Well, Happy Memorial Day! Many of us are lucky enough to have today off to spend with friends and family having picnics and enjoying the beginning of the "Summer" season. But, before we load up and head for the beach or fire up our grills, I'd like for us all to pause and reflect on the meaning of the day.

I remember as a kid this holiday being referred to as Decoration Day. It was a day set aside to remember our war dead and to decorate their graves. I remember how my dad would always wake up early and put our flag out on the front of the house and he would always talk to us kids a little about what the day meant and why we did what we did. My father is a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War and he has always taken very seriously his patriotic duty to honor those who gave their lives for this nation. He passed that sense of duty on to his children as well.

Here in Hesperia, we'll have our Memorial Day ceremony mid-morning. The American Legion color guard will be there along with the honor guard. They can't find 7 people to serve in the honor guard, so we generally have anywhere from a twelve to fifteen gun salute. The local Boy Scouts will present the colors and our high school band will play the National Anthem (albeit a little off key). The Legion Chaplain will say the blessing and a local veteran or politician will be the "keynote" speaker. The community choir will sing some patriotic tunes, and just before the honor guard renders the gun salute, the Chaplain will read the poem about Flander's Fields. Then one of the band members will play Taps (again, not always in tune). The small handful of veterans will then march (most of them will need to ride) to the river where taps is again played, the gun salute is given, and wreathes are laid on the water. The Legonaires then disperse to the two local cemetaries to complete the "Decoration Day" portion of the ceremony.

Pretty dull and boring stuff you're probably thinking. And, I suppose, for some it might be. But even though our simple ceremony will never be featured on the evening news, and PBS will never choose to do a special on it, and even though the band is slightly off key and we can't get a full 21 gun salute, it's important that we take this time to remember. This little ceremony means a great deal to many of the people in this area, and it means a lot to me as well. Try as I might, I'll not be able to keep the tears from flowing as I consider the sacrifices these brave men and women have made for our country.

So, enjoy your Memorial Day. Cherish the time to spend with family and friends and enjoy the bounty this Nation has to offer. But please take a bit of your day to attend your local Memorial Day observances. Say a prayer of thanks to those who gave the ultimate measure and maybe take a moment to shake the hand of a veteran or of one of our brave young men and women who are currently serving.

Thanks for sharing. And All Gods People Say AMEN

Thanks my old conservative sparky friend Maurie, hope you make it to the New York Expo this July

Heres my Memorial and Veterans Day post.........



Hey, sure, I post these e mails Ive received all over the boards every Memorial and Veterans day, but I plan to contuniue to do so as I feel they are always worth repeating. THANKS VETERANS AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL

"All gave some, some gave all"

What is a Veteran?

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life", and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand that.


It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN,
who salutes the Flag,
who serves under the Flag,

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,
AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

Ol John T

PS

Ya know what makes me sick, wanna bite nails???

At out local American Legion many members fought and risked their lives for freedom and want to go to THEIR OWN PRIVATE NON GOVERNMENT NON PUBLIC CLUB WHERE PEOPLE ARE FREE TO VISIT OR NOT and say have a beer and smoke a cigarette BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO the local liberal progressive pompous elite do gooders have passed an ordnance BANNING SMOKING by veterans in their own private club......

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Ol John T

Thanks Maurie and John

Thanks also to the many brave men and women who served and are serving.

I had the wonderful opportunity to have two wonderful brave veterans of both WW2 and Korea share to me some of their experiences yesterday. What a blessing to the rest of us these men are. The older of the two served in Burma and was in China at our 1st B-29 base to bomb Japan. He survived 2 (count them 2) engine failures flying out of there on 2 seperate occasions. The Korean War Vet served in the Navy in the Sea Bees, another unsung branch of sevice one hardly hears about yet was many times in greater danger than many regular infantry just because they were an important target.

Thanks men and Women everywhere for your unselfish dedication including those dedicated souls in service in police fire and rescue and emergency services.

Thanks for posting that John T! You just keep right on posting those 'cause I, for one, never get tired of reading them.

You're right. The liberal, pompous, horse's hind-ends that write those types of laws aren't worth the powder to blow them to ****. Those men fought, sacrificed, lost their youth, and all too often their buddies for the right to be free in this nation. For some 2-bit politician to tell them they're not free to have a smoke in their own club is ludicrous. Their right to smoke a cigarette there was paid for by their blood and the blood of their comrades-in-arms. No politician of any stripe should be allowed to take that away from them. That REALLY chaps my butt.

Isn't it great to talk to these old Vets Choo? Several years ago I lost a good friend who was a Combat Engineer in WWII. He made the D-Day invasion and fought his way across Europe. I miss him on a daily basis, but I always hearken back to the words of a popular song of that era sung by Vaughn Monroe and echoed by Douglas McArthur after he was relieved of his command in Korea--"Old soldiers never die, they only fade away..." God rest them all.

I also have a dear friend who is a Korean War Seabee veteran. We've inspected together for years, and he's an absolute treasure. Like so many of the Veterans I meet and talk to, he's very humble about his service to this country. What an honor it is to know him!

I've probably mentioned this before, but I have 2 pictures hanging on the wall here in the shop. One of my Granddad and one of my Dad. Both U.S. Navy veterans, and both of them in uniform. Everything I have, and everything I am, I owe to those 2 men. But it gives me a special feeling to think about what their service to this country means to people I've never even met. They'd be my heroes even if they hadn't served, but the fact that they did makes them even more special in my eyes.

Yo Maurie, youre kind of a weekend poster I see........ On one other board someone who favored the legion smoking ban replied "What if a vet was smart enough to NOT to smoke, he can be harmed by the second hand smoke of others" My response is FINE let the legion ban smoking I have no problem with that BUT THAT MISSES THE POINT WHICH IS

LET THE LEGION MEMBERS DECIDE smoking or not in their PRIVATE CLUBS nottttttttttttttt some left wing progressive liberal elitist do gooder NON MEMBER in City Hall. It should be the private Legions choice NOT big brother government.........

Nuff said

John T

Maurie, it's funny you mention the picture. I have a framed collection of my dad's medals, patches campaign ribbons with his picture in uniform in the middle above my bed. He fought in Kwadjelain(not sure of the spelling), Attu, Leyte, and Okinawa where he was wounded. I sure miss him and his stories.

Yep John T, you're right. It's pretty much come down to that. Got so many irons in the fire, I don't seem to be able to get around to posting during the week. So, on the weekends, my shop cat Stumpy (walks just like Walter Brennan in...well, of course, you know which movie) and I come down here to drink coffee and look at the posts. And, since She Who Must Be Obeyed and I went to church last night, I've got a little time this morning to post.

I couldn't agree with you more. If the Vets want to ban smoking in their own private club, then so be it. But, it sure as heck isn't the place of some bureaucrat in City Hall to tell them they can't. And as for the poster on the other board worried that some vet "smart" enough not to smoke might be harmed by the second hand smoke, I can't believe that someone would even make that comment. First of all, this is a private club. You choose to join or you don't. But, be it private or public, each individual makes their own choice about going there or not going there. If you don't like the smoke, then don't join or just stay away. These brave men fought to give us that choice, not to give some arrogant politician the right to make that choice for us. Look, I quit smoking 20 years ago. When I go somewhere and people are smoking, it's my choice to stay or to leave. I've never once worried about my "right" not to smoke because I believe they have the right to smoke. I can't believe that we've come to this. It's no wonder the economy is going down the tubes. People are spending so much time worrying about whether or not they're going to breathe second hand smoke, they don't have the time to consider that it's probably not a good idea to buy a $250,000 or $350,000 house with nothing down and an adjustable rate mortage, all the while making only the minimum monthly payment on their 10 credit cards which are all maxed out. Nope, no time to worry about that situation, they've got to save the vets down at the Legion Hall from themselves. If it wasn't so sad, this would be laughable. And, it's all done with the more than willing participation of our elected officials who are more than happy to exercise more authority over our daily lives. Better get off of my soapbox before I get banned...

Choo, you must really be proud of your Dad. Those were some of the hardest fought battles in the Pacific. I look at these pictures every day and hope that I can be half the person that they were. We should all look to those generations who have gone before us to be our inspiration. Especially since (other than the brave men and women in uniform today) I see very little in the present generations to aspire to. Just my 2 cents...

John T;
That's a bummer for sure. I can't for the life of me understand why people now a day's want the politicians to do their thinking for them. Many of these vets were furnished smokes with their ration's when the government wanted them to risk their lives for the rest of us every day. Where were the politically correct folk's then? Those that survived have earned the right to their own private club where they decide what they want to do with no inteference from the government for which they served.

It wasn't so long ago that the local AMVETS here weren't allowed to have any acholic beverages in their club as all the counties around here were dry. Their solution was to lock the door's and require a membership card be shown before anyone could enter. Law enforcement officials knew that the vets were having drink's with their meals, but had enough respect for the veterans to leave them alone.

There was a time when our government was against alcohol and anyone that consumed it. They supported tobacco then and protected tobacco farmers. Now they push drinking alcohol & frown on smoking. TV morning show's are constantly pushing folk's to drink more wine & not smoke. Makes a lot of sence don't it???

It seems to me that folk's have lost their respect for one another & that's the root of the problems we face now. That and the fact that some folk's ain't got the sence the Good Lord gave a jackall.

M-MAN