Honor and Remembrance

Memorial Day 2008

This post is dedicated to the sacred and blessed memory
of every fallen American Warrior.
Each one, a mini messiah,
buying your salvation with his blood.

Men who gave their flesh for freedom,
blood for hearth and home

Protectorates of God and country
Gideons to the bone

Honor and remembrance,
Endless love and respect ...
How can I ever thank you,
Most Magnificent Men of the West?
~ BZ

Greater love has no one man this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13

THE HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY

It was an early fall day in 1864 when Emma Hunter and her friend, Sophie Keller, picked flowers and went to the old cemetery to lay them on the grave of Emma’s father, Reuben Hunter. Dr. Hunter was a young Boalsburg doctor at the time of the Civil War.



When he volunteered to serve with the Army of the North, he was assigned to the hospital in Baltimore. In addition to attending the wounded soldiers, he also cared for the men who had contracted yellow fever while fighting in the southern swamplands. Dr. Hunter became ill and died of yellow fever and his body was buried in the Boalsburg cemetery.



On their way the two young girls met Mrs. Elizabeth Myers whose young son, Amos, had been killed the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg and was buried in the old cemetery. Photo right: Civil War re-enactors fire a salute at the Boalsburg Memorial Day Service as Boy Scouts watch. Learning where the girls were going, Mrs. Myers asked to join them.




They shared the flowers and placed them on both graves. It was decided then that they would meet the following year with flowers for all who had died in the Civil War.




The three young women told their friends of the plans and when the day came ‘round, most of the villagers joined them.




From that simple beginning came the observance of Memorial Day in Boalsburg. Every year since then, the people have met on the Diamond in Boalsburg Square for the walk to the old cemetery to lay flowers on the graves of all the soldier dead. They are led by a home town band and all ages join in the walk and participate in the simple service of remembering.


[SNIP]

SONG OF MOSES ~ Exodus 15

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD :

"I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider
he has hurled into the sea.

The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father's God, and I will exalt him.

The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name.

Pharaoh's chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh's officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.

The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.

"Your right hand, O LORD,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, O LORD,
shattered the enemy.

In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.

By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood firm like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

"The enemy boasted,
'I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.'

But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.

"Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

You stretched out your right hand
and the earth swallowed them.

"In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.

The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;

terror and dread will fall upon them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, O LORD,
until the people you bought pass by.

You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.

The LORD will reign
for ever and ever



The Wilcoxon Speech From Mrs. Miniver

The Vicar's final rousing speech was printed in magazines like "Time" and "Look". President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered that it be broadcast on the Voice of America, and copies of it were dropped over Europe as propaganda. This speech has come to be known as The Wilcoxon Speech, in tribute to actor Henry Wilcoxon's stirring delivery of it. (IMDB)

Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American) ~ TobyKeith

American Girls
and American Guys

We'll always stand up and salute
We'll always recognize
When we see Old Glory Flying
There's a lot of men dead
So we can sleep in peace at night
When we lay down our head



My daddy served in the army
Where he lost his right eye
But he flew a flag out in our yard
Until the day that he died
He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me
To grow up and live happy
In the land of the free.

Now this nation that I love
Has fallen under attack
A mighty sucker punch came flyin' in
From somewhere in the back
Soon as we could see clearly
Through our big black eye
Man, we lit up your world
Like the 4th of July

Hey Uncle Sam
Put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty
Started shakin' her fist
And the eagle will fly
Man, it's gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom
Start ringin' her bell
And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue

Justice will be served
And the battle will rage
This big dog will fight
When you rattle his cage
And you'll be sorry that you messed with
The U.S. of A.
'Cause we'll put a boot in your ass
It's the American way

Hey Uncle Sam
Put your name at the top of his list
And the Statue of Liberty
Started shakin' her fist
And the eagle will fly
Man, it's gonna be hell
When you hear Mother Freedom
Start ringin' her bell
And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you
Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue