Good morning, Uncle Troy!
You know, I so agree with you about these Memorial Day Sales...RIDICULOUS!!!
I shared your e-mail with one of my closest friends, Sabrina. She and I, and I'm
sure countless others are so appreciative for you and all of the men and
women who have laid down their lives for our freedom. The Bible says, "There is
no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend."
Sabrina said on the week before Memorial Day one of our local radio stations (KAJN
Christian Radio) paid tribute to those who have given their lives for our
freedom. They gave out the names and information about those who had fought
in WWI, WWII, the Korean War, Vietnam War to today. On Memorial Day itself,
there were hourly broadcasts of the stories of heroism, the medals that were
won, etc. She said it was awesome and a wonderful tribute.
So, Uncle Troy, what I would like to say is, THANK YOU! from
the bottom of my heart. I love you so much and appreciate you more than you
could ever know. You are such a blessing to our family and to so many others. To
me, and others, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for heroes like you.
I LOVE YOU,
Your Favorite Niece,
Delaine
-----Original Message-----
From: Troy Watson <e27gunner@gmail.com>
To:
Pharrsusan@aol.com
Sent: Sun, 25 May 2008 8:27 pm
Subject: My 2 bits - about Memorial Day
Sunday, May 25, 2008
To whomever;
I guess I am ignorant as hell about Memorial Day - year after year ad infinitum – the day comes and goes - - - - - - I have always avoided it – I always will. I used to go fishing in NM or Colorado every Memorial day - - always had plenty of beer and booze - - it damned sure was not about my brothers who died – it was about ‘not remembering’ my brothers who died. It was about ‘not remembering’ the hell that was Korea – the freezing cold, the incessant rains, the terrifying sound of burp guns in the night, the popping sound of a bouncing betty – as it was tripped, the mortars that fell like rain – for hours on end, the never-ending combat patrols, the hundreds of hours on watch on an outpost a mile or so in front of the lines – with from 11 to 36 other Marines – just waiting for seemingly hundreds of Chinese to stage another attack with every intention of killing you and everybody else - - and my brothers who died and those who were left with wounds that would hinder every waking moment of their lives forever.
For a very few minutes, I was listening to a Memorial Day concert & patriotic speeches awhile ago on TV - - I just could not get into it. All I had heard all day was loud sales reps trying to unload cars, TV’s, refrigerators and God knows what else – all because it was a MEMORIAL DAY sale!! – get-em while you can!! - - frig them and the horse they rode in on.
Is Memorial Day to honor those of us who went to war to defend freedom for us and/or others?
Is it for those who gave there all for us and/or others?
Is it to sell more merchandise?
Is it to give all of us a day off – to buy all the crap or to go fishing or to spend a day with family or friends??
Is it all of the above?
If so, feel free to do so – but I will not participate--- .
I’m sorry I sound bitter - - I’m just not sure how to personally deal with Memorial Day - - but, for me - - I am sure what it is ‘not about’ – my guess is - that a lot of my Marine brothers have the same conflicting feelings and feel the same way.
Troy Watson
My 2-bits
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from
extinction"--President Ronald Reagan
WWW.E27Marines-1stMarDiv.org/i