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Lest We Forget


Michael Eastes

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I don't know if people here would be interested in this sort of thing. I think we should remember those who go forth and give all for country, family, and friends- but mostly, for their equivalent of "squaddies".

 

If it is deemed appropriate, others will contribute. If not, the topic will fall off the page.

 

http://community.statesmanjournal.com/news...alties/list.php

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I don't know if people here would be interested in this sort of thing. I think we should remember those who go forth and give all for country, family, and friends- but mostly, for their equivalent of "squaddies".

 

If it is deemed appropriate, others will contribute. If not, the topic will fall off the page.

 

http://community.statesmanjournal.com/news...alties/list.php

It is always appropriate, Michael...

 

Good to see individual names preserved as well. Up here - I don't know about in the U.S. - the news services only occasionally mention U.S. casualties, and even then without names. These men & women have not died in vain, and it's important that they be remembered.

 

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  • 2 months later...

Mike Eastes sent me this, I thought about posting this as a separate thread but it seems like it'd go better here.

 

This letter was written by Charles Grennel and his comrades who are veterans of the global war on terror. Grennel is an Army Reservist who spent two years in Iraq and was a principal in putting together the first Iraq elections, January of 2005. It was written to Jill Edwards, a student at the University of Washington who did not want to honor Medal of Honor recipient USMC Colonel Greg Boyington a University of Washington alumni's, prior to a planned ceremony early February 2008. Ms. Edwards and other students (and faculty) do not think those who serve in the U.S. armed services are good role models.

 

To: Edwards, Jill (student, UW)

Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs

 

Miss Edwards, I read of your student activity regarding the proposed memorial to Col. Greg Boyington, USMC and a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect you will receive a bellyful of angry e-mails from conservative folks like me.

 

You may be too young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and servicewomen on whose shoulders you and your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth and your naivete. It may be that you are, simply, a sheep. There's no dishonor in being a sheep as long as you know and accept what you are.

 

William J. Bennett, in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24,1997 said: Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident. We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

 

Then there are the wolves and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy. Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

 

Then there are sheepdogs, and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the uncharted path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

 

We know that the sheep live in denial; that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.

 

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours. Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports, in camouflage fatigues, holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, Baa. Until the wolf shows up; then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

 

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them.

 

This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door. Look at what happened after September 11, 2001, when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones.

 

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes. The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference. You want to be able to make a difference. There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

 

There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself. Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.

 

Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When they learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd and the other passengers confronted the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers, athletes, business people and parents from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

 

There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. Edmund Burke

 

Only the dead have seen the end of war. Plato

 

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice.

 

But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

 

This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between.

 

Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. It's OK to be a sheep, but do not kick the sheep dog. Indeed, the sheep dog may just run a little harder, strive to protect a little better and be fully prepared to pay an ultimate price in battle and spirit with the sheep moving from baa to thanks.

 

We do not call for gifts or freedoms beyond our lot. We just need a small pat on the head, a smile and a thank you to fill the emotional tank which is drained protecting the sheep. And when our number is called by The Almighty, and day retreats into night, a small prayer before the heavens just may be in order to say thanks for letting you continue to be a sheep. And be grateful for the thousands, millions of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

May God richly bless all the Sheepdogs

 

 

 

 

Shot

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
and also here in Turkey

 

What sort of services do they have in Turkey? Is it a national day as in Oz or is it just another anniversary ignored by the majority of the populace? I note that our forces often hold joint ceremonies so obviously its something the Turkish military remember.

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What sort of services do they have in Turkey? Is it a national day as in Oz or is it just another anniversary ignored by the majority of the populace? I note that our forces often hold joint ceremonies so obviously its something the Turkish military remember.

 

I understand that there is a common ceremony - even the Irish were there last time, and then at a later date a special Turkish one to commemorate a specific regiment (57?) that fought there - I should rally know more about this.

 

Lots of Turkish flags out

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  • 2 weeks later...
What sort of services do they have in Turkey? Is it a national day as in Oz or is it just another anniversary ignored by the majority of the populace? I note that our forces often hold joint ceremonies so obviously its something the Turkish military remember.

 

From the Turkish ANZAC Memorial, Canberra:

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives

You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country,

Therefore, rest in peace.

There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us

Where they lie side by side in this country of ours…

You, the Mothers,

Who sent their sons from far away countries

Wipe away your tears:

Your sons are now lying in our bosom

And are in peace.

After having lost their lives on this land

They have become our sons as well."

Words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1934

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From the Turkish ANZAC Memorial, Canberra:

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives

You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country,

Therefore, rest in peace.

There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us

Where they lie side by side in this country of ours…

You, the Mothers,

Who sent their sons from far away countries

Wipe away your tears:

Your sons are now lying in our bosom

And are in peace.

After having lost their lives on this land

They have become our sons as well."

Words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1934

 

this is the way things are seen here

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From my home-town newspaper web site. Maybe it's duplication of information, but it can't hurt.

 

Yes, I'm weak. I couldn't stay all the way away from this grating sight.

 

http://www.legacy.com/theeagle/soldier/Home.aspx

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From my home-town newspaper web site. Maybe it's duplication of information, but it can't hurt.

 

Yes, I'm weak. I couldn't stay all the way away from this grating sight.

 

http://www.legacy.com/theeagle/soldier/Home.aspx

Hello Michael

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

D-Day and Normandy 1944.

 

Remembering my Uncles, Rifelman Philip Genaille, died of wounds on D-Day, and

Rifleman Edward Smith, (executed POW June 8, 1944, Normandy) ... both with the

Royal Winnipeg Rifles aka Little Black Devils.

 

Remembering all who stormed the beaches of Normandy, especially those who

never made it out of Normandy.

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  • 4 months later...

John Ripley, Col., USMC Ret. and Navy Cross recipient, has passed at age 69. RIP. Take a minute and read the article.

 

http://townhall.com/columnists/WThomasSmit...p;comments=true

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