Memorial Day

 

I present to you the two submissions I have received for our esteemed Memorial Day article.

Take a moment to reflect upon those who have lost their lives in the ravages of war, and kindly spare a minute to immerse yourself in the narratives that lie before you.

I have made a conscious choice to preserve every word, punctuation mark, and nuance.

Lest We Forget

By Parsnip Latzo

I wrote this Memorial Day article for a Facebook posting in 2018. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Memorial Day - a day on which those who died in active military service are remembered. As an Army bandsman, I participated in many Memorial Day services honoring our fallen service members. This year I want to memorialize a solider whose death had a profound effect on me. I arrived at Camp Casey, Korea in February 1983 as a SFC in the 2nd Infantry Division Band. Sometime that spring in April or May, the band was headed to a concert via Army bus. We were still on post, driving by a large secured motor pool of tanks when there was an explosion and one of the tanks near the road shot flames from its access hatch 30 feet in the air! We stopped and tried to sort out what to do next. No way to climb the security fence and the entrance to the motor pool was on the other side. Fortunately we didn't need to make that decision as we saw troops running toward the tank inside the secure area to deal with the crisis. We learned that a young private, newly arrived from AIT was killed while servicing that tank. 2nd Infantry Division in Korea was the only regular Army unit to be using the M48 Patton tanks at that time. Unlike the M60s and the then new M1 Abrams that armor crewmen were being trained on, the M48 has an artillery round stored above a battery that needs to have parts greased. Proper procedure is to remove the round, take it out of the tank, go back inside, grease the battery parts and then retrieve and remount the artillery round. Instead, the young private removed the round and set it on the metal tank floor, went to grease the battery and the metal grease gun touched the battery and the floor at the same time. The round exploded. It is a vivid reminder that military deaths are not always combat related and a lot of young people die, after having volunteered to serve their country, in what seems to be unnecessary tragedies. These service members need to be remembered as well on Memorial Day. When the tank explosion memory popped into my head today, as it has many times over the years, I realized I didn't even know that soldier's name. So I decided to see if I could find him. Turns out that an organization called the Korean War Educator has compiled an extensive amount of information to include a list of U.S. active duty military "non-hostile" deaths. I scanned the list from 1983 and found this: “Army - Williams, Pvt. James Roverta. 17 May 83. East Portland, OR. Born January 22, 1964, Private Williams was an M48-m60 Armor Crewman when he died in an accident in Korea. He is buried in Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, OR.” The time frame and description seemed to match but I wanted something more definitive so I did a newspaper archive search on the Oregonian, one of Portland's oldest newspapers and found a short entry from May 25, 1983. “James Williams Pvt. 2 James Roverta Williams, a native of Portland, died in a tank explosion May 17 at Camp Casey, Korea. He was 19.” This Memorial Day remembrance is for Pvt Williams and all the young service men and women like him who stepped up for their country and died needlessly and tragically. They still deserve our respectful gratitude for their service.......Lest we forget.

Memorial Day.....

By XTC

I sat down at the computer with my coffee and started to reflect on alot of things. One, just what Memorial Day means. And a flood emotions hits me all at once. 

Growing up, I had family throughout the military and on both sides In every branch of service, family members in every major war/conflict. And I remember asking them "why did you join". Join? No, they had been drafted back then. Forced to leave their lives and loved ones behind to go fight a war. Others chose to join for the sole purpose of making sure the country stays safe and free. For God and Country. Young boys experiencing love for the first time. Boys barely out of high school made ready to kill another for the sole reason of being commanded to do so. Boys still learning how to make their way now leaving their dads protection and their mothers embrace to go fight a war.....and not come home.

How quickly society can blind an eye on the premise of an ideology without knowing the facts. Veterans are condemned for 'killing' and anything associated with war, but it is a mans integrity that makes him who he is. Would you condemn a man for stealing a can of tuna to feed his family? Then why condemn one for how he protects his family/home? 

"I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. "

To my brothers and sisters...here is our song. And to those not in the military or experienced in it, Our oath of enlistment never dies. And it speaks volumes. Everyone that joins the military recites the oath of enlistment, standing proud in front of our family and friends, staring directly at the American flag and saluting it with pride. YES I WILL.....because we know exactly what every line in that oath means....EVERY LINE. Then shortly after, within minutes you are cattled into busses and planes to report to your duty station for the next 8-13 weeks of intense training and skill building, then shipped off for months and years at a time, All for the purpose of defending your country. 

Imagine being in a foreign country or away at war. Now imagine something has happened at home and you cannot and do not have the option of returning home. Or at least until your enlistment is over. If you're one of the lucky ones to survive. How many fathers missed their childs birth? How many soldiers had to sit in filth while their mother died back home? How many soldiers lost their lives all because of war? 

This is the sacrifice. So many walked out of the safety of their homes so everyone today would be safe in theirs.

This Memorial Day, remember those that sacrificed everything and did not return home. 

Semper Fortis, Semper Fidelis my brothers and sisters, For God and Country, Thank  YOU for your service!!

~Ecstasy Alpha~