Now It’s Working

The post featured below is from my newest friend BJ from South Carolina. She is a former Newspaper Editor and her political opinion writing can be found at I See My Dreams. Not many people can write like she does and I was so glad that she allowed me to cross post “Now, it’s working…” here at Papamoka Straight Talk. Thank you BJ!

Now, it's working ...

There’s a joke in upstate South Carolina about two Clemson University students riding around campus. The driver pulls over and asks his buddy to get out and tell him if his right blinker is working. The buddy yells back to the driver, “Now, it’s working; now, it’s not; now, it’s working, now it’s not.”

So, is the so-called U.S. troop “surge” in Iraq working – or not?

Can the surge be working when armed U.S. troops celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in the heart of a Muslim country?

Can the surge be working when a single American soldier looks into the camera and wishes his family “Happy Holidays” with tears running down his cheeks?

Can the surge be working when there are those who would have the United States become a fundamentalist theocracy while our soldiers are dying to prevent one in a Muslim country?

Can the surge be working when U.S. troops are fighting to liberate Iraqis from years of tyranny while the Bush administration has systematically chipped away at our own freedoms here?

Can the surge be working when major Iraqi factions cannot exist in harmony, and there are, quite literally, "warring" factions right here in America?

Can the surge be working as long as the neoconservatives who have shaped this administration’s foreign policy are building the world’s largest foreign embassy – a virtual fortress – in Baghdad with plans for a U.S. presence and U.S. bases protecting Iraq’s oil reserves for the unforeseeable future?

And, finally, you are hearing that the surge is working militarily, if not in terms of a successful Iraqi government. Is this true?

Examine six periods of this almost five-year war in terms of U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, verified by the DoD:

20 March 2003 through 1 May 2003 (end of major combat operations): 140 in 43 days

2 May 2003 through 28 June 2004 (sovereignty turned over to Iraq): 718 in 424 days

29 June 2004 through 30 January 2005 (Iraq elections): 580 in 216 days

31 January 2005 through 14 December 2005 (Iraq general elections): 715 in 318 days

15 December 2005 through 31 January 2007: 933 in 412 days

Beginning of the surge – 1 February 2007 to date: 811 in 328 days

Total deaths: 3,897 U.S. troops (Total coalition: UK, 174; other, 133)

Check out I See My Dreams for other great posts by BJ…

Papamoka

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Semper Fi is not just Republican

Picture courtesy of the White House.gov

Given the times and our nations conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan I am constantly finding myself thinking of our citizens in uniform and in our military. I’m proud of them for doing what they were trained to do. Our military is something that every American should be proud of. Not because you are of one political party or the other but for the fact that they are everyone’s children. In that sense then they are my children as well.

I read the news, watch the television version of the news and every single day the body count goes up for the war in Iraq. It isn’t just a body count, those are people reduced down to a number. Our children that are being killed and shipped home for burial is a personal fact of life when in service to our nation in the military to their families. It disgusts me that they are just a number in the grand scheme of things when it comes to Iraq. I hate the fact that people use the deaths our military men and woman that have died as just another statistic.

My political thoughts run to the liberal side of the aisle but my heart is with my upbringing and a father that was proud to serve his nation in two wars. At no point in my upbringing was it ever suggested or inferred to bash our men and woman in uniform. At no point in my transition from child to man was it insisted that I serve in the military. Real men, like my father, who fought in the bloodiest conflicts during World War II, know what war does to a person. He never wanted any of his children to join the military but he was very proud of his own service to his nation.

Dad never spoke of his personal experience during the war until his later years. Alzheimer’s and dementia took him from me but I wonder if the horror he spoke of is just as bad as our kids serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today? I’m pretty confident that it is but then again he never spoke of it his entire life with me till then. His stories were graphic and very intense and his tears and emotion of keeping it all bottled up for all of those years showed in the sorrow of his face and the anger that he could not have saved more lives. As a medic attached to the Marines he was known as Doc, many of the men he promised to take care of did not make it out alive. He felt that he broke the promise to dozens if not hundreds of men that he considered his brothers. For most of his adult life he could not fall asleep unless he took a Sominex or some other sleep inducing pill.

I wonder how much conflict is coming home with our children in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan that are wounded or rotating out? I worry about them and if they can ever get back their lives in America. My heart goes out to all veterans because war is hell. Veterans of battle only talk to other veterans of battle for a reason, they don’t want to recall the intensity of their service and pass it on to their children. World War II veterans are classic cases of this point. They know the experience and yet they do not talk about it for a reason. Many friends, many brothers in service died horribly.

Our nation is blessed with a military that is not of any political party. All of the men and woman in service are there for a reason and a purpose and that is to serve America first. Their orders come from a civilian government and they follow the civilian government orders. They serve proud and they serve with the bravest and brightest that America has.

Over in Europe there are mass graves for our military sons and daughters killed in combat. In the battles to come in the Middle East there will be no burial grounds for American soldiers. That is a thought to think about when people tell you that you can fight them here or over there. Sound bites are nice but somebody just died and they should never be just a number. That person was someone’s child or someone’s husband or mother. They died for America and not for any political thought or ideology.

My personal thought is that if our fallen soldiers are not good enough to be buried on Arab soil then they should not be fighting for your freedom.

Papamoka

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THE PATRAEUS/BUSH REPORT: A GRAIN OF SALT, PLEASE

Written by Michael Linn Jones

One cannot but notice the giant bubble quickly rising to the poltical surface in the form of the "Patraeus Report" due shortly. General Patraeus is to ascertain what effects the "surge" has had on the Iraqi mess.

There seems to be two basic lines of thought. One is that the report will have Gen. Patraeus' name on it but actually written by the White House. Therefore it is a sham before anything is printed.

The other approach seems to say that the surge is a huge success and that the general's report is superfluous; Kaite Couric can walk around a market and announce that everything has "improved" since....well, it was her first trip but she has to say something for $15 million a year.

What strikes me is the lack of analysis based upon common sense, rather than political wishful thinking. I am sure that with increased troop strength that many areas in Iraq are more "stable," as in less overt violence. This is testimony to the concept that the more troops we have there the greater control we (the U.S.) will exert upon everyone, including insurgents.

The problem with this is that one can extrapolate that here is a solid case for instituting a draft, raising the troop level in the armed forces considerably, and properly holding the hands of the Iraqis for decades. That would mean forcing young Americans to do something they don't want to do. It would also require more of the American population to sacrifice, in that paying for the war...really paying for the war will mean less money for consumer items. Yes, as horrible as it sounds, war interrupts lives. Or it's supposed to.

Since Vietnam there has been a silent compact between the American people and its government. Have any conflict you want, just make sure there's lots of "oohs" and "aahs" from great video footage, and it's over in less than a month.
The Iraqi conflict has violated that compact. I won't argue with anyone that a bunch of idiots got our nation involved in this, but warfare is also like a barbed arrow. You can't just pull it out without inflicting even more damage than it made going in.

The Patraeus Report cannot tell Congress the truth about one thing: American armed forces are burdened with the impossible task of permanently policing an entire nation afterhaving fulfilled its military mission within six weeks. Using the military to maintain civil order is like shoveling sand with a pitchfork.

What is needed is a firm committment by the Iraqi government (whoever they turn out to be) and the people it represents to take the training wheels off themselves.
Also, please spare me the "democracy" hub-bub. We are not concerned with democracy in China or Russia, or a lot of other places. Some areas of the world seem allergic to democracy, and Iraq is one big rash.

In the end, the Patraeus Report will do no more than once again place the mantle of Iraqi responsibility upon the U.S. military. Oddly, and sadly, the accounting to the families of our men and women in uniform in Iraq, those, living, wounded, or dead, must come not from Washington, but Baghdad.

The silence so far is deafening, if not offensive.

Michael Linn Jones
*****************************
This post also at Michael Linn Jones.com

*****Mr. Deal has linked to this post...

Loss of the Greatest Generation

Picture courtesy of Dinoto Funeral Home

I hate to steal the line from Tom Brokaw but I admire his work and his tribute to the many veterans of World War II. For some of us World War II is a history that many never have the chance to understand from the point of view of those that served during the war. For that matter, many of the brave men and women that served never talked about it. They did what our nation asked and returned home changed but lived an amazing life none the less different for it.

Our veterans from World War II are fading into the final adventure that is part of life and I think it only just to pay tribute to them for the sacrifices they made when not only our nation needed them but the world needed them. I’ve posted several lost military service people here on Papamoka and I am proud of what I have posted on their behalf. I am truly thankful for all of our military people and when they have a loss so do I in my heart.

I grew up knowing my father served in World War II and in Korea. He never spoke of the horrors of his service till his later years. His later years took him from me but all the books and events he never missed when it came to veterans he passed on to his youngest son. My father and my friend was always a family man first. He lived for his family first and the past was just what it was. Jack O’Keefe didn’t bring the war home to Manor Road, he brought family to Manor Road. As much as my mother made us feel that home was our entire families home, Dad made sure that it was just that by just being our Dad. He wasn’t perfect but he was not a push over for any bull that any of his seven children could pass on at any given time.

While the pages of Military persons that are dying in Iraq or Afghanistan are filling up on the internet I find it kind of ironic that the people that fought to defend the atrocities in Europe are being laid to rest by the thousands every single day without any tribute. If any man or woman that served in any battle or war there is no generation that we as a nation should be more thankful too than the WWII Veterans.

Life is funny, my father never pushed any one of his sons into the military unless we were completely out of control. He cried when he came back home to sign my older brother up for the Navy. He didn’t regret it though. What the child he signed up learned was respect and to this day he knows what that means. If Jack didn’t make that step, our families future and that child’s future would have been very different. That was a very difficult decision and given our fathers experience during war time that he never wanted to see any of his sons experience what he endured that became a life time of pain for him.

Enough of that stuff and here is a tribute to just one other WWII Veteran. I hope and pray that his family does not mind that I post his obituary here.

Over at the Worcester Telegram they have this WWII Veterans obituary…

Robert Thore Gustafson, 88, died Friday, August 24th, at home.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, E. Marcia (Hooker) Gustafson; his two children, The Rev. Lisabeth M. Gustafson and Donald P. Gustafson. Bob was the son of Thore and Clara (Benson) Gustafson. He is also survived by his sister, Margaret Engwall, formerly of Worcester, now residing in Beavercreek, OH. He was predeceased by his sister, Ethel V. Nelson and brothers Walter, Roy, Carl, Ralph "Nick" and G. Herbert Gustafson.

Mr. Gustafson was a lifetime resident of the Worcester/West Boylston area. He grew up in the Quinsigamond area of Worcester. After graduating from South High School in 1937, he joined the Navy, serving throughout World War II. He was serving on a cruiser during the attack on Pearl Harbor and then transferred to submarine duty in the Pacific for the remainder of the war. After returning home from the service, Mr. Gustafson went to work for the New England Telephone Company where he worked for over 37 years. - Worcester Telegram

Thank you Robert Thore Gustafson for your service to not only your nation but to your family as well. My personal thanks to his family and my condolences on his passing. Our nation and the world is a far better place to live in thanks to the people like him that did what they had to do and did it damn well!

Papamoka

Feel Free to thank a Veteran here...

Military Deaths Just Being a Number

Picture courtesy of Patriot Guard Riders

While many of us bloggers bitch and moan about the war in Iraq and our reasons to oppose it or support it our children from both sides of the argument are still dying. That fact alone is nothing to beat your chest over regardless of what point of view you have concerning the war. Burying a child is still the same and your political affiliation does not matter. Undertakers and funeral homes have all the rituals and pomp and circumstance for any service required. Mothers will cry and be broken hearted and fathers will be proud and strong to support the family left behind. Tears of the fathers will be shed when not a soul is looking but the lost child from above.

From my very liberal mind I understand fully the need for a national defense and I fully support all of our troops and members of our military. One of the last things that I want to do is attend a funeral for a fallen soldier friend or family member because I know how much heart ache the parents are going through. It’s so easy to toss stones when you have never served in the military. It’s even easier if you only look at one side of the equation that is the war in Iraq, Afghanistan or wherever our military is sent. Stones are easy to pick up but serving your country is not. That commitment takes guts and it is the children we have and our brothers and sisters that made that commitment that we need to respect.

Serving in our nations military is never about politics. It is about honor and respect for what has been given to you as an individual and your personal choice to give back to America. For some people that is the ultimate price to pay and for others it is the experience of a life time that will never be equaled.

For the families that have to bury a loved one killed in war time, I offer my humblest of condolences and my families prayers. I also offer you thoughts of many grateful Americans that are The Patriot Guard Riders. They and I appreciate your lost family members sacrifice in service to our nation in our United States military. With dignity and respect The Patriot Guard Riders ride for the family and support the fallen soldiers and I am so grateful that there are people like them around to do that. It touches my heart and I think that it means so much to the families to know that absolute strangers will travel thousands of miles to just stand quietly with our nations flag waving in support of the family that is burying a loved one.

No greater loss to a parent is to bury a child. Knowing that many people that belong to The Patriot Guard Riders that care is a gift in a time of great sorrow. It is a memory that will never be lost.

Thank you Patriot Guard Riders for supporting the troops by being there when their families need you the most. If the families do not ever get the chance to thank you then you have a blanket thank you here. Ride hard, ride fast, and ride because you believe you are just in your mission. Thank you!

Hopefully, we can end your missions and our nation and our military will still respect bloggers like me posting to end the war and bring all of our troops home alive and well.

Papamoka

Soldiers Angels New York... is talking about this issue

Broken Hearts from a Broken War Strategy

While the President is insistent that we stay the course with regards to the war in Iraq the base of his political support is fading steadily. What were once strong holds of the Republican Party are becoming opponents to the president in what seems to be a never ending parade of funerals for our fallen sons and daughters.

As the President plays on the peoples worst fears the battle truly being fought does not have a definition to declare the war over. There will never be a signing ceremony where the opposing parties agree to an end of the hostilities. In its place we have an endless loop of a war that has the appetite to continue for generations if so allowed.

Each day the numbers of killed in the war in Iraq have become just that, numbers. To many people these numbers have no faces, families, or friends. Have we as a people become numb to the consistent body count that is on the news every single day? That is not the case in small tightly bound communities where everyone knows everyone not just by a face but by a name, who your family is and more importantly as a friend.

As more Republican Senators and Congressman join the ranks opposed to the war the President will dig in deep wearing his cast iron resolve like a life vest. As his strategy for the war in Iraq sinks below the waves and the president clings to the tip of the mast, the only thing certain is that the strategy that was his ship is in fact sinking.

The days of this President’s personal war in Iraq are coming to an end. Not today, or tomorrow but with the increasing loss of support from Republicans in the Congress, and in the heartland.

Papamoka

Staff Sergeant Daniel A. Newsome

My heart felt prayers are with this young mans family that is left behind. He served his nation and joined the ranks of many brave young men and woman that have paid the ultimate price in service to our nation. There are no greater words to say than a simple thank you to his family.

Just as an outside observer I appreciate the fact that our Governor, Deval Patrick is taking a personal stance on our sons and daughters lost to us in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some people might choose to call it politics but I tend to believe that the Governor is a man of honor and respect. Respect and tribute for the life lost is what the families that are burying their dead need most. They above all need to know that the loved one lost in service to America was not just another number on a tote board.

Over at the Boston Globe they had this to say about Daniel A. Newsome and his life…


Chicopee bids farewell to another hometown soldier
By Claire L. Cummings, Globe Correspondent
July 6, 2007

CHICOPEE -- The fallen soldier's little boy smiled as Governor Deval L. Patrick gave him a comforting rub on the back. The 1-year-old, dressed in a gray Army exercise shirt and miniature camouflage pants, is already the spitting image of his father, relatives said.

As family and friends gathered yesterday to remember Army Staff Sergeant Daniel A. Newsome, they recalled that his life's mission was to raise his son to be a great man. For those who love and miss Newsome, who died June 27 in Baghdad from injuries he sustained in an explosion, it is a mission they will now make their own.

"All of us are the mold that made Dan the man he was, and though we cannot make a new Dan . . . a new Staff Sergeant Daniel Allan Newsome, we can do our best to mold and shape a man very much like him," said Eric Ritter, the soldier's stepfather. "He already looks like his Daddy. His little hands and feet are Dan's. He has Dan's eyes. And when he frowns, his forehead wrinkles just like his Dad's did."

Others said the 27-year-old Newsome was a responsible leader who took his job seriously, but thrived on making people laugh. – Boston Globe

This war is taking its toll on the young people serving in our military and the toll it is taking on families is multiplied exponentially. Not one person in America will understand the loss that these families will go through over the next decades of what we all call life. Little boys, little girls, wives and husbands will go through life without the one person that was a very influential part of the small part of the world we call a family. There is only one way for any of us to understand the pain of the Newsome family and that is to bury one of our own. Something no parent, spouse or child would ever want to have to go through.

Their voice may have been silenced in death but the spirit of their life will live on. In service to our nation and with a respectful burial we as the American people need to be thankful for the sacrifice but be diligent in thought when placing our military in harms way.

Daniel will be in my prayers and thoughts along with a long list of other fallen heroes in service to America.

God Bless them all,

Papamoka

Proud Member of the Patriot Guard Riders

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Is Giuliani G. W. Bush Version 2.0?

Picture courtesy of the Boston Globe

What is the former Mayor of New York City thinking when he continually plays the 9/11 card? America gets it that you were the super hero of New York City and did all the right things post 9/11. You attended many of the funerals for the fallen Fire Fighters, the Police, and any media event you could tack onto your political resume. We get that!

When did he become George Bush version 2.0? What is more important to ask is if he comes with a Dick Cheney version 2.0?

We get that part but Ruddy, you are not the savior for America because you manipulated your way into many families grieving process and ceremonies. I fully apologize to all the families that lost a loved one on that tragic day but this man is abusing the memories of all Americans when he says that he can lead the people with the same message as our current President. Our current President is not leading anything other than his personal agenda of a shiney object over here while he and his friends do as they please over there.

Giuliani is playing the fear card and that is the same set of cards the current President is playing. Unlike the former Mayor of New York City the current President can select the audiences he wants to talk to and have them screened as always supportive to the message. Any dissenting thoughts are not allowed in his holiness presence at the King of the United States appearances.

Over at the Boston Globe they have this to say about the former Mayor and his message of fear…

Giuliani watchers wonder if he will overplay 9/11 card
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff
July 5, 2007

WILMINGTON, Del. -- Rudy Giuliani was just six seconds into his speech when he played his campaign trump card: the memory of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"I'll tell you the reason I wear this flag," the former New York City mayor told supporters at a recent rally here, pointing to the American flag pin on his lapel. "Before September 11, I only wore this flag rarely. But I started wearing it right after September 11. I wear it every day now. Each time I wear it, it reminds me of September 11."

For Giuliani, the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and his response to them have become his strongest campaign pitch, as the GOP presidential candidate reminds voters again and again of the role he played when terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center towers, killing nearly 3,000 people.

It is a message that appears to be resonating among Republicans. They have put the blunt-speaking former mayor at the top of a crowded GOP field in most polls, and his campaign said Tuesday that he raised more money in the second quarter than any other Republican candidate.
Political analysts say Giuliani's pitch is a powerful message to an electorate worried about another assault on US soil, especially after the recent attacks in Britain.

At the same time, many of these analysts question whether Giuliani can ride the anti terror train all the way to the White House. They say Giuliani risks being tagged as a single-issue candidate for his Sept. 11 performance just when his handling of the attack and its aftermath is drawing increasing criticism from his home city of New York. – Boston Globe

If the former Mayor is privy to any information regarding any future attacks on America then why is he not just saying such? Selling fear is what Bush does best, Giuliani is not convincing me one bit. I’m gambling but the next President of the United States will not be a Republican. George Bush burned the office and the trust of the American people. He will continue to do so as long as he is the emperor without a conscience in the Congress.

We can live in fear or we can live free? You decide? There has not been any diplomacy from this nation since W took office and there will be no diplomacy if G takes the highest office in the land.

Fear sells headlines but diplomacy is difficult and takes deep thought. Long term thought for the betterment of many people. Not just on shores here at home but for people in lands most of us will never have to be in unless we are lied to into the situation.

I don’t think that America needs a George W. Bush version 2.0 so the former Mayor can sell his fear somewhere else. What do you think?

Papamoka

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Military Service Recruits Down Amongst Blacks

First statement I have is why is it that this piece in the Washington Post is focusing on just “Blacks” also known as African Americans or simply Americans. What about the amount of White Anglo Saxon Americans not signing up for service in our nations military? What about those folks from the Asian parts of the world that just happens to be an American too? What about those pesky Canadians that dared to dream to be American or for that matter what some people would say settled for the lesser of two evils?

Serving in our nations military is a volunteer based academic and lifestyle choice. It is a choice that a person makes based on many levels of thought and current political atmosphere on what the current President calls something that could be a thousand year war is not very appetizing to the pallet for signing up to serve your nation in the military.

This is what the Washington Post has to say on this issue that I personally found very racist…

Number of Blacks Joining Military Down

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
The Associated PressMonday, June 25, 2007; 12:18 AM

WASHINGTON -- The number of blacks joining the military has plunged by more than one-third since the Afghanistan and Iraq wars began. Other job prospects are soaring and relatives of potential recruits increasingly are discouraging them from joining the armed services.
According to data obtained by The Associated Press, the decline covers all four military services for active duty recruits. The drop is even more dramatic when National Guard and Reserve recruiting is included. – Washington Post

Let us just assume for argument sake that any family, no race needed to be divulged, parents love their babies and those same parents learned the mistakes of past wars. Wars fought for true freedom can be justified but wars for political friend’s business profits are just wrong. How many parents would be willing to sign up their child for service knowing that the profits from that child’s service are bank rolling friends of politicians? Nope, not doing it here! This matter transcends race across America that is filled with just… Ummm Americans.
More from the WA PO…

The decline in black recruits overall has been offset partly by an increase in Hispanic recruits and those who classify themselves as other races or nationalities.

This category could include people who consider themselves Portuguese, or of other European descent that are not covered by the main categories of white, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan, black or Hispanic. –Washington Post

(Snip-a-Roo)

At the same time, the military is opening the door to many recruits it has not welcomed in the past. That includes people who are a bit older; who score lower on aptitude tests; and who have medical conditions such as asthma or attention deficit disorders that can be controlled better now with medicine.

The Army, for example, increased its age limit for recruits from 35 to 42. – Washington Post

Somebody slap me up side the head and call me stupid! If African Americans are not signing up for military services then the standards for being in the service are lowered? What is the military saying about our friends in the African American community? Are they calling my friends in the African American community less than knowledgeable on the ways of the world when it comes to military service or complimenting them as an American?

I have to say that I encourage service in our military but I can not ask any parent to encourage belief in a war that our President has no plan to end other than opening his Presidential Library in Texas. Passing the buck is easy when you don’t care about the kids that will die for an imagined war with no clue as to how to offer a solution. Let the next guy or gal worry about it.

Then again, who are you voting for in 2008?

Papamoka

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Memorial Day With A TWIST

Contributed by Michael Linn Jones

About two hours drive north of Paris there is a small village; la Neuviille-Houssett. Not far from this village is a farm, dissected by a small lane. This is old country, originally civilized by the Romans and witness to centuries of the horror of warfare. Across the lane from this farm is a Cross, with a small retaining wall holding a bronze plaque.

The monument, standing about 15 feet high, looks out upon a rising field, facing a hillock where on a cloudy night in 1944, an American bomber crashed at nightfall. The aircraft split in half, and all the crew were ejected. Local men dragged the men away from the flames. They were carried to the farmhouse. Three men survived, and the other four died. One was a young man from West Virginia. He died on a kitchen table, with Last Rites being read by a local priest. Aware of the fact that the dying man was Protestant, this priest did not care; a man of God performed his duty. This particular priest turned out to be the kind of man who did a lot of things not expected of him.

The West Virginian in question was the bomber's tailgunner, a SSgt. Wetzel Kimball. Several years before he had fallen in love with a girl from Jackson, Tennessee named Camille Owen. Camille had to accept the loss of her husband, a common experience in those days.

The village priest, Father Heroux, dedicated himself to bringing closure to the families of the dead airmen. In 1946 Fr. Heroux raised the funds necessary to erect the original Cross, at the same site where it stands today. He travelled to the U.S. after the war and met Camilee and other family members of the crew.

In 1948 Camillle opted to have her husband's remains returned to the United States from his resting place at Epinal in France. He was finally laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson, Tennessee.

In 2001, the local people of la Neuville-Houssett learned the details of the old Cross along the farm lane. Without government involvement or support, a huge amount of money was raised, and the result is what you see in the photograph. It is, if I may say so, as much a testimony to the gratitude and good hearts of good people as it is a remembrance of dead soldiers.

*********************************
Near the southern border of the Netherlands is a small town named Margraten. Nearby is an American cemetery from World War II. Please watch this short video; it'll only take a moment of your time. It's important that you do so because within the clip is a short mention of the fact that the people of that area regularly visit the graves of the 8,000 men buried there.

What the video does not show is that following World War II, and also 9/11/2001, a system of "adopting" American graves took place. These people waited their turn to have "their" American to lay flowers upon at every American holiday, such as the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and so on. They WAITED to have the opportunity to express their thanks to men who died long before many of them were even born.

Camille Kimball never remarried. She died a widow in 2003. After 59 years, she and her husband were finally reunited at the Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson. The love of one person for another can be most powerful, and in this case stretched for decades.
The story of the Kimballs is an interesting and poignant one. But you don't need to dwell upon them. In any city or town in this country there are cemeteries, and in each of them lies some man or woman who served us up gifts that we love but take for granted.

Sad to say, yet I'm proud to say, certain human beings in France and the Netherlands do not take these gifts for granted. It is part of their tradition that whatever frustrations they may feel in trying to figure out Americans, their gratitude is more than just talk. They walk their walk and, as in the case of Margraten, compete to do so.

Perhaps without knowing it, they are simply responding to the request of a dying Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan." He said, "Earn this. Earn this day."

If people an ocean away can do this, why cannot we start a similar tradition? On this Memorial Day, before you go off to your well-deserved rest or fun, take a moment to do something you've probably never thought of doing. Pick up some flowers...anywhere, it doesn't matter. Find the grave of a veteran and do no more than say "thanks."

You'll have a whole year to think about what you've done to earn that gift.

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