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Put the memory in Memorial Day
Tomorrow I hope everyone can make time to visit a cemetery where some folks who served our country are laid to rest. I will have the honor of laying a wreath at the Meuse Argonne American Cemetery in northern France tomorrow, which is the largest American WWI cemetery. If you're not near a place of remembrance maybe just take a minute to thank those who fell in the line of duty wearing the uniforms of our country.
I took this at the Lafayette Escadrille Memorial and Cemetery this morning. American volunteers who fell in service to France as pilots in WWI are laid to rest in the crypt below the memorial itself. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f3cc398875.jpg The service men and women buried at all of your American Cemeteries abroad fell doing their duty, I imagine all they ask is for us to remember them. Semper Fi and I wish everyone a safe and reflective Memorial Day https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1148480e60.jpg |
I learned recently where Memorial Day started. It wasn't on foreign soil. After a battle (in Florida I recall but could be wrong), the Black towns people went to the battle site to honor and properly bury the Union troops.
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
(Post 22522886)
I learned recently where Memorial Day started. It wasn't on foreign soil. After a battle (in Florida I recall but could be wrong), the Black towns people went to the battle site to honor and properly bury the Union troops.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...16b2de1cb2.jpg Pre dawn fog at the Meuse Argonne American Cemetery, Memorial Day 2019 |
Mike Deblois- C Co 1/508 (ABN)- Operation Just Cause- Panama.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...5cf75777c2.png |
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...52de639404.png
https://www.uso.org/stories/2990-wha...e-u-s-military I personally do not dwell on those I may have helped or saved in the defense of my country but rather i think often of those who kept me alive to see these future days. Memorial day reminds me that I swore an oath... |
I was just visiting the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery last Sunday, in addition to visiting the Missouri Civil War Museum nearby. These are located at the southern portion of St. Louis, Missouri.
per the wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffer...ional_Cemetery "Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is an American military cemetery located in St. Louis County, Missouri, just on the banks of the Mississippi River. The cemetery was established after the American Civil War in an attempt to put together a formal network of military cemeteries. It started as the Jefferson Barracks Military Post Cemetery in 1826 and became a United States National Cemetery in 1866.The first known burial was Elizabeth Ann Lash, the infant child of an officer stationed at Jefferson Barracks. The cemetery is administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs on the former site of Jefferson Barracks. It covers 331 acres (134 ha) and the number of interments as of 2021 is approximately 237,000." to be clear, while some graves are those of war time fatalities, many are for veterans who went on to live a full life. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...92f9206727.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...946bb36007.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b176aea0fc.jpg Steve in Peoria, known for a while as Sgt. Steve, USMC |
As you all know only cycling related posts are allowed in the forums here. The exception is P&R. However this thread is about a noteworthy cause. We will let it continue but leave out political content. We already deleted one political comment.
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I'll bring it back to bicycling, since I have the bike for it.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6df530889c.jpg Nothing like riding a red, white, and blue made-in-USA Schwinn on a national holiday. I even bought it from a San Diego firefighter. :) On Memorial Day I think of my maternal grandfather, who survived a shrapnel wound in France during WWI, but sustained resulting blood poisoning and permanent kidney impairment. Recommended Memorial Day soundtrack: Home Free and Lee Greenwood singing "God Bless the USA" together. |
Originally Posted by John E
(Post 22523409)
...
On Memorial Day I think of my maternal grandfather, who survived a shrapnel wound in France during WWI ... |
Boston Common, over 37,000 flags. One for each service member from Massachusetts that gave their lives defending our country since the Revolutionary War. About 4,000 from the Revolution; 13,500 in the Civil War; 3,500 in WWI; 13,100 in WWII; 3,000 from Korea through Vietnam; 388 since.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...22642877e3.jpg |
I ride there infrequently, but will get my paving stone there, eventually. Just a marker, while some med school student dissects me like a frog.
Originally Posted by steelbikeguy
(Post 22523150)
I was just visiting the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery last Sunday, in addition to visiting the Missouri Civil War Museum nearby. These are located at the southern portion of St. Louis, Missouri.
to be clear, while some graves are those of war time fatalities, many are for veterans who went on to live a full life. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b176aea0fc.jpg Steve in Peoria, known for a while as Sgt. Steve, USMC |
One of the best bike tours I've done was a bike and barge tour from Paris to Bruges on the Elode.. It was basically a WWI era barge outfitted to accommodate 4 couples and crew. The route primarily through northern France went by and allowed stops at innumerable military Cemetaries. Some were small, some were huge, all were sobering. The tour involved the barge moving ahead each day and the cyclists catching up in the afternoon sometimes by a circuitous route. No bags to move, waterside room every night, and a relatively inexpensive way to see Europe, its countryside, and its history.
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Originally Posted by Peruano
(Post 22523629)
One of the best bike tours I've done was a bike and barge tour from Paris to Bruges on the Elode.. It was basically a WWI era barge outfitted to accommodate 4 couples and crew. The route primarily through northern France went by and allowed stops at innumerable military Cemetaries. Some were small, some were huge, all were sobering. The tour involved the barge moving ahead each day and the cyclists catching up in the afternoon sometimes by a circuitous route. No bags to move, waterside room every night, and a relatively inexpensive way to see Europe, its countryside, and its history.
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Originally Posted by bamboobike4
(Post 22523615)
... Just a marker, while some med school student dissects me like a frog.
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Originally Posted by StanSeven
(Post 22523339)
As you all know only cycling related posts are allowed in the forums here. The exception is P&R. However this thread is about a noteworthy cause. We will let it continue but leave out political content. We already deleted one political comment.
The pics above are all from our ceremony today, well-attended by French folks who still respect the sacrifice of so many young warriors. |
Originally Posted by poprad
(Post 22524016)
The pics above are all from our ceremony today, well-attended by French folks who still respect the sacrifice of so many young warriors.
I used to go to a memorial that includes the names of men that were in in my charge. Then I tried to do what they’d do, which was normal stuff; bike ride, drink a beer, try to kiss a girl. We’d all discussed the “ifs” and the underlying agreement was, “no biggie, don’t burn the barbecue.” I was fortunate enough to chaperone real heroes to the dedication of the WWII Memorial, decades late. Section M. Few know what that means. I learned a lot from those guys. Now, I definitely don’t burn the barbecue. |
Originally Posted by bamboobike4
(Post 22524263)
We can only hope that, had the battles been on our lands, we’d act the same. Perhaps that’s the key. We lost men and women. They lost so much more, yet are able to honor strangers they never met.
I used to go to a memorial that includes the names of men that were in in my charge. Then I tried to do what they’d do, which was normal stuff; bike ride, drink a beer, try to kiss a girl. We’d all discussed the “ifs” and the underlying agreement was, “no biggie, don’t burn the barbecue.” I was fortunate enough to chaperone real heroes to the dedication of the WWII Memorial, decades late. Section M. Few know what that means. I learned a lot from those guys. Now, I definitely don’t burn the barbecue. If anyone wants to see the full album from yesterday: Meuse Argonne American Cemetery, Memorial Day 2022 Thanks for everyone's comments on this thread, and for the service of those who have been in harm's way for your country. I don't mean that in a war-glorifying saber-rattling kind of way. I mean it as a heartfelt appreciation for those who fell, and for those who survived and get to remember them. It's our collective privilege. Warmest Regards and Semper Fi, Mark |
Something that I think many people forget is that not all who make the ultimate sacrifice do so during wartime. Training for war is dangerous and sometimes things go wrong.
On 20 March 1989 a CH-53 crashed near Pohang, South Korea during Team Spirit (an annual exercise). 18 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman lost their lives in that crash and a number of others were seriously injured. The Marines being transported were members of Charlie Co, 1st BN 5th Marines and in 1988 I had left Bravo Co 1/5 for other duties. I knew 4 of the people on that helo; LT. Wooten had been my old Plt Commander/XO, LCpl Gomez had been in my PLT, LCpl Pesuti was a friend from ITS and PFC Decker had been in another PLT in my Company. RIP Kevin Wooten and Kurt Decker. A full list of the names is at - https://usmcronbo.tripod.com/id98.htm |
Originally Posted by Choke
(Post 22524761)
Something that I think many people forget is that not all who make the ultimate sacrifice do so during wartime. Training for war is dangerous and sometimes things go wrong.
On 20 March 1989 a CH-53 crashed near Pohang, South Korea during Team Spirit (an annual exercise). 18 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman lost their lives in that crash and a number of others were seriously injured. A little more than thirty years ago, in 1982, the Marines began a peacekeeping mission as part of a multinational force (MNF) in war torn Lebanon. The Marines were to maintain a visible “presence” in the capital of Beirut, in the hopes that it would deter further bloodshed among the various warring factions and militias fighting for control of the country. The United States government intended to provide a neutral, stabilizing force in Lebanon, but this proved increasingly difficult as the mission progressed. As the MNF gradually compromised their neutrality, the Marines became targets of militias and responded with deadly force as a means of self-preservation. Unfortunately, the Marines were fighting an enemy using terrorist tactics and 241 Marines, Sailors and Soldiers, lost their lives in a suicide truck bombing on 23 October 1983. The bombing was the deadliest single day for the Marine Corps since D-Day at Iwo Jima in 1945, and came to symbolize the Marine mission in Lebanon. They have also added other memorials including Viet Nam https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f9d7a37bea.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b52018ba71.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bd08bcd140.jpg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...80502bcc0b.jpg The Montford Point Marine Memorial honoring the 1st African-American training facility In 1942, President Roosevelt established a presidential directive giving African Americans an opportunity to be recruited into the Marine Corps. These African Americans, from all states, were not sent to the traditional boot camps of Parris Island, South Carolina and San Diego, California. Instead, African American Marines were segregated, experiencing basic training at Montford Point, a facility at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a6e5fac764.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d6e354c800.jpg Also some recognition of those wounded but thankfully not killed https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f415c7970c.jpg The civilians uprooted from their homes to make way for an ocean front military base https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d4a8ebdc52.jpg |
......and civilian first responders lost as a result of terrorism
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9835c393e6.jpg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8a21ac0e48.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e6318800cd.jpg |
Originally Posted by Choke
(Post 22524761)
Something that I think many people forget is that not all who make the ultimate sacrifice do so during wartime. Training for war is dangerous and sometimes things go wrong.
On 20 March 1989 a CH-53 crashed near Pohang, South Korea during Team Spirit (an annual exercise). 18 Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman lost their lives in that crash and a number of others were seriously injured. The Marines being transported were members of Charlie Co, 1st BN 5th Marines and in 1988 I had left Bravo Co 1/5 for other duties. I knew 4 of the people on that helo; LT. Wooten had been my old Plt Commander/XO, LCpl Gomez had been in my PLT, LCpl Pesuti was a friend from ITS and PFC Decker had been in another PLT in my Company. RIP Kevin Wooten and Kurt Decker. A full list of the names is at - https://usmcronbo.tripod.com/id98.htm |
Originally Posted by Deal4Fuji
(Post 22524949)
......and civilian first responders lost as a result of terrorism
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PFC Carpellotti Memorial, Old Forge, PA.
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...232dc953e7.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d33ee7c377.jpg Memorial service in Taylor, PA today: https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f7e5255eb8.jpg Thank you to all who have served. |
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