[poochee]

Vietnam Memorial Turns 25
Thousands of Veterans Join a March to Mark the Anniversary Of the Wall's Dedication and to Honor Those Named on It

By Michael E. Ruane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 11, 2007; Page C01

Thousands of graying Vietnam veterans, many clad in jungle boots and old fatigues, marched down Constitution Avenue yesterday to mark the 25th anniversary of the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and to pay tribute to the more than 58,000 war dead enshrined on the Wall.

Their numbers thinned by age, their marching cadence uneven, the men and women who served in the war paraded to the rousing music of Sousa and the calls of "Thank you!" and "Welcome home!" and "Hoo-Ah!" from the crowds who lined the sidewalk.

They came from across the country and from all lines of work, many now retired. And they carried flags and banners or wore jackets and T-shirts proclaiming where and when they had served. The names of such battles as Khe Sanh and Ia Drang, once places of death and horror, were emblazoned on signs and windbreakers. And many marchers sported the insignia of their old division: the Americal's white stars on a blue field or the 1st Cavalry's black horse's head on a yellow shield.

There were marchers who had been soldiers, Marines, medics, nurses, Red Cross volunteers, airmen who handled fierce attack dogs, sailors who manned heavily armed harbor patrol boats and simple "grunts."

There was also a large contingent of graying South Vietnamese army veterans, who had survived terrible battles and marched in jaunty berets with their distinctive yellow flag with three red stripes.

Amid damp and overcast weather, the parade stepped off at 11:15 a.m., moved west on Constitution Avenue to the calls of "Forward, march!" and ended at 18th Street about 1:30 p.m.

Excerpt from: www.washingtonpost.com

[Fidelista]

This is something no American should forget .
The sacrifices that were made , the bravery of our soldiers ,and theirs.
Breaks my heart to think about it , but something to never forget . >f

[linskyjack]

Thanks for reminding everyone Poochee----

[poochee]

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
World War I Veteran Reflects on Lessons
By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 12, 2007; Page B03

One by one, members of the small crowd on a hilltop at Arlington National Cemetery approached the man who had beaten all the odds.

Some saluted him. Others shook his hand, had their pictures taken with him or patted him on the back, as if touching one of the last surviving veterans of World War I would be like touching history itself.

Frank W. Buckles, 106, knows the feeling. Having lived through the Great War and imprisonment in a Japanese camp in the Philippines during World War II, Buckles said his most vivid memory from those years was meeting Gen. John J. "Blackjack" Pershing after World War I.

"He noted that we both had the same Missouri accent," Buckles recalled with a laugh. Buckles told the general that he had been raised near Bethany, Mo., and the general replied: "That's 40 miles as the crow flies from where I was born."

Yesterday, Buckles's service was honored in a Veterans Day ceremony to remember Pershing, who commanded U.S. forces in World War I. The ceremony at Pershing's grave, organized by the Military Order of the World Wars, was one of several in the area as crowds converged on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and smaller groups gathered at various statues and memorials.

Excerpt from: www.washingtonpost.com