... or disabled Vets or those still serving.

It's about DEAD soldiers who died FIGHTING and their families.



I'm very unpopular in the clubhouse here for expressing that belief, perhaps much to strongly. And, with more than a few vitriolic phrases liberally peppered with expletives.


The others are honored on VETERANS day. Quit stealing from the dead!

I thought that memorial day was all about BBQs, Hot Dogs, Doritos and canned soda.

That's called everyday in America.

He's right, you know.

yes he is.
good stuff fatman... way to kick the truth.

you should check out this guys work...
http://www.dancarlin.com/disp.php/hharchive/Show-42---(BLITZ)-Logical-Insanity/

not sure if you have the time or interest to sit through it but this audiocast addresses the topic of war crimes. specifically ww2 fire raids between the germans and the brits and then ultimately the hell we delivered on tokyo before the two atomic bombs. it's good.

Well said big boy.

I was officially persona non grata at the clubhouse BBQ.

They even refunded my hotdog/burger tickets.

I am so proud!!! It's like when I had a bi-polar rage moment and ripped my just dead uncle's airborne insignia off his son-in-law, who decided it was his, and gave it to his other daughter's son.

Once again I can feel him smiling on me!

Seriously? What the fuck makes a person think something like that can even be "theirs"?

His wife. My cousin. The youngest sister.

Her husband was fascinated by the military. Not fascinated enough to serve mind you, but fascinated enough to collect memorabilia. And, he wears it as if he served. don't know what was so special about that patch as a collectable. But, there was something.

After my uncle died he and my cousin pillage his military stuff since that's his interest. He didn't find my uncle's Silver Star from Korea. I'm pretty sure he got the Purple Heart because it's missing.

I never got the REAL story on how he got them. He was never proud of them. He said he got them for running away faster than the rest of his outfit. During which he was shot in the back. My dad, who doesn't talk about it either, said most of my uncle's company died at the hands of the Chinese that day because the one on guard duty dozed off. My uncle was one of the very few who survived and was credited with the survival of the others.

My uncle joined the Airborne after Korea. THAT he was proud of. That he would talk about. But, I don't think he ever saw any real action in the Airborne. Just practice.

Anyway ... I missed the funeral because I was too involved with my own illness. I feel bad, but in my condition, I don't do funerals well. There are several that I've had to pass on. It just gets me too down and I can't climb out.

Anyway ... again ... after the funeral while the middle sister was helping her mom deal with things [the eldest, a beauty honestly, has my same illness, only worse, so ...] She come home to find younger sis has "liberated" her dad's stuff.

The middle sis is the only one to have a boy. My uncle had no boys. So the ONLY male descendant is that kid. If my aunt wants to hold on to the medals while she's still around, fine. But for that guy to take them ... it pissed off my Dad and my sister and the cousin with the son.

Months later I see all of them. And there he is proudly wearing that patch while my cousin's kid is staring sadly at it.

Sorry. It HAD to go.

My first cousin in-law, well ... He was angry. And, he's not small. I'm a ponderous heap to deal with and I used to love a good scrape ... but I'm not in the greatest shape anymore.

But, BOY am I scary when I'm angry. Because with the depression anger is always boiling in me. It's more bluff, show and suicide when I explode - "Sound & Fury signifying nothing". So, if you go all in you'll win. I'll be crushed. But, no one seems to want to take that gamble.

Crazy always scares trash [which is what he is] more than actual danger.


It remains the only time I've "acted out" in front of "strangers" that my sister not only tolerated but quietly lauded.

Your family tree sounds like it goes straight up.

The fact that Memorial Day is held on a day that people can picnic does illustrate one (of many) reason (s) why I love this country: to paraphrase Patton and Pershing, the purpose of war "is to make some other dumb bastard die for his country." Implicit in that observation is that ideally, an American general is going to do everything in his power to get his soldiers home safely so they can enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Your point about collecting and displaying military memorabilia is well taken. I have no objection to civilians collecting military memorabilia. However, unless you are actually carrying a rifle in the field, a member of the 9th Airborne Accountants has no business wearing camouflage, let alone a civilian sporting medals or patches he has not earned.

I think there's a difference between collecting and actually wearing. Unless you're a little kid with permission or Lemmy, there's no reason to be wearing a medal or insignia you didn't earn.