Sunday, November 8, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY MESSAGE - 10 NOVEMBER 2009
Date Signed: 10/5/2009
ALMAR Active Number: 033/09
R 051329Z OCT 09
UNCLASSIFIED//
ALMAR 033/09
MSGID/GENADMIN/CMC WASHINGTON DC DMCS//
SUBJ/UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS BIRTHDAY MESSAGE - 10 NOVEMBER 2009//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. UNITED STATES MARINES REPRESENT THE BEST YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN OUR NATION HAS TO OFFER. TO BE A MARINE IS TO BE A MEMBER OF AMERICA'S WARRIOR CLASS - TO BE ONE OF THE FEW WHO STEPS FORWARD WITH THE COURAGE AND CONVICTION TO FACE WHATEVER DANGERS AWAIT. OUR NATION EXPECTS HER MARINES TO BE READY WHEN THE NATION CALLS; TO LEAVE FAMILY AND THE COMFORTS OF HOME BEHIND; TO MARCH INTO BATTLE AND THRIVE UNDER AUSTERITY; AND TO COME HOME UNDER A VICTORY PENNANT.
2. FROM AL ANBAR IN THE WEST OF IRAQ, TO HELMAND PROVINCE IN THE SOUTH OF AFGHANISTAN, OUR CORPS OF MARINES CAN ALWAYS EXPECT TO BE FOUND WHERE THE FIGHT IS TOUGHEST. SUCH IS OUR HISTORY. TODAY, AS WE WRITE THE FINAL CHAPTER ON OUR VICTORY IN IRAQ, WE WILL INCREASINGLY TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE ENEMY IN AFGHANISTAN AND ADD NEW PAGES TO OUR LEGACY IN PLACES CALLED DELARAM, NOW ZAD, AND GARMSIR. ONE DAY, WE WILL RETURN TO OUR NAVAL HERITAGE AND PATROL THE HIGH SEAS WITH OUR NAVY BROTHERS. SUCH IS OUR FUTURE.
3. AS WE CELEBRATE OUR CORPS' 234TH BIRTHDAY, WE FIRST PAUSE TO REFLECT AND PAY TRIBUTE TO THOSE MARINES WHO HAVE GIVEN THE LAST FULL MEASURE IN DEFENSE OF FREEDOM. WE EXTEND OUR DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO OUR MARINE CORPS FAMILIES - THE UNSUNG HEROES WHO ENDURE HARDSHIP AND SACRIFICE SO THAT WE ARE ABLE TO GO FORWARD AND ACCOMPLISH ANY MISSION. WE EXTEND OUR APPRECIATION TO OUR COUNTRYMEN WHO HAVE ANSWERED OUR EVERY NEED. AND WE CELEBRATE THE MAGNIFICENT MEN AND WOMEN WHO WILLINGLY AND SELFLESSLY CONTINUE TO GO INTO HARM'S WAY TO PROTECT THIS GREAT NATION.
4. TO ALL WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE, TO THOSE WHO WEAR THE UNIFORM TODAY, AND TO THE FAMILIES THAT GIVE US THE STRENGTH TO FORGE AHEAD - I WISH YOU ALL A HEARTFELT HAPPY 234TH BIRTHDAY!
5. SEMPER FIDELIS! JAMES T. CONWAY, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS//
Source: http://www.marines.mil/news/messages/Pages/ALMAR033-09.aspx
Friday, October 2, 2009
Call it "Camp Luh-jern"
Source:
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/09/marine_lejeunename_092908w/
Group wants everyone to say it exactly the way the general did
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 1, 2008 18:42:30 EDT
Lt. Gen. John Archer Lejeune is one of the Corps’ all-time heroes, a legendary leatherneck who became the first Marine to lead an Army division, and who later ushered in a new era of amphibious warfare.
So why can’t Marines pronounce his name the same way he did?
That question has been raised by a growing number of veterans, Lejeune family members and some active-duty Marines, who wonder why Camp Lejeune, N.C., the base named in the late general’s honor, isn’t pronounced “Camp Luh-jern,” using the same French-Creole pronunciation preferred by the Baton Rouge, La., native.
“We all pronounce our name ‘Luh-jern,’ and that’s what we’re trying to make clear,” said John Lawrence Lejeune, 82, a distant cousin of the former commandant who lives in Baton Rouge. “It would be greatly appreciated if it was done so.”
Over the last few months, the group has ramped up the campaign to “take back” the Lejeune name. They’ve contacted Commandant Gen. James Conway, written articles published in Marine publications and paid for posters and banners displayed at Camp Lejeune this summer.
One of the posters welcoming deployed Marines back to Camp Lejeune showed a hand-drawn likeness of Lt. Gen. Lejeune along with this plea:
“Welcome home ... to the most disciplined and aggressive fighting force the world has ever known! And Marines ... say and speak my name correctly: Luh-JERN. Semper Fi!”
A 30-foot-wide billboard with the same theme was hung outside Lejeune’s main gate around April, but it has since been taken down, base officials said.
Retired Col. John Bates, executive director of the Armed Services YMCA in Honolulu, said the common “Luh-June” pronunciation has “always kind of hung in my craw,” considering the way Marines pride themselves on their sense of history.
“Our culture is a little bit different, and now it’s a matter of pride and respect for John Archer Lejeune,” said Bates, a three-time Purple Heart recipient stationed at Camp Lejeune before deploying to Vietnam. “It’s just the right thing to do to get everybody back on track.”
Advocates of the “Luh-jern” pronunciation said many old-Corps veterans pronounced the name the same way Lt. Gen. Lejeune did, but that things became lax over the last few decades due to a lack of awareness.
“It’s not a revolutionary thing, it’s an evolutionary thing,” Bates said, adding that Conway told him he, too, is behind the “Luh-jern” effort.
“The commandant said, ‘Yes, I know it’s supposed to be Camp “Luh-jern,” and we’re going to fix that,’” Bates said.
A spokesman for Conway, Lt. Col. T.V. Johnson, said he is unaware of any formal plan to address the matter.
“The commandant believes deeply in our history and our tradition,” Johnson said. “If historical data reflects that that is indeed how to pronounce the general’s name, then I’m sure the commandant is in support of that.”
Col. Richard Flatau, base commander, could not be reached for comment. Several sources said he tends to use the family’s preferred pronunciation but does not correct others who do not.
There are at least nine or 10 active-duty Marines and corpsmen named Lejeune now serving with the Corps, including a few based at Camp Lejeune, said 1st Lt. Philip Klay, a base spokesman. A direct descendant of Lt. Gen. Lejeune’s family is deployed to Iraq as a first lieutenant with 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, and was unavailable for comment.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Castra Praetoria: Warrior Culture 101
Castra Praetoria: Warrior Culture 101: ". Now everybody get back in formation!"
Tweet this!I am a Marine
I am a Marine,
Born in 1775.
Through two centuries, I've fought the best;
And through two centuries, survived.
I've fought the British twice,
And two times I have won.
Because of me, there was a setting of the Empire's sun.
I am a Marine.
And I've fought in many nations,
From Mexico's Chapultepec, to China's American Legation.
I was the Devil Dog, at bloody Belleau Wood.
My mastiff and I discerned between dog and man,
But the Germans never could.
I froze at Chosin Reservoir,
And burned in the Pacific sun;
Always, I was the first to fight
And last to leave when done.
I stood my ground at Khe Sanh,
Though afraid, I did not run;
Amazing - the miracles that can happen,
When Marines get behind a gun.
I have fought in every clime and place,
Whether cold or warm;
From balmy third-world nations to dusty desert storms.
With every Marine who goes beyond,
A little piece of me ends,
And with every boy who grows up green my life begins again.
I have fought here for people I love,
fought here and on foreign shores,
Fought every type of action and every type of war.
If my country calls on me, I will fight again,
For I am a Marine, and my duty never ends.
We say we're always faithful,
And that always has been true.
And here's a truth that some forget,
It always will be, too.
For when you say you are a Marine,
you're saying more than most,
And when you say you are a Marine,
make sure it is not a boast.
For when you say you are a Marine,
you stand on those gone before.
It's because of them and up to us,
that there's honor in the Corps.
Yes, I am a Marine and that really says much more -
I am a Marine, I am timeless, I am the Corps.
Semper Fi
Friday, August 28, 2009
Body of O.C. Marine killed in Afghanistan is coming home
A carry team carries the transfer case containing the remains of Marine Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan off of a transport airplane. 
Hogan graduated from Tesoro High School (San Clemente) and had wanted to join the Marine Corps to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. He was killed in a roadside bomb explosion on Wednesday while on foot patrol in southern Afghanistan.
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan, 20, of San Clemente, Calif.; was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Aug. 26 while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
CLIFF OWEN, PHOTY BY AP; TEXT BY VIK JOLLY, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Monday, August 3, 2009
Christening Ceremony of the USS Jason Dunham
Streamers fly during the christening ceremony of the USS Jason Dunham, an Arleigh-Burke Class destroyer, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, at Bath iron Works in Bath, Maine. The ship is named after the late Marine Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, of Scio, N.Y. Dunham, 22, of Scio, N.Y., who was mortally wounded as he saved his comrades that day, will be honored Saturday at the christening of the Navy's newest destroyer, the USS Jason Dunham. The young corporal who threw his Kevlar helmet and his body onto the grenade became the first Marine since the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor.
Robert F. Bukaty-AP
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Livin' the dream, Sir!
Snippet from http://www.michaelyon-online.com/one-giant-leap.htm
The U.S. Marines are flooding in, 
and you might think that every Marine helicopter in our arsenal is here. I'll not give numbers and types other than to say the line of aircraft is long and formidable.
The U.S. Marines are a spectacle for the U.S. Army and also the British Army. The Marines will come in and live like pure animals, and build a base around themselves, whereas the British and American Armies will tend to build at least part of the base before coming in. One Marine commander told me that during the early part of this war, his men didn't even shower for three months. We talked for a couple of hours and he was proud that his Marines didn't need a shower for three months, and that his Marines killed a lot of Taliban and managed to lose only one good man. That's the Marines. They'll show up in force with no warning, and their reputation with U.S. Army and Brits who have fought alongside them is stellar. A NPR photographer who just spent more than three weeks with the Marines could not praise them enough, saying he'd been with them in Iraq, too, and that when Marines take casualties, their reaction is to continue to attack. They try to stay in contact until they finish the enemy, no matter how long it takes.
Truly they are animals when it comes to the fight. Other than that, great guys.
Tonight at dinner, a young Marine Lance Corporal sat in front of me at the crowded dining facility.
"Good evening, Sir," he said.
I asked, "Are you living like animals out there?"
"Livin' the dream, Sir!"
They are fantastic.
Photo [source]
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Cpl. Jason Dunham is my Hero
The first Marine to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, in 2004 Cpl. Jason Dunham threw himself on a grenade in Iraq and sacrificed his life to protect his brother Marines.
I did not know Jason but I know what he represented, the type of character he had, and the pride he had in being American and a Marine. Semper Fi Jason. R.I.P.
Cpl. Jason Dunham is my hero.
He will NEVER be forgotten.
~Wally
Jason's Memorial Page
Jason's Wikipedia page
USS Jason Dunham
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Marines Pour into Afghanistan
A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position after off loading from a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
EXCELLENT PHOTOS HERE!!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE
Date Signed: 6/24/2009
ALMAR Active Number: 020/09
R 241423Z JUN 09
UNCLASSIFIED//
ALMAR 020/09
MSGID/GENADMIN,USMTF,2007/CMC WASHINGTON DC CMC//
SUBJ/INDEPENDENCE DAY MESSAGE//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. INDEPENDENCE DAY IS THE DAY AMERICANS OFFICIALLY CELEBRATE THE BIRTH, HISTORY, AND TRADITIONS OF OUR COUNTRY. IT IS MOST APPROPRIATE THAT OUR NATION'S WARRIORS USE THE FOURTH OF JULY TO REFLECT ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN AMERICAN. THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS ON THE BATTLEFIELD, YOU HAVE EARNED THE LIBERTIES ENJOYED BY ALL AMERICANS. I AM EXTREMELY PROUD OF YOUR SERVICE; KNOW THAT I SHARE THAT PRIDE WITH ALL AMERICANS AND FREEDOM-LOVING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE.
2. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE DEPLOYED AND WHO CONTINUE TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE ENEMY IN THE HIGH PLAINS OF AFGHANISTAN OR THE DESERTS OF IRAQ, KNOW THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING IN DEFENSE OF THIS GREAT NATION IS IN KEEPING WITH THE SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE DAY AND THE MARINE CORPS.
3. FOR THOSE OF YOU BACK HOME WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS, ENJOY THE CELEBRATION AND THE TIME OFF - AND DO SO SAFELY. BE PRUDENT AS YOU PLAN YOUR HOLIDAY AND TAKE THE APPROPRIATE STEPS TO ENSURE YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES STAY OUT OF DANGER. APPLY THE SAME JUDGMENT AND EXERCISE THE SAME DECISION-MAKING SKILLS YOU WOULD IN COMBAT.
4. SEMPER FIDELIS, JAMES T. CONWAY, GENERAL, U.S. MARINE CORPS, COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS.//
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Marines ready for action
CAMP LEATHERNECK (Afghanistan) - A NEW wave of US Marines sent to Afghanistan by President Barack Obama to turn the table on 
Taliban insurgents is in position and ready for action, the military has said.
About 10,000 fighters of Second Marine Expeditionary Brigade have arrived in Helmand, an opium-growing southern province where the Taliban have widespread power despite being ousted from government by US-led forces in 2001.
A total of 17,000 US troops and 4,000 military trainers have been pledged for Afghanistan as part of President Obama's new strategy to defeat the Islamist Taliban, who have been gaining in strength over the past few years.
A Combat Aviation Brigade was the first to deploy, moving into the southern province of Kandahar by mid-May. A Stryker Brigade Combat Team is also heading in to complete the fighting reinforcements.
Camp Leatherneck is a collection of tents and cabins that has sprung out of the flat desert of central Helmand to accommodate Marines, who are at the spearhead of what has been dubbed the 'Afghanistan surge'.
But the Marines' commander rejected the surge tag, saying the influx was not an attempt to replicate the successes of the 2007-08 surge of US troops into Iraq.
The plan combines the 'hard power' of boosted US troop numbers with a major effort to improve the Afghan army and police force, and an emphasis on neighbouring Pakistan's role in region.
The Marines in Helmand are expected to move south in the coming weeks ahead of presidential elections due to be held on August 20.
Major General Mart de Kruif, who oversees more than 30,000 international troops, said the force was 'now entering a new stage, in which we will have the operational initiatives on our side and maintain it'.
NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said insurgent-initiated attacks from January to May this year across Afghanistan were about 60 per cent higher than those for the same period last year. -- AFP
[ source ]
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
USMC81 Interview
My interview on Hope Radio.
http://hoperadio.blogspot.com/2009/06/wednesday-support-introducing-usmc-81.html
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
New Yankee Stadium
June 8, 2009 - My son Kirk and I made our long-anticipated first visit to a game at the new Yankee Stadium. Early morning forecast did not look promising. My wife Niki told us not to worry too much and to be optimistic. 
All day, we checked in to see when the rains would come. Finally, about 1600, the weather report said no rain expected till about 2100. With the game starting at 1900, this was a good deal! At 1600 we hopped in my truck with Alan Daigle and headed to the stadium.
We arrived in short time, about an hour. After parking, we headed toward the new stadium. As we walked past the old stadium (they're next to each other), the large construction doors opened wide to let a few dump trucks out. We stopped and got a view of the old field and I swear, it reminded me of Ground Zero; I got a lump in my throat.
Proceeding on across the street, the monstrous new stadium was a sight to see! Buzzing with life on game day, it felt like we were at Yankee Stadium.. Isn't that something. We went right in and saw the field for the first time. What a sight! The only word to describe the interior is gorgeous! Everything, brand spanking new and done right.
Arriving at 1700, we had a front-row (on the wall) view of batting practice. We tried hard to shag a ball but didn't get lucky this time around.
Finally, game time. There aren't many places I'd rather be than in the Bronx at Yankee Stadium for a night game and standing tall for the National Anthem, watching the large American flag blowing in left-center field. Makes you very proud to be an American.
Well, the Yankees beat the Rays this day. Five home runs were hit in "Homerun Stadium". The weather was perfect until well after Mariano's final pitch. It was an event to remember for Kirk and me. Through the eyes of Kirk's camera, we captured the evening (see photos). Kirk went home with a new Mark Teixeira shirt and an inaugural-season baseball and some stories to tell at school the next morning, which happened to be "Jersey Day" and he got to wear his new shirt for all to see. Yes, Kirk was smiling.
Yep, Life is good!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
I love technology, but...
I love technology. I love learning, doing, and presenting technology in a way that helps others to learn and grow. 
I love helping schools and children with technology projects like building websites, using laptops, and putting together PowerPoint presentations. I love other things too, allow me to share them with you in random bytes...
I love doing things that excite kids and making them smile; visiting with old friends who knew me when I was young; dinner out with my wife; old TV show re-runs of Gunsmoke, Andy Griffith, and Leave It To Beaver; listening to a Marty Robbins ballad; people with humility, free of arrogance; taking photographs; excursions in Switzerland; throwing the dice at a craps table; good sitcoms; family barbecues; swimming; reading a good story in the newspaper; morning coffee; boogie boarding in the surf; sushi; Times Square and Central Park; Southern hospitality; the Alamo and San Jacinto; South Padre Island; and walks with the dog.
I love driving to places I haven't been before; thunderstorms and the smell of rain; the view from atop Mt. Fuji at sunrise; going to an old drive-in movie; watching the History Channel; making others feel good about themselves; Block Island; drinking sweet tea in Houston in the Summer; the National Anthem playing at Yankee Stadium during a night game; movies like October Sky and The Green Mile; driving my Chevy 4X4 in the snow; skiing in Vermont; and lying poolside in Palm Springs.
I love wide open spaces; law enforcement; Clint Eastwood movies; Disney; taking photos; Thanksgiving dinners; Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden; high school sports; watching the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team perform; fishing; leadership and setting the example; labels that say "Made in the U.S.A."; large libraries; motorcycle rides; planetariums; elderly school crossing guards; boardwalks along the beach; family movie night; apple pie; chorizo and egg with tortillas; Simon and Garfunkel in Central Park; and history lessons.
More than anything else, I love kids. I love to see kids running on the beach, laughing, making a good catch in the outfield, playing with each other, being respectful and courteous to adults, enjoying a good ice cream, or being amazed at a new toy. I love receiving text message from my kids. Kids are our future and sometimes they need our undivided attention. Make it a point to give it to them. They depend on us and we can't let them down.
Thank you for your time.
~Wally Beddoe
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Whisper Semper Fi
Listen to the audio
http://www.beddoe.com/wisper_semper_fi.mp3
He was sitting on a park bench, hunched and looking low. 
It was hard to imagine how he'd looked so long ago. His beard was long and shaggy now; his sparse hair white as snow but his steel gray eyes were piercing and I turned away to go.
He looked lonely and forgotten and maybe homeless too. Like life had dealt him a bad hand maybe quite a few. He was probably abandoned by those who didn't care I wondered what had happened. What drove him to despair.
He said, "Son, I'm a Leatherneck, of wars before your time." His eyes grew still more piercing as he looked deep into mine. "Your uniform says you're a Devil Dog, the man I've waited for. And there's something I want to tell you -- things I've never said before."
The tattoos on his weathered arm read "Mom" and "Semper Fi." "Let's sing our hymn together, son, once more before I die." As we sang of Montezuma's halls and the shores of Tripoli, the old man stood straight and tall and he looked down at me.
"Bury me at Arlington; put an EGA upon my chest. Tell all the world I died for them that I was one of the best. I was with the Fifth on Iwo and I fought in Korea too. During that ugly war in Vietnam, I stood proud, and cheered for you.
"Get me a straight edge razor, lad and give me a good clean shave. I want to look my very best as I go to my grave. Cut my hair; shine my boots; let me borrow your best blues. You have them back after I'm gone and all my medals too.
"I don't want no flowers, an American flag will do. My life was lived and given for the Red and White and Blue. Whisper 'Semper Fi' my boy, so loud that all will hear. Fire them rifles in the air; they're music to my ear."
As he told me his last wishes. I saw him standing tall. I could see the ribbons on his chest, in the dim light of the Mall. And as he closed his steel gray eyes, I thought about the Corps. He'd lived the life of a real Marine, who could ask for anything more?
"Whisper 'Semper Fi,' my lad," his voice lingered in my mind I thought about all my buddies, those I'd left behind. Today, I'd met a real Marine, a hero through and through.
Forgotten by his country, but not by me and you.
By Cordell Keith Haugen
[ image from here ]
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Memorial Day -- Day of Remembrance
By Rod Powers
Many people confuse Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. 
While those who died are also remembered on Veterans Day, Veterans Day is the day set aside to thank and honor ALL those who served honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime.
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans - the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) - established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.
Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
Local Observances Claim To Be First
Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy.
Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well. Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866.
Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.
Official Birthplace Declared
In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the "birthplace" of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War.
Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo's claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events. By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities. It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars.
In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.
Some States Have Confederate Observances Many Southern states also have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it on May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day.
Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day January 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day. Gen. Logan's order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 "with the choicest flowers of springtime" urged: "We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic."
The crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was approximately the same size as those that attend today's observance, about 5,000 people. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave - a tradition followed at many national cemeteries today. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.
The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation's wars: "Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men."
National Moment of Remembrance
To ensure the sacrifices of America 's fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law "The National Moment of Remembrance Act," P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission's charter is to "encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity" by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.
The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: "It's a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day."
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Honoring 'Chosin Few'
Korean War battle vets share their stories for upcoming documentary
By Rick Rogers Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. May 9, 2009
Dan Bledsoe (left) o
f Mount Helix spoke to Brian Iglesias, producer of "The Chosin Few," a Korean War documentary. Local veterans who fought in the battle were interviewed at American Legion Post 6 in San Diego. (Howard Lipin / Union-Tribune) -
Marines sit covered with ice and snow in this photo taken in December 1950 during the two-week-long Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. (Frank Kerr / U.S. Marine Corps file)
Marines sit covered with ice and snow in this photo taken in December 1950 during the two-week-long Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. (Frank Kerr / U.S. Marine Corps file)
“THE CHOSIN FEW”
For information about the documentary:
Go to frozenchosin.com
Contact Brian Iglesias at (732) 642-1736 or bpiglesias@gmail.com
Contact Anton Sattler at (412) 378-2510 or at anton.sattler@gmail.com
David Williams went decades before talking about the bitter winter of 1950, of how he and 12,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton fought against 150,000 Chinese troops during the Korean War battle of Chosin Reservoir.
The Mount Helix resident made no mention of Chosin to his wife of nearly 20 years until 2001, when she ran across some old photos of the 1st Marine Division and starting asking questions.
“I had just moved on with my life,” said Williams, who fought in Korea with Howe Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment as a 19-year-old rifleman. “I never thought at all about what we did in historic terms.”
But now Williams, 78, and a dwindling number of Chosin veterans are reliving the revered but little-publicized battle for the upcoming documentary “The Chosin Few.”
[ READ THE FULL ARTICLE ]
Friday, May 1, 2009
Commandant: Marines likely out of Iraq in 2010
By Jeff Schogol, [ Stars and Stripes ]
Mideast edition, Thursday, April 30, 2009
ARLINGTON, Va. — All U.S. 
Marines will likely leave Iraq next year, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said Wednesday.
All U.S. combat troops are expected to leave Iraq in August 2010, leaving behind a smaller force to train and mentor Iraqi security forces until the end of 2011.
"Marines are not part of the long-term sustainment forces and there is a need for Marines elsewhere, so I think Marines will be phased out before 2011," Conway said.
Neither he nor other Corps officials would say when in 2010 the Marines might leave Iraq.
As Marines draw down in Iraq, they are increasing their presence in Afghanistan, where President Barack Obama is refocusing the U.S. military’s combat power.
Conway has been a long-time advocate of moving his Marines from western Iraq to southern Afghanistan.
"Gen. Conway has been telling me that the Marines in Anbar province, in Iraq, are frankly bored and want to get into the fight," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a recent visit to Camp Lejeune, N.C.
About 8,000 Marines with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade are now en route to Afghanistan and are expected to be in place by the end of spring, Conway said.
The Defense Department is also sending about 21,000 additional soldiers to Afghanistan to meet U.S. and NATO commander Gen. David McKiernan’s request for additional troops.
"There are still some forces that he would like to see introduced, probably in the south, that would involve another, I don’t know, 5-6,000 combat troops, arguably Marines, and a two-star headquarters, whose turn it is for the United States to produce some time in ’10," Conway said.
But Conway said that Iraq is still ground zero in the fight against terrorism.
"Speaking of Iraq and Afghanistan, I know that there’s great media interest in the latter, but I would argue that what our Marines are currently doing in Iraq is singularly our most important undertaking," he said. "Done right, closing the book on al-Qaida in Iraq is something that has reverberated throughout the region and has added momentum to our efforts in Afghanistan," he said.
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