Community Chat

[Oznell]

I just re-read Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.  Brief and beautiful.  In such few words, the magificent wartime President expressed the full weight of appreciation for those who sacrificed and perished in the great cause of the Civil War.

"....But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here....."

Of course, despite the sense of loss, he then ended on a note of hope.

For me, Childe Hassam's flag paintings never fail to inspire. 

 

Grateful to remember all those who have sacrificed with their precious lives.

[vermint]

@Oznell Thank you for posting this...just beautiful. We must never forget those who died defending our country!

[Skyegirl21]

Thank you for the beautiful post @Oznell .
Yes, today we respect, remember, honor and give thanks- 💝🙏

[nelc]

Beautiful
I got emotional reading Lincoln’s words.
Thank you for posting and reminding us what today is really about.

[drizzellla]

@Oznell I still remember in 7th grade we had to memorize the Gettsburg Address.

Today we are going to Washington Crossing National Cemetery to visit our friend's grave.

[Nonametoday]

@Oznell 

Thank you so much. I always know that you will post something worthy and indeed, you did.  Thank you so much for the post and honoring our fallen via this post and the beautiful flags are indeed special.  

A friend whose husband is a great musician played the medley of the anthem for the various branches of services yesterday and sent it to me via Email for my DH to see. It made him feel great to know that a man who did not serve would yet honor the servicemen who served and those who died with such a nice medley. 

His grandparents were survivors of Auschwitz so his family has an appreciation for our servicemen as well as those, like my husband and me, who served. And, yes.  The wives and children serve in their own way and many sleepless nights out of fear that flag is going to be delivered to our door.

[PamfromCT]

@Oznell, Thank you so much for your beautiful and very touching post.  Such a fitting tribute to those who sacrificed for our freedom, so many at a very young age.  And to their families, who still endure a loss.

[pateacher]

@Oznell  Thanks so much for reminding us of Lincoln's meaningful words, accompanied by the patriotism-lifting image.

The remind us of the essence of this national holiday.

[DSD2]

A beautiful, touching and poignant posting @Oznell 

Lincoln's speech transcends time and space...

[skatting44]

   Often we think of families loosing one  family member  during military service, but I just read abt the Sullivan family in WWII .

"
The Sullivan family motto: We stick together. The five Sullivan brothers—Albert, Madison, Joseph, Francis and George—all decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy after they received a report about the death of their friend, Bill Ball, aboard the battleship Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor. " 

" The Sullivans lost five sons, known as the Sullivan Brothers, in naval action in World War II. "

" They were on the same ship when it was sunk in the Pacific. The law provided that members of an immediate family would not be placed together in harm's way. While this is not automatic, because it would be impossible to keep track of who belongs to whom, a family member can request transfer to a non-combat area. "

edited to add :

" The Sole Survivor Policy was enacted in 1948 as a result of the deaths of the Sullivan brothers during World War II. What was unusual about their deaths is that they all died together, as they were all serving aboard the USS Juneau. The ship was sunk during the Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. "