Remember . . .

* 9 Simple Ways You Can Help Veterans *

* Ways To Give Back To Veterans *

* 10 Ways To Support and Honor Veterans *

* Here's How You Can Help Homeless Vets This Veteran's Day *

* Charity Navigator: Your Guide To Intelligent Giving / Support Veterans and Active Duty Servicemembers *

Kilt Monday! Veteran's Day Edition

'Cause let's face it,

Mondays can be so rough, hard, difficult.

{Source}

Lest We Forget

Has there been a generation in recent memory to grow up without war, (or police action) its build up, or aftermath? Perhaps one day we can answer that question with a resounding Yes!

But until that time, let us remember all those who answered the call of service . . .                        

For the Fallen
- Laurence Binyon

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, 
England mourns for her dead across the sea. 
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit, 
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal 
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres. 
There is a music in the midst of desolation 
And a glory that shines upon our tears. 

They went with songs to the battle, they were young, 
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. 
They were staunch to the end against odds uncountered: 
They fell with their faces to the foe. 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn. 
At the going down of the sun and in the morning 
We will remember them. 

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again; 
They sit no more at familiar tables at home; 
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; 
They sleep beyond England's foam. 

But where our desires are and our hopes profound, 
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight, 
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known 
As the stars are known to the Night; 

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust, 
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain; 
As the stars are starry in the time of our darkness, 
To the end, to the end they remain. 

First published in 1914.

To Recent Arrivals

by Anonymous

Is our land still the same
As we dimly recall
With plenty of room
For the great and the small?
Has there been any change
From the old, well-loved scenes
In the Bronx, or in Brooklyn,
Long Island or Queens?

Does the water still sing
‘Mid the rocks and the rills
Of the tiny trout streams in the clean Berkshire hills?
Does the draftee’s step drag
With a touch of the blues
As each juke box in Natchez
Blares forth “Born to Lose”?

Do the geese flying south
Rend the dawn with their call?
Did they crown a new “Ice King”
Up there in St. Paul?
Do the trains whistle yet,
Clear and sweet as a flute
As they speed thru the darkness
Towards Billings and Butte?

Do the stockmen still stroll
In a tight little clan
With their boots striking sparks
In the streets of Cheyenne?
Do the gay lights of Frisco
Make sport of the dark
As you gaze over town
From the “top of the Mark”?

Is our land just the same
As it was long ago?
Please tell us, compadres,
We’re wanting to know.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

~ A. Lincoln

THANK YOU.

SOME GOOD NEWS

Today we are seeing the needs of military families being raised to level of national importance. First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Dr. Jill Biden, has made improving the lives of military families her signature issue, and this is reflected in a proposed expansion in funding for military support programs in the president’s 2011 budget.

A POEM FOR VETERAN'S DAY

It is the veteran, not the preacher,
who has given you freedom of religion.

It is the veteran, not the reporter,
who has given you freedom of the press.

It is the veteran, not the poet,
who has given you freedom of speech.

It is the veteran, not the liberal protesters,
who has given you freedom to assemble.

It is the veteran, not the lawyer,
who has given you the right to a fair trial.

It is the veteran, not the politician,
who has given you the right to vote.

It is the veteran, who salutes the Flag,
and who serves under the Flag.

The PA VFW shares this poem to recognize Veteran’s Day and give citizens an accurate measure of veterans’ contributions to America. It is a part of a beautiful message written by Benjamin Mastridge, that can be read in its entirety, here. Mr. Mastridge ends with a plea that we, "Give them all a heartfelt, ”Thanks for my freedom.”"

I submit that we go further.

I suggest we remove our support from politicians who set the needs of Veterans against the needs of those currently serving. 

I suggest we remove our support from those who would use the needs of military families as political bargaining chips.

I suggest we remove our support from those who repeatedly turn their backs on Veterans in desperate need of good medical care.

Our veterans and serving military deserve our support more than one day a year, and that support needs to go deeper than a bumper sticker on our gas guzzling SUV.  

Some pertinant links: here. here. here. here. here. here. here. & here.

IF YOU ARE (or know) A VETERAN or SOLDIER ON ACTIVE DUTY . . .

Once again this Veterans Day, Thursday, Nov. 11, Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar will thank our nation’s veterans and active duty military by inviting them to their neighborhood Applebee’s for a well-deserved free meal.

Applebee's

Simply show proof of military service, such as:

• U.S. Uniform Services Identification Card
• U.S. Uniform Services Retired Identification Card
• Current Leave and Earnings Statement (LES)
• Photograph in uniform
• Wearing uniform
• Veterans Organization Card
  (i.e., American Legion and VFW)
• DD214

The menu is limited

but if you're hungry . . . it's better than a bumper sticker

FOR MORE VETERAN'S DAY FREEBIES check out:

"Veterans Day 2010 Freebies from Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse, Hooters, National Parks, Sam's Club and More" - gather.

I LIKE THEIR MOTTO:

Support the Troops, Oppose the Policy

"Welcome to VeteransAgainstTheWar.com. This site's purpose is to allow open discussion about the war in Iraq. I felt this site was necessary as when people say they are against the war their patriotism is questioned."

This is from the VeteransAgainstTheWar.com links page:

Anti-War Sites

 

• AntiWar.com -A site that I hope I can soon match in content
• Veterans Against The Iraq War -Another Anti War Blog

Liberal Websites

 

• IVotedForKerry.com -A site a co-worker and myself created. Don't leave the country without one of our sttylish hats.
• Buzz Flash -Great Headlines
• Awol Bush -A site that talks about in great length how Bush avoided his military obligation.

Miscellaneous

 

• Treat Any Soldier -A place to buy carefully arranged care packages for Soldiers overseas
• Aljazeera -Some times it is good to check the news from the other side. They spin it just as much as our news media though

Pro War Sites

 

• Blogs of War -In total disagreemenet with this site