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A Veteran's Thank You....

kklewin

Well Known Member
Many of you are Veterans...many have parents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters that have or are serving.

Sporadically I make a whimsical attempt to marry feeling with word in a poets prose. I could never express the true nature or magnitude of thanks I have for America?s veterans, but for now, for this moment?these few words will have to do.

REFLECTIONS ON THE AMERICAN SOLIDER?

You have battled hard at Bunker Hill,
Iwo Jima?s beaches and Chanchellorsville.

Meuse-Argonne was our darkest day,
America?s spirit almost lost its way.

Manassas, Midway, and Phuoc Long,
Ticonderoga, Yorktown, and Pusan.

Antietam, Baghdad, and Philippine Sea,
Okinawa, Manila, and Oriskany.

Kunar Province, Johnstown, and Shiloh,
Mogadishu, Berlin and Kosovo.

Grenada, Cowpens, and Colson?s Mill,
Coral Sea, Anzio, and Hamburger Hill.

Belleau Wood, Peleliu, and Saipan,
To the deepest jungles of Vietnam.

Saigon, Go Cong, and Hill 723,
To the blood soaked beach at Normandy.

Brandywine, Shiloh, and Kandahar,
The jagged peak of Taku Gar.

Guadalcanal, Berlin, and Flanders Fields,
With a fighting spirit that never yields.

Antietam, Salerno, and Belleau Wood,
Back here at home we all understood.

Your casket draped with the stars and stripes,
Brought you home after your last fight.

Your sacrifice is always treasured,
Commitment, strength, and faith unmeasured.

Rest in peace tonight my warrior friends,
Gods plan for us is to meet again???.

Lt Col Kurt Klewin, USAF
12 Nov 2012

I also leave you with a quote I?ve always liked: ?It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.? Gen. George S. Patton
 
Wow;

Well stated! Sounds like we should be thanking you too; but on behalf of all veterans on this site, "You are welcome". :)

John Morgan
 
"It's a Partnership"

My brother, Mike "MYU" Mayeux (CEO of Novotus LLC), sent me this memo he wrote for his company's employees. Now, I truly appreciate the thanks and respect our nation and its citizens show us veterans...it makes me proud and humble. But I am absolutely thrilled that my brother grasps what I have felt most deeply in my heart: We veterans do our part, so I hope our citizens will do theirs.

---

It?s Not Debt, Really, It?s a Partnership

In any good cowboy movie there is always a plan made between a couple cowpokes to get the bad guys. ?Ok Jake, you go in the front door, I?ll cover the back door and Buck you get up in the loft of that barn and cover us both.? That?s a partnership.

In any good football team there is an understanding between the QB or Running Back that the big guys up front are gonna either make a hole or block so that the bad guys don't get the QB. That?s a partnership.

Now - I want you to really pay attention to what I am saying here because if you don?t get your head around this idea you will think I am not being polite. My goal here is to increase our devotion by changing the way we look at it. So pay attention...

It is often said that we owe a debt to our Fighting Men and Women in the armed services. I love that sentiment and agree totally that we could never repay them for their sacrifice, but I don?t think that the word debt is the right perspective. Here is why.

Explain to me how, on this earth, we can ever repay a person who died for our freedom. Yes of course our government does things for the families of our fallen soldiers and also does wonderful things for those who serve and come home healthy and whole. But beyond that, really, is there a significant way to repay our military heroes for the sacrifice?

My Dad fought as a Captain in WW2, my oldest brother Herman fought as a Sergeant in Vietnam, and my brother Sidney is a Colonel in the Air Force who fought in Desert Storm and Shield and even now as we speak and I am so proud of all three. I?m grateful for the sacrifice and have had first hand visibility to what all this meant and cost them.

So again the question is: Can we repay these fine men and women who have sacrificed on our behalf? We can if we look at all this as a partnership. If we consider all this a master plan it gets very simple and builds so much purpose into our work, families and lives. Here is the conversation:

?Hey Dad, you go to Europe and fire your big artillery guns at the bad guys. Hey Herman, you go crawl through the jungle and fight in close combat with the bad guys. Hey Sidney, you go fly your jet over enemy territory and blow up the surface to air missiles. As for me, I am going to maximize this free nation and not squander a moment taking it, or your sacrifice, for granted. My part of this partnership is being a productive and good citizen that is not a burden to anyone, one who gives back and adds value to others. I can do this and I will do this because you made it possible and that was our deal from the beginning. So, you protect America, Texas, Austin and I will not squander any part of it, and I will actually build it up."

?Debt? is far too futile and empty a word. Partnership, Purpose and Devotion are the bigger ideas that apply to all of us and make us better.

So - Let?s do our part in the partnership and get to work.

"...that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause (PARTNERSHIP) for which they gave the last full measure of devotion." Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg Address (paraphrase MYU!)

---

My brother gets it. He does his part. He votes, pays taxes, engages with his legislators, engages in the free enterprise system, and pursues happiness. I appreciate the free bloomin' onion, but on this Veterans' Day, I'm thrilled to know there are people in this great America who take full advantage of the freedoms veterans protect. BUILD ON, VAF!
 
V-Day

Thanks to Doug for honoring all of us Veterans.

I support Doug for running the best RV service on the planet.

Thank you Doug. [ed. ABSOLUTELY my pleasure! dr]
 
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It's been my priviledge..

Many of you are Veterans...many have parents, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters that have or are serving.

Sporadically I make a whimsical attempt to marry feeling with word in a poets prose. I could never express the true nature or magnitude of thanks I have for America’s veterans, but for now, for this moment…these few words will have to do.

REFLECTIONS ON THE AMERICAN SOLIDER…

You have battled hard at Bunker Hill,
Iwo Jima’s beaches and Chanchellorsville.

Meuse-Argonne was our darkest day,
America’s spirit almost lost its way.

Manassas, Midway, and Phuoc Long,
Ticonderoga, Yorktown, and Pusan.

Antietam, Baghdad, and Philippine Sea,
Okinawa, Manila, and Oriskany.

Kunar Province, Johnstown, and Shiloh,
Mogadishu, Berlin and Kosovo.

Grenada, Cowpens, and Colson’s Mill,
Coral Sea, Anzio, and Hamburger Hill.

Belleau Wood, Peleliu, and Saipan,
To the deepest jungles of Vietnam.

Saigon, Go Cong, and Hill 723,
To the blood soaked beach at Normandy.

Brandywine, Shiloh, and Kandahar,
The jagged peak of Taku Gar.

Guadalcanal, Berlin, and Flanders Fields,
With a fighting spirit that never yields.

Antietam, Salerno, and Belleau Wood,
Back here at home we all understood.

Your casket draped with the stars and stripes,
Brought you home after your last fight.

Your sacrifice is always treasured,
Commitment, strength, and faith unmeasured.

Rest in peace tonight my warrior friends,
Gods plan for us is to meet again……….

Lt Col Kurt Klewin, USAF
12 Nov 2012

I also leave you with a quote I’ve always liked: “It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.” Gen. George S. Patton

Thanks for posting sir, simply put. it's been my privilege.

On one particularly dark night over Iraq back in 2003' while patrolling for SCUD missile sites in an F-16C+ my wing-man (and fellow RV4 driver) Brian Wolf made a profound comment as we stepped out the door for the 6+ hour patrol, "Smokey, we're the tip of the sword tonight, what an honor!"

We lost him three years later(six years ago today) in an accident. Every Vets day I remember him and many others who made the supreme sacrifice.

A privilege indeed.
V/R
Smokey


Brian and I...
 
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Smokey,

Thanks for your service...and we will always honor Brian and all of our warriors that have served. The world is a small place at times....we may have flown the same night as you and Brian. We flew the first night of the war in 2003 and every few nights until June of 2003.....pleasure to serve with my fellow service members......lost a good friend, and US Air Pilot, a few years later too....life is too damm short....be thankful everyday for all we have and for those who have given it all to us....I am forever grateful for all their selfless service.....

mitch.jpg
 
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