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Remember

 

The meaning of the thirteen folds of our American Flag

I was honored to be in the Honor Guard for our base. It was the most fulfilling and hardest job. Remembering our fallen be it military, police officers and fire fighters is so very important.
Have you ever wondered why the Flag of the United States of America is folded 13 times when it islowered or when it is folded and handed to thenext of kin at the burial of a veteran?

Here is the meaning of each of those folds and what it means:

The first fold of our Flag is a symbol of life.

The second fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.

The third 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 fourth fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.

The fifth fold is a tribute to our 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 Real Meaning…

I’m frustrated by people all over the country who view the day as anything BUT a day to remember our WAR DEAD. I hate hearing “Happy Memorial Day.”
It’s not Veterans Day. It’s not military appreciation day. Don’t thank me for my service. Please don’t thank me for my service. It’s take the time to pay homage to the men and women who died while wearing the cloth of this nation you’re so freely enjoying today, day.
We’ve all heard, “Freedom isn’t free.”
Since 1776, it’s actually cost us more than 1.3 million lives.
I hope you enjoy your weekend — but I hope you pause to remember, too.

Happy Birthday JFK

John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963. The Cuban Missile Crisis, The Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the establishment of the Peace Corps, developments in the Space Race, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Trade Expansion Act to lower tariffs, the Civil Rights Movement, the “New Frontier” domestic program, and abolition of the federal death penalty in the District of Columbia all took place during his presidency. Kennedy also avoided any significant increase in the American presence in Vietnam, refusing to commit combat troops and keeping the level of others, mostly military advisors, to only 16,000, compared to the 536,000 troops committed by his successor, Lyndon Johnson, by 1968.

 
After military service in the United States Naval Reserve in World War II, Kennedy represented Massachusetts’s 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat. Thereafter, he served in the U.S. Senate from that state from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. Presidential Election. At age 43, he was the youngest man to have been elected to the office, the second-youngest president (after Theodore Roosevelt, who was 42 when he became president after the assassination of William McKinley). Kennedy was the first person born in the 20th century to serve as president. To date, Kennedy has been the only Roman Catholic president and the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize, for his biography Profiles in Courage.

Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested that afternoon and determined to have fired shots that hit the President from a sixth floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby mortally wounded Oswald two days later in a jail corridor. The FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin, but its report was sharply criticized. The United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) agreed with the conclusion that Oswald fired the shots that killed the president, but also concluded that Kennedy was probably assassinated as the result of a conspiracy. The majority of Americans alive at the time of the assassination believe both that there was a conspiracy and that Oswald was not the only shooter.

For more information.

Memorial Day

Originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868 to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers.
When Is Memorial Day?
In 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act and established that Memorial Day was to be celebrated on the last Monday of May. Several southern states, however, officially celebrate an additional, separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead, sometimes referred to as a Confederate Memorial Day: January 19 in Texas; third Monday in Jan. in Arkansas; fourth Monday in Apr. in Alabama and Mississippi; April 26 in Florida and Georgia; May 10 in North and South Carolina; last Monday in May in Virginia; and June 3 in Louisiana and Tennessee.
Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery each year with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Traditionally, the President or Vice President lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.

Jimmy Stewart-Did you know?

Jimmy Stewart was hardcore. He was rejected from the WWII draft for being too skinny, and kept applying until he had bulked enough. The army tried to give him the celebrity treatment, have him make training films and sell bonds. He fought against it and instead became a fighter pilot and later a bomber pilot, flying over 20 missions in Nazi occupied Europe. He retired a Brigadier General of the USAF. Also, he won an Oscar and starred in countless classics.Oh and something else…he was married to one woman for 45 years, until her death in 1994. Jimmy died 3 years later…they had 4 children. That was almost a record for most Hollywood types.  

Armed Forces Day

President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country.

On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days.

The single day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under the Department of Defense.

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For my friend – Fibromyalgia Awareness Day

Fibromyalgia awareness day.
This is how I felt and sometimes still feel.
My Fibro

This sharp, dull and gnawing pain has no set time to visit, doesn’t know when its time to leave.

The burning in my muscles never seems to ease

It wakes me in the morning ,the throbbing brings me to my knees.
Some days it just a gentle hug or touch meant to comfort, because you care,

I did not mean to give you such a nasty ugly stare.
I thought I told you today that my body is such a mess, all I want to do is lay down on the couch and rest.
I could not sleep last night nor the night before. I don’t know if its the pain keeping me awake for my mind will not ease, I am so tired, my God all I need is to sleep.

No matter how much sleep I do get, I am to tired, so my list of things to do today,will just have to wait for another morning.
I am having some difficulty remembering, my mind cant concentrate..

I once was a great multi task-er, now I have problems just spelling taskmaster.
My head is starting to pound, a migraine is on its way. I don’t have time for this head ache Oh dear god take it away,
My ears are itching terribly, the buzzing noise seems so loud.

It makes me dizzy and clumsy, I keep having to pick myself off the ground.
My hair hurts today, I know that’s a funny thing to say.

Don’t know why it happens, but my head itches all the day.
My lower teeth are aching.. One big tooth ache that will not go away.

My face is so tender I think the pain in my jaw is here to stay.
My hips start to hurt after, too long time sitting in this seat.

Stiffness sets in, numbness and tingling controls my legs, and feet.
Have to walk fast, the bathroom is just a couple feet from that door,