Marine Corps Birthday - Veterans Day, 2011

Every year, during the second week of November, I get very reflective and tend to keep a little bit to myself.  It's Veteran's week. This week contains the Marine Corps Birthday, and Veterans Day. You won't find the week designated on any calendar, or noted in any article anywhere but here. The individual days are noted and honored; but, to me, the entire week should be dedicated to the remembrance of all those who have served and sacrificed so that we all can continue to enjoy the freedoms that we have; not only in this country, but in many countries around the world. Many have paid the ultimate price so that we can continue to argue right and left over the direction of this ship of state. It didn't matter what they were. Democrat, Republican, Leftest, Rightest, they were all united in one belief, that an individual should be free to state their  beliefs without fear of repercussion from any governmental body. I can remember back when I was in the Marine Corps, we had men and women from every walk of life, with every form of belief, all serving one ideal: that freedom should continue to reign over this country and that it was up to all of us to protect and defend it.
 It is no different today. Our troops, Marines, Navy, Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard, are all fighting to protect us from being destroyed by enemies that hate everything that the United States stands for. Freedom of Speech, Freedom to practice any religion that we wish, or practice none at all, if that is what we believe. We still have the right to bear arms. We still have freedom of the press, all of these things thanks to the sacrifices of those who have given a part, or all, of their lives to a military service. It makes me sad......, no, it makes me ANGRY, when I hear or see people called vile names and having their patriotism challenged because of their political or religious beliefs. These are the things that I felt it was my duty to help protect and defend. I have also been called a few choice names. I have been told, because I am a lifelong member of a labor union, that I am a left leaning pinko. This by someone who never spent a second in service to this great nation. But I digress, and my experiences aside, we must remember what these men and women fought and died for. 
 So, I am asking everyone who reads this to take a few minutes to day to reflect on those souls who have in the past put their lives on the line in defense of all of us; and I am asking also that you remember and continue to support all the brave men and women who now put themselves in harms way because they believe that they can, by their sacrifices, help to make the world a better, safer place for all people. There is no greater service than what they continue to give.
 Semper Fi!
 John Zaffino  Cpl., USMC 1966 - 1970 Active Duty, 1970 -     Once a Marine...

Comments

  1. KerriNovember 11, 2011 at 9:28 AM

    Thank you for your thoughts here, John. It's good for those of us who did NOT serve to hear the reflections of our Brother who DID serve, first hand opinions, etc. Thank you for your service to this country, and for sharing some of your feelings about it with us here. - Kerri

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts On Thanksgiving- Part I

Image
Thanksgiving  2008 OK, now I'm going to sound like the Old Man that I am. This is about Thanksgiving, after all, and Thanksgiving is an old tradition that dates back to Abraham Lincoln. So if you get bored with old-timer stories, hang in there, because this is going somewhere, and I have something to say.   Back when I was a young boy, Thanksgiving was a really big deal. It wasn't just Black Friday Eve, or the day that people sat in front of the Television with a plate of food, watching every mind numbing football game that your 200 - Plus television channels will bring you. It was a time to be with your family and enjoy a big meal together. It was a time to reflect on everything that you were thankful for. People got dressed for dinner. Mom and the other women of the family would start cooking and baking days in advance whatever they could, so that the family could sit and enjoy each other's company. No one worked, except for certain utility workers, and people that w...
Read more

My View

Image
Well, here we are in the thick of another Presidential campaign, and the haters have been at it since the beginning of the last one. They don't seem to want to stick to any legitimate issues; they would rather throw whatever nasty, despicable lie they can find out there to see what they can get others to believe. "He wasn't born here!" (A lie!) He's not a Christian (A lie and, even if he wasn't, so what?) He hates America... what? Do you even hear yourselves, or don't you care about how ignorant you sound? I don't care if you don't like the man's politics or not, but throwing hateful and ignorant statements out there just makes you look bad. If you don't like where he stands on the political spectrum, fine. Go after him on the issues, if you even can, at this point. I didn't hear this kind of crap when President Bush was spending us into debt. Or when Cheney said that he didn't give a damn about what the American people wanted. Th...
Read more

Of Dogs And People

                             Of Dogs and People                      February 26, 2011 I lost another of my best friends today. Shadow was almost 16 years old, and ancient by the standards of his species. He had been doing well up until about two weeks ago, when he started going down hill very quickly. Yesterday, he was having a problem emptying his bowels. Although he was almost completely blind, he kept going out the dog door all night, trying to relieve himself. This morning, he left the yard, through the electric dog fence, which must have caused him a great deal of discomfort. He crossed the road and went into the woods, probably to die. We noticed that he was gone almost immediately, or we never would have found him. My wife, Sheryl, charge...
Read more