To all those that have served or serving this beautiful country, the land of the free and home of the brave... we salute and honor you today.

Thank you.

Probably not enough.. but the meaning is much more vast and meaningful than those simple words.

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Pack93Z:

Pass this one on to your pop for me, wouldya? As a Green Beret, my strong suspicion is that he would speak more than a smattering of La' France'.... Dependent upon his age, he probably habla's a little montagnard...

Anyway, here it is:

Les brets verts sont les plus bons soldats au monde. Merci de votre service fin, monsieur.

I

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns! he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

II

Forward, the Light Brigade!
Was there a man dismayd?
Not tho the soldier knew
Some one had blunderd:
Theirs not to make reply,
Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

III

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volleyd and thunderd;
Stormd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

IV

Flashd all their sabres bare,
Flashd as they turnd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonderd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reeld from the sabre-stroke
Shatterd and sunderd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

V

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volleyd and thunderd;
Stormd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

VI

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonderd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!


~ The Charge of the Light Brigade
Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1854)

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Will do fine sir.. will do. Thank you.

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And a major, big league, brings joy to my heart... shoutout to the young men and women with the courage and honor to serve our country in these difficult times... To their families that are enduring these multiple deployments, watching the news daily, scared and feeling all alone sometimes when a huge chunk of this country wants to put the sacrifice being made on a back-burner... understandable, to be sure... To their kids who miss their mom or dad, to the parents who live in dread of the thought that they might outlive their child. I salute you all, and pray for you and your loved one's safe return. God bless you.

Well done Shawn, well done indeed. Thank you

And Dave you have a fine way with words, my Marine friend. Your heart is huge.

To all those who have served, past, present, and future...there is not enough in simple words to convey my gratitude.

And to my brothers-in-arms from HA(L) 3 that never made it home, it is best put by the last line on this Memorial....

"As long as freedom lives, and is cherished, you will not be forgotten"

I know that I shall never forget.


 

here here! freedom is NEVER free - thank you veterans.

Amen.
It's the brave men and women (many of them on this very site) that have served and PAID for our freedom.
I NEVER take it for granted!!!!

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UH-1's... singles, too... Did you guys ever have the twins?
Gutsy unit.
Non sibi sed patriae

Singles only...UH-1B and C models

Gutsy unit?....We had our moments.