[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Memorial Day Picture Thread (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 5/28/2007 5:41:19 AM EDT
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New background, Thanks, great pic. |
I've seen this one before and love it. Story? |
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RIVERSIDE - When Brenda Johnson went to visit her husband's grave at Riverside National Cemetery on Saturday, she did not expect to see a flag on his grave site and thousands more waving in the wind. "I just think this is so great. It makes it so beautiful," Johnson said. "It's a nice surprise." With the help of friends, retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Bob Markham, of Redlands, placed about 3,000 flags in a section of the cemetery where Johnson's husband, Oscar Johnson, is buried. It is the same section where Markham's wife, Winona, was interred after her death in 2002.  Retired Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Bob Markham, of Redlands, helps place 3,000 American flags at Riverside National Cemetery. Other people, including Daughters of the American Revolution member Mary Spangler, of Riverside, were also out Saturday placing flags on the graves of loved ones in preparation for Memorial Day. On Monday, Riverside National Cemetery will hold a Memorial Day ceremony to honor the men and women who have served and continue to serve in the military. Riverside Concert Band will open the event with a musical presentation at 10:30 a.m. Keynote speaker at this year's ceremony will be Naval Reserve Senior Chief Petty Officer Mike Vanderwood. Vanderwood was stationed in Iraq and Kuwait, cemetery spokesman James Rich said. Riverside National Cemetery has the nation's second largest Memorial Day ceremony with about 10,000 people attending each year. The only other cemetery with a larger turnout is Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Markham started a Saturday tradition of putting a flag on his wife's grave site about four years ago.  He also places flags on the graves of friends and 51 military men and women who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. In all, he places about 80 flags each Saturday, he said. Before major military holidays including Memorial Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day, Markham pulls out every flag he owns and enlists the help of friends and others to place them at the head of many markers in section 57a, where about 4,000 people are interred, he said. "Every one of the flags you see here is privately donated. They don't come from the government," Markham said. Darren Harden, of Menifee, his wife, Michele, and 14-year-old daughter, Jasmine, were among the volunteers helping Markham set out his flags. They came in memory of the sailors Harden knew in the Navy who did not return from war, he said. "This is our first time doing this, but there will be many more to come," Michele Harden said. |
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They were just five kids who graduated from Hemet High School and enlisted in the military and completed their duty with little acclaim and no glory. When Army Spc. Jason Chappell, Pfc. Kenny Stanton Jr. and Chief Warrant Officer Keith Yoakum; Navy corpsman Charles Sare; and Marine Cpl. Michael Estrella were killed in action, the Pentagon announced their deaths with few details. But in this southwestern Riverside County town with deep military roots, their deaths hit home hard.  At a ceremony Friday at Hemet High School, which has had five alumni die in the war in Iraq, the Hemet Veterans of Foreign Wars Post renamed itself the Hemet High Veterans Memorial Post. More soldiers per capita have died in the city than any other in California. More soldiers per capita have died in Hemet than any other city in California, and their deaths together attracted the attention of television's Public Broadcasting Service, CNN and National Public Radio. Nine residents with ties to the San Jacinto Valley have been killed, but nowhere is the loss more acute than at Hemet High. On Friday, the Hemet Veterans of Foreign Wars Post renamed itself in honor of the five young men who went off to the war and never returned. VFW Post 12023 will be known from now on as the Hemet High Veterans Memorial Post. The ceremony, conducted in front of 200 students, faculty and military personnel and veterans, mirrors a nationwide trend of remembering the soldiers of Iraq, both living and dead. Larry Stroud, commander of the Hemet post and a Vietnam veteran, said it doesn't matter that the Hemet kids weren't heroes in the usual sense. Individually and collectively, their loss diminishes the community. "We needed to do more," Stroud said. "We want to make sure they are never forgotten." In the school theater, an honor guard saluted the memories of the five dead, who were extolled for their service to God, country and the armed forces. Taps was played. Veterans folded a flag and presented it to Bill Black, the school's principal, for display on the memorial wall alongside pictures of the five graduates. "Overwhelming," Black said. "Their spirit lives on. Their loss has made everyone realize how precious life is. It's brought the school closer together."  Traditionally, communities have memorialized war heroes by naming parks, auditoriums, hospitals and streets for them. Those dedications typically honor war heroes. A VFW post in Norco honors George Ingalls, who was decorated with the Medal of Honor for gallantry in Vietnam. Riverside named a park and VFW post after native son Ysmael "Smiley" Villegas, who received the Medal of Honor in World War II. Today, more communities are willing, indeed eager, to laud ordinary residents who have fought in Iraq, say military observers and experts in American culture. Those efforts reflect a desire most often seen in smaller towns to support an ever-shrinking military during a war that has grown unpopular. They also focus the attention of towns and cities on their war dead, much the way the Vietnam Wall and Iwo Jima memorial call attention to the nation's loss from past conflicts. Streets in New York and Wisconsin have been renamed in memory of soldiers killed in action in Iraq. A VFW post in Pewaukee, Wis., was renamed in honor of Michelle Witmer, a member of the Army National Guard. She was killed in 2005. Congress has approved the renaming of 26 post offices in honor of Iraq war casualties. Those include sites dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients Army Sgt. First Class Paul Ray Smith, of Tampa, Fla., and Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham, of Scio, N.Y. But most are for troops not traditionally considered heroes. In the Inland area, Temecula officials named a park in honor of Capt. Aaron Contreras, a Marine helicopter pilot killed when his chopper crashed in the opening days of the war in 2003. A Rubidoux post office is set to be renamed in honor of Lt. Todd Bryant, an Army officer killed in 2003 by a rocket-propelled grenade. A Hemet street was named for Spc. Charles Hayes, who was wounded by a roadside bomb in 2004. Hayes took part in Friday's ceremony in Hemet. Katherine Kinney, a UCR English professor who studies the impact of war on society, said communities dedicate war memorials out of a sense of duty.  The Iraq war, which has been dogged by reports that the military "manufactured heroes" such as Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman, is spurring communities to erect memorials to low-profile service members nonetheless considered inspirational at home, she said. Whatever the reasons, Kinney calls those decisions commendable. "It's the responsibility of the living to the dead," Kinney said. "We owe it to them. The Hemet VFW is for the people who live in that community. It's to remember the particular men who died in their particular home." Bill Densmore, the Riverside County veterans services officer, said memories of Vietnam veterans, who served and sacrificed in another frustrating war, may be driving some areas to build memorials to Iraq troops. "It's puzzling in a way," Densmore said. "The country is bending over backwards to remember Iraq war soldiers." Ready to Serve Members of the Hemet High School Air Force ROTC program took part in Friday's ceremony. A student from the program is set to enroll at West Point, another at the Air Force Academy. Col. Fred Strain, the campus ROTC instructor, said the group performs at veterans' funerals at Riverside National Cemetery and visits the grave of Michael Estrella, killed a year ago when his patrol came under enemy fire. Brothers Anthony and Chris Rowe, both 18, say they want to serve in special forces. They say they feel a connection with those who've died by walking down the same corridors, playing on the same fields, taking the same classes. "When you remember the past, it gives you added motivation," said Anthony Rowe, a junior. "You want to make sure that what they died for was not in vain." |
digitaljournalist.org/issue0604/finalsalute_thumbs.html |
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you should have read the whole story behind this one...wow. i cant find it right now but google her, its a hard story to read. |
digitaljournalist.org/issue0604/finalsalute_thumbs.html |
This picture is making me cry. Bless that boy and his family. I bow my head to all who have servered and paid the ultimate price for our freedoms.  |
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To my Uncle Glen, who was killed by a German U-Boat before the ship he was on could reach Normandy. My Uncle Manley was on the ship right next to my Uncle Glen's and saw the ship blow up and sink. Name: Glen B Shaver Inducted From: Michigan Rank: Private First Class Combat Organization: 262nd Infantry 66th Division Death Date: 23 Dec 1944 Monument: Normandy, France Last Known Status: Missing U.S. Awards: Purple Heart Medal Somewhere farther out in those dark waters of the English Channel my Uncle rests.  |
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Did some more looking and found the ship my Uncle Glen died on, no one in my family knew the ship he was on because it was classified for many years because British and American forces bungled the rescue effort. My Uncle was on the Belgian SS Leopoldville, she was torpedoed by the German U-Boat U-486.  Explosions in Leopoldville. About 2030 ( 8. 30 PM ) two explosions from deep within Leopoldville were heard, and the ship heeled sideways, and sank by the stern. Many of the troops were swept into the cold, rough waters off Cherbourg, the soldiers wearing heavy overcoats and equipment were soon in trouble, and many drowned. 1,400 infantrymen were saved, but 783 had lost their lives, the greatest loss suffered by US servicemen at sea, all at the hands of an enemy submarine.  More victims of U-486. On Boxing Day 1944, two British Frigates Affleck and Capel, were also sunk by U-486. Final Fate of U-486. On the 12th. of April 1945, U-486 received her comeuppance, forced to surface by the malfunctioning of her Schnorchel equipment, the British Submarine Tapir torpedoed her, and all 48 of her crew were lost. An Allied Wall of Silence. In general, both the British and the United States authotities did not see fit to release the true details about the sinking of Leopoldville. It took until 1958-59 for US Military documents about this disaster to become declassified. In 1984 Clive Cussler with his ship wreck organisation NUMA found the ship at 49 degrees 44. 01 minutes N and 01 degrees 36.40 minutes E, different to where the wreck had been previously marked on maps. ETA: Found my uncle was a member of F Co 262nd Inf Reg, apparently his Company was berthed in the exact spot the torpedo hit, almost everyone died instantly, only 12 survivors from F Co 262nd Inf Reg. |
Here is the story to go with the pictures: Rocky Mtn News-Final Salute page 1 I would advise having a box of Kleenex nearby. |
thanks for posting that Master Chief |
Good lord it took me 1.5 hours & a box of tissue to get through that. Wonderful 12 part article
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My family and I did something very important today. We stood in honor of Sergeant Justin Wisniewski with our flags along the route from the chruch to the cemetary One of our own hometown young men paid the ultimate price in Iraq so that we may be safe and free.  wnem.com/Global/story.asp?S=6544810 Another soldier from Mid-Michigan has made the Ultimate Sacrifice. Sergeant Justin Wisniewski of Standish died May 19th in Iraq after a roadside bomb blast. Sgt. Wisniewski was with the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division and was recognized with an Army Commendation Medal. He helped create a landing zone for a Med-Evac helicopter - which led to the survival of his injured platoon leader during a February 21st battle. TV5 has learned that Wisniewski was a 2003 graduate of Standish-Sterling High School and was due home in August. Our small town and the folks from the area lined both sides of the road. I was told by good friends who were in the funeral procession that there were no noticable gaps on the 3 mile route and everyone was silent, repectful and most held our country's flag. I didn't know what to expected when I arrived in town. My eyes teared up as I turned the corner onto Cedar St when I saw 100's & 100's of people waiting over an hour before the procession was to pass. This week I will replace my torn and faded American flag that has waved continously since September 11th. I will replace it and the pole with a new larger flag in honor of Sgt Wisniewski. |