November 11

[maestro]

The story of U.S. Army Helicopter pilot.

This has made the rounds. Thought that I would post.

On November 14, 1965, a U.S. Battalion was surrounded by the enemy in Vietnam.
The situation was so hopeless that commanders refused to risk taking helicopters in to rescue the soldiers.
According to the survivors of the battle, an unarmed Huey came to their aid brining water, much needed supplies and ammunition.
The Huey returned more than 21 times evacuating the wounded each time. That day, more than 70 soldiers were flown to safety by Captain Freeman. On August 20, 2008 Major Ed Freeman passed away at the age of 80.
On July 16, 2001 he received the Congressional Medal Of Honor.

Thank God that men like this were serving our country. I personally do not know how God makes men like this, but this Monday, stop and give thanks.

[bobcat1]

Amen! Thank you to all Veterans who have served and those serving now. These are the real heroes of our country!

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj52/dogncar1/soldier_salute_zps358fb70b.gif

[Bullaholic]

Thank you veterans and those now serving in the Armed Forces. God Bless America, land that we love!

[defense51]

Thank you to those who served before me, with me, and after me!

[panther89]

Thank you all for your service. The freedoms we as Americans take for granted we would not have without the sacrifices of the many men and women of our US Armed Forces. Thanks maestro for posting this.

[slingshot]

Second all the above... I awoke today and thought about my Dad. He passed away 3 yrs ago at the age of 89. I still miss him. Dad was a top gunner on a B-17 bomber in WWII. His squadron had a very high operational loss rate. Of 16 crews that trained together and went to war together 12 did not return. Dad was a private pilot before the war and was in the Air Corps from '42-45. He never flew again after getting out of the service. I tried several times to get him to fly with me to Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial--he declined. A couple yrs before his death I took him to an airshow in Midland--they had a beautifully restored B-17 there and were taking people up for 30 minute rides, they even told him he could ride for free since he was a WWII vet if I paid for my ride... he declined--I noticed tears in his eyes (my Dad NEVER cried). I asked him why, he explained that many years ago he made a deal with God--if the Lord would get him home safe to his family he would never fly again. He said God kept his end of the bargain and he intended to do the same...

[maestro]

Second all the above... I awoke today and thought about my Dad. He passed away 3 yrs ago at the age of 89. I still miss him. Dad was a top gunner on a B-17 bomber in WWII. His squadron had a very high operational loss rate. Of 16 crews that trained together and went to war together 12 did not return. Dad was a private pilot before the war and was in the Air Corps from '42-45. He never flew again after getting out of the service. I tried several times to get him to fly with me to Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial--he declined. A couple yrs before his death I took him to an airshow in Midland--they had a beautifully restored B-17 there and were taking people up for 30 minute rides, they even told him he could ride for free since he was a WWII vet if I paid for my ride... he declined--I noticed tears in his eyes (my Dad NEVER cried). I asked him why, he explained that many years ago he made a deal with God--if the Lord would get him home safe to his family he would never fly again. He said God kept his end of the bargain and he intended to do the same...

I never get tired of reading these stories. Thanks for sharing.
As the above post said, a key word is SACRIFICE. Someone gave up their life for future generations.

That statement makes me feel very small as a person.
If you are just web browsing today, the Congressional Medal Of Honor site has many bios of soldiers, COLLEGE AGE or less, that performed deeds that are remarkable.

And thanks to utube, some of these veterans can tell the first hand account of their experiences.

[panfan]

My dad was the youngest of 10. 8 boys, 2 girls. Six of them took off for war during WW2. I think my dad was 17 cause the timing of his enlistment and his birthdate don't seem to jive to let him be 18. Anyway, they spread out among the services. They all made it back. Dad never spoke of things that happened as he said they just brought back very bad memories. Several cousins served in Vietnam and have endured lingering effects from that war. My nephew is currently an air force officer in charge of a nuke silo in North Dakota. Thanks to those that have served, those that do serve, and lets just pray that in the future we can avoid the need for their service abroad.

[BwdLion73]

Just wanted to post a thanks on this date. My Dad was a WWll vet serving in North Africa against Rommell and then on to Sicily and into Germany during Christmas. He never would say a lot about it. After his death a few years back I found a box with some photos and such in it. It contained pictures of GI's in the field with their name on the back and notations such as "Brad killed by tank" "Joe killed by sniper" each one had dates on it. Those men need to be remembered on this date with more than getting a holiday off.

Thanks to all that serve from me and my Dad.