Today is again a day to remember and be thankful for the men and women who serve in our military. It’s Veteran’s Day. At this time of year, I like to remember all those ancestors who fought to give us this life we have. There were a lot of brave hearts who sailed to America in tiny ships, with no one to meet them, but the natives. In my mind, they are Veterans of a war against the tyranny of the kings of those days, a war of Freedom and Independence, where guns weren’t fired at an army, where the battles were against the unknown and nature. Many died on the ships crossing the wide ocean, many more died of disease, famine and at the hands of the natives, when they decided to try to drive them from this land. They could be killed, they could die of hunger and even torture, but their hunger for freedom, for a patch of land to call their own, was stronger than everything thrown at them. To those Veterans, Thank you! They kept coming, and settled up and down the coast of North America, up the rivers and creeks, over the mountains into the wilderness, sometimes leaving behind parents, wives, children; and sometimes never coming home. They still faced the natives who attacked unexpectedly, wild animals, and hunger, while they grubbed out the trees and planted crops that might feed only the wild animals. The settlements were growing stronger until the feeling of freedom was so strong that they could no longer answer to a foreign king, a man who must have seemed more myth than real. By now, they were no longer English, they had, unknowingly, become Americans. Our fine men, young and old, rebelled - the American Revolution. And in the next century, they had to do it all again in the War of 1812. To those Veterans, John and William, George and Thomas, Benjamin and Christopher, James and all the rest - Thank You. Thank you for giving up your money, your time, your homes, your families and your lives, just so I could live in a free land. The Civil War brought it’s own brand of heros, brothers fighting on opposite sides and sometimes, ever fathers fighting on the other side from their sons. Each willing to die for something they felt was worth it all. To these Veterans, Thank You. There have been so many more wars, non-wars, and police actions. No matter what they are called, our men, and more recently, our women, died. You know the names of the wars, you know the victory parades some came home to, and how others came home to treatment almost as bad as the prison camps they left some of their comrades in. The politics and sympathies of our nation are divided, but that cannot tarnish the gleaming gold of freedom that our Veterans insure. To all the Veterans who proudly wore the uniform and fought under our flag, Thank You. It doesn’t matter if it was Ed in buckskins stealing through the woods, or Jimmy marching off in Blue or Grey, or Billy smearing his face with mud - they are my heros. They gave me a precious gift, a chance to live in America, a free country. But there are other heros you don’t hear about, veterans in their own way. To the bride who had to walk down the aisle alone, because Daddy was on a ship to the Gulf, Thank You. To the kid in Little League, who never had Dad there to coach him or to play catch or cheer him on in a game because Dad was in the jungle of Viet Nam, Thank You. To the ones who missed so many good night kisses, Thank You. To the wife who learned to deal with the plumbing, attend all the Father-kid functions, and still make cookies and write letters every day, Thank You. To the parents who never saw their son again, Thank You. To the sailor under the ocean in a submarine, I’m sorry you missed your baby’s first steps. To the soldier in the jungle, I’m sorry you missed the day your child pulled out that first baby tooth. To the airman dodging bullets, I’m sorry you missed the birthday party. To the Marine somewhere in a swamp, I’m sorry you missed your Dad’s funeral. >From the bottom of my heart, to all of those who have served, from the moment those tiny ships sailed until the crew of the USS Cole showed us that our guys and gals are still the best, Thank You.

Thanks Betty From one of those submarine guys, Ron Mitchell EN1(SS) USS Entemedor (SS340) ----- Original Message ----- From: Betty Briggs <bettyb23@uswest.net> To: <WVJACKSO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, November 11, 2000 12:00 AM Subject: [WVJackson] Veteran's Day Thank you > Today is again a day to remember and be thankful for the men and women who serve in our military. It's Veteran's Day. > > At this time of year, I like to remember all those ancestors who fought to give us this life we have. There were a lot > of brave hearts who sailed to America in tiny ships, with no one to meet them, but the natives. In my mind, they are > Veterans of a war against the tyranny of the kings of those days, a war of Freedom and Independence, where guns weren't > fired at an army, where the battles were against the unknown and nature. Many died on the ships crossing the wide ocean, > many more died of disease, famine and at the hands of the natives, when they decided to try to drive them from this > land. They could be killed, they could die of hunger and even torture, but their hunger for freedom, for a patch of land > to call their own, was stronger than everything thrown at them. To those Veterans, Thank you! > > They kept coming, and settled up and down the coast of North America, up the rivers and creeks, over the mountains into > the wilderness, sometimes leaving behind parents, wives, children; and sometimes never coming home. They still faced the > natives who attacked unexpectedly, wild animals, and hunger, while they grubbed out the trees and planted crops that > might feed only the wild animals. The settlements were growing stronger until the feeling of freedom was so strong that > they could no longer answer to a foreign king, a man who must have seemed more myth than real. By now, they were no > longer English, they had, unknowingly, become Americans. Our fine men, young and old, rebelled - the American > Revolution. And in the next century, they had to do it all again in th e War of 1812. To those Veterans, John and > William, George and Thomas, Benjamin and Christopher, James and all the rest - Thank You. Thank you for giving up your > money, your time, your homes, your families and your lives, just so I could live in a free land. > > The Civil War brought it's own brand of heros, brothers fighting on opposite sides and sometimes, ever fathers fighting > on the other side from their sons. Each willing to die for something they felt was worth it all. To these Veterans, > Thank You. > > There have been so many more wars, non-wars, and police actions. No matter what they are called, our men, and more > recently, our women, died. You know the names of the wars, you know the victory parades some came home to, and how > others came home to treatment almost as bad as the prison camps they left some of their comrades in. The politics and > sympathies of our nation are divided, but that cannot tarnish the gleaming gold of freedom that our Veterans insure. To > all the Veterans who proudly wore the uniform and fought under our flag, Thank You. > > It doesn't matter if it was Ed in buckskins stealing through the woods, or Jimmy marching off in Blue or Grey, or Billy > smearing his face with mud - they are my heros. They gave me a precious gift, a chance to live in America, a free > country. > > But there are other heros you don't hear about, veterans in their own way. > > To the bride who had to walk down the aisle alone, because Daddy was on a ship to the Gulf, Thank You. > > To the kid in Little League, who never had Dad there to coach him or to play catch or cheer him on in a game because Dad > was in the jungle of Viet Nam, Thank You. > > To the ones who missed so many good night kisses, Thank You. > > To the wife who learned to deal with the plumbing, attend all the Father-kid functions, and still make cookies and write > letters every day, Thank You. > > To the parents who never saw their son again, Thank You. > > To the sailor under the ocean in a submarine, I'm sorry you missed your baby's first steps. > > To the soldier in the jungle, I'm sorry you missed the day your child pulled out that first baby tooth. > > To the airman dodging bullets, I'm sorry you missed the birthday party. > > To the Marine somewhere in a swamp, I'm sorry you missed your Dad's funeral. > > >From the bottom of my heart, to all of those who have served, from the moment those tiny ships sailed until the crew of > the USS Cole showed us that our guys and gals are still the best, Thank You. > > > > > > ==== WVJACKSO Mailing List ==== > I am looking for old photographs of Jackson County residents and buildings that can be added to the Jackson County WVGenWeb pages. > If you have any to share, send them to Lshockey@citynet.net >