#ThursdayThoughts

A few thoughts to start your year in reflection of those who paid the ultimate price for freedoms.

I came across this quote by R.G. Ingersoll while reading through comments and tributes left for one someone who died in Vietnam on this day (he is among those who will be listed on today's #DailyWall posting. The quote by Ingersoll started me on a search that turned up some other incredibly poignant quotes.

These heroes are dead.  They died for liberty - they died for us.  They are at rest.  They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, and the embracing vines.  They sleep beneath the shadows of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or of storm, each in the windowless Place of Rest.  Earth may run red with other wars - they are at peace.  In the midst of battle, in the roar of conflict, they found the serenity of death.  I have one sentiment for soldiers living and dead:  cheers for the living; tears for the dead.  -Robert G. Ingersoll

The line, "they sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless..." has really resonated with me as I reflect on so many that that bear the weight of that truth.

Another that has really hit me, should cause us all to pause. I don't think I'll ever hear the National Anthem in the same way with the following words in mind.

The dead soldier's silence sings our national anthem. -Aaron Kilbourn

One more that speaks to the incredible spirit of brotherhood among those that have fought and died.

Better than honor and glory, and History's iron pen,Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men.

~Richard Watson Gilder 

I hope you can find as much meaning in these as I have. As we start a new year, It is my desire to share with you, this deep love for our country's veterans, recent and long ago passed, as we, together, honor those that walk among us and the memories of those we have laid to rest.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me. Thank you for the way each of you honor them. Thank you for your continued support and interest in what I strive to do here.

#ThursdayThoughts

Thoughts to consider for this Thursday..

The first, written by Anthony Barton Hinkle, originally published in 1995.


Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg – or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul’s alloy forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can’t tell a vet just by looking.

What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn’t run out of fuel.


He is the Nebraska farmer who worries every year that this time, the bank really will foreclose.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 39th Parallel.

She – or he – is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another or didn’t come back at all.

He is the Quantico drill instructor who never has seen combat – but who has saved countless lives by turning slouchy no-’counts into soldiers, and teaching them to watch each others’ backs.

He is the parade-riding legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the anonymous hero in the Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the other anonymous heroes whose valor died unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean’s sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket – palsied now and aggravatingly slow – who helped liberate a Nazi death camp, and who wishes all day long his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being – a person who offered some of his life’s most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

The second, a poem, written by Charles M Province. Province served in the Army and is the founder of the George S Patton Jr. Historical Society: Patton Society

It is the Soldier, not the minister, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to protest.
It is the Soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Soldier, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

#ThursdayThoughts - Band of Brothers

Long before the book by Stephen Ambrose and subsequent mini-series, someone else wrote of a "Band of Brothers". That man was Lt. General Charles Cooper. He wrote it as a severely wounded 2nd LT. in a military hospital in Korea. He had just learned two pieces of information that changed his life and challenged him in a way nothing else could. One was that his wife had just given birth to a son. The other, he would forever be paralyzed from the waist down as a result of his injuries. He embraced the former, he rejected the latter. He penned the Band of Brothers rules as a note to his newborn son, kind of a how to live life mantra. It inspired him as much as he ever hoped it would inspire his son. He would walk again. He would go on to a distinguished 35 year career in the Marines and retire as a Lt. General in 1985. His son also went on to a career in the Marine Corps. His Band of Brothers mantra was a large part of a solemn promise he had made to God, "I told God I would spend the rest of my life giving our young Marines the kind of leadership they needed and deserved."

No doubt, the young Marines he was placed in a position of leadership over benefited from his words and leadership style.


BAND OF BROTHERS

1. All Marines are entitled to dignity and respect as individuals, but must abide by common standards established by proper authority.

2. A Marine should never lie, cheat, or steal from a fellow Marine or fail to come to his aid in a time of need.

3. All Marines should contribute 100% of their abilities to the unit’s mission. Any less effort by an individual passes the buck to someone else.

4. A unit, regardless of size, is a disciplined family structure, with similar relationships based on mutual respect among members.

5. It is essential that issues and problems which tend to lessen a unit’s effectiveness be addressed and resolved.

6. A blending of separate cultures, varying educational levels, and different social backgrounds is possible in an unselfish atmosphere of common goals, aspirations, and mutual understanding.

7. Being the best requires common effort, hard work, and teamwork. Nothing worthwhile comes easy.

8. Every Marine deserves job satisfaction, equal consideration and recognition of his accomplishments.

9. Knowing your fellow Marine well enables you to learn to look at things “through his eyes”, as well as your own.

10. Issues detracting from the efficiency and sense of well-being of an individual should be surfaced and weighed against the impact on the unit as a hole.

11. It must be recognized that a brotherhood concept depends on all members “belonging” - - being fully accepted by others within.

#ThursdayThoughts

In our corps without responsibility and discipline we would not have won the Battle of Iwo Jima

 -LTG "Howlin' Mad" Smith

The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years

-Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal to LTG Holland McTyeire "Howlin' Mad" Smith



These two quotes taken together say a lot about the Marine Corps. Who they are, and what they mean to our country. They have achieved a great many things in the course of this nation's history. They would not have had the pattern of success that they enjoy without the hard work, training, discipline, dedication, leadership and heartbeat of every single Marine who ever wore the uniform.

Smith cited responsibility and discipline as primary factors in the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the hardest fought victories in the history of warfare. Other things certainly came into play on those black sand beaches so staunchly defended by a fortified, entrenched, determined enemy (so determined that around 18,000 of the estimated 21,000 died during the battle. They were not about to give up. In fact, the last ones to be captured after coming out of hiding occurred in 1949). But the greatest factor in the commander's eyes was the responsible actions of disciplined Marines.

We can only hope that Forrestal's quote finds firm footing on the pages of history when looked back on many years from now. I have little doubt, if the Marines continue to act in the manner that Marines have acted since their inception, that they will last as long as this nation lasts.

God Bless the U.S. Marine Corps!