I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I, Cary Cartter, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae, 1915.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

To all who have served: Thank you. May this day help us all to remember those who have given everything in defense of the ideals that is the United States of America.

And thank you, Dad, for instilling in me the morals and ideals that I needed to become the man I am, no matter how painful it was at the time. I miss you.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Tip of the cap to The Loon, who sent this to me and I just saw it last night (mea culpa, mea culpa):

Before You Go Home

Quite the reminder of what we are losing, everyday.

In case I haven’t said this lately, let me say it now – go out and thank as many veterans as you can find. Doesn’t matter how old they are or how young they are. Tell them you appreciate their service to this country. Doesn’t matter if they claim they were forced into it, or if they served willingly and would do it again. Thank them for their service. I thank every veteran I run across. I usually get tears in return, if the veteran is older than I am. I’ll get a “It was my pleasure, sir!” out of the younger ones. If the veteran is a little stooped, and his baseball cap with the 1st MarDiv patch on it has World War Two battlegrounds listed next to it, I’ll learn some military history and some personal service history. If the names on the cap are oriental and difficult to pronounce, I’ll get clarification of the names, and why they are on his cap. Sometimes, from a Viet Nam vet, I’ll get five minutes of silence while his stare goes out to a thousand yards and he runs down his mental list of buddies he can’t see anywhere but in his mind… that’s when I sit quietly, and watch his face, and start to tear up for him, and for my cousin, who died with the epithet of “babykiller” still ringing in his ears, thirty years after he stepped off the freedom bird. Thank them all, because they did something not everyone is willing to do – put their beliefs and their lives fully behind the greatest nation in the world.

Thank you, Gawfer.
Thank you, Doug.
Thank you, Fred.
Thank you, Kris.
Thank you, Old Soldier.
Thank you, Greybeard.
Thank you, Gunny.
Thank you, GuyK.
Thank you, Akinoluna.
Thank you, dtodeen.
Thank you, Hans and Lewis.
Thank you, Fix4RSO.
Thank you, Mac.
Thank you, Stu.
Thank you, Eric.

Added 5-19-08
Thank you, Richard.
Thank you, Rogue.

And thank you to the ones I missed, whether because I couldn’t remember or since I was writing this so late at night I shouldn’t even be up…

To all the veterans out there: Thank You.

Snagged this from Doug Gibbs’ place over at Political Pistachio.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, listen to The O Word on BlogTalkRadio, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Wearin’ the Patriot today.

We had dinner at Golden Corral last night. While going up to get more steak, I spotted a gentleman wearing a VietNam Veteran ball cap, with his ribbons sewn on. I stopped, thanked him for his service, and said “Welcome Home.” He thanked me for the sentiments, and said a lot of people just aren’t aware of what the average Vet has gone through. I told him I made a point of thanking the Vets I spotted, because too many of them hadn’t been thanked by anyone, and almost none of them were told “Welcome Home” by anyone outside their family. His wife sobbed loudly at that point, and he could just nod and turn away.

Have you thanked a Vet lately?

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

Stole this from Greybeard. Suggest you do the same.

Private note to those who have served – with, before, or since – me: Thank you.

Thank you for stopping by, God bless you all, Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!