Return to Love
to Learn Place
Return to General
Homeschooling Message Board
Return to Special Days / Holidays
|
|
  |
|
would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying "My mother, drunk or sober." — G. K. Chesterton |
|
— Mark Twain |
Since 1868, Americans have celebrated Memorial Day to honor those who fought and died to preserve our freedom. We set aside one day each year to pause and reflect on the debt of gratitude we owe to the brave patriots who stood in the breach when the defense of liberty demanded the ultimate sacrifice.
Perhaps President John F. Kennedy captured the spirit of this holiday best when he said, "A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers." By honoring the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to protect our freedom, we ensure that their heroic spirit will live on in this new century.
Indeed, this spirit is alive and well in today's Armed Forces. In the mountains of Bosnia, along the DMZ in Korea, in the rocky Sinai desert, in the skies over Iraq, and the blue waters of the Pacific, our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen stand watch — day and night — guarding freedom's frontier. Today, as in the past, they bear the burdens that make America's blessings possible for all its citizens.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff and I join every American in honoring those who gave their lives — and all of their tomorrows — so that we might live in peace. We also salute the dedicated men and women of today's Armed Forces who actively preserve this noble legacy.
— Gen. Henry H. Shelton,
USA Chairman,
Joint Chiefs of Staff Memorial Day Message for 2001
| The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten. |
"It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray-haired. But most of them were boys when they died, they gave up two lives — the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for their county, for us. All we can do is remember."
— Ronald Wilson Reagan,
President of the USA
Remarks at Veteran's Day ceremony
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington
Virginia, 11 November 1985
Internet
Field Trips
Monuments in Washington, D.C. Visit the many monuments and memorials to those that served their country
|
— Nathan Hale |
Memorial
Day Analogy Answers
Thankfulness is to Thanksgiving Day as memories is to Memorial
Day; Flag Day is to June as Memorial Day is to May;
Military is to honor as good citizen is to duty; D-Day
is to 6 June 1944 as Memorial Day as is to 31 May; Winter
is to Christmas as spring is to Memorial Day; Courage is
to cowardice as persistence is to quitting.
Folding the Flag
The following information on Folding the Flag was sent by Russell Maynard of Michigan. Did you know that government schools stopped teaching this in 1955? Sad, isn't it! The flag is folded 13 times to symbolize the original 13 colonies, but there is much more to the flag folding. Read on ...
The 1st fold of our flag
is a symbol of life.
The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.
The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.
The 4th fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.
The 5th fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decaur, "Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong"
The 6th fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our hearts that, "We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all."
The 7th fold is a tribute to
our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect
our country and our flag against all her enemies, whether they
be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.
The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley
of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.
The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.
The 10th fold is a tribute to the fathers, for they, too, have given their sons and daughters for the defense of our country since they were first born.
The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews' eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians' eyes, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding us of our nation's motto, "In God We Trust."
After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the sailors and marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today. There are some traditions and ways of doing things that have deep meaning. In the future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know why.
Learn about the Wars / Conflicts to better understand and appreciate our freedom and liberty !
|
I was born
an American; I live an American; I shall die an American; and
I intend to perform the duties incumbent upon me in that character
to the end of my career. I mean to do this with absolute
disregard of personal consequences. What are the personal consequences? What is the individual man, with all the good or evil that may betide him, in comparison with the good or evil which may befall a great country, and in the midst of great transactions which concern that country's fate? Let the consequences be what they will, I am careless. No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer, or if he fall, in the defense of the liberties and constitution of his country. — Daniel Webster |
Literature
Patriotic Prose / Poetry Interesting, hard to locate items !
Patriotic Music Stand and be thankful for others insuring YOUR freedom and liberty !
Patriotic Poems More patriotic poems for your celebrations !
See Veterans Day Poetry for pieces specifically about the soldier and from the soldier
|
The man who takes the oath today to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States only assumes the solemn obligation which every patriotic citizen — on the farm, in the workshop, in the busy marts of trade and everywhere — should share with him. The Constitution which prescribes his oath, my countrymen, is yours; the government you have chosen him to administer for a time is yours; the laws and the entire scheme of our civil rule, from the town meeting to the State capitals and the national capital, is yours. Every voter, as surely as your chief magistrate, under the same high sanction, though in a different sphere, exercises a public trust. Nor is this all. Every citizen owes to the country a vigilant watch and close scrutiny of fidelity and usefulness. Thus is the people's will impressed upon the whole framework of our civil policy — municipal state, and federal; and this is the price of our liberty and the inspiration of our faith in their public. |
|
— General Douglas MacArthur |
Military Bands
Army Band
Includes leaders/directors, events, listening room which includes arrangments
from their Concert Band, Ceremonial Band, Chorus, Strings, Blues,
Herald Trumpets, Brass Band, Chorale, and Brass Quinetet and more.
Be sure to check out their links page for more military band music.
Navy Band
Includes audio clips on Stars & Stripes Forever, This Is My
Country, Anchors Away (has choral arrangement), Gershwin Fantasy,
Overture, Nutville, Clydascope, Thank You, I Wish, Rocky Top and
Sugarland Run all performed by the USN Band and pretty much anything
else you would care to know about the USN band. Be sure to check
out their links page for more military band music.
Marine Band
Includes history, public events, and you can even listen to the
Marine
Hymn while singing along with the lyrics that are provided
and the history behind the Marine Hymn. Be sure to check out their
links page for more military band music.
Airforce Band
Includes audio of the Star-Spangled Banner, US Air Force
Blue, and Lord, Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly. Click
here to go directly to the audio clips Be sure to check out their links
page for more military band music.
U.S. Coast Guard Band
Learn about their history and more plus Coast Guard audio of Semper Paratus
and I'M Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter
|
— Sir Winston Churchill |
Most people know PrestonSpeed Publications brought the classic writings of G.A. Henty back into print. Entire families are once again enjoying Mr. Henty's work in books, audiobooks, and in The Captain. Demand the best by demanding PrestonSpeed Publications. Accept no substitutes!!
