Veterans Day

To all out veterans :

Thank you for your service. My family and I sincerely appreciate the sacrifices you made so we can all enjoy the freedoms we do in this great country. I know freedom is not free. Thanks !
 
Thank you fellow Autopians for the warm hearted shout out! I`m sure my fellow vets appreciate this very much
 
Much appreciated! Contact your senators and representatives and remind them that veterans issues are important. More mental health professionals are needed to help Vets returning home after multiple long deployments. Veteran suicide rate is a national shame. The wives and children of Vets are important too.
 
My heartfelt prayers are humbly petitioned before our Father in Heaven today, for all these great men and women whose names are engraved on Walls, Crosses, and Gravestones, throughout the world...

And especially for those that serve today..

I cannot help but shed tears of gratitude and love for all of those who went before me, to serve selflessly, in so many wars, giving their all, without hesitation, so men, women, and children could be free..

My dear Father had 4 brothers, and all 5 of them served with bravery in Europe against the Nazi`s, and against the Japanese on the islands...
These great men were prayed for every day, every night, and with much faith that their lives would be spared.

Many of them sustained injuries from hot lead and shrapnel, but all survived their injuries and at last came home safely..

The youngest of these 5 brothers, my Uncle Mariano Franco, right until the end, never, ever, spoke a word about the horror of his experiences when he and 2 of his brothers, parachuted behind enemy lines into Normandy, (think, The Band of Brothers, 101st Airborne), survived that, spent the entire winter, and the rest of the year into the next, in places like the Ardennes, Bastogne, Holland, etc., actively engaging the Germans day and night..

Right before my Uncle Mariano passed away, he told us only 1 story about his experiences there..

He related how he and his men in a small Patrol got cut off in the Ardennes by the Germans..

They made the 9 men dig a huge trench in the snow, into the dirt below..

The Germans then tied their hands together behind them, lined them up in front of the trench, and went down the line, shooting each man, in the back of the head.

My Uncle said he knew this would be the end of his life, his last thoughts were of his Mother, his Wife and Family..

Just as the next to last man in line was shot dead, and my Uncle was next, artillery shells started exploding in the huge pine trees above this terrible massacre, all around them..

At that instant, in the confusion, my Uncle took off running as fast as he could, running all that day and night, until he found his way back to friendly lines, and they untied his hands from behind his back..
He was patched up, and reunited with his Company and finished the year-long tour in that particular hell, and he never faltered once..

These 5 men, men`s men... Patriots all, to the end of their lives..

Let us all, just pause for a moment, and say a prayer for all of these great, great, men and women, and their posterities, who really gave their all for us..
May we pause for a moment and pray that someday, all men and women,will recognize each other as Brothers and Sisters that we truly are..

Much love to you all..
Dan F
 
Incredible!

I got to attend a Vietnam war reunion last month and meet some men that served under my grandfather. Survivors of the battle of Ngok Tavak, and there were some other reunions going on(Vietnam related) at the hotel at the same time. The finale was a dinner with everyone on Saturday night. Being in a room full of heroes was hard to comprehend.
 
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