Memorial Day in the USA - Nov 11 - Remembrance Day in Canada A tribute to our fallen soldiers.. in the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Merchant Marines and Coast Guard. The US Army protects our ground.. the US Navy protects our seas.. the US Marines protects our ground.. often transported in by the Navy, the US Air Force protects our skys.. the US Merchant Marines carry our troops, military gear, supplies and doctors and nurses.. and the US Coast Guard protects our coasts. Its been often said, without our military might, the United States of America, would never have existed.. and its been also said that without our faith in God, the United States of America, would never have existed.. in four small words In God We Trust.. in our currency.. in our National Anthem.. in our Federal and State government.. and in our people. All around the land.. are parades and memorials.. everywhere.. to the fallen soldiers. It is usually the veterans and non-veteran supporters, that you see.. many putting on their old retired uniforms and marching.. thinking about their fallen comrades.. its a very sobering moment.. to remember all the fallen. Without the fallen, the crippled, the unscathed.. the United States of America.. would never have existed. As a small note in a very large military, Ill tell you just a little about my experience. When I was 13 years of age, I signed up for the US Army Reserves at Westbury High School.. the final moment being when I received a Second Lieutenant officers status on graduation in college.. this took me around 4+ years to complete.. Drum and Bugle Corps, Rifle Team, Flag Detail.. through high school and college, and summer bivouacs. In my training, we lived in the barracks.. we were posted at Mineral Wells, Texas, and at Fort Polk, Louisiana.. living off the land for 2 weeks with a compass in a squad in Mineral Wells, or fighting with tanks in a red and blue army in Louisiana. In the bivouacs.. I climbed in the dirt with live shells flying over my head.. every 8th round was a tracer.. that you could see in the dark. So in the US Army, I had started at 13, and graduated as a Second Lieutenant. In the US Merchant Marines, I signed up when my army training had ended, in the 2nd year of college at Texas A&M, going into the Texas Maritime Academy to learn about seamanship. Spending 3 years there, most of it in class.. we had many boats, and a huge one.. the Texas Clipper, 570 feet.. no doubt, many of you may have heard of the Clipper. We lived in two stories of barracks, down in Galveston, and wore uniforms just like the Navys. Our goal here, was to graduate a Deck Officer, or Engineer.. Officer 3rd Class [then 2nd, 1st and Captain]. Our summers were occupied taking long classes, but with seamans duties on the Clipper too.. helm, radar, starboard and port watch, bow watch, stern watch, flying bridge watch and sometimes being on officers duties and captain.. there were also engineering duties like reading the gauges, checking the long drive shaft and the oil levels. We sailed the high seas.. We went to many ports.. Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, Canada, Bermudas and the Islands off of Africa. Sometimes we went far inland, like up the Rhine River in Europe. We journeyed into the Mediterranean, visiting the Rock of Gibraltar, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and sailing past Morocco, Algeria,Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. We went to the duty free port of the Canary Islands. We sailed into France, Germany, Denmark, the British Isles and Ireland.. and past Belgium and The Netherlands. In Canada, we visited Halifax and Vancouver. In the Caribbean, we visited the Bahamas. We visited Greenland. We went through the warm waters of the south, into the high seas of the north.. 50 foot waves in a storm that pitched the ship 60 degrees.. if you fell overboard in the storm you would die in 2 minutes from shock.. from hypothermia. What a life.. I was a sailor.. sailing the high seas. So to the many people that werent soldiers, to the few that were, I hope your remember Memorial Day.. and Remembrance Day for each year you live.. and pray.. that all the fallen soldiers lives were not in vain.. but for the worlds freedom.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 04:47:37 +0000
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