President’s Memorial Day Weekend Remarks… Saturday, May 26 2012 

Coast Guard and Comarade Obama and Hero and Memorial Day and Military and Obama and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy , , , , , , 1IDVET 08:01

I’m not going to hammer him. But I think this day was/is meant to honor our dead, not the living. The living have two days devoted to them, this one is for those that gave their last measure of devotion to this country and for those that served and eventually passed on. It is our duty to remember them for their sacrifices.

“Duty then is the sublimest word in the English language. You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more, you should never wish to do less.”
10 points if you guess who said that.

At any rate, here’s President Obama’s remarks:

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
May 26, 2012

This weekend, folks across the country are opening up the pool, firing up the grill, and taking a well-earned moment to relax. But Memorial Day is more than a three-day weekend. In town squares and national cemeteries, in public services and moments of quiet reflection, we will honor those who loved their country enough to sacrifice their own lives for it.

This Memorial Day, Michelle and I will join Gold Star families, veterans, and their families at Arlington National Cemetery. We’ll pay tribute to patriots of every generation who gave the last full measure of devotion, from Lexington and Concord to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Later that day, we’ll join Vietnam veterans and their families at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial—the Wall. We’ll begin to mark the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. It’s another chance to honor those we lost at places like Hue, Khe Sanh, Danang and Hamburger Hill. And we’ll be calling on you—the American people—to join us in thanking our Vietnam veterans in your communities.

Even as we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, we reaffirm our commitment to care for those who served alongside them—the veterans who came home.  This includes our newest generation of veterans, from Iraq and Afghanistan.

We have to serve them and their families as well as they have served us: By making sure that they get the healthcare and benefits they need; by caring for our wounded warriors and supporting our military families; and by giving veterans the chance to go to college, find a good job, and enjoy the freedom that they risked everything to protect.

Our men and women in uniform took an oath to defend our country at all costs, and today, as members of the finest military the world has ever known, they uphold that oath with dignity and courage. As President, I have no higher honor than serving as their Commander-in-Chief.  But with that honor comes a solemn responsibility – one that gets driven home every time I sign a condolence letter, or meet a family member whose life has been turned upside down.

No words can ever bring back a loved one who has been lost. No ceremony can do justice to their memory. No honor will ever fill their absence.

But on Memorial Day, we come together as Americans to let these families and veterans know that they are not alone. We give thanks for those who sacrificed everything so that we could be free. And we commit ourselves to upholding the ideals for which so many patriots have fought and died.

Thank you, God bless you, and have a wonderful weekend.

 

Armed Forces Day, 19 May, 2012… Saturday, May 19 2012 

Coast Guard and History and Military and Military History and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , 1IDVET 00:30

Today is Armed Forces Day.

This is a day where we can thank all our military for their service and sacrifice for this nation on our behalf. 

Armed Forces Day
History

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department — the Department of Defense. Each of the military leagues and orders was asked to drop sponsorship of its specific service day in order to celebrate the newly announced Armed Forces Day. The Army, Navy and Air Force leagues adopted the newly formed day. The Marine Corps League declined to drop support for Marine Corps Day but supports Armed Forces Day, too.

In a speech announcing the formation of the day, President Truman “praised the work of the military services at home and across the seas” and said, “it is vital to the security of the nation and to the establishment of a desirable peace.” In an excerpt from the Presidential Proclamation of Feb. 27, 1950, Mr. Truman stated:

Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.

The theme of the first Armed Forces Day was “Teamed for Defense.” It was chosen as a means of expressing the unification of all the military forces under a single department of the government. Although this was the theme for the day, there were several other purposes for holding Armed Forces Day. It was a type of “educational program for civilians,” one in which there would be an increased awareness of the Armed Forces. It was designed to expand public understanding of what type of job is performed and the role of the military in civilian life. It was a day for the military to show “state-of-the-art” equipment to the civilian population they were protecting. And it was a day to honor and acknowledge the people of the Armed Forces of the United States.

According to a New York Times article published on May 17, 1952: “This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces … to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won’t be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty.”

The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated by parades, open houses, receptions, and air shows. In Washington D.C., 10,000 troops of all branches of the military, cadets, and veterans marched pass the President and his party. In Berlin, 1,000 U.S. troops paraded for the German citizens at Templehof Airfield. In New York City, an estimated 33,000 participants initiated Armed Forces Day “under an air cover of 250 military planes of all types.” In the harbors across the country were the famed mothballed “battlewagons” of World War II, the Missouri, the New Jersey, the North Carolina, and the Iowa, all open for public inspection. Precision flying teams dominated the skies as tracking radar were exhibited on the ground. All across the country, the American people joined together to honor the Armed Forces.

As the people gathered to honor the Armed Forces on this occasion, so too did the country’s leaders. Some of the more notable of these leaders’ quotes are stated below:

“Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America’s defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first parade of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense.”

Former Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson

“The heritage of freedom must be guarded as carefully in peace as it was in war. Faith, not suspicion, must be the key to our relationships. Sacrifice, not selfishness, must be the eternal price of liberty. Vigilance, not appeasement, is the byword of living freedoms. Our Armed Forces in 1950–protecting the peace, building for security with freedom–are “Teamed for Defense …”

General Omar N. Bradley
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

More

 

VJ Day! Tuesday, May 15 2012 

Coast Guard and History and Military and Military History and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , 1IDVET 11:31

Let’s not forget. This was huge! And as the Armorer states, it never happened again…

VJ Day, 1945

By The Armorer o

I would say it’s too bad that we’ve not been able to celebrate the end of a war like this film clip shows people doing so in Honolulu on VJ Day, 1945… But since then, the end of the wars have not been clear victories and at least one was a clear loss, not even Desert Storm, in the end. Nor have the aims been as black-and-white. Of course, balanced against that is that in order to achieve that sense of clear victory, we had to pound two nations flat in ways we don’t do any more, either, which isn’t a bad thing, in terms of piling up the bodies and destroying our communal heritages.

via Argghhh! The Home Of Two Of Jonah’s Military Guys.. – VJ Day, 1945.

 

A Call to all Veterans and Supporters – Boycott Spirit Airlines… Wednesday, May 2 2012 

Military and Axis of Idiots and Veterans and US Marines and WTF Files , , , , , 1IDVET 05:31

Looks like Spirit Airlines doesn’t have any spirit after all. If you fly, don’t fly with these assholes.

Vets mull boycott of Spirit Airlines after dying former Marine denied refund

By Joshua Rhett Miller

Spirit Airlines is finding out that if you take on one old soldier, you can end up facing an army.

Veterans groups around the nation are rallying to the side of dying Vietnam veteran and former Marine Jerry Meekins, 76, of Clearwater, Fla., following the airline’s refusal to refund him $197 for a ticket after the doctor treating him for terminal esophageal cancer told him not to fly. Meekins told FoxNews.com he’s received “hundreds of calls” from veterans nationwide who are as mad at Spirit as he is.

“The response from most veterans is that they’re going to boycott Spirit Airlines,” Meekins told FoxNews.com. “We’re talking 6 or 7 million people.”

Military men and women, who live the credo of taking care of their own, can’t believe an airline would turn its back on someone who had sacrificed so much. Meekins said Spirit denied his request even though he provided a note from his physician and his prepaid funeral service to the airline.

 

The Pledge Wednesday, Apr 11 2012 

Hero and Military and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy , , , , , , 1IDVET 06:42

Remember. Always remember.

The Pledge

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

So far in April, nine American service members have made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan while upholding the patriotic pledge that millions of schoolchildren recite each morning.

Staff Sgt. Tyler Smith, 24, Licking, Missouri

Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown, 26, Columbus, Ohio

Capt. Nicholas Rozanski, 36, Dublin, Ohio

Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Rieck, 45, Columbus, Ohio

Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Hannon, 44, Grove City, Ohio

Spc. Jeffrey White Jr., 21, Catawissa, Missouri

Cpl. Alex Martinez, 21, Elgin, Illinois

Spc. Antonio Burnside, 31, Great Falls, Montana

via The Unknown Soldiers: The Pledge.

 

Vietnam Veterans Day… Thursday, Mar 29 2012 

Coast Guard and Comarade Obama and Hero and History and Military and Military History and Obama and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , , 1IDVET 10:49

Presidential Proclamation — Vietnam Veterans Day

VIETNAM VETERANS DAY

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

On January 12, 1962, United States Army pilots lifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese service members over jungle and underbrush to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon.  Operation Chopper marked America’s first combat mission against the Viet Cong, and the beginning of one of our longest and most challenging wars.  Through more than a decade of conflict that tested the fabric of our Nation, the service of our men and women in uniform stood true.  Fifty years after that fateful mission, we honor the more than 3 million Americans who served, we pay tribute to those we have laid to rest, and we reaffirm our dedication to showing a generation of veterans the respect and support of a grateful Nation.

The Vietnam War is a story of service members of different backgrounds, colors, and creeds who came together to complete a daunting mission.  It is a story of Americans from every corner of our Nation who left the warmth of family to serve the country they loved.  It is a story of patriots who braved the line of fire, who cast themselves into harm’s way to save a friend, who fought hour after hour, day after day to preserve the liberties we hold dear.  From Ia Drang to Hue, they won every major battle of the war and upheld the highest traditions of our Armed Forces.

Eleven years of combat left their imprint on a generation.  Thousands returned home bearing shrapnel and scars; still more were burdened by the invisible wounds of post-traumatic stress, of Agent Orange, of memories that would never fade.  More than 58,000 laid down their lives in service to our Nation.  Now and forever, their names are etched into two faces of black granite, a lasting memorial to those who bore conflict’s greatest cost.

Our veterans answered our country’s call and served with honor, and on March 29, 1973, the last of our troops left Vietnam.  Yet, in one of the war’s most profound tragedies, many of these men and women came home to be shunned or neglected — to face treatment unbefitting their courage and a welcome unworthy of their example.  We must never let this happen again.  Today, we reaffirm one of our most fundamental obligations:  to show all who have worn the uniform of the United States the respect and dignity they deserve, and to honor their sacrifice by serving them as well as they served us.  Half a century after those helicopters swept off the ground and into the annals of history, we pay tribute to the fallen, the missing, the wounded, the millions who served, and the millions more who awaited their return.  Our Nation stands stronger for their service, and on Vietnam Veterans Day, we honor their proud legacy with our deepest gratitude.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 29, 2012, as Vietnam Veterans Day.  I call upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the Vietnam War.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA

 

Crazy Combat Vets (NOT)… Monday, Mar 19 2012 

Axis of Idiots and Coast Guard and Hollywood and Lies and Media and Media Bias and Military and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 06:40

I really get pissed off when I see this shit. I see it all the time. A lot of the shows on TV have that theme in them. Some veteran loses his mind and kills innocent civilians.

The media spins the story that it’s a crazy combat veteran that has done something to society in general, even when they are wrong, and then don’t correct the story, which now makes their story a lie.

Yet, the incidents of crime committed by veterans is statistically insignificant in comparison with the general population.

Here’s a good article discussing this from War On Terror News

What to do about those “Crazed Combat Vets?”

In the first quarter of 2012, the media has publicized an Iraq Veteran killing a Park Ranger in Washington, an Orange County Deputy killing a Marine, an Army Private being stabbed to death by Meth Heads in Washington, and a Staff Sergeant that allegedly killed 16 Afghans in their sleep, along with so many other stories of Violent Veterans. The media is quick to tell us that these are Combat Veterans, but often fail to tell us when the person was tossed out of the military, like in that first case listed, or correct the story when they weren’t in Combat at all, or weren’t in the military as they had claimed.

In 2008, the NYTimes was on the same hunt, to prove that “Crazed” Combat Veterans were slaughtering American Civilians. They wrote about 121 cases in which someone died. The problem was that in many of those the Veteran was found to be innocent or to have acted in self-defense, while in others the trial had not occurred, and in many it was not murder at all. In those latter cases, it was often a car accident, that helped to boost their body count. When it was all said and done, the numbers demonstrated it was safer to be near a Combat Veteran than to be in the safest big city in America.

But “one is too many.”

One case of domestic violence, one murder, or one suicide is “too many.” Yeah, that sounds good, but short of locking every American up in solitary confinement, there is NO program that can end all violence in this Nation, any subsection of it, or in any other country.

via What to do about those “Crazed Combat Vets?” – War On Terror News.

 

Honor and Remember… Friday, Mar 16 2012 

Coast Guard and Hero and Military and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans , , , , , , , , 1IDVET 05:56

I heard this on the Dennis Miller show this morning. It is a organization that is trying to get a flag recognized by the US and the states, for fallen Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and the Coast Guard, that have died in combat.

I lost a good friend in Iraq in 2006. I think about him every day. I think this is a worthy cause and deserves your support. Please go to their website and check out the flag, and donate, sign their petition, buy a flag, spread the word.

Thanks.

Honor and Remember

In the more than 200 years of our nation’s history there has never been an officially designated symbol that reminds us specifically of the sacrifice made by members of our military and the lives lost in service to our country.We propose the Honor and Remember Flag as the national emblem for that purpose.

via Honor and Remember, Inc..

 

Shit Civilians Say to Veterans… Tuesday, Mar 6 2012 

Axis of Idiots and Coast Guard and Hollywood and Humor and Media and Military and Truth and US Air Force and US Army and US Marines and US Navy and Veterans and Video , , , , , , 1IDVET 05:32

Here’s a video that’s gone viral.
I can see why. Don’t know how many times I’ve been asked stupid shit by civilians about my combat experience, or Army life in general.
Funny stuff here.

 

A Victory for Free Speech… Wednesday, Jan 25 2012 

First Amendment and Government and Military and Political Correctness and Politics and US Marines , , , , 1IDVET 13:15

Too bad it took a federal judge to tell the Marine Corps that they can’t stifle free speech. Funny thing is, they are sworn to defend the Constitution, yet violate it at all in the name of not offending the enemy.
At least this one was overturned for the stupidity that it really was. Diversity and political correctness will be the end of this nation. Even the French, German and Italians realized that diversity has ruined their countries. Too bad we can’t learn from their mistakes.

Marine base can’t censor criticism of Muhammad

A federal judge has permanently banned officials at Camp LeJeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina from censoring bumper stickers and window decals critical of Islam and its prophet, Muhammad.

The ruling came in the case of a civilian employee who had served 25 years in the Marines including two combat tours in Vietnam before he retired.

Jesse Nieto lost his youngest son, Marc, in the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on the USS Cole by Islamic terrorists and subsequently carried bumper stickers and decals critical of the violence of Islam, including “We died, they rejoiced,” “Islam = Terrorism” and a picture of Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes cartoon fame, urinating on a cartoon illustration of Muhammad.

The camp base ordered the criticisms of Islam censored, and when Nieto refused, brought court action against him.

Yesterday’s ruling from Senior U.S. District Judge Malcom J. Howard reversed the order.

via Marine base can’t censor criticism of Muhammad.

 

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