May 18, 2023
Enjoy! 🇺🇸
seen from Russia
seen from Belarus
seen from Lithuania
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Brazil
seen from Canada
seen from Lithuania
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from Canada
seen from Brazil
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from T1
seen from Hungary
seen from India
seen from United States
Enjoy! 🇺🇸
(Not mine, but shared with me by a Marine Veteran)
I talked to a man today
I talked with a man today, an 80+-year-old man. I asked him if there was anything I can get him while this Coronavirus scare was gripping America.
He simply smiled, looked away and said:
"Let me tell you what I need! I need to believe, at some point, this country my generation fought for... I need to believe this nation we handed safely to our children and their children...
I need to know this generation will quit being a bunch of sissies...that they respect what they've been given...that they've earned what others sacrificed for."
I wasn't sure where the conversation was going or if it was going anywhere at all. So, I sat there, quietly observing.
"You know, I was a little boy during WWII. Those were scary days. We didn't know if we were going to be speaking English, German or Japanese at the end of the war. There was no certainty, no guarantees like Americans enjoy today.
And no home went without sacrifice or loss. Every house, up and down every street, had someone in harm's way. Maybe their Daddy was a soldier, maybe their son was a sailor, maybe it was an uncle. Sometimes it was the whole damn family...fathers, sons, uncles...
Having someone, you love, sent off to war...it wasn't less frightening than it is today. It was scary as Hell. If anything, it was more frightening. We didn't have battlefront news. We didn't have email or cellphones. You sent them away and you hoped...you prayed. You may not hear from them for months, if ever. Sometimes a mother was getting her son's letters the same day Dad was comforting her over their child's death.
And we sacrificed. You couldn't buy things. Everything was rationed. You were only allowed so much milk per month, only so much bread, toilet paper. EVERYTHING was restricted for the war effort. And what you weren't using, what you didn't need, things you threw away, they were saved and sorted for the war effort. My generation was the original recycling movement in America.
And we had viruses back then...serious viruses. Things like polio, measles, and such. It was nothing to walk to school and pass a house or two that was quarantined. We didn't shut down our schools. We didn't shut down our cities. We carried on, without masks, without hand sanitizer. And do you know what? We persevered. We overcame. We didn't attack our President, we came together. We rallied around the flag for the war. Thick or thin, we were in it to win. And we would lose more boys in an hour of combat than we lose in entire wars today."
He slowly looked away again. Maybe I saw a small tear in the corner of his eye. Then he continued:
"Today's kids don't know sacrifice. They think sacrifice is not having coverage on their phone while they freely drive across the country. Today's kids are selfish and spoiled. In my generation, we looked out for our elders. We helped out with single moms whose husbands were either at war or dead from war. Today's kids rush the store, buying everything they can...no concern for anyone but themselves. It's shameful the way Americans behave these days. None of them deserve the sacrifices their granddads made.
So, no I don't need anything. I appreciate your offer but, I know I've been through worse things than this virus. But maybe I should be asking you, what can I do to help you? Do you have enough pop to get through this, enough steak? Will you be able to survive with 113 channels on your tv?"
I smiled, fighting back a tear of my own...now humbled by a man in his 80's. All I could do was thank him for the history lesson, leave my number for emergency and leave with my ego firmly tucked in my rear.
I talked to a man today. A real man. An American man from an era long gone and forgotten. We will never understand the sacrifices. We will never fully earn their sacrifices. But we should work harder to learn about them.. learn from them... to respect them.
Ka-Bar 1217 by @coltelleriacollini order: www.knives.it #coltelleriacollini #knives.it #nitecoreitalia #italianknives #collinisteel #usmc #marines #usmcveteran #kabar #esercito #esercitoitaliano #usmclife #1217 #knivesout #knifecollection #fixed #tacticalgear #militaryhistory @kabarknives (presso Coltelleria Collini) https://www.instagram.com/p/CabpJSMI4o-/?utm_medium=tumblr
Happy birthday United States Marine Corps!!! If you’d like a set of custom coasters like these shoot me a DM. they make great Christmas presents! #usmc #usmclife #unitedstatesmarinecorps #unitedstatesmarines #armedforces #military #unitedstatesarmedforces #2a #2amendment #semperfi #556 #fmj #resincasting #giftsforhim #giftsformen #giftsforher #veteransday #functionalart #christmasgifts #christmasideas #jerseycity #jerseycityart https://www.instagram.com/p/CHapLDWgkmt/?igshid=3t44ri59bugr
Julian is a Marine 🇺🇸
Want to meet The Corps Real Life “John Wick”? As we approach our Celebration of Our Corps 245th Birthday, I find myself drawn to some of the forgotten Legends of Our Corps... One of my favorites is "Crazy Eyes" (as I call him) Sergeant Major John H Quick USMC. He was a holder of The Medal of Honor, Navy Cross and The Distinguished Service Cross (Army)! He was a native of West Virginia and served in EVERY major land engagement that the Marine Corps was involved in DURING HIS ENTIRE CAREER (1892-1920, 28 years)... His poor body was so worn out by his service that he died in his early 50's and for the most part The Corps has forgotten this absolutely amazing Marine! Had he lived long enough to have been awarded The Combat Action Ribbon he would not have been able to put enough stars on it to account all of his Combat Tours... Hollywood can’t even match this!