Brothers et all, This weekend we remember. We remember those who made a sacrifice mercifully few of us are forced to contemplate. We remember those who fell on a warm morning in April 1775 while standing up to the world’s most powerful army on a town green not far from where I write this. More than 6500 of their countrymen would fall in the ensuing War for Independence. We remember those Marines who in May of 1805, marched across the desert from Alexandria, Egypt to and spilled their blood to capture the Tripolitan city of Derna. The first time in history the United States flag was raised in victory on foreign soil. We remember those who died on an evening in August of 1812, when American sailors on board USS Constitution shocked the world by defeating The British frigate Guerriere. Thus proving America was a legitimate naval power and earning USS Constitution the nick name Old Iron Sides. We remember those who died on the walls of Chapultepec at dawn on September 12 1847. We remember Bull Run, Shiloh, Vicksburg, The Wilderness, Chickamauga, Antietam, Stones River, Gettysburg, and the countless other battles and skirmishes of the Civil War. From 1861 at Fort Sumter, to 1865 at Appomattox Court House, more than 620,000 who died so the other men may be free. We Remember the Maine, and the men who fell charging San Juan Hill with Teddy Roosevelt on July 2nd 1898. We remember Belleau Wood, Aisne, The Marne, Château-Thierry, Blanc Mont Ridge, we remember the gas, and the horror the trenches. We honor the more than 116,512 American who fell in the span of a little more than a year, April 1917 thru November 1918, in the War to End All Wars. We Remember Pearl Harbor, North Africa, Bataan, Anzio, Wake Island, Midway, Monte Casino, Omaha, Gold, Sword, Juno, and the Boys of Pointe Du Hoc. Tarawa, Iwo Jima, Coral Sea, the Battle of the Atlantic. We remember the freezing Christmas at Bastogne, and the swelter of a disease infested green hell in New Guinea, and so many more. We stand in awe of the 405,399 members of the Greatest Generation who from 1941-1945, died while saving the world. We remember the frozen nightmare of Chosin Reservoir, Inchon, Pork Chop Hill, the Pusan Perimeter, and all the place Americans fought to roll back an evil Empire. We honor the 36,516 know dead and the 8,175 missing in action from 25 June 1950 through 27 July 1953 in the Korean War. We remember Ia Drang, Operation Rolling Thunder, Khe Sanh, Tet, Quang Tri and Hue, the Easter Offensive, and so many other places with and without names. 58,272 names etched in 246 feet 9 inches of mirrored black stone has become the beating heart of the conscience of our nation. It is there we honor those who served at a time when it wasn’t in vogue to support the troops. The commitment and courage of all those who served, today acts as a beacon to guide the character of this country. We honor those who served and passed in Vietnam, December 1956 to April 1975. We remember October 23rd 1983 suicide bombers detonated two truck bombs in Beirut Lebanon. The attack targeted the building serving as a barracks for the 1st Battalion 8th Marines the death toll was 241 American servicemen: 220 Marines, 18 sailors and three soldiers were killed, this was the deadliest single-day death toll for the United States Marine Corps since World War IIs Battle of Iwo Jima. “They came as Peace Keepers”. We remember and honor those who fought and died when the Cold War turned hot, or a petty tyrant threatened free people. Grenada, Panama, Central and South America, Asia and Africa, and wherever freedom was in jeopardy. We remember those who fell to rebuke a tyrant, and free a people during Operation Desert Storm; January and February of 1991. “They didn’t want to go to war, they didn’t want to leave their families, but when their country asked them to, they did, because they thought it was the right thing to do.” H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. We remember the 18 killed and 80 wounded in Somalia at the Battle of Mogadishu, during Operation Restore Hope on the 3rd and 4th October 1993. The selfless actions of Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart, will never be forgotten. The two men fought back against a Somali mob in a valiant effort to protect the crew of a downed Blackhawk helicopter. The men were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. We remember Bosnia, Macedonia, Haiti, Serbia, and all those places in the 1990s where Americans were sent and American lives were spent to halt violations of human rights and genocide. We remember October 12th 2000, when the USS Cole was the target of attack carried out by Al-Qaeda in the Yemeni port of Aden; 17 sailors were killed, 39 were injured. We remember September 11th 2001. No words can describe the depth of the horror of that day. We remember all of those 2,229 plus, who have fallen in the last 12 years of the War on Terror in Afganistan. We remember the fall of Mazar-i-Sharifm Siege of Kunduz, Fall of Kabul, 2001 uprising in Heart, Battle of Tarin Kowt, the Fall of Kandaharmm Qala-i-Jangi, and the Battle of Tora Bora. Operation Red Wing, Operation Anaconda. Our forces are walking in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, and winning in the mountains that broke the Soviet war machine two decades ago. We remember shock and awe in in the spring of 2003. We remember Bagdad, Basra, Fallujah, and Ramadi. We remember ambushed convoys and remeote IEDs, We honor each and every one of the 4488 members of the new generation of greatness who died to make the world safer place. Over the course of 239 years more than 1,321,612 American servicemen have paid the ultimate price in order to ensure we can live safe, secure, and prosperous. Never forget. Submitted with the greatest respect, Memorial Day 2014. I apologize for any mistakes or omissions. Bro. William A. Donahue BMC, USCG.
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 21:08:57 +0000