Memorial Day 2012

[edog743]

Well said Kati. I  agree with everything you said. You also said it so well.

[Buffilita]

Memorial Day is to honor those who have served our country, not to discuss the policies and politics of what led the US into conflicts or wars.  The men and women who serve and defend us don't make those policy decisions; they deploy where they are ordered.
 
God Bless America and God bless our veterans and active troops.  Thank you for your service and courage.

[marie meijer]

Thank you, billy, kati and buff for your beautiful/tasteful choice of words on this timely topic. I agree with your sentiments. We do appreciate the efforts of all those who serve or have served in our military, all year long!

[BillyJoe]

Well billy, now I see that you need to make a visit to the Vietnam war info center over here too.

You disproved your own point, one which if I may add, is not mentioned in our center because it had nothing to do with the war. We LOST that foolish war, so where are those imaginary ICBMs?

I think you may all benefit from reading up on the waste factor of that war, and the political posturing it created. 50,000+ of our young men died for nothing, the ones who didnt came home to ridicule, and the only thing we got out of it is a beautiful war memorial in Washington.

Recently weve seen a bump in agent orange claims. It sure looks like the old timers are trying to cash in on that even more now, as they watch the latest fad in PTSD grab hold. Like I said, our greatest generation of soldiers was WWII.
Just came back in from my Noon EDT Memorial Day salute to our flag (a cul-de-sac tradition here), and, of course, saw this. OK - last chance, then I am really done.
BS, in case you haven't noticed, ICBM technology has moved on, so geographical placements are no longer as important as they were in the '60s. Also, you may have not heard this, but Communism has fallen in the Soviet Union, so the expansion backers are gone. All that is left are rogues, like North Korea (DMZ ring a bell?) and Iran, which is plenty to defend against. 
I will just add that old men creating wars and young men (and now women) fighting wars dates back even farther, as it was true in Greek and Roman times as well.   

[Eduardo]

We have to be fair, as none of us were there when backsider stormed the beach at Normandy. I hear he took out 3 machine gun posts on his own, before cracking the German code that no other allies could crack because they were so blinded by the math that they thought 98% was less than 100%.

[backsider]

[QUOTE=backsider]Well billy, now I see that you need to make a visit to the Vietnam war info center over here too. You disproved your own point, one which if I may add, is not mentioned in our center because it had nothing to do with the war. We LOST that foolish war, so where are those imaginary ICBMs? I think you may all benefit from reading up on the waste factor of that war, and the political posturing it created. 50,000+ of our young men died for nothing, the ones who didnt came home to ridicule, and the only thing we got out of it is a beautiful war memorial in Washington. Recently weve seen a bump in agent orange claims. It sure looks like the old timers are trying to cash in on that even more now, as they watch the latest fad in PTSD grab hold. Like I said, our greatest generation of soldiers was WWII.
Just came back in from my Noon EDT Memorial Day salute to our flag (a cul-de-sac tradition here), and, of course, saw this. OK - last chance, then I am really done.
BS, in case you haven't noticed, ICBM technology has moved on, so geographical placements are no longer as important as they were in the '60s. Also, you may have not heard this, but Communism has fallen in the Soviet Union, so the expansion backers are gone. All that is left are rogues, like North Korea (DMZ ring a bell?) and Iran, which is plenty to defend against. 
I will just add that old men creating wars and young men (and now women) fighting wars dates back even farther, as it was true in Greek and Roman times as well.   [/QUOTE]

Apples and oranges billy. We were talking about the 60s & 70s when ICBMs were mentioned, not today. Same with Communism. All that you said is true though, but it had nothing to do with a rebuttal.

[katipug]

I agree with you Eduardo, but he shouldnt try to minimize or diminish the suffering and sacrifices others have made no matter what conflict they fought and died for, at least he came back. Just saying a day for remembering, those who fought and paid the ultimate sacrifice. I appreciate his bravery and service also, but tryin to say "my war was better than your war" is kinda strange dont you think?They all bleed red dont they?

[BillyJoe]

[QUOTE=billyjoe] [QUOTE=backsider]Well billy, now I see that you need to make a visit to the Vietnam war info center over here too. You disproved your own point, one which if I may add, is not mentioned in our center because it had nothing to do with the war. We LOST that foolish war, so where are those imaginary ICBMs? I think you may all benefit from reading up on the waste factor of that war, and the political posturing it created. 50,000+ of our young men died for nothing, the ones who didnt came home to ridicule, and the only thing we got out of it is a beautiful war memorial in Washington. Recently weve seen a bump in agent orange claims. It sure looks like the old timers are trying to cash in on that even more now, as they watch the latest fad in PTSD grab hold. Like I said, our greatest generation of soldiers was WWII.

Just came back in from my Noon EDT Memorial Day salute to our flag (a cul-de-sac tradition here), and, of course, saw this. OK - last chance, then I am really done.

BS, in case you haven't noticed, ICBM technology has moved on, so geographical placements are no longer as important as they were in the '60s. Also, you may have not heard this, but Communism has fallen in the Soviet Union, so the expansion backers are gone. All that is left are rogues, like North Korea (DMZ ring a bell?) and Iran, which is plenty to defend against. 

I will just add that old men creating wars and young men (and now women) fighting wars dates back even farther, as it was true in Greek and Roman times as well.   [/QUOTE]

Apples and oranges billy. We were talking about the 60s & 70s when ICBMs were mentioned, not today. Same with Communism. All that you said is true though, but it had nothing to do with a rebuttal.[/QUOTE]
OK, now I am REALLY curious, BS. What does your 'center' identify as the reason for the desired expansion of Communism into South Vietnam in the '60's? Does it just 'skip over' that part, and focus only on the response?
 

[backsider]

Theres a lot, but the main reason is the US felt communism, if spread to the south, would eventually be attempted throughout the world, given how China and the USSR seemed to want the same. But it was the wrong calculation as history has shown. So if we just let the north take over the south, the military concluded that it would have ended there given the insignificance of Vietnam, millions would have lived, and there would not have been such a violent division here at home.

[BillyJoe]

There's a lot, but the main reason is the US felt communism, if spread to the south, would eventually be attempted throughout the world, given how China and the USSR seemed to want the same. But it was the wrong calculation as history has shown. So if we just let the north take over the south, the military concluded that it would have ended there given the insignificance of Vietnam, millions would have lived, and there would not have been such a violent division here at home.
Well, the only thing that "history has shown" is that opposed Communist advances in Korea and Vietnam had stifled its spread, helping to lead to its demise in the USSR, and lessening the ambitions of China. Left unchecked, the expansion would have undoubtedly continued to include many resource-rich countries, empowering the then-Communist leaders, and furthering their stated goal of world domination. I, personally, kinda like the freedom that was preserved for this country with the sacrifices that were made, and continue to be made.