Please, remember the true meaning of Memorial Day. Thank someone for their service. Remember those that can no longer hear those thanks. Our Service Men and Women deserve every ounce of respect that you can show.
I have gotten into the habit of thanking current and former military men and women for their service. Sometimes they act surprised. Most of the time they humbly say thank you.
For the last nine years I've had my students do the Heritage Project. This assignment asks the kids to interview a member of their family to determine if that person had any connection to history. Over the years the results have been fascinating. I've had students who's grandmother cooked for Pancho Villa; a student who's grandfather was beheaded by the Japanese Army on Guam; another who's grandfather flew a Hawker Hurricane in the Battle of Britain; and another who's grandfather flew a Messerschmitt 109 for the German Luftwaffe in North Africa. Every year it's special reading for me. My favorite was a girl in last year's class... Her name was Margarita Huerta. She interviewed her very old great grandfather who was in his eighties and who then died just two days after the interview. His own family didn't know much about old grandpa. He was a very quiet old Mexican gentleman who never talked about himself. They knew he had been in the military at one time, because he always wore a red baseball cap that said, "U.S. Marines." At his funeral, Margarita read her report to his astonished family... On the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he dropped out of high school at age 16, to join the United States Marine Corps. He fought all the way across the Pacific, taking part in most major island campaigns including Tarawa and Okinawa. During the Korean War, his unit drove forward until it almost reached the Chinese border. At this point, the Chinese entered the war and drove the Marines almost off the peninsula. His unit was evacuated by small boats to a nearby aircraft carrier, from which the Americans launched their counter-attack. This effort eventually drove both the Chinese and the North Koreans all the way back to North Korea, where the war ended. He also fought in Vietnam until 1965, when he finally retired after 24 years of nearly continuous combat with the Corps... Her stunned family was quiet as Margarita sat back down. They had never realized that grandpa was a war hero. He never told them.
Memorial Day: Freedom Isn’t Free… Remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. President Ronald Reagan (1986): Memorial Day is an occasion of special importance to all Americans, because it is a day sacred to the memory of all those Americans who made the supreme sacrifice for the liberties we enjoy. We will never forget or fail to honor these heroes to whom we owe so much. We honor them best when we resolve to cherish and defend the liberties for which they gave their lives. Let us resolve to do all in our power to assure the survival and the success of liberty so that our children and their children for generations to come can live in an America in which freedom’s light continues to shine. The Congress, in establishing Memorial Day, called for it to be a day of tribute to America’s fallen, and also a day of national prayer for lasting peace. This Nation has always sought true peace. We seek it still. Our goal is peace in which the highest aspirations of our people, and people everywhere, are secure: peace with freedom, with justice, and with opportunity for human development. This is the permanent peace for which we pray, not only for ourselves but for all generations. The defense of peace, like the defense of liberty, requires more than lip service. It requires vigilance, military strength, and the willingness to take risks and to make sacrifices. The surest guarantor of both peace and liberty is our unflinching resolve to defend that which has been purchased for us by our fallen heroes. On Memorial Day, let us pray for peace — not only for ourselves, but for all those who seek freedom and justice.
Here's one more from my student Heritage Project. I won't give the student's name, but he interviewed his great-grandfather, who was born in 1917. His name is Fidencio Villanueva and he grew up in Tucson, Arizona. He wanted to be a doctor and he was studying medicine in Australia, of all places, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army as a corpsman and the rest, as they say, is history... Interviewed Fidencio Villanueva, U.S. Army in WWII. (Born 1917.) - Served as a corpsman on New Guinea, Guam, and Leyte Gulf, Philippines. - Awarded five bronze stars with the First Cavalry. - Served six years with General Douglas MacArthur and knew the general personally. - Was aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, with MacArthur, to witness the Japanese surrender. - Three sisters served as nurses during the war. - One brother was killed on the Bataan Death March. - Another brother was killed when his plane was shot down over Berlin. - His 17 year-old brother was wounded at Utah Beach on D-Day. His mother never admitted that his two brothers had died, because no bodies were ever brought home... There's people like this all over the country. Sid has the right idea. We need to thank them.
Wow, thanks for sharing these incredible stories that we all take for granted. As you mentioned "Freedom is not free".... I took the time to read these experiences out loud to my 21 year old son for the importance that we never take these sacrifices for granted...
Each year for the past couple of years as Memorial Day approaches I start researching American's buried at Arlington National Cemetery and make plans to visit their graves On Memorial Day and leave some flowers and/or messages. Because my mother is buried there I get special driving privileges throughout the cemetery. Most visitors have to walk or take a tour bus. This year I chose these three special heroes and if you'll indulge me, I'd like to tell you their stories: This is the grave of SPC Ross McGinnis. He is is someone you my have heard of. On December 4, 2006 he was manning the Gunner's hatch of his Humvee when an insurgent threw a grenade from up above that landed inside. SPC McGinnis had plenty of time to jump out of the turret and save himself, but instead he screamed to the four men below, "grenade!", dropped down on top of it, and bore the full force of the explosion, which killed him instantly. The four men trapped in the Humvee all survived with just minimal injuries. For his selfless act SPC McGinnis was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. He's buried in Section 60 at Arlington alongside many others who have given their lives in the War on Terror. That was a tough place to be yesterday morning. There were dozens of people there to see their loved ones, including a Marine Colonel who was there to visit, "my boys" (his exact words). He pointed to a whole section of tombstones that contained the remains of "his boys". Our hearts broke for this man. The Colonel thanked US for coming yesterday. We couldn't thank him enough, nor anyone else we saw. This is the gravestone of Petty Officer Third Class Wayne M. Caron. HM3 Caron was a platoon Corpsman in Vietnam. While crossing a rice field on July 28, 1968, his unit came under intense enemy fire, and several of the first line of Marines lay wounded up front. HM3 Caron rushed towards them, running through gunfire to administer aid. While tending to one Marine he was shot in the arm. He continued to triage two more Marines until both were stabilized. He then rose and ran towards more wounded Marines, getting shot a second time, this time in the leg. He still managed to crawl the rest of the way to his fallen comrades and tend to them until a rocket round exploded nearby and sadly, HM3 Caron was killed. For his extraordinary bravery he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, and in 1977 the USS Caron (DD-970) was commissioned in his name. The Marines later named a clinic in Camp Lejeune after him. This is the gravestone of Colonel Ruby G. Bradley of the Army Nursing Corp. What an amazing woman she was. Col. Bradley spent over three years as a POW in World War II after being captured by the Japanese. During her captivity she often smuggled food in her pockets to starving children while having nothing to eat herself. She lost so much weight that she started to smuggle hospital supplies under her clothing and managed to assist in the delivery of 13 babies and also assist in 230 operations. When she was finally liberated she had fallen to 86 lbs. She chose to stay in the Army and ended up serving during the Korean War as well. With her hospital about to be overrun it was ordered she leave immediately as US Command was fearful she would be taken prisoner again. Col. Bradley managed to evade a scout team sent to escort her from the field hospital and stayed until all of the patients were safely on their way to hospitals in Japan. She later recalled seeing her Jeep get hit by artillery just as she boarded her plane. Unbelievably, she went onto serve during the Vietnam War as well. When she finally retired from military service in 1963 she was, and still is, the most highly decorated woman in US history. Her 34 awards include two Legions of Merit, two bronze stars for bravery, two Presidential Emblems, and numerous citations for her valor. She was a true American hero in every sense of the word, and shame on Hollywood for not making a movie about her life. My wife snuck off to snap this picture while I thought she was looking at other gravestones. Who's this idiot? Well, that's me saluting HM3 Caron. Just a broken down old vet showing his appreciation to a fallen sailor. I guess once a military man, always a military man.
Bob, you are an amazing guy. I got choked up reading your three stories. Then, when I saw the photo of you saluting HM3 Caron's grave, I teared up (not ashamed to admit it). Please give us the pleasure of a report on your visit next year. Thank you for your service, and thank you for these stories and photos. Also, please tell us how your mother came to be buried there.
Thank you guys for your kindness. It's a great way to spend Memorial Day, especially if you're as lucky as I am to live nearby AND have driving privileges. Sid, my mother is buried there because my father is eligible for burial there when his time comes, which is drawing near. He will be buried right on top of my mother. My father is a disabled vet from WWII. He was with the intelligence/reconnaissance unit of the 34th Division, 133rd Infantry and he fought for two years in North Africa and Italy. There were 36 guys in his unit, only five of them came home, and all five came home on stretchers. My father won a bronze star and two purple hearts in his two years in combat. Upon his discharge he was told that his actions on his final day in battle had earned him a Silver Star if he would just complete his section of the commendation. My dad refused. He told the officer that he didn't want anymore medals, he just wanted to go home to his family. He was just 22 at the time. My dad doesn't know this but I have a Silver Star that I bought for him. I plan to slip it into his casket when he dies. He deserves that medal. He's 90 years old now, in horrible health, and doesn't remember me anymore. That's okay, it's not his fault. Dementia is a horrible illness. In posting these pictures above I noticed something; Colonel Bradley's headstone lettering isn't filled in like the others. It's very hard to read. I have a new project. I'm going to see to it that Arlington fixes that for her. It's only befitting for America's most decorated female. Anyway, thank you again for your kindness. I will certainly post pictures from future Memorial Day visits, along with the stories. I hope all of you are having a great day. Bob