A Memorial Day Thank You
A special thank you to all the servicemen and women on Memorial Day who have served, protected and sacrificed for our country and our freedom.
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The DC Traveler
A Washington DC insider's travel guide that's full of area information for both tourists and residents. Covers area attractions, activities, events, nightlife, memorials and monuments, historic sites, museums, the Smithsonian…
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I thought the Memorial Day Concernt was outstanding this year. Especially, the letter written by Regina Barnhurst to her son Eric. Is there somewhere I could get a copy of this? My mother lost her son recently, a Viet Nam veteran, who died as a result of Agent Orange. Maybe if I give her a copy of that letter she will get over her grieving. Can you help?
I was able to find this piece written by Gina.
“There is a peacefulness about this place. It is quiet and beautiful and special. I am so proud that you are buried here at Arlington. I want the world to know that you are a hero. People need to know the real cost of war – the real cost of freedom – the real sacrifice our service men and women make. They need to know the sacrifice of the people left behind.”
The above is from a page on the Arlington National Cemetery website -
http://www.pbs.org/memorialdayconcert/features/anc.html
Here’s a link to a related story:
Link: http://portal.tds.net/news.php?story=28091
Section Sixty
The Saddest Acre In America
Men and Women buried here
Who gave their all for you and me
In Iraq and Afghanistan
So that, others, might be Free.
Row after row of headstones
Where friends and families grieve
They pay respects and say a prayer
There’s some, don’t want to leave.
Some will place a memento
For their Hero, neath the ground
And far too often, during the day
Hearing “Taps”, a mournful sound.
The white stones bear their Name
Rank and Branch and conflict Served
The dates of Birth and Death
And the Citations, they deserved.
Maybe, a symbol for their Faith
Something, etched above their name
But no matter what, their beliefs
They’re all treated just the same.
Once, Comrades in Battle
And now, resting neath that stone
Forever with, those other Heroes
So, they will never be alone.
Section Sixty, just a small part
Of this sacred, hallowed ground
But, each plot a special place
Where, a Hero may be found.
They all are in good company
Two hundred sixty thousand souls
Buried here at Arlington
Some young, with unfulfilled life goals.
All Served our Country selflessly
And they all deserve our praise
We should, remember them and thank them
Not just, only on, these holidays.
Del “Abe” Jones
05.23.2009
GOLD STAR MOTHERS
Started with a group of twenty-five
In the year of twenty-eight
By those who’d lost a Son or Daughter
From the wartime’s cruel fate.
When the Blue Star on the Service Flag
Was replaced with one of Gold
Everybody knew a Mother grieved
With a loss from that household.
“Out of tragedy, we were formed”
And, “Out of love we continue.”
This legacy of Gold Star Mothers
With the heartache, that they knew.
They use the memories and love
Of those who gave their all
To help those other Veterans
Who answered our Nation’s call.
It’s so sad, they still exist
And most likely always will
As long as, we go to war
There’s a need they must fulfill.
Del “Abe” Jones
10-04-2003
Their observance day is the last Sunday in September.
GOLD STAR FAMILIES
There’s too many Gold Star Families
Their numbers growing every day
Too much to ask those loved ones
Such a terrible price they pay.
All will say they are very proud
That their loved one knew the cost
That in the horrors of Wartime
Precious lives are sometimes lost.
But the death of a brave Hero
In the Service of this Land
Dying for some other country
Is oft times, hard to understand.
“In the name of Freedom!”
“For the good of fellow man!”
“To put an end to oppression!”
Or, sometimes some other plan!
There have always been those Souls
Who will rally to the battle’s call
Who will bear those deadly arms
Who will march and sometimes fall.
Some will just bear the wounds
Though, not always clear to see
Some will never return the same
As the people, they used to be.
But the ones who have that void
Of that hole in heart and mind
They are the greatest Heroes
That we can ever hope to find.
Maybe one day in our future
Peace will be the way we’ll live
But until then we’ll have those
Who give all they have to give.
Gold Star Families stand in front
And shed their tears of loss and pain
And as long as Man goes to War
We’ll see them time and time, again.
Del “Abe” Jones
8-22-2006
Time to Go
I could see the flash of cannon
Over the ridge of the hill
Could hear the shots over my head
As I lay deathly still.
I looked up at the twinkling stars
Through the haze of the gun smoke
And I could hear my comrades
Whispering as they spoke.
There was a quaking in their voice
That betrayed their mortal fear
And as I gazed into the sky
I asked, “What am I doing here?”
I thought of all those buddies
Killed on this foreign shore
And of loved ones back home
And then, I knew, “What for!”
To fight for God and Country
Is a calling, most will heed
To keep freedom safe from those
Who would plant an evil seed.
I lay there in my foxhole
Gripped by the numbing cold
But then, felt a warmth, from inside
Like I was held in the “fold”.
I felt my best friend touch me
And couldn’t believe he said,
“No need to call the corpsman,
‘Cause he’s already dead!”
And then my head felt light
As I looked down below,
Whispered, “I’ll see ya’, Bros
Because it’s time for me to go!”
Del “Abe” Jones
“Mankind’s greatest accomplishment is not the revolution of technology it is the evolution of creativity ” copyright Del “Abe” Jones 1984