Taking a moment to remember our troops

[Madam Bijoux]

December 7 is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day in the US.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Yes...the greatest generation of Americans...ever! Those across the pond can join in too! They did so much, for so many. It is an honor to be in their midst.

Join you in the Salute of gratitude! §

 

[oldminer]

Keeping the freedom we enjoy has periodically had human costs. For my father it was WWII, for me, the Vietnam era and for my daughter through her husband two tours in Iraq. One day a year is not sufficient for the sacrifices that have been made and for those that will come in the future. It is good to honor those who have taken up arms for our defense. We may strongly disagree with the current administration''s policy or we may agree that such an approach is needed. Regardless of our politics, our soldiers do the dirty work so that we can enjoy our very protected lives.

When one travels to parts of the world where civil liberty is an unheard of privilege, or where millions live in total, wrenching poverty along the highway and sidewalks, an appreciation for the life we enjoy here, poor or wealthy, should be felt. Thanks to the troops and remembering how blind to reality we were before December 7, 1941 is the least we can do.

It was a long time ago. I wasn''t even born yet..... Here is a short paragraph on what and why it all happened: Copied from:
The Pearl Harbor Day Page

At dawn on Sunday, December 7, 1941, naval aviation forces of the Empire of Japan attacked the United States Pacific Fleet center at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and other military targets. The goal of this attack was to sufficiently cripple the US Fleet so that Japan could then attack and capture the Phillipines and Indo-China and so secure access to the raw materials needed to maintain its position as a global military and economic power. This would enable Japan to further extend the empire to include Australia, New Zealand, and India (the ultimate boundaries planned for the so-called "Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere"). The prevailing belief within the Japanese military and political establishment was that eventually, with the then expected German defeat of Great Britain and Soviet Russia, the United States'' non-involvement in the European war, and Japan''s control of the Pacific, that the world power structure would stabilize into three major spheres of influence:
1.) The Empire of Japan controlling East, Southeast, and South Asia and the entire Pacific Ocean.

2.) The combined powers of Germany and Italy controlling Great Britain, all of Europe, Western and central Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

3.) The United States, controlling North and South America.

 

[Maisie]

Gosh, can you imagine if things had gone according to that plan?

I thank God very often for the life I lead and the peace we enjoy here in England.

Where would we be without the brave troops who protect us all? It doesn't bear thinking about.

The attack on Pearl Harbour was horrific and devastating. But even the huge loss of life couldn't take away the tremendous bravery and commitment of the American armed forces. They were, and remain a force to be reckoned with.

 

[partgypsy]

I work at the VA, so I am reminded of the sacrifices our veterans have gone through, pretty much every day. There is no way to really repay fhem for their service.
As part of my job yesterday went to a talk about TBI (traumatic brain injury) in the OIF and OEF conflicts. The number of penetrative head wounds from American soldiers is over 2,000, but the number of closed head injuries our soldiers have sustained is much, much higher, horrifically high. When you have IEDs that can blow up an SUV, or flip a tank, protective armor only does so much, and I''m sure they know that. It makes you realize how much these soldiers put themselves in harms way for our country.

 

[lumpkin]

I am so very grateful for the soldiers in our military. We don''t think enough about or do enough for the people who protect us with their very lives, leaving their families and little children to put their lives on the line.