" I pray that our Heavenly Father
may assuage the anguish of your bereavement,
and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost,
and the solemn pride that must be yours
to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
A. LINCOLN."
and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost,
and the solemn pride that must be yours
to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours very sincerely and respectfully,
A. LINCOLN."
The Meaning Of The Flag Draped Coffin
All Americans should be given this lesson.
The 1st fold of the flag is a symbol of life.
The 2nd fold is a symbol of the belief in eternal life.
The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing the ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of the country to attain peace throughout the world.
The 4th fold represents the 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 the country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, “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 people’s hearts lie. It is with their heart that They pledge allegiance to the flag of the United! States Of America, and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
The 7th fold is a tribute to its Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that they protect their country and their flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of their 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 father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of their 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, the Son and Holy Spirit.
The 13th fold or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding them of their nations 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 them the rights, privileges and freedoms they enjoy today.
"I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it is becoming monotonous to you.
If I may, may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word?"
I
me, an individual, a committee of one.
Pledge
dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self pity.
Allegiance
my love and my devotion.
To the flag
our standard, Old Glory, a symbol of freedom. Wherever she waves, there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job!
United
that means that we have all come together.
States
individual communities that have united into 48 great states. Forty-eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common purpose, and that's love for country.
And to the republic
a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands, one nation
one nation, meaning "so blessed by God"
Indivisible
incapable of being divided.
With liberty
which is freedom -- the right of power to live one's own life without threats, fear or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice
the principle or quality of dealing fairly with others.
For all
which means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.
***~~**~~***
Since I was a small boy, two states
have been added to our country and two words have been added to the
pledge of Allegiance...
UNDER GOD
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too?
Red Skelton, January 14, 1969
SPC Albert R. Jex
PFC Timothy J. Seamans
PO3 David Michael Mudge
1LT Daniel "LT Dan" P. Riordan
SPC Justin Allen Rollins
Justin was killed by a roadside bomb along with six of his comrades. He was a Member of the 82nd Airborne Division 2/505 C. CO 11/10/82-03/05/07 Samarra, Iraq He was the Gunner in the Humvee. He volunteered to go to Iraq with his men, after being chosen to be a Recruiter. He has two purple Hearts (the first was an IED that he survived with minor injuries) and a Bronze Star. He also received his Irish Jump Wings and was asked to escort the President twice when he came to Fort Benning. He is buried in Arlington, where he asked to be if he didn't come home from Iraq.
PS3 Ronald A. Gill Jr.
Born July 21, 1980 end of watch, March 25, 2007
SPC Christopher "Scooter" Merchant
Christopher was 32 years old,married to his wife Monica and they have 4 children(Dean,Amber,Kristen & Leighanne). He was an avid sports fan,& a fun guy who liked to make folks laugh. He was generous with his time and willing to help anybody in need. He wanted to become a teacher and loved coaching children in sports as well as academically. He was a great cook and enjoyed cooking for the foreign workers he met while working at the Ski Resorts in Stowe VT.
1LT Nainoa K. Hoe
LCPL Brandon C. Dewey
Lance Corporal Brandon C. Dewey, was killed in action January 20, 2006 in Haqlaniyah, Iraq, Al Anbar Province while serving in the United States Marine Corp. He was killed by a suicide vehicle borne IED. This was his second tour of duty in Iraq and his second Purple Heart. He received his fist Purple Heart in 2004 when he was injured by shrapnel from two suicide car bombs.
SSG Jamie A. Gray
1LT Mark Dooley
SPC Justin Blackwell
Justin was KIA 5 August 2007
SGT Russell M. Durgin
Russ was a well trained, dedicated soldier. He was a happy go lucky bring it on kind of guy. He loved a good time, but was a hardworking, well trained, dedicated warrior. In addition he was loyal, commited to his family, his fiancee, his friends and his country. He died saving his men.
PFC Christopher N. White
SPC Joseph A. Graves
SGT Justin Wrisley Garvey
BM1 Brian J. Ouellette
NAVY SEAL
PFC Sam Williams Huff
PFC Evan W O'Neill
Evan died like he lived,standing tall and facing forward, protecting his fellow HEROS.
Matthew S. Coutu
Matthew was in the Military Police and was killed in action 27 June 2005 by a sniper in Baghdad, Iraq.
GySGT Justine R. Martone
Always in Our Hearts and Minds
CPT Derek Argel
CPL Billy Harris
Billy was killed when his vehicle was hit by a road side bomb in Taji, Iraq. This was his first deployment and he left behind an infant son, Kaiden who resides in Fairbanks, Alaska. Billy was 20 years old and 1 month away from turning 21.
LCPL Louis W. Qualls
Marine Reservist, never had to go to battle, attached with India & Lima Companies for supply & ammo durring the Battle for Fallujah, Iraq. Louis gave his life to save many other when he wittnessed Insurgents fixing to fire an RPG into his fellow Marines, & thus single handidly knocked out the enemies spider hole & cleared the area at the cost of his own life. Awarded the Navy Achievement w/ Valor Device & Purple Heart.
CPL John Travis Rivero
SPC Christopher Steven Honaker
25 Sep 1983- 05 Jul 2007
Able Co 2/503rd, 173rd Airborne BCT
CPL Michael Ouellette
Mike born-5-25-80 kia 3-22-09
CPL Michael E. Thompson
Michael was born 5-5-1985 in Midwest City, Okla. He entered the Army in Jan. of 2004 and deployed with 2-70 Armored and the 1-41 Infantry in Jan of 05. He returned safely to us in Feb. of 06 and got out of the Army in Feb. of 07. After about 6 months he came up to me and wanted to join the OKARNG. Just had to join back. Couldn’t stand not being a soldier. So he did and was fixing to start school to be a Blackhawk mechanic. Second drill weekend he heard the unit out of Lexington, OK were looking for infantry guys, familiar with the 240 machine gun to be door gunners on their Chinook Helicopters for their upcoming deployment. Michael went straight to his commander and asked if he could transfer and volunteer to go to Iraq. They called the receiving commander and the next day, he was a door gunner on a Chinook. He loved being an Infantryman, but he also loved flying. Red River 44 was their call sign the night they crashed. All 5 crewmembers plus 2 passengers were KIA. 4 were from Texas and 3 from Oklahoma.
DC3 Nate Bruckenthal
Nate Bruckenthal 7/17/79 - 4/24/04. KIA in north Arabian Gulf while intercepting a waterborne suicide bomber. Member of US Coast Guard's elite Tactical Law Enforcement Team South (T-South). Nate was the first Coast Guard member to be killed in action since the Viet Nam War. Posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor, Purple Heart, Global War on Terrorism Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and his second Combat Action Ribbon
CPT Shwan R. Nice
SGT Rhys Klasno
SGT Benjamin W. Sherman
Ben was on his 2nd tour in Afghanistan. He loved his job with the army 82nd airborne. He was just 21 yrs old when he lost his life. He left a wife and a daughter he never got a chance to meet.
CPL Michael D. Anderson Jr.
SSgt Casey J Grochowiak
SGT Paul E. Dumont Jr.
SGT James W. McDonald
James "MAC" McDonald was first injured on May 31st, 2007 by a roadside bomb. He had severe head truma and was sent home to Fort Hood Texas. He died in his barracks on Nov. 10, 2007
SGT Joshua John Kirk
Josh's nickname was "Combat Kirk" because he was also first out the door when they were taking fire. His friends said he was always geared up and ready for action. Josh was born on July 19th, 1979. He is deeply missed.
SSG James P. Hunter
Army Photo Journalist, 2nd BCT 101st Airborne Division. Belived to be first photo journalist to be killed in combat for the war on terror.
2LT Joseph D. Fortin
Joseph's nicknames as 2LT were Broseph & JoeyRed
MAJ Timothy Auvil
SrA Tre Porfirio
I miss you son every minute of every day.
LCpl John Armendariz
LCpl Ben Carman
2LT Michael E. McGahan
2Lt Michael "Mike" McGahan was KIA during an ambush on his platoon of Sapper Engineers while operating out of FOB Connolly on 6 June 2010- the 66th anniversery of D-Day. He loved being part of the Band of Brothers of the 101st. He loved his men. We have set up an endowed scholarship in his name at his alma mater University of Florida. http://www.uff.ufl.edu/Scholarships/ScholarshipInfo.asp?ScholarshipFund=017093
Mike felt strongly that we all need to serve one another to make the world better for all.
HN (FMF) Robert
Nathaniel Martens USN
3/6 India co,1st
platoon, 2nd Marine Division
Killed September 6,
2005 - Al Qaim, Iraq
Please Visit:
http://www.fallenheroesazmemorial.com
and
http://nathan-martens.memory-of.com
My Son, My Hero
Cpl
Kelly Branden Grothe
Kelly was full of life from the day he
was born.
Unfortunately, he was killed while serving in the US Army in Iraq on
May 3,
2007. He was an amazing young man who loved his country and served
proudly.
SGT
Justin D. Norton
10-30-84
~ 06-24-06
SGT Bryce Howard
PVT
James
Tyler Jackson
Our
son was home on R&R from Kirkuk, Iraq..
He died down on the Quinault Indian reservation on August 11, 2008. He
is my
Son, and our Hero.
SFC Jerry Whisenhunt
SSG Rusty H. ChristianRusty was a Green Beret with the 1st Special Forces in Ft. Lewis, WA. He was delpoyed to Afghanistan and was killed when he was standing on a field mine that exploded on 1/28/10. He is survived by a wife and 2 children in Seattle, WA. His wife is Amber, and his children is Taylor 4, and Gavin 2. His mom and dad, brother and rest of his family lives in Kingsport, Tennessee. God Bless our Military and especially our Gold Star Dads.
CPL Joseph Michael Cerfus
Joseph was known to all who loved him as "Joey" To me as his Dad I called him "JoJo" because of the Beatles song "Get Back". He always wanted to serve his country and did twice in the US Navy and US Army Reserve. September 3, 1983- May 5, 2008
PO2 Jacob Keith Bare
As a young man, Jacob enjoyed scuba diving, skate and snowboarding, shooting, and riding BMX bikes. While in high school, Jacob's quick thinking and intuitive nature, saved a classmate's life. Shortly after graduating from high school, in Chewelah, WA., Jacob joined the Navy. His first assignment was on DDG 86 USS Shoup. After completing
Duane Reese (Jacob's step-dad since Jacob was 4 years old).
Cpl Darrel James Morris
The guys in his unit nicknamed him Jimmy Neutron. He wasn't very big but his strength and spirit were huge ! Born May 27, 1985 and Killed by an IED south of Bagdhad on January 21,2007. He will forever be missed by his parents, 4 sisters and an unending list of friends and family.
CPL Jeffrey B. Starr
25 May 1983 to 30 May 2005 KIA Ramadi, Iraq "…everybody dies but few get to do it for something as important." Quote from a letter left on his computer before his last deployment.
SGT Gabriel Glenn De Roo