Thank-you For The Blood, Sweat and Tears....

This is a picture of my father in Korea, 1958. I have pictures of him in uniform, all spic and span and looking every bit as proud as he felt wearing his U.S. Army uniform . This photo just struck me though. War is dirty, bloody, bone- wearying, lonely, scary, and even tedious. There is always the practical aspect of war...when not in battle the equipment needs to be taken care of, repaired, serviced. Battle, or warfare is noisy, bloody, scary...I am sure anyone who has fought in a war has much more they could say about war, but most veterans I know , including my father , father-in-law, son , brother-in-law ,nephews , friends, choose not to talk about it much. "We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."Cynthia Ozick One of the rare discussions I once had with my father about war has always stuck with me. My father did two tours of duty in Korea, and two tours of duty in Vietnam. He said when he held a dying man in his arms he could see the life leaving , and the spark of life was in his eyes, and then it was not. "In war there are no unwounded soldiers." Jose' Narosky This is my son David , reading a local newspaper I sent him. He is shown here in Iraq in the first of his two tours there, with his U.S.M.C. tank crew. They got mighty dirty and tired. Not too much boredom though, things were pretty lively for them ( unfortunately). Since our son was very little he desired a military career. I always marveled at this though because as a little boy he once commented.."Mom, the soldiers on one side are fighting for their country, and the soldiers on the other side are fighting for theirs'...each one thinks they are right.."The most persistent sound which reverberates through men's history is the beating of war drums." A. Koestler We were talking on the phone 2 days ago and he told me he could sleep anywhere when he was tired. He said he slept through mortars and fire-fights. One night he was dreaming he was home with us and in his dream I was in the kitchen cooking and complaining of the mortaring going on around the house. Then one of his fellow Marines came in, a little bloody ( nothing serious) and woke him up because they WERE under fire! "Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul." Michel de Montaigne

There is so much I would, or could say..and so much more I cannot begin to know or understand enough to say well. There is so much to cry about, and pray about, and be angry about..but today I want to say THANK-YOU!

To all of you veterans of all wars, thank-you for your service and sacrifice."Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." G.K. Chesterton

"When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? " George Canning

To see my tribute to family veterans click here*.

Spot on Family Veterans

~Our oldest son David Burnson, a U.S. Marine and veteran of two tours of war in Iraq.~~This is David with his tank crew(below) in Iraq. David is idealistic, in spite of the disrespect so many in our country show towards the country of their birth, and the people who put their lives on the line ( brace yourselves ) for true ideals of freedom, freedom of religion and speech, and love of country! David comes from a long line of men willing to lose their lives for our country and values they hold dear. David has lost friends and brothers in arms , as did my father and my husbands' father. Their sacrifice has not cost them their lives, as it did so many they fought along side, but it did cost them...in areas they will not talk about, nor will I write about. It cost them in ways that will affect the rest of their lives. David does NOT regret his service. My father did NOT regret his service, my father-in-law does NOT regret his service. I would not ever deem to disrespect them for this , and have a very hard time personally with the very popular expression of disdain and disrespect so commonly written and published by the media "elite"and youth who have never had to suffer hardship or severe consequences for expressing their opinions , nor had to live under a regime which would easily kill them for their brash words.

~This is my father-in-law(below). Our oldest son David is named after him. My father-in-law was 17 when he enlisted in the Navy. He fought at the end of WWII and was in the South Pacific and involved in the famous D-Day launch on the beaches in the Phillipines. This man has such a fair complexion, (the Norwegian blood) that the extreme exposure to the sun during his time at war has earned him a lot of time having skin cancer treated. He does not understand the opinions of so many who think there is no cost to the protection of peace and security in our country. "An appeaser is one who feeds the crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." Winston Churchill

~Here is a picture of my family , minus my youngest sister who was not yet born. I am on the far left. My father was a soldier in the U.S. Army. He did 2 tours in Korea in the 50's and 2 tours of Vietnam. He was also someone who did a lot of reading and thinking....I am so sad when I think of how he and his brothers in arms were treated by America in the late 60's and 70's. To his dying day he knew Jane Fonda to be a traitor, and a few others I will not mention. But you know, Hollywood and their ilk are really all we should look up to, right ? We don't really need ideals that are worth risking life for do we ? "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country." George Washington ~Here is my father, Lloyd L. Hartley, in Korea , May 1958. "For it has been said so truthfully that it is the soldier , not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. It is the soldier , not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the agitator, who has given us the freedom to protest. It is the soldier who salutes the flag, serves beneath the flag, whose coffin is draped by the flag, who gives that protester the freedom to abuse and burn that flag." Zell Miller (D) Georgia 2004 ~Another picture of my father in Korea, 1958. When my father came home from Vietnam in 1971 he was more likely to suffer abuse and disrespect from young fellow Americans than the enemy he fought in foreign wars. How sad is that? My generation, not like minded and never will be. I am still puzzled by the way so many Americans view our country, their country, as the reason for most other country's problems...yup, we should not be helping any other country out. Nope, we should not be shedding American blood for anyone else...wow, WE are responsible for the Japanese and German claim to world dominion and the resulting war ? Oh my....you would be surprised at the books and theories presented as truth to justify hatred of America. You would think we were the scourge of the world. Surprisingly, it is fellow Americans that hate us so much. "Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American soldier." Zell Miller ~Here is a newspaper article about my Father. He is receiving the first oak-leaf cluster. My father received many medals and awards, but we did not know until he died because he was not one to talk about these things, or boast. He did not like to talk about death and war. I re-discovered in old photo albums many photographs of the people of the different countries he served in. He really liked and respected the different cultures, and was very able to appreciate differing views. He did NOT tolerate well the disrespect of your own family , culture and country. "Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul." Michel de Montaigne ~"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." Mark Twain Patriotic-"characterized by patriotism, influenced by love of native or adopted land, intended for public good." Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary

God of Our Fathers

vs.3: From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence

Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense; Thy true religion

in our hearts increase, Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

vs.4:Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way

Lead us from night to never-ending day; Fill all our lives with

love and grace divine, And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine. by Daniel Roberts

~Thank-you to all of you who have served our country , and willingly risked your life for the ideals you hold dear. Thank-you to all of you who have helped make this a country where freedom has been valued. May we always realize what we have been blessed with, and may our people hold dear the values that built and founded this country. Thank-you God for allowing me to live in a country I am free to practice my faith openly and voice my opinion. Please, may it always be so! Thank-you Veterans!~

Lullaby