Sgt, I always look forward to your posting for Memorial Day.. Each time it brings back warm feelings about my uncles that I've lost through the years. My mother was 1 of 14. So, you can imagine how lonely it was during the war. 8 brothers and everyone went into the service.. One died tragically on his return home. He got off the train and he and several buddies were driving home by car through the mountains.. It was icy and began to rain...you can imagine the rest of the story. He was 23 and the youngest son. The oldest son died in a MS VA hospital. He was a POW and his body was riddled with Shrapnel <sp>. As well has his mind destroyed while in the camps. One was lost oversees when his fighter went down and was never found.. The others are still around and growing old naturally. Thank Goodness..:-) Thanks again. And as always, My Hat's Off to you and the many many men and women that have served our country to help keep it free.....God Bless you all.....:-) ginger At 05:08 AM 5/15/01 -0400, you wrote: >Things to ponder this upcoming Memorial Day, May 28th > > THE THINGS THEY CARRIED: > >They carried P-38 can openers and heat tabs, watches and dog tags, insect >repellent, gum, cigarettes, Zippo lighters, salt tablets, compress >bandages, ponchos, Kool-Aid, two or three canteens of water, iodine >tablets, sterno, LRRP- rations, and C-rations stuffed in socks. The >carried standard fatigues, jungle boots, bush hats, flak jackets, and >steel pots. They carried the M-16 assault rifle. They carried trip >flares and Claymore mines, M-60 machine guns, the M-70 grenade launcher, >M-14's, CAR-15's, Stoners, Swedish K's, 66mm Laws, shotguns, .45 caliber >pistols, silencers, the sound of bullets, rockets, and choppers, and >sometimes the sound of silence. They carried C-4 plastic explosives, an >assortment of hand grenades, PRC-25 radios, knives and machetes. > >Some carried napalm, CBU's, and large bombs; some risked their lives to >rescue others. Some escaped the fear, but dealt with the death and >damage. Some made very hard decisions, and some just tried to survive. > >They carried malaria, dysentery, ringworms, and leaches. They carried the >land itself as it hardened on their boots. They carried stationery, >pencils, and pictures of their loved ones - real and imagined. They >carried love for people in the real world, and love for one another. And >sometimes they disguised that love: "Don't mean nothin'!" > >They carried memories! > >For the most part, they carried themselves with poise and a kind of >dignity. Now and then, there were times when panic set in, and people >squealed, or wanted to, but couldn't; when they twitched and made moaning >sounds and covered their heads and said "Dear God", and hugged the earth >and fired their weapons blindly, and cringed and begged for the noise to >stop, and went wild and made stupid promises to themselves and God and >their parents, hoping not to die. They carried the traditions of the >United States military, and memories and images of those who served before >them. They carried grief, terror, longing, and their reputations. > >They carried the soldier's greatest fear: the embarrassment of >dishonor. They crawled into tunnels, walked point, and advanced under >fire, so as not to die of embarrassment. They were afraid of dying, but >too afraid to show it. They carried the emotional baggage of men and >women who might die at any moment. They carried the weight of the world, >and the weight of every free citizen of America. > >THEY CARRIED EACH OTHER >Author Unknown >Remember them this Memorial Day May 28th > > >==== EUDORA-MAIL Mailing List ==== >To unsubscribe from EUDORA-MAIL, send an e-mail message to: > EUDORA-MAIL-L-request@rootsweb.com (for individual messages) > EUDORA-MAIL-D-request@rootsweb.com (for Digest mode) >Put only ONE word in the subject: UNSUBSCRIBE >(You don't need to put anything in the body.) > >============================== >Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp Mike & Ginger Woodcock EagleRun® Australian Shepherds Home of ROMX 11, ASCA CH AraBesque Of Taltarni http://www.eaglerun1.com Ginger's WebDesign by EagleRun http://www.eaglerun1.com/webdesignpage.htm Join The Original AussiePosse WebRing found on our website Remember, An EagleRun Aussie is NOT the end of a Transaction, it is the Beginning of a Relationship, enjoy!! :-) (sig tm, the original)