Memorial Day thoughts .....

[Adam18]

I just finished a delightful evening shave, face lathering with a nice Stirling synthetic brush and Stirling "Boat Drinks" soap, three passes of BBS happiness with my Timeless Bronze razor and a Gillette Nacet blade, and finished off with Stirling MITA splash and Proraso Blue balm. Sublime shaving at its best ! No matter how crazy today's "Pandemic World" may be, we can still truly enjoy the simple happiness of a good shave !

But then, ..... I started thinking. Here in the United States, we are celebrating Memorial Day. We need to be grateful for the ultimate sacrifices made by the men and women who lost their lives defending our country. No matter what your political loyalties may be, we can never forget the memories of all the thousands and thousands of lives that were lost for the sake of our freedom. My Dad, who passed away over nine years ago, landed on Omaha Beach during the dawn hours of D-Day as a staff sergeant in the 29th. Infantry Division. He never stopped talking about his "buddies" who never survived the Allied invasion of Normandy and lost their lives on June 6, 1944 and during all the horrible days of warfare that followed. So please gentlemen, as we try to get on with our own lives and protect our families and relatives and
loved ones from the horrors of this current COVID-19 pandemic, let's take a little time out to remember the sacred memories of all those who died while serving our country. God bless their souls !

 

[DocPapi]

Well said. My father spent his enlistment on Greenland training soldiers in anything that went boom, but nonetheless lost friends and comrades in engagements in other parts of the world. He never talked much about it, but we knew it influenced the rest of his life.

 

[never-stop-learning]

I just finished a delightful evening shave, face lathering with a nice Stirling synthetic brush and Stirling "Boat Drinks" soap, three passes of BBS happiness with my Timeless Bronze razor and a Gillette Nacet blade, and finished off with Stirling MITA splash and Proraso Blue balm. Sublime shaving at its best ! No matter how crazy today's "Pandemic World" may be, we can still truly enjoy the simple happiness of a good shave !

But then, ..... I started thinking. Here in the United States, we are celebrating Memorial Day. We need to be grateful for the ultimate sacrifices made by the men and women who lost their lives defending our country. No matter what your political loyalties may be, we can never forget the memories of all the thousands and thousands of lives that were lost for the sake of our freedom. My Dad, who passed away over nine years ago, landed on Omaha Beach during the dawn hours of D-Day as a staff sergeant in the 29th. Infantry Division. He never stopped talking about his "buddies" who never survived the Allied invasion of Normandy and lost their lives on June 6, 1944 and during all the horrible days of warfare that followed. So please gentlemen, as we try to get on with our own lives and protect our families and relatives and
loved ones from the horrors of this current COVID-19 pandemic, let's take a little time out to remember the sacred memories of all those who died while serving our country. God bless their souls !

Amen to that.

My Dad served in North Africa, up through Sicily and landed on Anzio. From there North through Italy, France and Germany.

God Bless all of the brave men and women who gave their last full measure of devotion in defense of the freedom we enjoy today.

 

[Ad Astra]

Adam; thanks so much for that clarity.

There's a percentage that have no idea what the holiday is about, sadly.

Flag etiquette for tomorrow: half staff until noon, then full staff. (Generally. Google for more)

Think I'll run up the 48-star WWII flag.


AA

 

[Bert0324]

Memorial day is not a national thing in the Netherlands (we have another date for that), but you might like to hear that there's always a ceremony (which of course includes the American ambassador) at the American cemeteries. All of the graves have been "adopted" by local families and are kept in good order. That is all 18000+ of them and there's a waiting list of people wanting to continue this. The ceremony is concluded by a fly-over in missing man formation. They're missing, but their sacrifice has not been forgotten.

 

[BigJ]

I just finished a delightful evening shave, face lathering with a nice Stirling synthetic brush and Stirling "Boat Drinks" soap, three passes of BBS happiness with my Timeless Bronze razor and a Gillette Nacet blade, and finished off with Stirling MITA splash and Proraso Blue balm. Sublime shaving at its best ! No matter how crazy today's "Pandemic World" may be, we can still truly enjoy the simple happiness of a good shave !

But then, ..... I started thinking. Here in the United States, we are celebrating Memorial Day. We need to be grateful for the ultimate sacrifices made by the men and women who lost their lives defending our country. No matter what your political loyalties may be, we can never forget the memories of all the thousands and thousands of lives that were lost for the sake of our freedom. My Dad, who passed away over nine years ago, landed on Omaha Beach during the dawn hours of D-Day as a staff sergeant in the 29th. Infantry Division. He never stopped talking about his "buddies" who never survived the Allied invasion of Normandy and lost their lives on June 6, 1944 and during all the horrible days of warfare that followed. So please gentlemen, as we try to get on with our own lives and protect our families and relatives and
loved ones from the horrors of this current COVID-19 pandemic, let's take a little time out to remember the sacred memories of all those who died while serving our country. God bless their souls !

+1! Thanks to the heroes who kept us free!!

 

[Stubblebum]

Thank you, Adam.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

 

[MichWR]

My dad and uncle served in the Korean war. Both my brother-in-laws served in the Navy, one on a submarine. Thank-you to them and all of the others that have served over the years.

 

[Aldwyn]

I always like to think of the families as well. All of those moms and dads, sisters and brothers, spouses and significant others... when a soldier, marine, sailor, airman or coastie goes down, they are not the only ones who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

 

[never-stop-learning]

Memorial day is not a national thing in the Netherlands (we have another date for that), but you might like to hear that there's always a ceremony (which of course includes the American ambassador) at the American cemeteries. All of the graves have been "adopted" by local families and are kept in good order. That is all 18000+ of them and there's a waiting list of people wanting to continue this. The ceremony is concluded by a fly-over in missing man formation. They're missing, but their sacrifice has not been forgotten.

God Bless You for remembering.

 

[Stubblebum]

Stolen from a different site... I could not say it any better:

"All gave some, some gave all". It is never a bad time to thank a veteran, but today is specifically set aside to honor those who "gave all". Thank You!

 

[Badgerstate36]

Adam; thanks so much for that clarity.

There's a percentage that have no idea what the holiday is about, sadly.

Flag etiquette for tomorrow: half staff until noon, then full staff. (Generally. Google for more)

Think I'll run up the 48-star WWII flag.


AA

Id say theres a fair percentage would couldnt care less either and just view it as the start of summer and just another day off work to grill, drink beer and hang out with their buddies.
Theres also a fair percentage who are trying to be patriotic but dont understand the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans' Day.
Ive always said that I seldom support the politics that put our troops in harm's way (mostly because its usually rich men who are more than happy to send other mens' sons and daughters into battle but dont want to support them when they get back home and have little sympathy for the families of those who never make it back home) but I always support our fighting men and women because they are just doing what they are told and go where they are sent.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

I shaved with my Mom's Dad's Old Type on both Sunday and Monday. He was a young'un in WWI. Became a medic. Then, a nurse in a hospital after WWI. They sucked him back into WWII as a medic once more. Got shot in the keister in both wars, in France both times. He used to say it was climbing over the same hedgerow in WWII as it was WWI.

My Dad was in the 63rd division in WWII. Went in on the second D-Day in Marsallies, and went with Devers via the scenic Southern Route. Places like Colmar. Wound up liberating a POW camp on 29 Apr 1945 in which his brother was at that point. He got shot down on the first Schweinfurt mission in August 1943. Was originally in Luft 3, the famous Great Escape camp, but they moved them over to the West just before the end there.

I have his footlocker in my living room as a coffee table. The one they sent my Grandmother after he was MIA. It has most of our family photos inside. I force my wife to watch the Memphis Belle documentary every Memorial day. But, it does go with the footlocker. Different bomb group, but lots of B-17s and that is what he flew.

The saddest story is he was lost on a recon mission September 1956 over the Sea Of Japan. Our Air Force story is he was lost in a typhoon. I have all the letters from the Air Force to my Grandmother in that footlocker. The Russian story is they shot him down with a Mig 15. I believe the Russian story. The Mig pilot even painted the encounter in later life, and it was featured in an issue of Air & Space magazine along with his story. The plane was an RB-50 Elint bird, and there was only ever one in the inventory, so it isn't like that painting of the shoot down could be any other plane.

Why the story is the saddest is that the Cold War losses are usually not told even at this late date. They are just as much War Losses as any others, but there we are. It was a lot of 'we were never there and didn't do that'.

Stan

 

[Scaramouche]

Great story, and a great tribute to your Dad. Salute.

 

[andromeda673]

my father 22 years in the air force as a jet engine mechanic and maintenance supervisor, now works for DOD and doesn't talk much about his job only because he can't. He lost friends in the air force as well, mostly technicians though, one buddy of his was a electrician and he was working in the air traffic control tower and took the full brunt of an electrical short killing him instantly. That's the only one he talks about, but I know there are more from what my mom has mentioned.

My grandfather did 8 years as well as a aircraft mechanic, he was also an electrician but also sheet metal worker he worked on P51's B29's etc. Jets towards the very end of his career, actually what's freaking wild is my dad came across records for a B52 in Grand Forks that was worked on by his dad, so talk about wild.

I refuse to shave like my dad however, his belief is that water is for drinking only if beer or rum isn't around, showers are for simple hygiene should his girlfriend be coming over, and they aren't going out on the boat. Shaving cream and aftershave slow you down in the morning, and if you can't buy it at the BX then you sure as hell don't need it, his words not mine.

So while I appreciate everything about my father and his 22 years of service as well as my grandpa and his 8 years, I will not shave like my "old man" however my grandpa was a Williams and old spice guy through and through and when my dad learned I was using a safety razor he mentioned that my grandpa would sit down at the table when done working swing shifts and shave that way. So maybe I'll get a puck of Williams in his honor and a bottle of old spice and hell I'll even put the puck of Williams in his favorite coffee cup that he gave me before he passed away.

 

[Cannon Cocker]

My father's father (my grandfather) was a US Army infantryman in France during WWI. My father was a US Army Air Corps machine gunner on a B24 flying out of Italy into Germany. I broke the tradition as a Marine artillery man in Viet Nam. Memorial Day for me is a day of reflection for those lost, but also a day of thanks for the privilege the Marine Corps gave me to be one of their brothers.

Semper Fi,
Cannon Cocker

 

[DougK]

My dad was a signalman in the Navy during WWII and for 20 years after, including a brief hitch in the Army. I served in the Army (Medical Service Corps) but never deployed. Honor to those who came before us, to those who serve now, and to those who follow.

 

[Mouser]

My father was a career military man. Four years in the army during WWII. Pacific theatre. After that he left the service, found he preferred the military life and went back in for another twenty when the Air Force was created. My godfather and uncle was in the Army Air Force during that war as well flying in bombers based in England. Radio man and waist gunner. His flight jacket and leather helmet are in the Smithsonian. All my other uncles served then too. My grandfather on my mother's side served in WWI. Volunteered. He was not long in the country then having coming over from Sicily and was eager to prove he was an American.