Thread: Veterans Day 2014

How much water did you drink in a day?

Originally Posted by rolodave

How much water did you drink in a day?

A LOT! Hard to even tell how much. I was running 3-4 miles in the morning, then walking another 5-6 miles throughout the day. You pretty much just drank water constantly. They had water stations at pretty much every corner in Kandahar:

My gunslinger attire:



Relaxing:



The hospital crew:



The day I returned - my wife didn't cut my son's hair while I was gone:

As the Veterans day week closes here is a word of caution for all of us to
be ever vigilant my friends........

"Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water, in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn't worry about what workout to do---his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn't care 'how hard it is'; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn't go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the 'Cause.' Now, who wants to quit?"

NCOIC of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course in a welcome speech to new SF candidates.

My sig says the important part.


AO2 USN '71-'77

NAS Millington, TN,

NATC, NAS JAX. Jacksonville, FL

VA-82, NAS CECIL FIELD, Jacksonville, FL

CAG-8, TASK FORCE 77, USS AMERICA CVA-66

VF-201, NAS HENSLEE FIELD, Grand Prairie, TX

Originally Posted by Geezer

A great video!

A movie with Grandpa


~Richard

Richard,

Oh my!! Tears flowing!!

My father was with Patton in WWII and his campaign ribbon has 5 bronze stars for the major campaigns he served in. I was USMC 65/71 and Vietnam 67/68 and during the Tet offensive. My daughter is a retired MSgt, USAF and deployed during the Iraq conflict. I have two grandsons with one currently enlisting in the Army and the other is a high school junior in ROTC.

God willing, our youth will see and understand the past, or.....they'll have to repeat it!!

With Great Respect,

Howard

Originally Posted by MajorEthanolic

When I was in Afghanistan I worked in the trauma bay in Kandahar. I watched a lot of purple hearts be awarded. Some for funny stuff (bb's in the butt from an IED) and some for not so funny stuff. Of all the casualties we saw, this one still gets to me. I was in the operating room when time was called:

Staff Sgt. Alex A. Viola | Freedom Remembered

I'll try to share a brew with him on Memorial Day. He's not far from me.

Back in my younger days, I'd saddle up whatever old scooter I had running at the time and go drink a beer with all my departed Vet buddies at their various final resting places. About 15 years ago it got to where I had too many old buddies to share with and at the end of the run I was damn near too drunk to make it home.

Had to quit that routine. Nowadays, I break out the Balvenie and lift a toast to all of them at sunset while the melody of "evening colors" flows through my head.
http://www.navyband.navy.mil/anthems...g%20Colors.MP3

Thank you all for your service! I too would like the "Veteran" banner.



USN Navy 96-01 NMCB 74 Seabees!
USAFRC 05-11 Air Freight

Follow the instructions in this link:

Frequently Asked Questions - Straight Razor Place Library

Came across a picture of my Uncle and his B-24 crew flying out of Italy. He is in the right top rear of the pic. Miles F. Blum, shot down twice. Once over Bulgaria and smuggled out by the communist underground. A second shoot down over northern France and smuggled out by the French underground. I do not know how many of the crewmembers survived the war.
My uncle completed 33 missions. Working as a bartender in 1965 in Newport Beach in southern California he had just purchased a new Chevy impala convertible. Killed with a passenger, a cocktail waitress from his bar in 1965 he missed a turn at high speed and flipped the car upside down into a guard rail and they both lost their minds literally.
Post card from Italy was mailed to his Mother.