[Bucco]

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day. This is a time, not for mattress sales as the saying goes, but to remember those men and women who gave their lives engaged in war for this country.

No matter the war, no matter the politics, these men and women gave their lives for everyone and that needs to be honored.

This weekend, take more than one time and remember them, and no matter our ills and faults, the country is free and these folks have fought to keep it that way.

One of my favorite quotes from John F Kennedy....

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

[Ecuadog]

"A veteran - whether active duty, retired, 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 their life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it." -- Anonymous

[Pepperhead]

KIA
RIP

Alfred Walter Arrington
David Anthony Fasnacht
Juan Arturo Maldonado
Steven E. Auchman

[graciegirl]

Thank you brave men and women. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

[lhasalady]

My daughter is a veteran (Desert Storm) now retired. Words cannot express how proud of her I am. Thank you for all you sacrificed to preserve our freedom. God bless our Military, active and retired, today and everyday. God bless the USA!

[BarryRX]

Let us give thanks for the many blessings we have received. Let us give thanks for the security of America and for the freedoms we enjoy and experience every day. However, let us also remember the great price that has been paid for that freedom too many times.

We knew them. They lived, they felt, they were as vibrant, as energetic, as immortal as you and I. They were brave. They fell for peace and for freedom in the service of their country. Many may argue about the futility of death and of war, but one should never forget that they died, not in vain, but in honor.

Many times down through the years our country has called, and many men and women have answered the call. Let us not forget our fallen comrades, but remember them always, for they have earned our respect and admiration with their lives.

We knew them, we'll remember them, and they will not be forgotten.

To our fallen comrades!

[Carl in Tampa]

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[Gulfhills]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

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What a wonderful picture. I will have to share this.

[BarryRX]

Let's not forget this one

[KeepingItReal]

Originally Posted by Bucco

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day. This is a time, not for mattress sales as the saying goes, but to remember those men and women who gave their lives engaged in war for this country.

No matter the war, no matter the politics, these men and women gave their lives for everyone and that needs to be honored.

This weekend, take more than one time and remember them, and no matter our ills and faults, the country is free and these folks have fought to keep it that way.

One of my favorite quotes from John F Kennedy....

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

This is a great Memorial Day video and has a very honorable message..pride, honor,and dignity.. Freedom Is Not free

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXP0...46B53D99D2A9EE

[chuckinca]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

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The business end of my rifle wasn't aimed at my knee tho.

.

[BarryRX]

Originally Posted by chuckinca

The business end of my rifle wasn't aimed at my knee tho.

.

We are getting a little off topic, but tactics have changed since our days. There are three types of ready positions that a professional soldier can use. One is the pro holds the weapon near his right shoulder and pointing down toward his left foot (but not AT his left foot) so he can bring it up, into his shoulder, quickly and fire accurately. This method is the best because it is quick, efficient, and easy to maintain for long periods while on patrol.

[Challenger]

Memoria Day began very shortly after the close of the Civil War with people in both the North and South decorating graves to honor those who "fell". So arose the title , Decoration Day. Name change came in the 60's but the intent of the hoiday is the same, to honor those who "fell."
The day set asside to honor veterans in general is Nov 11, Veterans Day known formerly as Armistice Day . The origin of Armistice Day was to commerate the signing of the agreement ending the First World War (11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month) 1918.
Unfortunately many folks have no idea why we have specific National holidays and confuse the purpose and therefore lose focus on who or what we are honoring.
Memorial Day is to honor those who gave "the last full measure of devotion"
Hope all will take time to "remember"

[Buffalo Jim]

In Memory of Cpl. Donald W. Gately POW/MIA Korea -- US Army 2nd Division ; 15th Field Artillery ; Battery "A"

Captured Feb.13th 1951 in " Hoengsong Massacre " Beaten to Death " By Communist Chinese Guards During a Forced Death March North on about May 15th , 1951 -- age 19 Note : 3 surviving fellow POWs filed reports of my Uncle`s savage beating upon their release .

He was my late father`s Older Brother . He became a POW 3 days before my 1st birthday . I honor his memory .

Details of " The Massacre at Hoengsong "
Feb. 12 and 13, 1951, at Hoengsong,
elements of the 2nd Infantry Division
suffered severe, tragic losses

MASSACRE
AT HOENGSONG
by Gary Turbak

Reprinted with permission.
VFW Magazine - February 2001

The grisly scene, horrible almost beyond belief, shocked even the toughest men of the 7th Marine Regiment. Some averted their eyes. Others broke off their macho banter to talk in hushed, church-like tones.
It was death that spooked them -- death that hung like an eerie cloud over the narrow valley north of Hoengsong, Korea, that cold, quiet day in 1951.
In early February, with the Chinese offensive stalled, U.N. commanders prepared a counter assault across the center of the Korean peninsula. This time, however, Republic of Korea (ROK) troops were to do the bulk of the fighting -- with elements of various U.S. infantry, artillery and other units supporting them. The notion of Americans supporting ROK troops was very much an experiment -- one U.S. military leaders later regretted.

What U.N. commanders didn't know was that Communist forces also were launching a major offensive and had moved four Chinese and two North Korean divisions into the area north of the village of Hoengsong. On Feb. 11, ROKs tangled with Communist forces, quickly disintegrating the planned South Korean offensive.

At one point, GIs of the supporting 15th Field Artillery (FA) Battalion (2nd Division) encamped for the night, relying on ROK infantry for protection. When the Chinese attacked in the dark, the South Koreans fled. The enemy swarmed over the U.S. position. Some 204 artillerymen ultimately died, resulting in one of the most concentrated losses of American lives in the entire war, according to Joseph Gould in "Korea: The Untold Story."

Retreating ROKs streamed south past U.S. support forces, allowing the Chinese to flank American positions. Soon, the Chinese owned the narrow, twisting valley north of Hoengsong and the road that ran through it -- the only escape route.

Steep hills rose up on both sides of the road, turning the valley into a shooting gallery. The Chinese relentlessly rained mortar fire down on the withdrawing and vastly outnumbered GIs. Later came the hand-to-hand fighting.
"At times," said one battalion commander, "U.N. troops lined up on one side of the road and tossed grenades at the enemy attacking from the other side of the road."

BATTLE CASUALTIES

38th Inf. Regt...........462 KIA
15th FA Bn..............208 KIA
503rd FA Bn.............56 KIA

FIGHTING WITHDRAWAL
During one withdrawal, forward observer (for the mortar platoon) Sgt. Charles Long of M Co., 38th Inf. Regt., 2nd Div., chose to remain at his position atop Hill 300. It was rapidly being overrun, so he wanted to better direct mortar fire on the Chinese.

For a while, he held off the enemy with rifle fire and grenades, but his last radio message reported that he was out of ammo. He used his last words to call for 40 rounds of high explosive fire on his own position, by that time swarming with enemy soldiers. For his bravery, Long posthumously received the Medal of Honor.

American rescue forces fought their way north from Hoengsong to the besieged units only to find that a river of Chinese soldiers poured in behind them. Points secured just an hour or so earlier reverted quickly to enemy hands.

U.S. infantrymen tried to clear an escape route for the howitzers, supply trucks and other vehicles, but Chinese soldiers were everywhere. U.S. artillery fired point blank into ranks of attacking enemy, but it did little good.

As soon as the withdrawing GIs pushed through one Chinese strongpoint, they would run smack into another -- while enemy forces reformed behind them. Some 2,000 Chinese troops manned one enormous roadblock. But the route south was the only way out. So the Americans continued to run this meat grinder of a gauntlet toward Hoengsong, taking heavy losses all the way.

Finally, the column of weary survivors reached Hoengsong. GIs who made it to the village joined a more general and less hazardous retreat farther south and lived to fight another day. Yet in the little valley to the north there was only death.

'ENORMOUS GRAVEYARD'
On March 7th, the 7th Marines re-entered the area north of Hoengsong for the first time since the rout three weeks earlier. Frozen in time -- and frozen literally -- the battle scene remained eerily preserved.

"Everyone looked into the valley and saw the smoke twisting toward the sky," wrote Marine Bill Merrick in his book Tan Vat. "The smoke came from overturned trucks and jeeps. They had burned so long only the frames remained. The area looked like an enormous graveyard with the bodies buried. The troops lay in the road, in the rice paddies, and in the cabs of the trucks that had not caught on fire."

Hundreds of GI bodies remained where they had fallen. "We had to push arms, legs, and heads to the side of the road so vehicles behind us would not run over dead soldiers," wrote Marine Rod Bennett. Some GIs had been stripped naked by enemy soldiers. One naked, dead soldier lay across the barrel of an anti-tank gun. In many trucks, dead Americans lay behind the wheel or hung out the doors. One truck contained two lifeless GIs and two dead Chinese soldiers.

"The road was blocked by a Sherman tank with one set of tracks blown off," wrote Merrick. "The hatch was open and the tank commander was hanging out of it. His jacket was full of holes, and blood made a big design on his back. Two GIs with their hands tied behind them had been shot in the back of the head. There were powder burns on the back of the caps they wore."

Marines, sickened by the sight, erected a sign along the body-strewn road. It read: "Massacre Valley, Scene of Harry S Truman's Police Action. Nice Going, Harry!"

U.S. units suffering losses in the Hoengsong debacle included elements of the 38th and 17th Infantry; 15th, 503rd, 49th, 96th and674th FA battalions; 82nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Bn.; and the 187th Airborne RCT.

Several outfits incurred severe battle deaths. Korean War vet Dick Ecker, using the Army's Adjutant General's Korean War Casualty File, determined the following breakdown by unit:

* 15th FA Bn. -- 208 (106 KIA & 102 in captivity) Note of the 102 taken as POWs less than 25% survived to the end of the War .
* 503rd FA Bn. -- 56 (27 KIA & 29 in captivity
* 38th Inf. Regt. -- 462 (328 KIA & 134 perished in captivity).

Among the 15th's dead was its commander, Lt. Col. John Keith, and Master Sgt. Jimmie Holloway, both of whom died after being taken prisoner. "Holloway was recommended for the Medal of Honor, but it was downgraded to the Distinguished Service Cross," according to the 15th's historian, Dan Gillotti.

Ecker summed it up succinctly: "It was, of course, the nature of the fatalities in this action that was the real tragedy -- many of them MIA, never found and declared dead or captured and died in captivity."

Because military authorities tried to hide the extent of the disaster, casualty figures regarding the Hoengsong massacre are extremely jumbled. But according to a Time war correspondent, "It was part of the most horribly concentrated display of American dead since the Korean War began."

=====================

Gary Turbak writes from Missoula, Mont. He is a Vietnam veteran.

[kittygilchrist]

a lineage of honor, Jim....
The bizarre contrast in today's news between honoring vets for their service and the next moment exposing corruption in VA administration...sad to say the least.

I pray that God will bless those who stand for honor, integrity and service.