There is much more to Memorial Day than sales, BBQs, and an extra day off. We must take this time to remember those who have died in the line of duty to preserve the freedom some of us take for granted everyday. Michelle Malkin heads a very humbling tribute at Hot Air.
“Appropriately” enough, the NY Times ran this article on the top left front cover today:
Iraqis’ Accounts Link Marines to the Mass Killing of Civilians
BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 28 — Hiba Abdullah survived the killings by American troops in Haditha last Nov. 19, but said seven others at her father-in-law’s home did not. She said American troops shot and killed her husband, Rashid Abdul Hamid. They killed [...] a 77-year-old in a wheelchair, shooting him in the chest and abdomen,
[...]
“[h]er husband was killed in front of her eyes,” Ms. Abdullah said. As Asma fell, she dropped her 5-month-old infant. Ms. Abdullah said she picked up the baby girl and sprinted out of the house, and when she returned, Asma was dead.
The story then mentions a much later paragraph within the continuation of the story inside the paper with:
Four people who identified themselves as survivors of the killings in Haditha, including some who had never spoken publicly, described the killings to an Iraqi writer and historian who was recruited by The New York Times to travel to Haditha and interview survivors and witnesses of what military officials have said appear to be unjustified killings of two dozen Iraqis by marines. Some in Congress fear the killings could do greater harm to the image of the United States military around the world than the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.
The four survivors’ accounts could not be independently corroborated, and it was unclear in some cases whether they actually saw the killings.
Of course no side of the story can be denied until a full investigation is carried out. However, the alleged incident at Haditha should not be placed on the cover; it was a clear attempt to portray the entire Marine Corps. by the alleged actions of few.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, told CBS:
[I]t would be premature for me to judge” the outcome of a Pentagon investigation into the killing of as many as a dozen Iraqi civilians by Marines.
But at the same time, Marine Gen. Peter Pace said he believes its critically important to make the point that if certain service members are responsible for an atrocity there, they “have not performed their duty the way that 99.9 percent of their fellow Marines have.”
May 30th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Likewise, other holidays such as National Day or Racial Harmony Day (A commemorative occasion in Singapore) are always overly-commercialized such that people only seek those days for an extra day off, instead of thinking about how much our forefathers have sacrificed for us.
And yes, we ought to cherish the life we have now.
June 1st, 2006 at 12:24 am
I’m a Marine, I served my country during Vietnam. I was in the infantry (Grunt 0311) and engaged in battle on more occasions than you would beleive. When I joined the Marine Corp in 1966 and went off to fight in Vietnam, we were called “hero’s” for doing our part for our country. When we were in school, we were taught all about communisum (at least the part they wanted us to know). So when Vietnam came about, we were going to Vietnam with the intentions of slowing and stopping the communist movement and help the South Vietnamese people, become independant and that was our objective. That is what 99.9 percent of Marines and soldiers did. But when the My Lai massacre and Lt. William Calley was put on trial, WE WERE ALL PUT ON TRIAL AND FOUND GUILTY. Every American soldier was now the bad guys. When we returned to the states, we were labled as baby killers, raping women and children, shooting old men. We were subjected to ridicule, rejected by our government, and hated by the very people we thought we were protecting from communisum and for our freedom. It was the same country, at least the same land, but the people, their attitudes, their values, the appriciation for those who sacrificed in terms of American lives, wounded, taken POW, were changed forever. It wasn’t enough that a Mother & Father lost a Son, or a Brother & Sister lost a Brother, a Wife lost her Husband, or a Child lost their Father. No, all they had to read the paper or listen to the news. They were told of the My Lai incident that ALL American Soldiers were lower than animals of the worst kind. We were respected and welcomed by the South Vietnamese people for the most part, but you did not read or hear that part. You did not read or hear of the real Hero’s that lost all of the respect ,and were made to feel shame instead of pride, who saved lives and gave medical attention to the South Vietnamese people as well as our own wounded. The lives of so many people are changed in a war, but you just don’t see the good that American Soldiers have done and continue to do.
For some reason, we forget the happenings of 9-11. Hey, we lost 3000 civilians, mothers, fathers,sons,daughters, the unbelieveable happened. And that was just one attact. The paper doesn’t want to print old news, that doesn’t sell papers. Iraqie terrorists kill Iraqie women and children daily, every day. I garrantee you that our presents in the Middle East has saved a lot more than you could count. But you won’t read that in the paper. That doesn’t sell papers. And you won’t see the Heroic deeds that Soldiers do every day on the morning, noon, or evening news. That doesn’t boost ratings.
I can’t tell you what I think we should do, and get our troops back here and out of a hostile enviroment. They are trained to do a job, let them do it or get them out. Then give the job to the leaders, the politicians, and the news media and let them have a turn, and see how well they do. And if that fails, send in the Marines, get everybody else out, and let them do their job. And we will call you when we are done.
June 1st, 2006 at 10:56 am
Thank you, Ralph Herr, for your service to our country. You are a great American.
February 1st, 2008 at 3:40 am
Thanks for sharing
February 7th, 2008 at 7:21 am
I’d prefer reading in my native language, because my knowledge of your languange is no so well. But it was interesting! Look for some my links: