Best wishes and many honorable thoughts... this Memorial Day Weekend!

[ShadowNix]

To all those who have preserved our way of life and let us have boards like this, families to love and hobbies to have... thank you.  Seriously, thanks to all those who have served us in the military.  Where have you all served?  I was just interested in how many of my railroading colleagues have served and where. 

Again, thanks to you all... I have not had the pleasure to serve our country, but you should  be proud.  Thanks.

Brian

[snagletooth]

To all those who have preserved our way of life and let us have boards like this, families to love and hobbies to have... thank you.  Seriously, thanks to all those who have served us in the military.  Where have you all served?  I was just interested in how many of my railroading colleagues have served and where. 

Again, thanks to you all... I have not had the pleasure to serve our country, but you should  be proud.  Thanks.

Brian

I don't know how this got on "My Forum", but ditto. I've got ALOT of military servers in my family. Some in peacetime, many in war back to the Revolution.  Many, well most, served in positions that aren't even complemented (QT's in Morristown, Tiqundorga's evac., 100-day garrison duty in Ten. in the CV. Embassy duty between Korea and Veitnam, Sub, ect. during peace. Many during war. Uncle Scoop in a WWII bomber crew, Along with several Nagles in WWI, Ect., Ect. Ect.) Kudos. Even if ya' served in peace time, it stayed that way because YOU were there. The most forgotten, but not by MY family, guys who served in things not often spoken about, like the motor pool. The Medics under fire. USAF bombers, and USN subs on endless patrols. USMC EVERYWHERE. The US Army (and the old Calvary) ready to go on hours notice. The CG protecting the shores so the Navy can get out to open seas where it belongs, and does it's best. I saw a WWII movie when I was child, a US munnitions convoy attacked by Bolshivicks, our allies, but in short supply. My uncle's who saw combat told my old man who served in peace time, wow, you actually had to fire a gun, hu? My old man shot back, you can't kill the enemy without weapons, and who got them there for you?

 peace is a never ending battle. Thank You

[lvanhen]

Grandfather - WWI Navy    3 Uncles - WWII Navy     3 sons - Army, Airforce, Navy

Me - Army Vietnam   My thanks to many friends that did not return.

[Eriediamond]

US NAVY  USS Bulwark MSO425, USS Lucid MSO458, MCB-4, TAD- ARMY(river boats- LCM or "mike boats" to you older Navy-Marine guys), and last duty station NARF (Naval Aerospace Recovery Facility), El Centro, Ca. Combat status- Cuba- Russian missile removal, and four tours to Nam. To all vets, past and now serving, I salute you. To the fallen, you will not be forgotten. To the families of those serving, you have the toughest job of all, worrying about your loved ones. May they return safe and sound. Ken

[dwhitetop2]

I am Vietnam veteran 1968. Only family member to have served.       Thanks Dave

[Dave Vollmer]

USAF since 1996 including Army combat weather support in:

Bosnia 1997-98

Korea 1998-2000

Iraq 2003

DAVID R. VOLLMER, Major, USAF

Of course, Memorial Day isn't for those of us vets who came home.  It's for the guys who didn't. Our day comes in November.  Memorial Day is for the guys who were killed.

Like my great, great, great....etc. grandfather William Alden, 143rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry who died in the Civil War.

[C&O Fan]

My father was killed on Iwo Jima. Since i was a sole surviving son i was classified 4-A

and didn't go to Vietnam

I offer my thanks to all that served and didn't come home.

[snagletooth]

...not Model Railroad related...

David

Wow, Dave, wake up on the wrong side of the bed. That's two threads going along fine on their own you've tried to snip. DMB, our new weekend hall monitor. Do Bergie proud, hu? It's a memorial, does it REALLY have to be related?

[loathar]

...not Model Railroad related...

David

I saw THAT one coming a mile away.

Thanks to all the Vets that gave and are giving so much.

 

[Dave Vollmer]

...not Model Railroad related...

David

David,

Were I a lesser man I might remind you that your little forum "meltdown" earlier this month when you flooded the board with mock threads should disqualify you from any armchair moderating...  but I'll take the high road and leave that alone!

However, your point is valid in that this is not model railroad related, so let me relate:

Model railroading has been tremendously theraputic for many veterans here, myself included.  I spent much of my time in Iraq dreaming up new trackplans or reading my hobby magazines for the ump-teenth time.  It helped not only with the boredom and occasional fear, but also helped keep my mind off of missing my wife and one-year-old son.

Model railroading continues to be an outlet for my energies and one of many ways to cheer me up when I get down about the war.

[csmith9474]

My wife is active duty Air Force ('96-present), and going a full 20. 

 I was active duty Air Force from '95-'99 as a Cable Dawg , and Texas Air National Gaurd from '01-'04 as Combat Weather. The only deployment I ever made was to PSAB in Saudi Arabia for support of operation Southern Watch in 1999.

My respect goes out to those that have served and are currently serving this fine Nation, and my heart goes out to those families that have lost.

My only gripe is all these Memorial Day sales. I refuse to purchase anything that is on sale under the guise of a "Memorial Day sale".

[dwhitetop2]

...not Model Railroad related...

David

      Same for me, It has helped me tremendously when I get down and out and some of the fears and thoughts return.       Dave

David,

Were I a lesser man I might remind you that your little forum "meltdown" earlier this month when you flooded the board with mock threads should disqualify you from any armchair moderating...  but I'll take the high road and leave that alone!

However, your point is valid in that this is not model railroad related, so let me relate:

Model railroading has been tremendously theraputic for many veterans here, myself included.  I spent much of my time in Iraq dreaming up new trackplans or reading my hobby magazines for the ump-teenth time.  It helped not only with the boredom and occasional fear, but also helped keep my mind off of missing my wife and one-year-old son.

Model railroading continues to be an outlet for my energies and one of many ways to cheer me up when I get down about the war.

[tomkat-13]

I served 1972-1976 in the US NAVY on the USS LEXINTON CVT-16, USS L Y SPEAR AS-36, & at NAS MIRAMAR....My two younger brothers (Mark & Jerry)  were US AIR FORCE & Jerry is still serving now in the Missouri Air National Guard. My cousin David is in the US ARMY AIRBORNE RANGERS. My Father is Deaf was turned down for Korea but his brothers, my Uncles served, Rich in WWII US ARMY SOUTH PACIFIC & Phil in USAF in Korea, My Father's Sister, my Aunt Gin, served in the USMC in WWII, and my Grandfather was in the US NAVY WWI (That is why I went NAVY!) on "four stackers". On my mothers side my 2 Uncles were US ARMY, one in the 82nd AIRBORNE. My Wifes Father was a radioman/gunner on B-24s 15th Airforce in North Africa-Italy, he is now at the Veterans Graveyard at Jefferson Barracks in St Louis. I PRAY FOR ALL THE FAMILIES WHO NOW HAVE LOVE ONES SERVING!.....GOD BLESS AMERICA!

My Father-in-law & his crew helped save the world from the Nazi Devils! 

Me in uniform

Me with the long beard...SUBRON SIX RECEIVING USS L Y SPEARS

 

My cousin David now serving overseas! GO ARMY!

 

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeffrey Wimberly, US Army, Ft. Polk, La. 105th S&T Bn, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mech), 1978-81. Disabled Veteran.

[inch53]

Memorial services were a lot different than they are today in my hometown as a kid. Back then, every one gathered on the courthouse lawn to listen to speakers and music by the city band. Then, the vets would line up [lead by the boy scouts] and march to the 2 local cemeteries for their salute to those who'd died. Then we'd all pile in cars for a bean dinner for a bean dinner at the legion post.

Now we meet at the legion post, still have the speakers and music, still have our salute those who died, but we drive to the cemeteries. We now also we read the names to honor those vets who died in the last year in the county. I had that honor for 4 years. The last year I did it we had lost 88 vets, mostly WW2, some Korean and 2 Nam. Men who I'd known all my life and were as proud as our fathers of us, when it was our turn to serve our country.

 It's not about the camping, big sales, or just the time off work for us. It's about what those men did.  Our grand parents, parents taught us, and what we've tried to teach our kids and now grandkids about what the day is for and so many have forgotten.

So Monday, we'll all be at the post for all the goings on and then we'll have baked spaghetti [I'd rather have beans]

I served at towards the end of Viet Nam, USAF, 305^th ARW.

Hope this all makes sense. I'm not good at writen

[tangerine-jack]

I stand by my veteran brothers from every service in supporting the memory of those that have fallen in the line of duty on this sacred holiday.

I am a 22 year veteran of the US Army- Panama, Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq.   The irony of this Memorial Day for me is the fact that my retirement was denied and I ship out on 1 June for what I hope is my last vacation with the Army.  I'll write from the sand box if I get the time about how model railroading is helping me cope with being away from my wife and 5 kids.

[Dave Vollmer]

I stand by my veteran brothers from every service in supporting the memory of those that have fallen in the line of duty on this sacred holiday.

I am a 22 year veteran of the US Army- Panama, Gulf War, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq.   The irony of this Memorial Day for me is the fact that my retirement was denied and I ship out on 1 June for what I hope is my last vacation with the Army.  I'll write from the sand box if I get the time about how model railroading is helping me cope with being away from my wife and 5 kids.

Stay safe and keep your head down.

As they say, don't be first, don't be last, and never volunteer!

[selector]

Dave, you are correct...the thread has little to do with railroad modelling.  But, for you to point it out on this particular thread is a new low on this forum.  If you can be proud of that, and feel that it dignifies those of us, plenty it turns out, who have served by placing their lives on the line, then you are not as bright as I had surmised by earlier exchanges.

This is just my opinion, Dave, but you have some maturing ahead of you...at least, I hope you do.  If not, you'll find it tough sledding from this point on in this forum.

I hope you understand me...it is personal.

-Crandell

 

[csmith9474]

Memorial services were a lot different than they are today in my hometown as a kid. Back then, every one gathered on the courthouse lawn to listen to speakers and music by the city band. Then, the vets would line up [lead by the boy scouts] and march to the 2 local cemeteries for their salute to those who'd died. Then we'd all pile in cars for a bean dinner for a bean dinner at the legion post.

Now we meet at the legion post, still have the speakers and music, still have our salute those who died, but we drive to the cemeteries. We now also we read the names to honor those vets who died in the last year in the county. I had that honor for 4 years. The last year I did it we had lost 88 vets, mostly WW2, some Korean and 2 Nam. Men who I'd known all my life and were as proud as our fathers of us, when it was our turn to serve our country.

 It's not about the camping, big sales, or just the time off work for us. It's about what those men did.  Our grand parents, parents taught us, and what we've tried to teach our kids and now grandkids about what the day is for and so many have forgotten.

So Monday, we'll all be at the post for all the goings on and then we'll have baked spaghetti [I'd rather have beans]

I served at towards the end of Viet Nam, USAF, 305^th ARW.

Hope this all makes sense. I'm not good at writen

You got your point accross very well. I think Mermorial Day sales are low and dirty. You may as well have a 9/11 Day sale.

[R. T. POTEET]

It is well that we take a few minutes on this weekend to pay homage to those who sacrificed with their time and eventually sacrificed with their lives during service to their country.  This holiday dates to 1868 and was initiated by the Grand Army of the Republic to pay tribute to those who had died in the service of the Union in the suppression of the recent rebellion - The American Civil War.  Eventually those states of the Confederacy reached out in commemoration of their war dead.  The dead of Cuba, 1898, World War I, 1917-18, World War II, 1941-45, Korea, 1950-53, Vietnam, 1964-73, and, more recently, Afghanistan, 2001- , and Iraq, 2003-, as well as a number of intervening brush fire conflicts, have added their names to the memorial of honor  Some of these honored dead are buried here close to home while many, many others occupy hallowed ground on foreign fields.

On Monday my wife and I will go up to the Veterans Memorial Cemetary here in Phoenix and we will place flowers on the grave of her first husband, a WWII veteran, who died nearly six years ago.  I usually take a few minutes to walk around and read the captions on the gravestones trying to visualize what kind of service-related experiences these men may have had; I knew none of these men - and women - but as a twenty year Air Force veteran I knew each and every one of them.  Some are there because time simply expired on them; there are others, however, whose dates of birth and death indicate that they made that supreme sacrifice while on active duty.  One day I will rest among them and I hope that I am worthy of that honor.

My stepfather, who, by the way, is still alive, was on active duty with the Army Air Force on Dec 7, 1941 with the 19th Bombardment Group at Clark Field in the Philippines.  He served in Australia and New Guinea aboard B-17s in 1942.  My real father was an Army veteran and an MP during the conflict.  Four of my uncles served on active duty; one was medically exempt from overseas service but did his duty at the Post Farm at Fort Campbell, Kentucky; another was with the Corps of Engineers with the 5th Army in Italy in 1944 and 1945; still another worked with the Transportation Corps at Prince Rupert, British Columbia; the last piloted B-29s over Japan in 1945.  I have one brother who served on active duty with the Air Force from 1964 to 1968.  I, myself, was on active duty from 1958 to 1978.

This may, indeed, not be

model railroad related

but this is memorial day and I will take time to remember.

To all of you who have served I say, thank you so very much; to those who did not come home I say, you are remembered and you are honored

Eldon Jay Anderson
Technical Sergeant,
United States Air Force-Retired

[Dave Vollmer]

Crandell,

David's post was annoying, but I personally wasn't all that offended.  Among the rights we serve to protect are the right to be ignorant and the right to be self-righteous.  David was simply exercising those rights, especially the latter.

I have to remind myself of that when people give me guff about having served in an unpopular war.  I usually respond by reminding them that the warriors don't chose the war; the elected civilian leadership does.

But in this case David's response was, to say the least, ironic, given his recent activity in these forums.

[steinjr]

  There have been many brave men and women who risked their own lives to fight evil, both in America and in other countries.

 I would like to pay tribute to the late Sverre Aurstad of Sorumsand, Norway, the father of a friend of mine who is a train engineer over here.

 Sverre was a 22 year old apprentice shipbuilder in German occupied Norway in the late fall of 1941, at a time when it looked like the Germans were going to win the war.  He, and 37 other young Norwegian men and women, stole a fishing vessel with a dodgy engine from the shipyard where the engine was being repaired on a stormy night, sailed it across the sea from the town of Volda in German occupied Norway to Lerwick on Shetland.

 There Sverre joined the Royal Norwegian Navy in exile. He first served on the KNM Saint Albans (ex USS Thomas, one of the lend-lease destroyers) until the summer of 1942, before the crew got a new ship, KNM Eskdale. KNM Eskdale served in the English channel, taking part in several pitched battles with German E-boats until she was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of 26 lives on 14 april 1943.

 Sverre and the rest of the surviving crew members transferred to the new S class destroyer KNM Stord, also known as "lucky 26" (pennant number G26). Abord the Stord they took part in the battle of North Cape on Christmas Day 1943, where British naval forces (and the Stord) sunk the German battleship Scharnhorst.

 On June 6th 1944 he was abord the Stord off Sword beach, taking part in bombarding German positions. The sister ship of KNM Stord, Royal Norwegian Navy Destroyer KNM Svenner, was one of only two allied warships sunk off the invasion beaches on D-Day (the other was the US Navy destroyer USS Corry - DD463).

 Sverre survived the war and lived to a ripe old age, marrying, getting a son, and seeing his grandson grow up, before he crossed the river a few years ago to rejoin those of his old shipmates that never came back.

Sverre Aurstad: 

Royal Norwegian Navy (KNM) S Class Destroyer Stord:

 Smile,
 Stein R, 
 Who also got a rifle and a uniform with my name on it in a depot not too far away

 

[R. T. POTEET]

How long will I have to wait till you can stop refering to my 3 hours of weakness?  I have apologized in the past, but people like Lothar, Dave V, SD60M and others keep throwing stones my way every chance they get.  Not to mention the multiple nasty emails I have gotten from Lothar pertaining to my posting on these forums.  But I just egnored them and moved on....aparently some people cant.

David

David, you shed the title of Forum Leper when unionpacificchuck stepped into those shoes; if you keep opening up your mouth today you could easily step right back into them.

YOUR APOLOGY HAS BEEN ACCEPTED!!!!! DROP IT AND I AM SURE THAT EVERY ONE ELSE WILL DO LIKEWISE!!!!!

And by the way, about six months ago I went through a session of being Forum Leper.

[selector]

...people like Lothar, Dave V, SD60M and others keep throwing stones my way every chance they get.  Not to mention the multiple nasty emails I have gotten from Lothar pertaining to my posting on these forums.  But I just egnored them and moved on....aparently some people cant.

David

Dave, I think you inadvertently pointed out what a few of us feel is your problem.  You ignore good advice.  The fact that so many of us have taken the trouble to speak to you privately in an attempt to get you to conform to a civil form of discourse should tell you something.  It would tell me something if persons emailed me privately to tell me I was behaving inappropriately.

Once again, it is personal for a lot of us. There is more to life than model trains.  There was the tragic loss of the son of one of us just weeks ago.  There were brass trains stolen.  Some things transcend a forum that is intended to be limited in scope.  For the most part, we all try to keep our posts on topic.  When an important one offering good wishes to serving members, and to those who payed the ultimate sacrifice and cannot respond let alone talk about their love of trains, is dismissed as irrelevant by one person, that one person sets himself aside.  If you are willing to stand on principle, I can't fault you for that.  I can fault you for not having common sense if you dump on a topic that means a lot to most people, regardless of what it is.

However, even though this forum is about model trains, it would be irrelevant if all we could talk about were WW II Axis era steam or their modern replacements...if you catch my drift.  Service to one's country should never have to be excused as an intrusion when the mention of it is a matter of acknowledgement and good will among the very modelers who contribute to this forum.

So, David, I judge your rebuke earlier to be yet another "moment of weakness."  As they keep turning up, you can surely understand how some of the membership might be unwilling to forget what you say.  Scabs fester when they are constantly dislodged or abraded.  The result is a scar that is a permanent reminder, even long after the injury is healed.

On a positive note, I sure admire your abililties with things DCC and solving the problems that people need help with on this forum.  In that respect, you are most certainly a valued member here.  It would be nice if that would generalize to other aspects of modelling, including the various topics that come up from time-to-time...whatever they may be.

-Crandell

[Dave Vollmer]

How long will I have to wait till you can stop refering to my 3 hours of weakness?  I have apologized in the past, but people like Lothar, Dave V, SD60M and others keep throwing stones my way every chance they get.  Not to mention the multiple nasty emails I have gotten from Lothar pertaining to my posting on these forums.  But I just egnored them and moved on....aparently some people cant.

David

David,

Unless you've served yourself it's probably difficult for you to understand the bond we all feel, even if we've never actually met one another.  We belong to a club whose membership comes hard.

Furthermore, for those of us who have served in combat, Memorial Day is often hard for us.  We are often reminded of the hardships we endured and friends/teamates we lost.

So we find comfort in one another, by "mustering in" this time of year.  It's been done every Memorial Day and Veteran's Day in these forums each year I've been member.  In fact, I joined these forums while in Baghdad.

So I imagine it's hard for you to understand the ire you will invoke by telling us our bonding is irrelevant because this is a model railroad thread.  Point taken.  Although I stand by my assertion the model railroading has been a great source of comfort in my life even while deployed away from my actual trains.

I'm sorry to have thrown your ...whatever that was...  back in your face.  But you need to understand that you will not make any friends by being so confrontational, especially to a group of vets on Memorial Day.

That's all I can say.

[inch53]

...not Model Railroad related...

David

I disagree; it is very much a part of this forum and any other railroad related one. You seem to forget how much the military in most every country, depend on the railroads for moving equipment, supplies now, and men to and from the battlefronts, including the remains of those killed in combat in the past. This is a fact, that's been around since before the civil war.

Even during peacetime, the railroad is still needed by the military for the same needs as in war.

You can model a military transport trains from most any time period, from the civil war horses and cannons, to today humvees, tanks and MRE's.

So, sir you need to re-read your history book or at least some of the past MRR magazines. Then if you still feel your being ragged on, go find a mirror and ask yourself why.

[JPowell]

1992-1998 - US Marine Corps - Somalia and the Gulf region

2000 - present - Syracuse New York - Air National Guard - 174th FW - Gulf region

Thanks to those before me past and present for your service!

 

[loathar]

I knew this would happen this weekend.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

Jeffrey Wimberly, US Army, Ft. Polk, La. 105th S&T Bn, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division (Mech), 1978-81. Disabled Veteran.

I'm also listed on a memorial at the Vernon Parish Veteran's Park in Leesville, Louisiana.

 My name is circled in red here.

 My parents names are listed also.

[Dave Vollmer]

Jeff,

That's a very nice memorial!  Whereabouts in Leesville is it?  I don't remember seeing it when I was stationed at Fort Polk 1996-98.  I lived in the Chaporal Apartments behind the Stanley's on LA 8.