Thread: Picking up the slack to bury our fallen soldiers with respect

Army Capt. Kimberly N. Hampton
Died January 2, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

27 years of age, of Easley, S.C.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 82nd Aviation Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; killed Jan. 2 when her OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopter was shot down by enemy ground fire in Fallujah, Iraq.

John, Thank you :

As you have provided, these days we seem to 'stereotype' all serving as 'male' HOWEVER the 'Other' Gender are warriors also and Fully Deserve Recognition both while serving and in death

Again I thank you :

Thank you very much cudarunner for this inspiring post. I consider myself to be a fairly modern guy. I do the dishes, change the diapers, and cried like a child when my children were born. I feel no shame in any of these things. However, I always have problems with Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Hell I have problems with going to funerals and wakes and such. Don't get me wrong, I honor, love, and respect our men and women who serve and who have served in the past, and was a Nuke Mechanic on a SSBN out of Washington State. I find it stirs up a lot of emotions that are difficult to define, convey, and deal with. Despite that, I want to thank you for reminding me that I need to take the time to remember our brethren who have served.

Originally Posted by MattCB

Thank you very much cudarunner for this inspiring post. I consider myself to be a fairly modern guy. I do the dishes, change the diapers, and cried like a child when my children were born. I feel no shame in any of these things. However, I always have problems with Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Hell I have problems with going to funerals and wakes and such. Don't get me wrong, I honor, love, and respect our men and women who serve and who have served in the past, and was a Nuke Mechanic on a SSBN out of Washington State. I find it stirs up a lot of emotions that are difficult to define, convey, and deal with. Despite that, I want to thank you for reminding me that I need to take the time to remember our brethren who have served.

Matt, Regardless of the rank you held, I will say this:

SIR! I Salute You For Your Service! :

Matt there is no shame in any of the things that you have described above. We all deal with things in different ways.

I'll Hijack My Own Thread Here

By the way, I helped change diapers when I was about 4-5 years old! Back then they were cotton and you had to 'pre-flush' the 'Poopies'! I well remember the day that my grip slipped and I 'lost one' and my dad had to take the toilet off and dig it out! I never lost another!!

Fast Forward to when my second wife and I were expecting our first child and my wife wanted cloth diapers. My mother said; "I'll sew them for you and show you how to fold them".

I told mom that I knew how to fold cloth diapers as that was one of my chores as a young child. Mom responded with "I never made you fold diapers"! I grabbed what I call a 'Country Kitchen Towel' they are very thin and more like a bed sheet and are square.

I quickly folded it into a 'diaper' and said; "Is it supposed to look anything like this"? Mom said "Oh God, I can't believe that I made you do that"!

I do hope that you enjoyed Bremerton/Bangor!

Sanfte Rasur, mein Klingenbruder!

(Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades)

In Canada we have Remembrance day.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians are asked to pause in memory of the thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives in military service. - CBC Canada

I'll never forget moving back to Canada that first year and sitting in a Tim Horton's coffee shop when 11 o'clock came, everyone stood up and lowered their heads. I followed suit not really knowing why, but to say I was moved was an understatement.

Later when I became a Mason, each Remembrance Day the brothers and I would get dressed in full regalia and lay a wreath at a war cemetery and observe the 11th hour there.

Of course leading up to Remembrance Day, we all wear Poppies on our lapels which are sold by the legion to support the troops, which I also discovered were to be left on the tomb of the unknown soldier if one was at a war cemetery.




It's a pretty big deal - so much so they even have songs about chilling out at the 11th hour. This one always choked me up. Not sure why.

The 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month - YouTube