Community | May 24, 2009 | 8 comments

Memorial Day roll call honors 148,000 veterans

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30907932/

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RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Abts, Richard. Adamski, Walter. Ahlman, Enoch.

The names are whisked away by the hot, gusting wind as soon as they are spoken, forgotten in the stream of the next name and the next name and the next name.

Fuller, Addison. Fuller, Mary. Furlong, John.
The story of America could be told through these names, tales of bravery and hesitation, of dreams achieved or deferred and of battles won and lost.

Taken alone, they are just words, identities stripped of place and time, stripped of rank and deeds and meaning.

But they are not taken alone. They are taken together — 148,000 They read in pairs, rotating through 15-minute shifts in the beating sun, in the chilly desert night and in the pre-dawn hours thick with mosquitoes.

Some time on Memorial Day, they will read the last name on the 2,465th page.

Some read for their country.

Others read for a father lost in battle or a beloved son cut down in his prime.

And one man reads for no one in particular — except, maybe, for himself.

Blackaby gives this time
Richard Blackaby was just 18 and fresh out of high school in 1966 when he was drafted for Vietnam. His father had served as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II and Blackaby was desperate to follow in his path.

But the Army said no: Blackaby had epilepsy and asthma and was unfit for service.

Twelve years later, Blackaby — now married with three children — reapplied to the Army and was accepted to the 4th Infantry Division as a forward observer.
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8 comments // Memorial Day roll call honors 148,000 veterans

  • desertcat
    • 0
      desertcat  

    • For every bad apple there are hundreds that are good. One should not judge few by the many. The men and woman who serve do so with a pride and in a time of no draft do so because they want to do something for their country. On a holiday such as this when we should be remembering those in Malmady, Omaha Beach, Vietnam, Korea etc we should remember that these are our brothers, sisters, fathers, uncles, friends, lovers etc. If I had any sense when I was younger I should of stayed in and made it a career.

    • 2 years ago
  • funnicus
    • 0
      funnicus [removed]  
    • desertcat:

      I would say anyone who trusts their government blindly, signs their conscience away to it, would kill for it, takes pride in that too is a good description of a bad apple, or at least an ignorant one. And that's not a good word, it's root is "ignore"

    • 2 years ago
  • unclecharlie
    • 0
      unclecharlie  
    • desertcat:

      I think it would be fair to say you have never served in the military, funnicus. When I signed on that dotted line and took the oath, I did so without trusting my government blindly. I trusted them enough to provide a steady paycheck, 3 hots and a cot, and the ability to travel all over the world, while serving my country. To that end, my trust was justified. I don't think you'll find anyone who takes pride in killing another human is to be found in the US military. War is not the place to boast. Carlos Hathcock, the US military's most accomplished sniper, with 93 confirmed kills, simply viewed it as his job to save American lives in Vietnam, and was very soft spoken. So your own ignorance of veterans and their pride in serving is obvious.

    • 2 years ago
  • funnicus
    • 0
      funnicus [removed]  
    • desertcat:

      unclecharlie, you watched the military channel lately? All the iraqi vets are only anxious and proud to kill as many of the enemy as they can, and are quite loud and about it. Show was called "ambush in iraq" and you will see lots of bloodlust. They will rerun it Thursday if you don't believe me... Maybe in the old days they could hide it, but nowdays, they just try to justify it by dehumanization of the chosen "enemy" They can easily be manipulated to turn on the american people. The efforts to dehumanize some factions is already started. (drug users) You (military types / cops) will be the tyrants to round up your fellow americans who choose to excercise their pursuits of happiness in a different way than you might. That's what I don't respect. But you sound sincere, got to give you that. Nice show. Predictable though.

    • 2 years ago
  • unclecharlie
    • 0
      unclecharlie  

    • Hey, we're not talkin' ex military cops here. We're talking those who fell in Quang Tri, Chu Lai, Corregidor, the Ardennes, Omaha Beach, France. My pursuit of happiness does not require me to break any laws, and it makes me wonder about those that feel that breaking laws is how they pursuit happiness. To die on Omaha Beach is to die valiantly, bravely. "No greater love has a man than he give up his life for his friends."

    • 2 years ago
  • funnicus
    • 0
      funnicus [removed]  

    • It's a shame that so many lives were RIPPED OFF if they died for our freedom. You are free to obey ex-military. (the police) and they work hard to deprive you of your pursuit of happiness which is self evidently inalienable.

      And since when do idiots deserve respect?

    • 2 years ago
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