Memorial Day (Observed)

[Hipshot]

It never gets easier, you just learn to deal with it. That is the way of life we've chosen. Nobody ever said it was going to be easy or fun. Don't dwell on the dark side, but remember the good times together. When you do that, their never really gone.

[hoepoe]

Remembering your fallen from your closet ally.

Hoepoe

[Joe S.]

Our profession is a noble one, whatever house you fight for. It was an honor to serve with those of you who are now gone...all of you.

SEMPER FIDELIS

[incommin]

Not too far away from where I live is a town called Andersonville. A sea of grass with a reconstructed log wall, bumps and ditches outline old guard lines, and a field of white crosses and headstones mark the graves of American soldiers.... from the civil war onward.

It is a place to reflect on Memorial Day. My wife and I go there a couple times a year.........

Jim

[Bill Harsey]

Originally Posted by hoepoe

Remembering your fallen from your closet ally.

Hoepoe

Thank you.

[lksteve]

Originally Posted by incommin

Not too far away from where I live is a town called Andersonville...It is a place to reflect on Memorial Day. My wife and I go there a couple times a year.........

next time you're there, say "Hi" to my dad...he's buried just north of the park entrance, along the brick wall...

[Dan]

RELEASE NUMBER: 070528-01
DATE POSTED: MAY 28, 2007

Special Forces holds Memorial Day Ceremony

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, May 28, 2007) — The Army Special Forces commanding general, along with the Special Forces Association, hosted the thirty ninth annual Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony today on the Army Special Operations Forces Plaza.

Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne), addressed those attending with words of remembrance.

“At a gathering like we are having today, we realize that we were never prepared for so many to die. No one is. We expect a chosen few. We expect an occasional empty chair and a toast to our fallen comrades with celebrations of past victories. Look at that wall – it reflects our friends, fathers, and husbands – the very best of our nation. Remember them, their sacrifices, the good times we had together, and the ones they left behind.”

The Army Special Operations Forces Memorial Wall contains the names of 1,007 Special Operations Soldiers who have died in combat. It originally listed 803 Special Forces Soldiers killed in action during combat in Vietnam. Since the 1980s, names were added to include special operations Soldiers who were killed in combat during the many conflicts since then.

Csrnko, however, reminded those gathered that there is more to the Soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“Today, Special Forces Soldiers to which we pay special homage are much more than names on a wall or gravestone. They are symbols of our march toward a time when the world order will stand for justice, democracy, and economic freedom.

In addition to the names of the 13 active duty Special Forces Soldiers who lost their lives since last Memorial Day, Mel Smith of the Special Forces Association, read one hundred nine Special Forces Association members’ names that died during the past year as well.

--usasoc--

[Dan]

Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko address the crowd during the thirty-ninth annual Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony held at Army Special Operations Forces Plaza, May 28, 2007. (Photo by Gillian Albro, USASOC PAO)

[Dan]

Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne) and Sgt. Maj. (Ret) Gary Betterton, president of the Special Forces Association, raise a salute after the placing of the Memorial Wreath as a bugler plays Taps during the Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony, May 28, 2007. (Photo by Gillian Albro, USASOC PAO)

[HOLLiS]

This thread is a excellent tribute to those who have gone before us.

Thank you.

Hollis

[echoes]

This thread contains so many incredible posts, I wanted to add to it, rather than start a new one.
(Hope that is okay.)

Today, as every day, just wanted to say Thank You to all who have served, and those who are serving.

Your bravery, courage and sacrifice are why we here in America are free from oppression.

Your service is not forgotten!

Holly

[Gypsy]

In somber remembrance of those who gave full measure we are forever indebted. And for those who served and have since left this earth...we remember.

[P36]

Originally Posted by Hipshot

Saturday morning (May 26th - my Son's birthday), about 0700 MST, I worked with a bunch of volunteers putting flags on all of the graves at the National Memorial Cemetery. I don't know how many participated, but I can tell you that over 38,000 grave sites were adorned in less than an hour.

As I helped the Cub and Boy Scouts place the flags, I couldn't help but notice the names and branches of service represented. As to be expected in this part of America, we had a lot of World War 2, Korea, and some Vietnam veterans buried there. I even ran across some World War I vets.

After all the flags were placed and the workers were leaving, I stopped to take some time to reflect on what I had witnessed. I found a small bench near the final resting place of Fred Peters, a World War 2 Army Air Corps veteran laid to rest in 1996. He had been a Staff Sergeant during the war. From my work on a World War 2 web site for the 445th Bomb Group, I guessed that he had probably been a gunner on a B-17 or B-24. Knowing what he had lived through through my research, I wondered if anyone really understood the sacrifices that he and countless others, before and after, like him made during times of war.

Looking out across row after row of flags, like a sea of red, white and blue, I realized that most folks look on Memorial Day as a day off from work, no mail service, and a lot of old war movies on TV. I, for one, am glad that I decided to go up and help out. It made me appreciate what all of the vets have done for our Country. It was very humbling to be a part of that very select group of people. For me, Memorial and Veterans Days takes on a new meaning.

To all of the other vets out there - Thanks, guys and gals, for your service!

Hipshot, I was walking through Arlington today, visiting friends of friends and wondered at the effort that must be involved in putting flags beside the seemingly endless rows of headstones. Thank you for honoring them with your efforts. I too was amazed at some of the names and places.

[Red Flag 1]

This is one of the most moving threads I've read!

[Dan]

RELEASE NUMBER: 080526-01
DATE POSTED: MAY 26, 2008

Special Forces honors fallen on Memorial Day

By Spc. Anthony Hawkins Jr.
USASOC PAO

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, May 26, 2008) – The U.S. Army Special Forces Command, together with the Special Forces Association, honored the memories of fallen comrades by holding the 40th Annual Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony here today.

The ceremony was a time for members of the Special Forces Regiment to remember their fallen brethren, retired and active duty, past and present.

Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko, USASFC(A) commanding general, hosted the event, which was held on Meadows Field.

“I am honored to be with you today, on a day so rich,” Csrnko said. “With me, our nation’s flag flies at half-staff to express our profound gratitude for the acts of brave patriots, who gave the full measure, so that we might live free to place flowers on their graves and speak words of eulogy.”

It was those actions on which Memorial Day was original founded.

In 1867, a group of Confederate women visited a cemetery in Columbus, Miss., to decorate the graves of those sons and fathers who died serving the Confederacy. What the women also found in the cemetery were the unkempt and forgotten graves of many Union Soldiers. The women could not bring themselves to ignore the graves, so they carefully decorated them, until there was nothing which could distinguish them from the graves of the Confederate Soldiers.

A reporter from the New York Tribune witnessed the acts and soon the story spread across the country. It inspired Gen. John Logan, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Union’s veteran organization, to designate May 30, 1868 be a day to decorate the graves of fallen Soldiers. Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day was formally established in 1882 as a day of remembrance for those who have died in national service.

However, many Americans today do not fully understand the meaning of Memorial Day, Csrnko said.

“This is a sacred day for all war veterans,” said retired Sgt. Maj. Gary Betterton, national president of the Special Forces Association. “None of us have to be reminded why we celebrate this day. What about the general public, and more important, future generations? The day has simply become another day off from work. Perhaps another reminder is due.”
This reminder and the act of relaying the message of sacrifice is the duty of every veteran, Betterton said.

“Far too often the nation as a whole takes for granted the freedoms all Americans enjoy,” he said. “This is a national debt that can only repaid by honoring the nation’s dead.”

Without remembrance, future generations of Americans may not know their heritage and history.

“We would do well to heed the words of Abraham Lincoln, who said, ‘Any nation who does not honor its heroes will not long endure,’” Csrnko said. “Well, we do remember. We remember that Soldiers serve, and some die, to preserve our bedrock freedoms. Among them are the freedom of association, of speech, participation in governance, the freedom of worship and the freedom to pursue happiness.”

Remembering the sacrifices of those lost in battle and speaking kind words of them are important, but Csrnko wonders if that is enough.

“In our hearts we know we can’t fully discharge our solemn obligation to these men and women with mere words or gestures,” he said. “They did not die for words or wreathes alone. They died so that in freedom, our nation might endure. It is therefore fitting this Memorial Day that we return our thoughts to the renewal of our own dedication to the cause of freedom. It is a personal matter for us to renew our commitment, our involvement in a freedom that our dead have purchased at such a dear price.”

More than 83 Special Forces Soldiers have lost their lives since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. Many more have been injured, and thousands are continually serving in harm’s way every day.

“Right now as I speak to you, young heroes are risking their lives somewhere out there,” Csrnko said. “They do this for us. They do this for their country. They do this, because like millions before them, they accepted the defense of freedom in a very personal matter not to be left solely to others. They were stirred from within by a desire to make a difference, and in doing so they became the strength of our nation.”

Memorial Day is not only a day for remembering those heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, but also for remembering those who endure the hardships of war far from home, he said.

“So let us pay tribute today to those heroes who gave their full and final measure,” he said. “Let us make a personal commitment to do two things before the arrival of summer. Visit the gravesites of our fallen Soldiers and give thanks. Also, let us reach over and shake the hand of a living hero, whether it is someone in uniform waiting in line at the grocery checkout, or a veteran standing on a parade route saluting Old Glory as she passes by. Tell them you understand the depths of their commitment. Tell them you honor their service. Tell them simply, thanks. In this way we will continually renew the spirit of involvement reflected in the kind and good acts of those southern ladies in 1867.”

--usasoc--

RELEASE NUMBER: 080528-01
DATE POSTED: MAY 28, 2008

USASOC remembers fallen heroes
By Spc. Anthony Hawkins Jr.
USASOC PAO

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (Sine Pari, May 28, 2008) – Rain mixed with tears from family and friends of fallen Special Operations Soldiers as the names of their lost loved ones were unveiled on the memorial wall. Through the sobs, only the pitter-patter of raindrops and the sound of a lone brass bell which rang in honor of their sacrifice could be heard.

More than 200 family members of 32 Special Operations Soldiers gathered here today from across the country to honor their loved ones and the ultimate sacrifice they made.

The U.S. Army Special Operations Command held its annual Soldier Memorialization Ceremony on Memorial Plaza in remembrance of the past year’s fallen Special Operations Forces Soldiers.

Lt. Gen. Robert W. Wagner, USASOC commanding general, hosted the event.

“Today… we honor our nation’s greatest heroes, 32 Special Operations Soldiers who, during the past year, answered our nation’s call and gave their life preserving freedom and our way of life,” Wagner said.

The ceremony, which is held the week of Memorial Day each year, serves as a day of remembrance when the names of fallen SOF Warriors are added to the USASOC Memorial Wall of Honor. These Soldiers died performing some of the most dangerous and important missions in the U.S. military.

The USASOC Memorial Wall of Honor reflects much of the history of Army Special Operations.

“Their image, and your image, reflect what is absolutely the very best of America, courageous heroes who knowingly and selflessly serve our nation to preserve our way of life,” Wagner said. “We gather to honor [these] men and women of uncommon courage, valor and service, and the families and communities who reared, nurtured and instilled the values that matured youngsters into the character of American heroes.”

The names of more than 800 heroes rest on the wall, ranging from Vietnam to Somalia, to the current War on Terror.

The event was an emotional experience for families and friends who have already gone through so much in losing a loved one. Still, many proved to be strong.

Glenda Penton of Defuniak Springs, Fla., the mother of Sgt. Timothy Padgett, said dealing with the grief of losing her son proved difficult.

“Families deal with grief in different ways, and sometimes through the pain and hurt there are some negative things that come out,” Penton said. “I found my healing comes more from reaching out and continuing to give. That’s what helps my heart to heal.”

Padgett, who was a Special Forces medical sergeant with 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), was killed May 8, 2007 in Afghanistan when his patrol was ambushed by enemy fighters. He died of wounds sustained in the ensuing firefight.

Penton recalls being interviewed by local media after his son’s death, where she told the reporters she would only agree to the interview if they did not speak negatively about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I would not dare say anything negative about something my son believed so much in,” she said. “He brought so much honor to our family, and he died doing what he loved doing. He did it because he loved his country and his family, and he died to protect them. The least that we as a family can do is support that.”

As the last roll call of the fallen Soldiers was read, the memorial wall was unveiled, displaying Sgt. Timothy Padgett’s name along with the names of his 31 brothers-in-arms.

“This is not an easy moment,” Wagner said. “But it is forever a proud moment.”

Seeing the name of her son on the wall invoked memories for Penton, she said.

“People often don’t realize that when we have memories, there are emotions that are associated with those memories,” Penton said. “Again, our heart swells from the pride that our son brought to our family. The loss is just an emptiness that you have to learn to live with.”

As memories of loved ones swam through families’ thoughts, Wagner ensured them that their loss will never be forgotten.

“With all that is pure in America and the world, the absolute and lasting truth is that our fallen Soldiers are good men of the highest order,” he said. “Their service was selfless. They are our friends, our heroes, and they will remain in our hearts and memories forever.”

--usasoc--