Happy Veteran's Day
#1
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Happy Veteran's Day
To us, those who came before us, those who will come after us, and to those who never made it home.
Thank you Oaf, gpatmac, kidatari, BADWRX, Gogats, SUB-ZERO, Mach5WRX, Rexstang, svxr8dr (fellow Alphatraz Blue falcon ), silver satin, mario, 4080wrx, shadowcat, EtchyLives, keirnna, funkdrmr, v rod, Nolimit and anyone else i've left out here on I-Club and those that support them.
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: The soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.
What is a vet?
He's the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia, sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel. He's the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She or he is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang. He's the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL. He's the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
He's the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand. He's the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by. He's the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He's the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a **** death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He's an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. He's a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he's nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say, "Thank You." That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU."
Thank you Oaf, gpatmac, kidatari, BADWRX, Gogats, SUB-ZERO, Mach5WRX, Rexstang, svxr8dr (fellow Alphatraz Blue falcon ), silver satin, mario, 4080wrx, shadowcat, EtchyLives, keirnna, funkdrmr, v rod, Nolimit and anyone else i've left out here on I-Club and those that support them.
Originally Posted by What Is a Vet?
Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: The soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking.
What is a vet?
He's the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia, sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel. He's the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquisite bravery near the 38th parallel.
She or he is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in Da Nang. He's the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL. He's the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.
He's the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand. He's the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by. He's the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetery must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.
He's the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a **** death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.
He's an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. He's a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkness, and he's nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.
So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say, "Thank You." That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded. Two little words that mean a lot, "THANK YOU."
#8
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Awww... well aren't you just the cutie pie! Is it just me, or are the 'metal bits' of your rifle a more natural silvery finish instead of the usual black? Never seen that before...
-Chris
p.s. in 1988 I was swimming in the '6 and unders' age bracket of my local rec. swim team.
-Chris
p.s. in 1988 I was swimming in the '6 and unders' age bracket of my local rec. swim team.
#9
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Originally Posted by bassplayrr
p.s. in 1988 I was swimming in the '6 and unders' age bracket of my local rec. swim team.
#10
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Damn Paul, you are old school Just look at that purty M16A1 with the lack of blueing
I started off with this (FN M249 SAW paratrooper)
Then this heavy SOB for a full year as a gunner (M240B w/ MGO and PEQ2a)
To this in LRS (M4 M203 Carbine w/CCO and PEQ2a)
Then this w/scout plt. (M24 w/Leupold M9)
Then back to the M4 Carbine as a squad leader.
I started off with this (FN M249 SAW paratrooper)
Then this heavy SOB for a full year as a gunner (M240B w/ MGO and PEQ2a)
To this in LRS (M4 M203 Carbine w/CCO and PEQ2a)
Then this w/scout plt. (M24 w/Leupold M9)
Then back to the M4 Carbine as a squad leader.
#11
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But for good measure here's a picture of my shadowed *** as a PJ on an Ecuadorian Jump (those are Ecuadorian soldiers jumping) out of the C130 tailgate.
I've posted this picture before here and it can also be seen on the 82nd airborne gallery URL as of 2003 iirc.
If I had a scanner then I could post some funny pictures of me doing stuff article 15 worthy
I've posted this picture before here and it can also be seen on the 82nd airborne gallery URL as of 2003 iirc.
If I had a scanner then I could post some funny pictures of me doing stuff article 15 worthy
#12
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Nice hardware...none('cept the SAW) was in service when my old *** was in.
Actually, that M16 I'm carrying was an XM16 made by GMs Hydro Matic Transmission Company...the upper was an A1 variant.
It was old, rattled like a rock in a can, but shot very tight groups.
Actually, that M16 I'm carrying was an XM16 made by GMs Hydro Matic Transmission Company...the upper was an A1 variant.
It was old, rattled like a rock in a can, but shot very tight groups.
#15
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That must ****ing suck... someone must have pissed off a 1SG/CSM to jump MOPP4 with combat equipment. I'm pretty sure there wasn't any airborne operations besides HALO/HAHO during desert storm v.1.0. Do you have a story behind this picture, Paul? I would have loved to been a non-jumping jumpmaster on this jump.
At first it looks like they're jumping hollywood but them you notice the cover on the rucksack. The plane is either a C130 -or- a C141 (my favorite) because of the yellow static lines on the chutes.
At first it looks like they're jumping hollywood but them you notice the cover on the rucksack. The plane is either a C130 -or- a C141 (my favorite) because of the yellow static lines on the chutes.