Memorial Day 2007

28 May 2007 by The General Published in: General musings 4 comments

Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember’d.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.

–William Shakespeare
Henry V, Act 4, Scene III

I’ve been watching Band of Brothers on The History Channel for much of the day. This magnificent miniseries never ceases to move me immensely. These men were truly the Greatest Generation.

Thank you to all American veterans of all branches of services, past, present, and future. Thank you for everything you have done to ensure that we Americans continue to enjoy liberties that we probably never fully appreciate. Thank you for your sacrifices on our behalf, for leaving your families to serve and protect us. And to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we owe you the greatest debt of gratitude of all.

Today is also Susan’s birthday. Happy birthday to my best friend, companion, and favorite battlefield stomping buddy.

Scridb filter

Comments

jgilot

Tue 29th May 2007 at 10:42 am
Eric,
Perhaps I’m looking in the wrong places, but I can’t find your e-mail address anywhere on your site here. Whenever your schedule allows, shoot me an e-mail. A student of the Civil War is relocating to Columbus and I have a few questions for you. Thanks!
wade sokolosky

Tue 29th May 2007 at 8:01 pm
Eric,

Tell Susan I said “happy b-day.”

Sorry we missed you in NC. If your timeline was as busy as mine than there was no earthly way the two of us could link up. I swear it was one of those leaves where you need a leave to get over the supposed vacation.

Thanks for the kind words for the men and women who have served and currently serving.

Well, Wade Jr. is commissioned, married and off to Ft Benning in a couple of weeks. My nephew just graduated from Annapolis last Friday and is on a brief leave before signing into Norfolk. What a whirlwind month of adventure for the Sokolosky’s. My only regret, Dad an Army Vet of WW2 is no longer on this earth to see his two grandsons off to serve their country. Oh well, I am sure he and his NCO buddies are looking down from above.

Once again thanks for the support.

Wade
The General

Tue 29th May 2007 at 8:48 pm
Wade,

Susan says thanks for the birthday wishes.

Thank you, in particular, for your years of service. And now for your son’s and your nephew’s.

Eric
Rudy888

Tue 29th May 2007 at 9:33 pm
My thoughts on Memorial Day reflected a great deal on one of my older brothers who passed away two years ago. Both older brothers served in WWII, Phil was in the Army in the Italian campaign.He also served in Korea and Vietnam and retired in 1968. He talked very little about his war experiences except when he had a humorous incident to tell about. When he died, I decided to do some research and put a little book together on his service years for myself and for his five children. Amazingly, I found four of his platoon buddies still alive and really happy to talk.

Some of the stories they told about my brother sort of choked me up. He was such a gutsy guy-they all were. But I got to appreciate him a lot more and wished he was still around so I could tell him I found out some of the amazing things he did.

I tell my wife to always be patient with the little old guy in the car ahead, driving maybe a bit slow. He’s probably one of the people who saved our skins.