't seem to remember our fallen allies as much as they should. That was my point.

I know many people didn't consider USSR as an ally, but the Soviets took more casualties in Operation Barbarossa then likely all casualties from all allies since the inception of the USA.  Its a huge debt Americans and Brits consistently fail to recognize.  In the Siege of Leningrad alone the Soviets took twice as many casualties as the UK and USA combined did in the entire war.  Absolutely staggering number of deaths.  Something like 50% of all WWII deaths were Soviets.  Its hard for me to fully grasp those sorts of numbers.

Ciao 

[Dan Kelly]

A couple of other things many of us have forgotten, or never knew:

http://www.npr.org/2013/05/27/186752528/france-pays-tribute-to-first-u-s-fighter-pilots?ft=1&f=1001

and

http://www.aish.com/jw/s/The-Birth-of-the-Israeli-Air-Force.html

[BHoover]

I know many people didn't consider USSR as an ally, but the Soviets took more casualties in Operation Barbarossa then likely all casualties from all allies since the inception of the USA.  Its a huge debt Americans and Brits consistently fail to recognize.  In the Siege of Leningrad alone the Soviets took twice as many casualties as the UK and USA combined did in the entire war.  Absolutely staggering number of deaths.  Something like 50% of all WWII deaths were Soviets.  Its hard for me to fully grasp those sorts of numbers.

Ciao 

Sean, you are absolutely correct that we overlook the contributions made by the Soviets during WWII. The scale and ferocity of the fighting on the Eastern Front in WWII was unlike (in most cases) anything experienced in the West, Italy or North Africa. The war in the East was both titanic and brutal; it was a war without mercy much like the war in the Pacific was at times. I recall reading that for every 1 German killed by the Western Allies, 5 were killed by the Soviets. It's probably not too much of a stretch to say that, without the contribution of the Soviets, it is hard to see how the Western Allies could have invaded Normandy without exponentially more casualties.