What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Psalm 8:4-5, KJV
Psalm 8:4-5, KJV
Every year there are names that I recite in church the Sunday before Memorial Day. Men that I wish to remember and wish that my friends and family might also remember. I feel that if we can each remember the name of one who fell in the cause of freedom, then they might live in our hearts forever. Three were killed in action, three died in training, all fell for freedom.
Captain Carroll F. LeFon, Jr., United States Navy
Lance Corporal Kurt E. Dechen, United States Marine Corps
Major Taj Sareen, United States Marine Corps
Lieutenant Nathan T. Poloski, United States Navy
Private Robert Bain, Royal Scots Fusiliers, British Army
Private First Class Albert J. Dentino, United States Army
Enjoy the weekend, enjoy the time away from work with family and friends. Enjoy the unofficial start to the summer season. Those who fell would not begrudge you the good times, the laughter, the fun, for truly, if they could join in, you know they would.
But spare them a thought, even if it's just for a moment, the men and women who fought and died for our freedoms should never be forgotten. Ever.
For the Fallen
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 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 uncounted;
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 condemn.
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 of 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 that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
Hat tip to Suz
Remember them.
* While the poem mentions "England" - in my mind I hear "America." One of those whose name I remember, my Great-Great Uncle Robert, was killed in action while fighting in the Middle East in the British Army, no doubt he would hear "Scotland," rather than England. Perhaps "freedom" would be a good overall substitute...
I mean no disrespect when I name them thus. It's how I knew them.
ReplyDeleteRufus USAAF, Scotty USAF, Milton USAF, Bob USAF, Jesse USAF, Willie USAF, George USAF, Bob USAF, and Col. Shawe. Many more to come, most likely. Sad week-end and yet I rejoice that I am where I'm at - to have known these fine men.
May their names live forever in the hearts of patriots.
DeleteWhen I lived n Minnesota every Memorial Day in Hubbard county at the Fern township cemetery there was a service and the names of all the veterans buried there were named.
ReplyDeleteA fitting tribute.
DeleteThe things they Carried....
ReplyDeleteThey carried P-38 can openers and heat tabs,watches and dog tags,insect repellent, gum, cigarettes, Zippo lighters, salt tablets, compress bandages, ponchos, Kool-Aid, two or three canteens of water, iodine tablets,sterno, LRRP- rations, and C-rations stuffed in socks. They carried standard fatigues, jungle boots, bush hats, flak jackets and steel pots. They carried the M-16 assault rifle. They carried trip flares and Claymore mines, M-60 machine guns, the M-70 grenade launcher, M-14's, CAR-15's, Stoners, Swedish K's, 66mm Laws, shotguns, .45 caliber pistols, silencers, the sound of bullets, rockets, and choppers, and sometimes the sound of silence.They carried C-4 plastic explosives, an assortment of hand grenades, PRC-25 radios, knives and machetes. Some carried napalm, CBU's and largebombs; some risked their lives to rescue others. Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the death and damage. Some made very hard decisions, and some just tried to survive. They carried malaria, dysentery, ringworm, jungle rot and leaches. They carried the land itself as it hardened on their boots.
They carried stationery, pencils, and pictures of their loved ones - real and imagined. They carried love for people in the real world and love for one another. And sometimes they disguised that love: "Don't mean nothin'! "They carried memories. For the most part, they carried themselves with poise and a kind of dignity. Now and then, there were times when panic set in, and people squealed or wanted to, but couldn't; when they twitched and made moaning sounds and covered their heads and said "Dear God" and hugged the earth and fired their weapons blindly and cringed and begged for the noise to stop and went wild and made stupid promises to themselves and God and their parents, hoping not to die.They carried the traditions of the United States Military, and memories and images of those who served before them. They carried grief, terror, longing and their reputations. They carried the soldier's greatest fear: the embarrassment of dishonor. They crawled into tunnels, walked point, and advanced under fire, so as not to die of embarrassment. They were afraid of dying, but too afraid to show it. They carried the emotional baggage of men and women who might die at any moment. They carried the weight of the world.
THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER.
Author Unknown (possibly by Tim O'Brien?)
I will do my usual. Colors raised, M-1 Garand with fixed bayonet planted in lawn along with steel pot (not un-guarded, obviously).
Well said, RHT447.
DeleteO God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hast trampled down death and overthrown the Devil, and given life to Thy world, do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the soul of Thy departed servant in a place of brightness, a place of refreshment, a place of repose, where all sickness, sighing, and sorrow have fled away. Pardon every transgression which they have committed, whether by word or deed or thought. For Thou art a good God and lovest mankind; because there is no man who lives yet does not sin, for Thou only art without sin, Thy righteousness is to all eternity, and Thy word is truth.
ReplyDeleteFor Thou are the Resurrection, the Life, and the Repose of Thy servants who have fallen asleep, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father, who is from everlasting, and Thine all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever unto ages of ages. Amen
May He Who arose from the dead, Christ our true God, through the prayers of His all-pure Mother; of the holy, glorious and all laudable Apostles; of our holy and God-bearing Fathers; and of all the saints; establish the soul of His servants who have been taken from us, in the mansion of the righteous; give them rest in Abraham’s bosom, and number them among the just; and have mercy on us, forasmuch as He is good and loves mankind.
Grant rest eternal in blessed repose, O Lord, to Thy servant who has fallen asleep, and make their memory to be eternal!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-FdhLoFgkc
Amen!
DeleteExcellent post! Remembering some of our friends this weekend along with all our heroes who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.
ReplyDeleteThanks LJW!
DeleteA most excellent post, thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI have an old friend from Vietnam who passed in 2016 and he wrote great poetry (he was also Poet Laureate for the city of Fountain Colorado)
This is what he wrote for Memorial Day many years ago:
THERE IS ONE PATROL STILL OUT
A Squad on a mission to search and destroy.
A Bomber Crew making a run to Hanoi.
A Gunner on the Mekong in a gunboat of steel.
A Green Beret, a Medic, a Navy SEAL.
A Marine on a hillside at the Siege of Khe Sanh.
A Chopper Crew at a landing zone...the list goes on.
They went forth to do battle and stayed where they fell.
Or spent their last desperate days in a dark prison cell.
They were called on to serve in that strange distant land
For reasons some of them never did quite understand.
The support and respect they would need to pull through
Came too little, too late, and was expressed by too few.
It's so sad there were many like these left behind.
Although no longer with us, they are still on our mind.
Each one is a hero, every brave, valiant soul.
For these are the members of THE LAST PATROL.
Their spirits cry out in anguish: "Why can't WE return home?"
As through the jungles and highlands they restlessly roam.
They haunt the rubber plantations, the rice paddies too,
The streets of Saigon, the Delta, all those places they knew;
Like the Ton Son Nhut Airfield, R & R at Vung Tau,
The Repple Depot at Long Binh....just vague memories now.
If as a Nation, we could say: "You did not die in vain.
We gratefully honor your sacrifice, your courage and pain".
Perhaps then those sad souls could rest, no more have to roam
And our LAST PATROL, in spirit, could finally be welcomed home.
Frank J. Montoya, CW3, USA, Retired. 9th Infantry Division, Vietnam
Real dusty here...
DeleteA bit more dust. 96 year old WWII vet Pete Dupre´.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWzwoczr5GE
👍
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