While tributes to Americans who had lost their lives in battle had been held in a number of towns across the nation, one of the more well-known stories about the beginnings of Memorial Day is the story about General John Logan.
quote by John Linder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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As America celebrates Memorial Day, we pay tribute to those who have given their lives in our nation's wars.
quote by John M. McHugh
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Independence and Reconciliation Celebration
It began with heartbreaking remembrance,
the acrid smell of canon fire still in the air
after half a century, the exhausted climb
up Cemetery Hill still felt in their muscles—
They had returned, veterans from both sides,
North and South, to re-enact their movements
on the last of those bloody three days
of the Battle of Gettysburg.
In the final Southern charge of the war~
12,500 Confederate soldiers led by
General George Pickett went straight up
that hill and into the line of fire by Union
troops waiting behind a stone wall.
Pickett lost half his men.
Of the 160,000 Americans
on both sides,51,000 or more
died in those three days
of the Battle of Gettysburg
in our Civil War.
On July 3,1913, the 50th anniversary of Pickett's Charge,
50,000 surviving veterans traveled to the same place
in Pennsylvania,
the youngest among them at 61 and the eldest purported to be 112.
The commemoration ended
with Confederate veterans
walking the path they'd taken
up Cemetery Hill to the stone wall
where Union veterans were waiting
to shake their hands and embrace them.
In 1938, President Franklin Roosevelt
met with nearly 2,000 still living veterans
for the battle's 75th anniversary.
Their average age was 94.
The President dedicated
the Eternal Light Peace Memorial
to commemorate that most truly civil reunion
and reconciliation embrace of 1913.
Today its flame can be seen
from a distance of twenty miles.
On the front of the memorial
are words carved in stone~
'Peace Eternal in a Nation United.'
Though we are in another fractious election year,
through all our fears and differences,
may it be so.
May civility rule with compassion and reason
in creating new paths to peace.
On the hundredth anniversary next year,
may the way ahead be brighter.
May we keep holy the day.
Diamonds in a Stony Field~
copyright 2012.
poem by Alla Renee Bozarth
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Think of a number
Think of a number, from 1 to 10
(Haven't played this since you know when)
Double it, add..? No, start again.
Think of another, from 2 to 9
(Were these the numbers we'd combine?)
No, that's not right - wrong line!
Think of a number, from 3 to 8
(Was what I heard from my schoolmate?)
No, come on John now, concentrate.
Think of another, from 4 to 7
(I know, if added, it's 11
And - 'all good children go to heaven')
Think of a number, from 5 to 6
(And here I'm getting in a fix)
I'm bad at these arithmetics.
Let's try again, from 6 to 5
(For this I bet we had to strive)
It's like the last - let's not revive.
Think of a number, from 7 to 4
(This game could run forevermore)
I'm lost, I've now forgot the score.
Think of another, from 8 to 3
No matter what the answer be
I'm sure it's baffling you and me.
Think of a number, from 9 to 2
Have you really any clue
What this riddle's meant to do?
Think of a number, from 1 to 10
No! ...
I can't go through all that again!
(Written Oct 2012)
poem by John Carter Brown
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Section J Row 4 Grave 25
Section J Row 4 Grave 25
Memorial Day,1945
With aching knees he climbed the steps
That ringed the bandstand round.
The Living sat on folding chairs
on consecrated ground.
The general turned and faced the dead,
His back was to the living.
He told his boys, dead heroes all,
He hoped they'd be forgiving.
The fight was hard at Anzio
The foe ringed them around.
Through desperate days in mad forays
They paid with blood for ground.
The cost proved high, so many dead
Still others maimed for life.
It is not sweet or glorious
to die in pain and strife..
If his mistakes had caused their deaths
He hoped they would forgive.
For only men prepared to die
Are men prepared to live.
And if some fool should ever speak
Of glorious death in battle
He’d set them straight, at any rate,
About such stupid prattle..
Jack Toffey in his coffin lies
Among eight Thousand others.
White Crosses mark the resting place
of Jack and all his brothers.
This is based on an actual Memorial Day speech given by General Lucian Truscott at the Nettino Military cemetery a few weeks after the victory in Europe. He served under General Mark Clark and commanded the salient at Anzio.
Lt. Col. John J. Toffey Jr, twice winner of the Silver Star, died in the fighting at the town of Palestrina, Italy, which is famous for its roses.
poem by John F. McCullagh
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Over And Done With
This is the story of our first teacher
Shetland made her jumpers
And the devil made her features
Threw up her hands when my mum said our names
Embroidered all her stories with slanderous claims
it's over and done with
This is the story of losing my virginity
I held my breath and the fey held a trinity
People I'm making no claims to no mystery
But sometimes it feel like
My sex lifes all history
I'm not saying these events didn't
Touch our lives in any way
But, ah, they didn't make the impression
That some people say
This is the story of watching a man dying
The subjects unpopular
But I don't feel like lying
When I think of it now I acted like a sinner
I just washed my hands
Then I went for my dinner.
song performed by by Proclaimers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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No nation ancient or modern ever lost the liberty of freely speaking, writing, or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves.
quote by John Peter Zenger
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The World Needs Peace, Not Through Wars!
What loss of lives and destruction!
Can lives all lost ever return?
How many more will have to die?
Can one man’s death bring back lives lost?
What pollution, a war can add!
Let Cats who declare wars on mice,
Take the blame and pay the price!
War is a gambling game like dice;
War is a futile exercise.
One cannot fight wars with mere knives;
War is a waste of human lives;
Alas, will nations realize
That keeping peace is always wise?
Wars can begin without a cause;
The world can’t have a single boss!
One nation can’t stifle the rest,
Or try to be always the best.
The world body must give OK!
The world must say to wars, all ‘nay’;
For lasting peace, war isn’t the way!
The cost of wars, who will repay?
The world must find out other ways,
Avoiding wars in future days;
Each nation must unmask its face,
And set on peace, its gaze always!
Copyright by Dr John Celes 1-1-2007
poem by John Celes
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Over & Done With
This is the story of our first teacher
Shetland made her jumpers
And the devil made her features
Threw up her hands when my mum said our names
Embroidered all her stories with slanderous claims
Its over and done with
This is the story of losing my virginity
I held my breath and the bed held a trinity
People Im making no claims to no mystery
But sometimes it feel like
My sex lifes all history
Im not saying these events didnt
Touch our lives in any way
But, ah, they didnt make the impression
That some people say
This is the story of watching a man dying
The subjects unpopular
But I dont feel like lying
When I think of it now I acted like a sinner
I just washed my hands
Then I went for my dinner.
song performed by by Proclaimers
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Logan was talking about the Civil War, which claimed the lives of more than 500,000 Americans. He wanted to provide Civil War veterans with a day to pay respects to their fellow soldiers who did not live to see the end of the war, without losing a day's pay.
quote by Doc Hastings
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Battling of a Nation
The inevitable battle strikes the awesome nation,
We call this town a nation of strength, the battle.
Itself the battle climbs, to put on an action of wounds,
The unavoidable victory is theirs, the defeat even theirs.
The battling may become a studied nation,
The work of bright light, a final lunch and an act of carnage
That belittles us if we were a nation of strong acts.
The battle shall learn more from the defeated,
The vanquished are celebrating an ion and atom,
The defeated are celebrating an awesome molecule.
poem by Naveed Akram
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The Stories
The stories
Night bed its mats
And also we are
Wait and see
The narrative begins with the story
The stories of long time ago
Between fact and fiction
The stories from the ends of the earth
And depth of the ocean
We draw the characters and imagine
Live roles
And sail far and far
And overwhelmed with happiness
And the longing pulls us
And eyebrows painted terms on our faces
The story behind the story
Delight our nights
The stories of my grandmother.
poem by Mohammed AlBalushi
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Sonnet: War is Inevitable at Times
When war is thrust upon a nation poor,
When peace-loving a country has to fight,
When brother is pitted against brother,
Where is the question of what’s wrong or right?
How long can you see innocent blood-shed?
How long can terrorists hold us ransom?
How long can one maintain a cooler head?
If life’s unsafe, what’s the use of freedom?
When war is inevitable- proceed;
When security is at stake- fight on;
When dignity is lost- we fight indeed;
When threatened, the battle-dress we don.
No nation rests when trumpets call to fight;
No nation sleeps when war-clouds grow by night.
5-29-2002 by Dr John Celes
poem by John Celes
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I think there's a great difference in consciousness in that same way in that when we're young we read books for the story, for the excitement of the story - and there comes a time when you realise that all stories are more or less the same story.
quote by John McGahern
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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War and Peace
'There is in this world that eternal battle'
the General said
'between Good and Evil.
There can be no compromise;
each nation needs living space
and those who follow Evil
will not hesitate
to take yours
and that means,
some of the time,
War.
War is the ultimate expression
of Evil vs. Good
and inevitable.'
Peace spoke:
War is for those who profit from War
and every war ends in Peace
and diplomacy,
Why not skip the destruction and killing
save human lives
and go straight to the Peace?
Nation-State spoke:
Ah, you Peace forget War
is more than the interval between
the Peace
because War decides which people
will be free
and which people will be oppressed.
Peace you misunderstand;
soldiers fight to preserve their country-mens' lifestyles
their families
and those five dollar lattes.
Ah, indeed in War and Peace
someone wins
and someone loses' Nation-State said.
Peace spoke:
Well, Nation-State, that used to be true
but not anymore.
Nuclear holocaust has no winners,
only losers.
A radioactive planet
where no one can live
for a thousand years
is not victory
but massive defeat for everyone.
.
Nothing to celebrate.
You '
Peace said
to the General
'cannot fulfill your main mission
which is to protect the population.
The foe you fight can blow up
all of their nuclear weapons
and the fall out will drift and kill
the rest of us
without even an attack.
You soldiers have to learn new tricks.
You can't really protect us.
All that is gone. You have to retire that side-gun
and sit at the diplomat's table.
'Peace 'Peace said'
has come to depend upon successful social ecology
and restraining those who would have us kill ourselves
in order to preserve our lives.
poem by Lonnie Hicks
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Sonnet: Diwali,2012
Deepavali is back again this year!
But power-cuts and water-scarcity
Have caused some gloom in hearts of near and dear,
In villages, towns and every city!
Yet, people must enjoy despite all odds!
The ‘Festival of Lights' must brighten lives,
And free the nation from all kinds of frauds,
As ‘bees go back to labour in their hives! '
The day could lose its sheen this year, it seems!
Many have lost their jobs with prices high;
The rains have failed and wrecked the farmer's dreams;
Yet, God may work His miracles of sky!
This is a day of hope as light prevails
O'er life's darkness as ship of life sets sails!
‘A Happy Diwali to all Indians everywhere! '
Copyright by Dr John Celes 8-11-12
poem by John Celes
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Al Gonzales is a dedicated public servant and exceptionally qualified to be our nation's next Attorney General. I know that a lot has been said about Judge Gonzales' life story. It is a story of the fulfillment of the American Dream.
quote by Mel Martinez
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We are fans because the game also appeals to our local pride, our pleasure in thinking of ourselves as, yes, Americans but nonetheless different from residents of other towns, other states, other regions.
quote by John Thorn
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Egypt
(9/15/12)
Stories have been written, movies have been shown
Of this land of mystery the world has known.
"Egypt"
History and bibles tell of the plights
Of pyramids being built for the pharaohs delight.
Stories have been told of an unknown civilization
Who showed them how to build this nation.
It is said they came from out of space
To teach technology to the human race.
Why was these structures built in the desert sands
Where it took thousands of lives
And millions of hands.
The story of aliens is a tale you see
Which was made up for you and me.
Take a trip down the Nile
And visualize that for a while.
© L. RAMS
poem by Louis Rams
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Struggle For Independence
A Mother lost her child and a brother lost his sister
And a Nation loses its statistics on number of people
Eloping with fears of darkness and for life
Following the life where it takes with the hope of light
Arrived in a new island
New faces and new experiences
Curiosity and positivity pushed us harder
Haven't really got lost which was amazing part
Managing to struggle with difficulties
Smiles on every individual with the determination
Self identity being maintained from generation to generation
Keeping the fist up for unity and freedom
Morally stood for each other and for the nation
Smell and taste of freedom
True story of independence watched by the world
Sooner will get to put the feet and face the wind of the wonderful motherland
poem by Tenzin Whitetara
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I tell my brethren in Palestine: be patient and continue your blessed struggle. We did not forget you. We are still healing another wound in the Muslim nation, which is the occupation of our land by the Americans. Your battle and ours are one and the same.
quote by Mohammed Omar
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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