Sometimes
my words work towards things good and meaningful, sometimes they fail me and just don't do justice towards anything, and sometimes it's better I simply stand back, watch and listen. Memorial day on Monday will again be that day I stand back, watch and listen. If you find a personal quiet place of your own on Monday
just for a few moments and stand back and listen, you'll hear the voices of all of
'them', and once again you'll hear the words "your welcome" ...
Usually I fall back on photos to explain my thoughts. Hope you guys don't mind a few more to reflect over the weekend and into Monday. Have a wonderful Memorial weekend and remember those who mean the most to you on Monday.
I think the LIFE archives can serve well here. Not one image means any more or less than the other, and even though these photos are directed towards the WW2 era, they certainly are reflective, and have the intent, to reflect on ALL wars and conflicts. Wouldn't you agree? Notice many are dated in the month of May.
Sometimes it's not a bad idea to spend a little time thinking about what most usually take for granted in this country, fortunately for me as well as many others, we are blessed with WIX members who have never lost touch of that reality. Another reason I still enjoy this place.
Army Parade Washington DC, Memorial Day, May 1942 (it's quite evident in this series of photos just how stressed, concerned and worried the country was at this early stage of the war, you really don't see too many smiles from those in attendance. But at the same time you can also sense parity and patriotism.)
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Lt. Gen. James H. Doolittle (R) with Gen. George S. Patton saluting as they review troops after landing at airfield Los Angeles 1945
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, sitting in jeep in which he made recent tour of the fighting front during World War II. (ETO) 1945
Don Gentile 1944
LT Edward H. Butch O'Hare, USN 1942
COL Neel E. Kearby, 348th FG commander 1943
Captain Joseph J. Foss wearing the Congressional Medal of Honor in a portrait May 1943
Col. Jimmy Stewart, in his hometown upon his return from WWII
Clark Gable after the war 1946
Audie Murphy March 1948
Eddie Rickenbacker addressing troops. 1942
US Navy bomber pilot Ron Gift having a drink after a successful mission June 1944
Shirley Slade, pilot trainee in Women's Flying Training Detachment, during training at Avenger Field Sweetwater, TX, July 1943
Another female pilot trainee in Women's Flying Training Detachment, during training at Avenger Field Sweetwater, TX, July 1943
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, January 1942
Returning B-17 bomber crewmen of the 8th Bomber Command being interrogated by Intelligence officer 1942
Gen. Douglas MacArthur, posing in a serious manor for his portrait. March 1947
Navy pilot William A. Dean, sitting in his fighter plane emblazoned w. 11 Japanese flags October 1944
Field Hospital nurses who arrived in France via England & Egypt after 3 yrs. of service, during WWII. August 1944
Gen. Claire L. Chennault 1943
Admiral William F. Halsey, working at his desk aboard the carrier. 1945
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz during WWII 1942
American General Anthony McAuliffe, commander of the 101st Airborne at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. February 1945
Crewman lifting injured airman Kenneth Bratton (AOM) out of turret of TBF aircraft on USS Saratoga after raid on Rabaul, during WWII 1943
ETO P-47 Pilot 1944
General Omar Bradley 1945
Marines wounded during landing on Tarawa are towed out on rubber boats by their buddies to larger vessels November 1943
Wounded Marines being helped to aid station by Navy corpsmen & Marine walking wounded on sandy shores, during WWII 1945
US Army Lieut. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, 62, wearing uniform hat, looking painfully emaciated, after his recent release fr. isolated imprisonment by the Japanese for over 3 yrs
Army's first all-black combat division, the 93rd, on parade after a 25-mile hike in the sweltering heat at Fort Huachuca AZ. 1943
American glider troops' airborne unit on parade at an airfield before Eisenhower's D-Day invasion during WWII May 1944
View from inside a small landing craft shows American soldiers wading ashore under heavy German fire during the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944
US Marines unload equipment & supplies onto the sands of Iwo Jima from large Coast Guard & Navy landing craft shortly after troops gained a foothold on the strategically important island. February 19, 1945
US infantrymen huddled down closely on top of each other in assault boat while crossing Rhine under heavy enemy fire at St. Goar, during WWII March 1945
Muddy Amer. infantryman Terry Moore (C) w. his buddies in ponchos huddled in foxhole during intense sniper fire as they wait to advance on enemy position. Okinawa May 1945
American troops of 28th Infantry Division marching down Champs Elysees in victory parade following liberation of Paris August 1944
Overview of lines of US wounded soldiers attending Mother's Day services in blitzed Coventry Cathedral, which has no roof at all; men are patients in nearby convalescent hospitals. May 13, 1945
Abandoned carrier sitting on landing beach. May 1945
Farmer cultivating around an abandoned tank. France May 1945
Man riding by burial site for a British soldier. May 1945
In the spring, maintenance being done on WW II permanent American military cemetery, referred to as Number I cemetery. France May 1945
Personal effects being prepared to be sent home. Ferryville, Tunisia 1943
Boots and coats from dead and wounded soldiers being recycled for use once again. Ferryville, Tunisia 1943
Pvt. Paul Oglesby, 30th Infantry, standing in reverence before altar in damaged Catholic church, whose bomb-shattered roof is strewn about sanctuary Italy September 23, 1943
Italy May 23,1944
Italy May 23,1944
American soldier taking a meal break during the drive towards Rome, WWII. Italy May 23,1944
And here's a ray of hope from our younger generations to reflect and remember what Memorial day should mean to all of us.
I'll spend some time thinking of this guy as well, along with two uncles that didn't make it past January 1945.