Memorial Day

[Edward]

To all the forum, may I personally wish you all an enjoyable day!

As we enjoy the weekend, my hope is that we take some time of reflection to remind us of the selfless souls who have made this land of freedom genuinely possible.  I'm reminded of Lincoln who memorialized the fallen at Gettysburg as having given their last full measure of devotion.  They breathed their last, as have innumerable others in our armed services, to preserve the principles of liberty we hold inviolate.  My hope is that we celebrate them as we enjoy the peace and joy of our friends and families on this solemn day of remembrance.

Be well, all!  strum, pick, and sing with gusto: celebrate today with the heaviness of the cost, but the joy that we have at the present!  As has been echoed often, to whom much is given, much is required: as for me, I have received an insurmountable bounty for which I cannot possibly repay.  So to that end, I am grateful as I put the shoulder to the plough.  Enjoy, all! 

Edward

[Toucan256]

Very well said Edward.

[donlyn]

And watch the great movie "Gettysburg" with all the re-enactors showing up at the battlesite for the 3 days of battle.

Nice hollywood cast to top it off with Martin Sheen, Tom Beringer, Sam Elliott, and Jeff Daniels (20th Maine Colonel on Little Round Top, who gets best of show in my eyes).

Don, disabled veteran, Vietnam era.

[Guitars44me]

Thank you Edward, for this very well put post!

And thank you to all who serve now as well.

Paul

[Edward]

And watch the great movie "Gettysburg" with all the re-enactors showing up at the battlesite for the 3 days of battle.

Nice hollywood cast to top it off with Martin Sheen, Tom Beringer, Sam Elliott, and Jeff Daniels (20th Maine Colonel on Little Round Top, who gets best of show in my eyes).

Don, disabled veteran, Vietnam era.

Hadn't seen that one, but will now.
Thanks for your service and for your sacrifice for which I can never repay.  Glad you're here, sir!

Edward

[SDTaylorman]

Just to throw some perspective in here there were about eight to ten thousand soldiers killed during the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1 to 3, 1863) and that's roughly the same as the total number of American soldiers and contractors killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during our 20 year war over there.

[donlyn]

In that Gettysburg movie, Jeff Daniels played the real-life Joshua Chamberlain. He was a Bowdoin College Professor who won the Medal of Honor for his part in the battle of Gettysburg.

The Wiki bio is very interesting -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain

Incidentally, Sheen played Lee, Berenger played Longstreet, and Elliott played Buford.

Stephen Lang ('Ike Clanton' in "Tombstone") played Pickett, and Ted Turner had a quick cameo as a dying general in Pickett's Charge.

Don