It OUGHT to be true...

This story came to me in my email this morning. I've seen it before, in both the incarnations mentioned by Snopes.com. If Honour means anything to you, if you have any gratitude in your heart for the gifts you've been given, read it in that spirit. And remember...

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I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.

'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan.

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I Quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base'

His friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'

'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is your thanks..'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars..

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, and said, 'I want to shake your hand.'

Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals..

It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'



With many thanks to LTC John Chadbourne, PFC Heidi Gregory, SPC Ernesto Garcia and CSM Harry Jeffries of 703rd Brigade Support Battalion at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq. Picture from Iraq Pictures, a blog here on blogspot - also with thanks. It was taken in January of 2008, as far as I can tell.

No Pixie today, going to run and get supplies to make Hoppin' John. The Cousins will be here around 1030, My Chief is off today but has the flu, and I have 'stuff' to get done. Y'all have a FINE day, and thanks for stopping by!

Remember Pearl Harbor

Read Ed Morrissey at Hot Air.

Read Infamous Day: Marines at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941.

USS West Virginia - repaired and returned to duty



USS Arizona - lost with 1177 of her crew


Ford Island taken in October 1941 - the view the Japanese pilots would have seen


While a Marine, foreground, looks skyward, the torpedoed battleship California (BB-44) lists to port. In the left background flies "Old Glory," raised by PFCs Frank Dudovick and James D. Young, and Pvt Paul O. Zeller, USMCR.
National Archives Photo 80-G-32463



Beneath a leaden sky on 8 December 1941, Marines at NAS Kaneohe Bay fire a volley over the common grave of 15 officers and men killed during the Japanese raid the previous day. Note sandbagged position atop the sandy rise at right.
National Archives Photo 80-G-32854



A 91-year-old Veteran in Alabama talks about the attack on Pearl Harbor and other bases on Oahu.

It was a day that changed his life forever, a 91-year-old Enterprise veteran remembered Friday about Dec. 7, 1941.

Chester Faulkner was a 23-year-old Army Infantry soldier stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii when the Army post and nearby Navy base at Pearl Harbor were attacked that Sunday morning. “I was still in bed,” said Faulker, who was the squad’s leader at the time. “The windows started rattling so hard.”



I have no words that can express the gratitude I feel for being a citizen of the country that produced such Men as were created that day. God Bless America, and REMEMBER Pearl Harbor.

"They stand between us and those who would plunge our nation into darkness."

Ben Shapiro tells about another anti-American movie that paints our proud Warriors as monsters and psychos. Funny how many who tell such stories have little or no experience with REAL military members or their families. I take this as a PERSONAL affront, being a Navy Wife of 22 years, and with my brother, cousins, father and uncles having also worn the uniform.

I will not pay to see another Hollywood production, in a theatre or recorded. I rewrote that, because there were conditions such as 'war movie' or a certain time period in my first writing. I apply no such conditions now that I think of it. It isn't as if Hollywood is going to miss my few pennies, I'm not a movie buff in any way shape or form. Like Congress, Hollyweird doesn't give a rat's shiny rear end what I think, either. But I try to stand by my principles, and I don't have enough cash to waste on people who have such little respect for the finest and bravest among us. I can catch the few movies I might be interested in on a cable channel I already pay for. The last movie I watched was "Taking Chance" on HBO. Last year. The last movie I saw in a theatre was "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King."

From the column:
Where is George Clooney when we need him? Where is Ewan McGregor? Where is Tobey Maguire? Apparently, they are too busy pillorying soldiers as would-be Maj. Nidal Hasans to remember who our soldiers really are: Michael Monsoors. Heroes. True brothers. And true protectors.

Veteran's Day/ Remembrance Day 2009

The Things That Make a Soldier Great
Edgar Guest

The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,
To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why,
Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,
The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:
'Tis these that make a soldier great.
He's fighting for them all.

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;
'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;
For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.
Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,
You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?

The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,
The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.
The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome
But to the spot, where'er it be — the humblest spot called home.
And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there
And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.

He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,
And only death can stop him now -- he's fighting for them all.

Reprinted from The Holiday Zone: Poetry for Veterans Day

Message from General James T. Conway, United States Marines

The United States Marines represent the best young men and women our Nation has to offer. To be a Marine is to be a member of America’s warrior class—to be one of the few who steps forward with the courage and conviction to face whatever dangers await. Our Nation expects her Marines to be ready when the Nation calls; to leave family and the comforts of home behind; to march into battle under austerity; and to come home under a victory pennant.

From Al Anbar in the west of Iraq, to Helmand Province in the south of Afghanistan, our Corps of Marines can always expect to be found where the fight is the toughest. Such is our history. Today, as we write the final chapter on our victory in Iraq, we will increasingly take the fight to the enemy in Afghanistan and add new pages to our legacy in places like Delaram, Now Zad and Garmsir. One day we will return to our naval heritage and patrol the high seas with our Navy brothers. Such is our future.

As we celebrate our Corps’ 234th birthday, we first pause to reflect and pay tribute to those Marines who have given the last full measure in defense of freedom. We extend our deepest gratitude to our Marine Corps families—the unsung heroes who endure hardship and sacrifice so that we are able to go forward and accomplish any mission. We extend our appreciation to our countrymen who have answered our every need. And we celebrate the magnificent men and women who willingly and selflessly continue to go into harm’s way to protect this great Nation.

To all who have gone before, to those who wear the uniform today, and to the families that give us the strength to forge ahead—I wish you all a heartfelt 234th birthday!

Semper Fidelis,

James T. Conway
General, U.S. Marines