Ace of Spades HQ

May 30, 2011

The Last Full Measure of Devotion
— andy

I saw this FNS piece when it aired 5 years ago and make a point of watching it again every Memorial Day.

God bless our troops and the memory of the fallen.

Posted by: andy at 03:30 AM | Comments (66)
Post contains 44 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Best seen in person at dawn if any of you ever get the chance.

Posted by: Mr. Dave at May 30, 2011 03:40 AM (a0QPh)

2 Yep it's not all about weenies and beer. I watched the ceremony and walked the vast sea of markers at Arlington. Very emotionally stirring. God Bless them and grant them peace.

Posted by: Roland THTG at May 30, 2011 03:43 AM (vWZa0)

God bless all of those that have served and are serving and also keep their loved ones safe.

Thank you!

Posted by: Stateless Infidel at May 30, 2011 03:50 AM (GKQDR)

4 Andy, all I get is a black screen???

Anyway just got back from my morning walk. Only saw two flags out and one was mine. Sometimes I wonder about folks.

Posted by: Vic at May 30, 2011 03:55 AM (M9Ie6)

5 Oops, never mind.

Posted by: Vic at May 30, 2011 03:56 AM (M9Ie6)

6 God Bless the Fallen, the Troops, and - Most of All - God Bless America.

Posted by: CoolCzech at May 30, 2011 04:03 AM (kUaEF)

7 :salute:

Posted by: trailortrash at May 30, 2011 04:13 AM (yL+15)

8 Praying for you guys. Everyday.

And save me a spot brother. One day I will be there with you.

Posted by: Marcus at May 30, 2011 04:16 AM (V15eb)

9 God bless them, and their families.

Posted by: MarkD at May 30, 2011 04:19 AM (6CLxP)

10 Beautiful tradition.

No one forgotten, least of all the unknown soldiers.

Thank God for the love of our Founding Liberty.

God bless the souls of all who sacrifice to preserve our country's Liberty.

God bless America as the first and longest existing Constitutional Republic born of the Enlightenment.

Thanks to our Military men and women serving now to protect our Constitution, ever the Supreme Law of this Land.

American Dream

Posted by: maverick muse at May 30, 2011 04:33 AM (H+LJc)

11 Thanks pops.

http://twitpic.com/54l919

Posted by: biscuiteater at May 30, 2011 04:35 AM (juonD)

The first time I saw the ceremony it was in a downpour, the second a beautiful warm sunny day. Beautiful both times.

Arlington is a special place.

Posted by: Jaimo at May 30, 2011 04:42 AM (jZBMw)

13 When at the Tomb once, I saw a guardsman slip his silence just briefly, and with ferocity, to verbally squash some teenaged girl who was babbling on her cell.

It was like lightning had struck her dumb.

The last full measure of devotion. Written and spoken by Lincoln. Can anyone imagine the JEF doing anything like this?

Posted by: Lovin' My Scare Quotes at May 30, 2011 04:52 AM (4sQwu)

14 Beautiful. Thank you.

Posted by: mama winger at May 30, 2011 04:55 AM (KDX07)

15 Mitch Daniels is now saying he would have beated Obama if he had stayed in the race. Sure you would, Champ! So instead, you decided to leave the country in the hands of a Black National Socialist out to destroy all America is about. So as not to discomfort your personal life. Meanwhile, some 18 year old kid is on the verge of losing his life in Afghanistan for his country, any day now. Way to go, Daniels! What a shining inspiration you are to American patriots everywhere! Not many can match your personal sacrifice for your country.

Posted by: CoolCzech at May 30, 2011 04:56 AM (kUaEF)

16 John 15:13
Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Posted by: maverick muse at May 30, 2011 05:03 AM (H+LJc)

17 To those who died so that we can enjoy freedom; We salute and honor you. We remember you, we thank you.

Posted by: Lemon Kitten at May 30, 2011 05:04 AM (0fzsA)

Not many can match your personal sacrifice for your country.

I know. I pause every day to reflect on the sacrifices of our patriotic men and women in the House and Senate.

Posted by: USS Diversity at May 30, 2011 05:13 AM (RPYjQ)

19 Nice post, thanks for you share!

Posted by: sexy corset at May 30, 2011 05:17 AM (/0AJa)

20 So as not to discomfort your personal life.

Really, really, in a thread that should be about honoring our fallen, of whom we are not worthy, you want to go down that route? That's lovely.

I need to go back to Arlington soon, I haven't been in a few years. It always brings home how utterly blessed my life is.

Posted by: alexthechick at May 30, 2011 05:18 AM (sf+iw)

21 _{*aw geez, get the damn spam off this thread*}

Thanks to all who served and are serving and to their families for all they sacrifice.

Words are not enough, but they are all I have.

Posted by: mpurinTexas (kicking Mexico's ass since 1836) at May 30, 2011 05:21 AM (5d6vv)

22 Well done, Andy. I love to see such squared away soldiers.

Posted by: mare at May 30, 2011 05:28 AM (A98Xu)

23 I have young children and they have already been to Arlington. We plan on going back every three years. It is something that I must do for children. They need to know/understand just how precious, and just how fragile freedom is. They need to know that brave Heroes died so that they may live free. They must understand that freedom is worth respecting and fighting for. They must understand the sacrifices made. They must always respect, remember and honor those that have stepped up and defended this great Country.

That is what being American is all about. They are the reason we are a great Country.

May God protect those in harms way.

Posted by: momma at May 30, 2011 05:31 AM (penCf)

24 Sometimes I wonder about folks.

Posted by: Vic at May 30, 2011 07:55 AM (M9Ie6)

My wife and I were in Northern California for a wedding soon after 9/11. We were shocked at how few flags we saw.

I am surprised that even in the South this lack of awareness is growing.

I guess there are repercussions when the president specifically rebuts the concept of American exceptionalism.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at May 30, 2011 05:32 AM (LH6ir)

25 "They are dead; but they live in each PatriotÂ’s breast,
And their names are engraven on honorÂ’s bright crest."

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

(This was in an e-mail from my congressman, Scott Garrett)

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at May 30, 2011 05:34 AM (LH6ir)

26 This is something I go see whenever I am in DC.

EVERY.SINGLE.TIME

The last time I was there, I was standing next to a French woman who just started blubbering. Her grandmother had told her all about what our guys did in France in WWII, saying there was never any entity that did greater good in the world than the US military

Posted by: beedubya at May 30, 2011 05:34 AM (LXX/u)

27 Sorry about the format

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at May 30, 2011 05:34 AM (LH6ir)

28 NJCon,

You're not sorry and neither am I.

Stand your ground.

Posted by: Blacksmith8✡ at May 30, 2011 05:39 AM (Q1qy3)

Thank you so much for posting this Andy. I'm a Vietnam Combat Veteran (infantry, class of '70) and used to being ignored, at best, but of all the blogs I routinely visit in the morning, AoS is the ONLY blog to remember Memorial Day.

Oh and BTW, the Tomb Of The Unknown does not have any remains from the Vietnam War Era, as the DoD is CERTAIN that all remains have been identified.

Thank you, again. It does mean a lot.

Posted by: realwest at May 30, 2011 05:41 AM (2qFUO)

30 I am surprised that even in the South this lack of awareness is growing.

The South is becoming more "Northernized" very day. As the rust belt collapsed they are moving South and bringing the very attitudes that caused the collapse with them.

The neighborhood I live in has been getting a lot of expansion in the past 5 years. We have a major factory in the area that transfers their mid-level and senior management all over the country every two years and a lot of them are in this neighborhood.

Posted by: Vic at May 30, 2011 05:42 AM (M9Ie6)

31 Posted by: Blacksmith8✡ at May 30, 2011 09:39 AM (Q1qy3)

I meant the ugly large font. Everything else makes me proud to be an American and I'll never apologize for expressing that pride.

We live in the greatest country the world has ever known, and I thank God every day for the privilege.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at May 30, 2011 05:43 AM (LH6ir)

32 When I put out the flag this weekend (yes I fly it all weekend long for Memorial Day), the boy asked me why we put the flag out. I told him it was to honor the soldiers who died protecting our freedoms. He got real quiet and then big tears welled up in his eyes (he's only 6) and he said "I don't want to be a solider, I don't want to die". I told him that he didn't have to be a soldier, that not everyone could be a soldier, but what we do have to do is remember and honor those who did become soldiers and who died protecting us and keeping us safe. I asked if he understood and he nodded.

It's hard to explain this stuff to a child, but it's equally important, IMO.

Posted by: mpurinTexas (kicking Mexico's ass since 1836) at May 30, 2011 05:47 AM (5d6vv)

33 Hey Vic - your comment about the South not remembering - you should know that "Decoration Day" (as it was originally called) was NEVER INTENDED to honor Confederate Soldiers who'd fallen during the Civil War and it wasn't until after WW I that that was changed. But a lot of folks down South have long memories of THEIR dead not being honored on this day. And I say this as a natural born Southerner myself, who still lives in North Carolina.

Posted by: realwest at May 30, 2011 05:47 AM (2qFUO)

34 There is an excellent post at the Eternity Road blog about Memorial Day, and yesterdays post there as well.

Posted by: chillin the most at May 30, 2011 05:48 AM (6IV8T)

The South is becoming more "Northernized" very day.

The part of Charleston I live in has tons of transplants. I regularly see license plates from NJ, OH, PA, IN, RI, NY, VA.

I try to be respectful about my newcomer status because I remember the irritation I had for all of the Clownifornians coming into Colorado.

Oh, and Happy Memorial Day Morons/Ettes.

Posted by: Delta Smelt at May 30, 2011 05:49 AM (dWPyO)

36 Posted by: beedubya at May 30, 2011 09:34 AM (LXX/u)

The French, outside of the Parisian, left-wing asses have some sense of what America did for France. I was in Normandy a few years ago and stayed with the friend of a friend. He was the mayor of a small town on the coast, and it was obvious that he understood. There was none of the arrogant, superior attitude that is so typical of the more "educated" Frenchmen. He knew that he would be speaking German were it not for the American army (many of whom lie just a few miles from his little town).

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJConservative) at May 30, 2011 05:49 AM (LH6ir)

37
To my good friend Emmett Horn, lost December 23, 1964 during combat operations against a hostile force.

To my good friend Harold "Buddy" Ketner, lost March 6,1967 at Na Bay while flying Firefly against a hostile force.

And to all other friends lost during this most difficult period, you are never forgotten. We were young, brave, and idealistic with love of family and country. These same principals hold true today.

We're no longer strapping young men living lives of honor, but living in the twilight of our lives with diminishing eyesight, graying hair and facial creases, but confident that the cause was just and our service was honorable. God Bless America.

Posted by: Fish the Impaler at May 30, 2011 05:50 AM (cwFVA)

38 Went to ANC with my dad, him a military vet, a few years ago. Very moving place. Saw the ceremony of course, then went to Audie Murphy's grave. No objects are allowed to be placed on gravesites there, but 2 small American flags were placed at his. This led to a few jokes about the groundskeepers being afraid of his ghost even.

To those who gave their last full measure of devotion, I salute you and yours.

Posted by: GnuBreed at May 30, 2011 05:50 AM (ENKCw)

39 32, I had that conversation with with my girls. My youngest is enertaining the idea of being a fighter pilot. It's a long way off and i'm not sure where she got it but she said "I want to be the sharp tip of President Palins foreign policy".

Posted by: Oldsailor's poet at May 30, 2011 05:50 AM (NtTkA)

40 Yes, uh, Merry Memorial Day folks. I know many of the men and women we honor today are probably here in the audience commenting.

Posted by: Delta Smelt channelling OWaffle at May 30, 2011 05:51 AM (dWPyO)

41 God bless our servicemen and women. I'm so lucky to live in the greatest country in the world, whose freedoms are protected by the greatest force for good ever created.

Thank you and your families. for your service.

Posted by: NC Ref at May 30, 2011 05:51 AM (/izg2)

42 40, What is truly American is the more stuff they did and the nastier it was the less they are going to tell you about it.

Posted by: Oldsailor's poet at May 30, 2011 05:53 AM (NtTkA)

43 Wifey's write about her Dad's role:

The 551st paratroopers became the first Americans to enter Cannes and Nice, France. After reading this, I see the calling card in my father's scrapbook is from a Frenchman thanking my father for liberating them. The battalion then moved to the Maritime Alps, where it held a 45 mile front along the Franco-Italian border for two months. Winter moved in and the men were cold in only their jumpsuits. From this position, the battalion kept the German army off the flank of the U.S. army. Then the 551st returned to northern France for another jump. This time they were called to the town of Rochlinval, which they took, and fought in the "Battle of the Bulge". In this battle, within five days time, the battalion was reduced from 800 men to around 100 men. My father survived. The army deactivated the battalion and incorporated the remaining men into the 82nd Airborne Division where they served for the remainder of the war.

He lived out the remainder of his life on his half acre and was content. God bless Charlie.

Posted by: sTevo at May 30, 2011 05:54 AM (VMcEw)

44 Appropriate Churchill quote:

We sleep soundly in our beds at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf.

God bless our troops and the memory of the fallen.

Amen. May their sacrifice be honored for all perpetuity.

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at May 30, 2011 05:59 AM (9hSKh)

45 The South is becoming more "Northernized" very day

I live in OH and there are flags everywhere. It really is like a Hallmark movie. I live in between two 'towns' and both of them fly flags all the way down main street. I'd say 50% of the houses have a flag on their porch or in their yard (with a light). Not just on Memorial day - all summer long.

There are 3 Memorials within 15 minutes of my house.

.....

I've told this story before, but I'll say it again because it breaks my heart just thinking about it:

My 3 & 5 year old was walking out of Kroger one day and an elderly man dropped something and my kid went to pick it up. As he was handing it back to him, my son read his WW11 hat, and responds, 'Thank you for our freedom, sir.'
My daughter chimed in: 'Thank you for your service.'

The man turned to me with tears in his eyes and asked if he could hug my kids.

Turns out, he had several kids and a boatload of grandkids, yet not one of them had ever said thank you to him for his service. NOT. ONE.

Here we were, an old vet, a frazzled mom, and her two precious kids, hugging and crying in front of a grocery store. It was one of the best moments of my life.

My kids still ask about him and all I can ever say is that I know God has his very best angels surrounding him, where ever he is.

Posted by: momma at May 30, 2011 05:59 AM (penCf)

46 Posted by: realwest at May 30, 2011 09:47 AM (2qFUO)

LOL, I doubt if ANY of the people up in the new part of the subdivision know anything about that. They are mostly young couples.

But anyway I'll bet very few Southerners anymore even know that there is a Confederate Memorial Day (May 10 in NC and SC)

Posted by: Vic at May 30, 2011 05:59 AM (M9Ie6)

47 46, You are right Vic, I didn't know that. However, I have marked it on my calender.

Posted by: Oldsailor's poet at May 30, 2011 06:04 AM (NtTkA)

48 I've not been to Arlington, but I dropped by the national cemetery in Saratoga NY when I was out there touring the battlefield in October 2009. It's a fairly new cemetery, but there were some soldiers from pre-20th century wars re-interred there. I was most affected by the section that was just markers--mostly sailors and airmen confirmed dead but not recovered. I can't imagine what that would be like for their mothers (or maybe I could, and that's why I sat there and cried). Five of my grandmother's brothers were in the Navy in the Pacific in WWII, and they all came back.

When I was walking back to my car, I saw an older guy pull up to one of the markers with a radio and some beers. I kept a respectful distance, but he was clearly listening to the Yankees game with someone he missed.

Posted by: HeatherRadish at May 30, 2011 06:08 AM (/hy2+)

49 Patton:

There are 400 neatly marked graves somewhere in Sicily -- all because one man went to sleep on the job.

But they are German graves, because we caught the bastard asleep before they did.

An Army is a team. It lives, sleeps, eats, and fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is pure horse shit. The bilious bastards who write that kind of stuff for the Saturday Evening Post don't know any more about real fighting under fire than they know about f******!"

We have the finest food, the finest equipment, the best spirit, and the best men in the world. Why, by God, I actually pity those poor sons-of-bitches we're going up against. By God, I do.

...

There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that 20 years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you wonÂ’t have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, Â‘Well, your Granddaddy shoveled s*** in Louisiana.Â’

No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, Â‘Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a son-of-a-bitch named Georgie Patton!

Posted by: momma at May 30, 2011 06:19 AM (penCf)

50 In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Posted by: barbarausa at May 30, 2011 06:22 AM (gRgC6)

51 It's sad that war is about the only thing left that brings true clarity to who we are and what we stand for.

Posted by: Oldsailor's poet at May 30, 2011 06:23 AM (NtTkA)

52 Posted by: alexthechick at May 30, 2011 09:18 AM (sf+iw) Oh, come on alex. I think you should understand my frustration with the selfishly faltering leadership of the conservative movement, and why it should pain us all most particularly on this day than any other.

Posted by: CoolCzech at May 30, 2011 06:41 AM (kUaEF)

53 God bless those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. May they rest in peace.

Posted by: Miss'80sBaby at May 30, 2011 06:52 AM (CLYmB)

54
Pride and sadness today. The pride for what they did, and the sadness that they couldn't enjoy what they have preserved.

Keep a cold one on tap for me, Richie.

Posted by: irongrampa at May 30, 2011 06:59 AM (ud5dN)

55 Thank you so very much for putting this up. It puts our petty concerns into perspective. I quote Orwell for your consideration on this day of remembrance
: " We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm. "

Posted by: Errol at May 30, 2011 07:15 AM (uAzAD)

56 Momma-saan I love that Churchill quote. That's what men do. They get rough as fuck when theirs are threatened. It may sound sappy, but I'm sitting in a park right now reading this stuff, looking around at the happy and safe little kids... And I get moist-eyed knowing that there are men who died to keep things this way

Posted by: beedubya at May 30, 2011 07:27 AM (FzVlt)

57 Beats one of those stupid GAY PRIDE DAY parades they hold in SAN FRANFREAKHOLE all the time and better then some dumb EARTH DAY parade with assorted eco-weirdos running around

Posted by: Spurwing Plover at May 30, 2011 07:44 AM (vA9ld)

58 Excellent post; thank you. And with the utmost thanks to those who have given all. God bless.

Posted by: Cyn at May 30, 2011 07:52 AM (18WU4)

59 Another noteworthy piece from FNS, demonstrating the power of one. Bugles Across America.

Posted by: RushBabe at May 30, 2011 08:05 AM (Ew27I)

60 I was at the cemeteries, planting and placing flowers at family graves and I saw the local Boy and Cub Scout Troops/Packs helping to place flags on the servicemens' graves. There was something so touching about watching these boys do this that I cried. I know my son and grandson participate in this every year and consider it an honor. Thank you to all who gave their all and God Bless those who survived, those who still serve, and their families.

Posted by: Deanna at May 30, 2011 08:09 AM (vuOL2)

61 Thanks for posting this, Andy.

Posted by: Cathy at May 30, 2011 08:33 AM (jVzcR)

62 "The World Will Little Note, Nor Long Remember What We Say Here" Heh. The Moron Creed!

Posted by: CoolCzech at May 30, 2011 11:54 AM (kUaEF)

Thanks for this thread.

http://www.vpnavy.com/vp50mem_04dec98.html

I knew most of them. A few were friends and/or former aircrew mates of mine. It doesn't seem like it has been 20 years.

Posted by: fly at May 30, 2011 01:38 PM (gmi2T)

64 The first time I saw the Vietnam Memorial was a very early, foggy, cool morning in Sept. 1988. It was my freshman year of college in D.C., and I went down to the National Mall with a friend from overseas. We went straight to the Vietnam Memorial, which at that time was the most recently constructed part of the Mall, and for a little while we had it all to ourselves. The river fog went all the way to the ground, and we couldn't see any other parts of the Mall, as the visibility was down to about 50 feet. We'd been there 15 minutes or so when a family of four arrived--two youngish parents, a 6 year old girl, and her 3-4 year old brother. The parents hung back studying a piece of paper, trying to figure out where the name was of the person they were looking for on the Memorial. The children walked up and stared at the black marble wall from a few inches away. The little boy traced the carved letters with his fingers, and his sister did the same thing from a few feet away. They did this quietly--I was very impressed with how well-behaved and somber they were. The feeling of the Memorial is powerful enough that even active young kids were hushed in its presence. Then the little girl took her brothers hand and said loudly enough for me to hear, "They're all heroes now." She looked over her shoulder and said "Right, Daddy?" Her father got visibly teary, and choked up as he said "Yes, baby." The little boy went back to tracing letters as he walked slowly along the wall, repeating the words "They're all heroes now." I cried like a baby right there, and have had a similar reaction every time I visit the Vietnam Memorial since. I still well up with tears, over 20 years later, when I think about seeing those two little children--now probably old enough to have kids of their own--and how they were able to capture in a single, innocent sentence the essence of the Memorial. Out of the mouths of babes: They're all heroes now.

Posted by: High Sierra at May 30, 2011 03:37 PM (2nj0C)

65 Went to the Mariners game today vs Orioles. Before the game they asked for veterans to rise so we could all give them a cheer. They also had replaced all of the team banners with USA flags which was quite an awesome sight to see. I was quite proud of Seattle for doing so.

This is a picture the Mariners tweeted:

http://twitpic.com/54rd0w

Posted by: Seattle moron at May 30, 2011 04:23 PM (xAECV)

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