Veteran’s Day 2008
As a member of the ‘baby boomer’ generation, the elections behind us and wondering where the future will take us, one thing remains unchanged… the dedication our men and women in the Military have for this great nation of ours. They are our sons and daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and our neighbors. They come from different walks of life, all fifty states and don’t ask very much of us, just our support until they all return safely. Some have already paid the ultimate price… their lives.
I have visited all the Memorials in Washington, DC as most of you have and sat in deep thought before the Vietnam Memorial where names of friends are etched in the cold black granite. Trying to comprehend what these young men and women endured was impossible. The World War II Memorial is another that holds a special place in my heart as my dad stormed Omaha Beach at 19 years of age. There are thousands of names on one and thousands of bronze stars on the other representing those that did not return in exchange for our freedom and that of our allies. So many times I’ve tried to imagine what it must have been like for my dad and the friends I lost in Vietnam at such a young age. Today I am one of the co-founders of Heavens Heroes offering support to our troops and the families of our fallen heroes as they deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan, trying to make a small difference in their lives. I often wonder where their Memorials will be built and if they’ll have to wait decades to be remembered and thanked.
My respect and gratitude for Veterans past, present and future runs very deep, for their dedication to our country is endless and unquestionable. Our freedom is fragile but the bravery and efforts of our Veterans strengthen and preserve it. Veteran’s Day should be a time of reflection, a time to thank our military, to try and comprehend where they have gone, what they have done and the sacrifices made to keep our country free. This does not require us to be Republican, Democrat or Independent, for the war or against it. All that is necessary is to let our troops know that they have our support.
As the daughter of a D-Day Veteran and a member of Heavens Heroes, I thank each one of you for your service and loyalty in keeping this a great nation. God bless all of you!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Hello and greetings!
My name is Ed. I may have been with your father in the Pacific Theater as I joined the 293rd Joint Assault Signal Company in Holandia, New Guinea in 1944 from whence we made the invasion of Luzon. Do you have any whereabouts or any other information regarding those in the 293rd who came over to the Pacific Theater? I am interested in seeing if I could get in contact with any of your father's friends to discuss our time overseas? I'm presently in Pennsylvania and summer in Maine.
Thank you for any help you can give me, and I look forward to possibly hearing from you. Perhaps you could comment back on your blog with further information.
Ed
Hi Ed :-) I am so sorry that I've been slow to answer you .. I just had my right shoulder replaced up in Philly 6 days ago and I'm right handed! I'd love to chat with you~ my email address is ;
jascotwo293@gmail.con
Please include yours and I will answer you as soon as I can.
God bless~
louise
ED ... sorry~ I'm not very good at this "left handed" typing :-(
My email is:
jascotwo293@gmail.com
Please write .. I'm anxious to hear from you!
Take Care..
Louise
Louise-Sorry I haven't replied sooner, but I too am in sick bay. I fell Christmas Eve while visiting children in New England over Xmas and landed in a hospital with a quadriceps fracture. Still in a cast and can"t drive for another 2 months. I really do not know how much light I can shed on your finding John Kmetz. I vagely remember the name and that's about all. Up until 5 years ago I had a directory on the 293rd. given to us before we left Manilla for the states and discharge. For the life of me, I can't find it now. That would have been around Dec."45. Our gang of about 15 guys or so roamed around the Pacific for about 1 1/2 mos. trying to find our outfit. We were to join the 293 JASCO as they came over from the European Theater after Normandy. Instead, they had on our papers to join the 293 GAS CO. No one ever heard of it and it's obvious why--it didn't exist. Well, we finally caught up with the 293 JASCO for Luzon after cooling our heels in various parts of New Guinea including Holandia.
I do remember our Commanding Officer---I believe a Capt. by the name of Frederick Huffsmith from Casper WY, I think. We had two fellows in our tent who were with the original 293rd. by the name of Sgt. Smiley and a Cpl. named Honea--who I want to say was from Oklahoma and part Indian. I do remember your fathers name, but the names are a blurr now after 64 years or so. More later.... ED
Louise---Well, of all things. I just today uncovered the civilian directory of the 293rd that I have been looking for . It has your father name naturally in it out of 7 Mt Vernon St Redding MA. The pages are all yellow, but perhaps I could make a copy of all the pages and send to you. The first two pages speak of how the 293 came to be, the operation on D-Day and the balance in New Guinea and Luzon. The balance are addresses Which are probably all out of date after so many years. Let me know if you are interested.
My leg is recovering from my fall at Christmas and am now driving again. We hope to leave for Maine in a month or so....Ed Brown
Hello. It is great to see someone remember the great men of the 6th Special. My father James Hart was with the 149th Combat Engineers and landed on Omaha Beach even though his boat hit a mine. As you said a lot of lives were lost and only recently has he begun to tell me stories. I have some of the journals for the 149th from that day and also the company flag. I have pictures that make my children and grandchildren speechless!
Post a Comment