Monday, May 28, 2012

WE ARE SO LUCKY

Today is the day we set aside to honor our fallen. Those young men and women who gave their lives for our freedom and the freedom of those in lands far from us.  The youngest and fittest of our sons and daughters lay down  their lives for their country, never to get up or if they do survive, they are no longer whole.

We are  lucky in that we have never had foreign troops marching through our streets. We have been attacked but never occupied.  There is another group we should honor today. Those who are swept under the "collateral damage" rug.

There is a site I visit that I find very humbling. It is the World War II London Blitz Diaries 1939-1945.  The great granddaughter of Ruby Side Thompson has published her great grandmother's diary and puts daily inserts from that diary on her blog telling of life in a war zone.

Sometimes it is the daily life of a woman living in the middle of war searching for normalcy. Sometimes it recounts the horrors of being bombed almost daily and of people that just disappear suddenly from their lives thanks to the war. The accounts are quite sobering.

Another post to read that will give you the shivers and make you so grateful that you live where you do is a story from Reader Wil  who tells of the horrors this lovely woman from the Netherlands had to endure in a Japanese concentration camp as a young child.

I loath war but until we evolve to better and more caring humans, wars will be fought. It is when I hear these stories that I am both grateful that we have been so spared, yet ever so grateful for the young men and women who fought so we would be spared.

So today I remember those who gave all, but also their spouses, parents, grandparents, nieces , nephews or children who no longer have them in their lives. I also remember those thousands of civilians who were casually wiped out with out so much as an "oops."

I also pray for the time when this day will no longer have current impact with new names daily being added to the list.    Then we would not only be lucky but smart.

31 comments :

  1. Thanks for articulating so well the importance of remembering. And thanks for sharing these 2 links. I am off to visit them now.

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  2. Well said!!! Went to a memorial, last night, and the firework display was sooo loud (sounded like cannons) had us thinking and talking about living in a war zone. We are sooo lucky...

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  3. Thanks for a lovely post.
    Study war no more.

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  4. Lovely, simply lovely. I agree that we should remember all of our service men and women, past and present. And their families, especially the families.

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  5. I am amazed at how lucky we have been and hope we evolve but don't foresee it in my lifetime.

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  6. What a moving post, and you're right: we should never forget all the collateral damage caused by war. Even though it will not happen during my lifetime, I pray that one day we humans will find a better way than to wage war.

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  7. ah yes if only we could be smart, remembering those who have and are now suffering at the futility of it all. I didn't think about how lucky we are here in our country without the noise of bombs all around us.

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  8. Patti, you are right, we are lucky. The Civil War was fought here, but not by foreigners. I am so tired of war, but I am grateful for our soldiers who fight so hard and sacrifice so much.

    Beautiful tribute!

    Kathy M.

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  9. We are VERY lucky!!!!

    Happy Memorial Day. Let's never forget those men and women who gave their lives for us and for our freedom.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  10. All I can add is DITTO. Being the wife of a retired veteran, who has been classified as in three theaters of war: Vietnam, Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis: it is most difficult to describe the "family" of the military person. There are those who fate takes, not necessarily by direct combat. I personally know one young man killed in a mundane vehicular accident in training with the unique equipment of war. My husband tells stories of men who fell overboard, either accidentally, or purposely, never to be rescued.

    Thanks for remembering!

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  11. I doubt we will ever be invaded, because the USA is so huge. However, terrorists will find ways to harm us -- with bombs, germ warfare, nuclear explosions, etc. Notice how wars are always started by men? Why is that?

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  12. Very beautiful. I, too, think war will always be with us. We are a fallen lot. Thank you for the lovely and important tribute.

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  13. I hate to be the wet blanket (not really, I am a smartie pants my Mom said), but...we were invaded. The British in 1812, because we sided with the French: The Mexicans at San Jacinto (they thought Texas was theirs); The Canadians even attacked us once, although mostly it is considered inconsequential.

    Don't forget Pearl Harbor and our territories in the Pacific, which like Guam, the Marianas, and the Phillipines, were captured by the Japanese in 1941-2 and held for 2.5 years. All the people in US territories, like Puerto Rico, the Marianas and Guam are US citizens (the Census counts them). When the Phillipines was granted Independence many of the people chose to migrate to the US (they live in VA).

    PS, Hitler had invasion plans and the allies stopped him. He had men trained to "administer" our cities and towns.

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  14. This was such a wonderful post, Patti...Both those links are certainly sobering---but so very important, lest we forget.
    Thanks for this very special Memorial Day post, my dear....Remembering all those that have sacrificed so much is such an important and meaningful thing to do on this Memorial Day, 2012.

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  15. Exactly- very well said Patty. We can only hope & pray.

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  16. A beautiful Memorial Day post, Patti! Thank you so much for the links. It really does change one's perspective to hear about another's experiences in war, whether in combat or trying to live normally through very abnormal times. We are, indeed, so lucky!

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  17. You could not have said wiser words. Sometimes we take for granted our freedom, our liberty to express who we are. Thanks to all our service men and women.

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  18. I am the daughter of a career military officer, and I spent time in my growing-up years on military bases. My best friend's brother was killed in Viet Nam, and two boys from the class ahead of me. Those three are the only ones I knew before they died.

    Surprising, somehow, that I know so many who lived - some with less capacity than before they went to war.

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  19. I pray for the day when we no longer need to send young men and women out to fight in wars. But I'm also grateful to those who have, that have allowed me and my family to live a life of freedom.

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  20. I want to thank each and every one of you who stopped by with kind words and caring in your hearts. It is so comforting to know we have not forgotten to honor those no longer among us.
    Thank you all.

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  21. This is one of the most moving posts I've read in regards to Memorial Day and what it means. Thanks, Patti!

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  22. My FIL was a WWII vet. Service to his country was so important to him! We have always honored those who have passed on. I love Memorial Day and all of the "family" it brings.
    Sandy

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  23. I've visited the World War II London Blitz Diaries 1939-1945 site a couple of times -- they are real eye-openers.

    Whenever I visit our town's war memorial, down by the train station, I'm just always amazed when I see the fairly long list of names from WWI, and then a few names from Korea and Vietnam. Then you see the list of WWII names, and it goes on ... and on ... and on. The death and destruction was just beyond comprehension. Hope we never have to face anything like that again.

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  24. Will war ever stop ...sadly I doubt it.
    Thanks for sharing your find re the books ....I will take a closer look as your recomendations are usually a great read.xx

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  25. oh my, when you decide to go to Key West I would suggest going in September or October when it is not so hot. The town is absolutely beautiful with all the colonial houses and shops, but it was VERY hot this time of the year...

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  26. A beautiful post, patti. Thank you for that.

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  27. Smart is the very best for the future. But it's unlikely given the past centuries of wars.

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  28. Ah I missed this but I am glad I read it.. :-) lives can never be replaced..we all but make a small sacrifice by remembering them but it's the least we can do.

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