...To every Veteran who ever served...and to those who are serving today all over the world ...Thank you for your Service and Sacrifice...and GOD Bless America !

Amen and a big plus one...

Hoping every Veteran out there has a great day, and Thank You for the service you have done for all the American People.

The Sheepdogs

Most humans truly are like sheep
Wanting nothing more than peace to keep
To graze, grow fat and raise their young,
Sweet taste of clover on the tongue.
Their lives serene upon Life�s farm,
They sense no threat nor fear no harm.
On verdant meadows, they forage free
With naught to fear, with naught to flee.
They pay their sheepdogs little heed
For there is no threat; there is no need.

To the flock, sheepdog�s are mysteries,
Roaming watchful round the peripheries.
These fang-toothed creatures bark, they roar
With the fetid reek of the carnivore,
Too like the wolf of legends told,
To be amongst our docile fold.
Who needs sheepdogs? What good are they?
They have no use, not in this day.
Lock them away, out of our sight
We have no need of their fierce might.

But sudden in their midst a beast
Has come to kill, has come to feast
The wolves attack; they give no warning
Upon that calm September morning
They slash and kill with frenzied glee
Their passive helpless enemy
Who had no clue the wolves were there
Far roaming from their Eastern lair.
Then from the carnage, from the rout,
Comes the cry, �Turn the sheepdogs out!�

Thus is our nature but too our plight
To keep our dogs on leashes tight
And live a life of illusive bliss
Hearing not the beast, his growl, his hiss.
Until he has us by the throat,
We pay no heed; we take no note.
Not until he strikes us at our core
Will we unleash the Dogs of War
Only having felt the wolf pack�s wrath
Do we loose the sheepdogs on its path.

And the wolves will learn what we�ve shown before;
We love our sheep, we Dogs of War.

Russ Vaughn
2d Bn, 327th Parachute Infantry Regiment
101st Airborne Division
Vietnam 65-66

AMEN.

Nicely written.

Wondering how many made the September morning connection?

As to the second highlighted line... I'm afraid they are no longer just from the "Eastern lair", they are amongst us, here, daily.

Ever more reason for the sheepdogs!

Thanks to all, present and past, but ESPECIALLY to those in the far-flung corners of the world, away from there families, again.

In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

To my father who served with the 8th Aero Squadron (Observation) U.S. Army Expeditionary Flying Service, and suffered the rest of his life for having to bomb a German position in a church where children and nuns had sought shelter. To my uncle who was aboard the USS Nevada at Pearl Harbor and witnessed the carnage that took many of his friends and fellow sailors. To my Seabee cousin who was grievously wounded during the Tet Offensive and survived in flesh but not in spirit. To the young man Charles who I saw go off to Viet Nam a strong happy lad, the same Charles that wound up alive at the bottom of a mortar pit with all his dead buddies piled on top of him, to Charles who lost his sanity on that day. And to all those with wounds less obvious that returned with scared souls and mental torment; to those who awake in quite of night screaming of a nightmare long past; to those who drown their sorrows in alcohol that never quite extinguishes the memories and pain; I pray for your souls that God may take from you that oppressive baggage, leaving you with a peaceful heart and knowledge that there are loving family and friends that bid you undying gratitude for your sacrifice.

I wish a Blessed Day to all Vets


Hank

Some cannot empathize with a veterans burden. For those I offer this:

A very big thank you to all that stood the line to keep my sorry a$s safe and free. THANK YOU!!!

May God Richly Bless and Keep All Veterans.

On this solemn day we honor every man and women who served with honor so we could be free. Later this morning, I will drive to Fort Snelling Cemetary to honor our fallen heroes. The Fort Snelling Rifle Squad will be busy as they always are. There will be funerals, as death never takes a day off. There will be a memorial service in observance of Veterans Day also. The members of this squad are mostly older vets, and it will be a long day for them. Their old Springfield rifles will fire the 21 gun salute until all the day's funerals are done, and the service has been attended to.

My deepest thanks to all those who served. We are a much better people because of what you endured.

Lest we every forget.....

In loving memory of my father, SSGT. Howard W. Grubb, United States Army.

Some good stories from some veterans here:

Lives during wartime blog...

Have a good day Roy!

Thanks to all veterans!

Thanks to all the veterans, past and present, who allowed me to be free

May God Bless them all. Every one.

Thank you and God bless to all my fellow brothers and sisters. Some of us went, some of us stayed home. Same of us gave the ultimate sacrifice and some of us made it back. We are all scarred and we all share a common bond but most important is that we all stood together and wrote that check to Uncle Sam for the amount of "everything and all" and we we're all good for it. We ask for nothing but sure do appreciate the simple thank you.

LOVE IT

A great day to all fellow veterans, thank you for your service to our nation, and for myself, I am proud and privileged to have been able to serve our nation and serve my fellow veterans during their time of medical needs... a salute to all of them..

and may God bless those that have gone before us and to those that will follow us...

and a salute of respect to fellow forum members that are serving today in harms way far from home... come home safe and soon...

The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive VETERANS of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation. -George Washington

Thanks to all who served and double thanks to those who gave all and never returned

Amen & amen again!

I have always particularly loved "What the Captain Means" because I am one of the very few (perhaps the only) guy who was both a combat pilot AND an official media spokesman. I lived both sides of that interview.

ROGER THAT!

Ed

Thank you to all Veterans and their families.


[video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RW3ZLsAP_n0[/video]

For the Red, White , and Blue!