Veterans Roll Call

[thesmitty68521]

SSG US Army, 12 years, 11B Infantry and 19D Cavalry Scout. Bradley Master gunner, Instructor certified. OIF III 04-05 Baghdad and Balad. Ft. Campbell, Ft. Knox, Ft. Stewart, Ft. Benning, Ft. Hood, Ft. Irwin, Arnold Air Force Base, and lovely Camp Shelby MS. Discharged 2 days ago, 18 Feb. 2010, involuntarily after a years worth of appeals trying to stay. Exposed to something over there that gave me COPD and middle stage empasyma.

Thanks for your service man. That is the way it seems to go with the military. I hope they are at least taking care of you even though you are out. I am sure they aren't. I know a lot of vets that don't get taken care of. It's sad.

[whitey10tc]

I received this from my step-mom tonight and had to pass it along.
To all our armed forces god bless you

The Old Man...

As I came out of the supermarket that
sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries
towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of
his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door
open..

The old man was looking at the engine. I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five
feet away.

I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm,
walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming
too, and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something.

The young man put his grocery
bag into what looked like a brand
new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old
man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman
saying, 'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car
at your age.' And then with a wave of his
hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out
of the parking lot.

I saw the old gentleman pull
out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went
back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then
went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay. I had seen enough and I approached the old man.
He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got
near him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.'

He smiled sheepishly and
quietly nodded his head. I looked under the
hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was,
it was beyond me. Looking around I saw a gas
station up the road and told the old man that I would
be right back. I drove to the station and went
inside and saw three attendants working on
cars.. I approached one of them and related the
problem the old man had with his car and offered to
pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.

The old man had pushed the heavy car under
the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting
his wife. When he saw us, he straightened up and thanked
me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the
problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old
gentleman.

When I shook hands with him earlier,
he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had
commented about it, telling me that he had been a
Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question,
'What outfit did you serve with?'

He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine
Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and
Guadalcanal . He had hit all the big ones and
retired from the Corps after the war was over. As
we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw
the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as
the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped
by me and I told him I would just put the
bill on my AAA card.

He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I
assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my
pocket. We all shook hands all around again and I
said my goodbye's to his wife. I then told
the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the
station. Once at the station I told them that they
had interrupted their own jobs to come along with
me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay
for the help, but they refused to charge me..

One of them pulled out a card from his
pocket looking exactly like the card the old
man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they
were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook
hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them
told me I should look at the card the old man had
given to me. I said I would and drove off.

For some reason I had gone about two blocks
when I pulled over and took the card out of my
pocket and looked at it for a long, long time. The name
of the old gentle man was on the card in golden
leaf and under his name...... 'Congressional Medal
of Honor Society.'

I sat there motionless looking
at the card and reading it over and over. I looked
up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled
that on this day, four Marines had all come
together, because one of us needed help. He
was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next
to greatness and courage and an honor to have been
in his presence. Remember, OLD men like him gave you
FREEDOM for America . Thanks to those who served...& those who supported them.

America is not at war. The U.S. Military is at war.
America is at the Mall. If you don't stand behind our troops,
PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them!

Remember, Freedom isn't "Free" -- thousands have paid the price so you can enjoy what you have today.


LET'S DO THIS --

GOD, PLEASE WALK THROUGH MY HOUSE
AND TAKE AWAY ALL MY WORRIES AND
ILLNESSES; AND PLEASE WATCH OVER AND HEAL MY
FAMILY, and our Nation's armed forces. AMEN.


Prayer is so powerful.



This Picture is Worth 1000 Million Words...

We truly take a lot for granted.. Forget the football "heroes" and movie "stars". Pass this on so that all may know the price of freedom
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.
One died for your soul; the other for your freedom.

[pagetown]

Navy, six years. Electronics Technician 2nd Class NEC 1472, 1678

Operation Enduring Freedom

[cppcdude]

I also was in the Navy. 4 years, 1980 - 1984. Aviation Electronics Technician 2nd class. I could tell you some stories.

[bassboy119]

Thank you guys very much for keeping us safe

[jklong03]

For what its worth, I enlisted in USAF in 1977, started as E-1 and retired in 1996 as a Captain. Good ride, free college to get BSEE and MSEE (Electrical Engineering, NOT Elementary Education !)