Memorial Day 2021

Once again we pause to remember all those who have given everything for our country.

Armed Forces Memorial, Hawai'i'
 

Some of our excursions into the politics and the soil of other countries have been more popular than others, but no one disputes the sacrifice made by so many.

 

Lincoln, Nebraska 

 

In doing some research for this post it has been shocking to see just how many involvements we have been in over our history. we all know the big ones, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish American, WW1, WW2, Korea, Nam, Middle East, GWOT, but the number of what must be called lesser known is astounding. You can see a list of them taken from Wikipedia here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_military_casualties_of_war

Check it out you just might be amazed.

It is estimated that nearly 1.4 million Americans have been lost in these efforts and today we remember them all.

                                                Virginia Beach, Virginia 

This effort of mine, now spanning 12 years, has been an attempt to honor those lost in Nam and this seems like an appropriate place to say that many of you, over the years have asked ,"Have you done a book?" or "Are you planning to do a book?" and the answer is yes.

In fact, the original plan for A Means to Heal was to be just a book, not a web site, but many advised that it would be wise to have an online presence first. Well, after some hesitation, I decided to give it a shot and over time this online effort eclipsed the book project. That has finally been remedied and the print version of A Means to Heal is available. If interested, please contact your local book store and see if they have it. If not, ask then to get it for you. I've been told that if you do that, they will order extra copies for their shelves. Short of that, you can also get it from Amazon.

So, as you observe Memorial Day take a moment to remember why it exists, what it means, and how many were lost. It is not just about BBQ and beer.

R.I.P. to our brothers and sisters of every era.

Next time, on the 4th of June, we will return to New York, so join me there, as usual, at 9:00am.

To see Vietnam memorials from any state, please click on the state name on the left side of Thia page.