Its not much but I'm able to write what's on my mind or things I think that we might ponder on.
I'm glad that you could relate to this message through you father and grandfather,

Semper Fidelis
Ricardo

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: I could have made it about sweet-hearts on
: Valentine's Day or what would have been the
: 34th anniversary of the wedding of Lupe and
: Ricardo.
: But I've chosen to make it about the war
: veterans, who are dying at a high rate.
: Some I think are due to drinking too much,
: as a way to drown the nightmares of war.
: To be more down to the point, I will speak
: of one of the few surviving veterans of
: World War I.
: Harry Richard Landis, who enlisted in the
: Army in 1918 and was one of only two known
: surviving U.S. veterans of World War I, has
: died. He was 108.
: Where that information came from
: I was in a fast food resturant, it was in
: the news-cast, a lady coming from the ladies
: room, took a peek on what was on, it must
: not have been interesting to her, she just
: turned away.
: Siegfried Sassoon, wrote a poem about the
: disabled of the war he fought in World War
: I;
: Does it Matter?
: Does it matter?—losing your legs?...
: For people will always be kind,
: And you need not show that you mind
: When the others come in after hunting
: To gobble their muffins and eggs.
:
: Does it matter ?—losing your sight?...
: There's such splendid work for the blind;
: And people will always be kind,
: As you sit on the terrace remembering
: And turning your face to the light.
:
: Do they matter?—those dreams from the
: pit?...
: You can drink and forget and be glad,
: And people won't say that you're mad;
: For they'll know you've fought for your
: country
: And no one will worry a bit.
:
: My dear Siegfried, you would not believe,
: how much the world has changed since you
: wrotes those words about a war that was to
: end all war.
: There was another World War and several
: small wars in the 20th Century.
: Here we are in the 21th century, and man
: still hasn't learn to get along.
: A veteran from your war died recently and
: for some it didn't really matter.
: They will be so kind. . .we have veterans
: returning from our most recent war, some
: terribly dis-abled, will my countrymen be so
: kind as your countrymen were to yours?
: Now only one man survives from our armed
: forces that fought in your war, and he all
: of 107 years young.
: When he gone, they than will close the books
: and all will than live in history.
: We were lucky that some left their stories
: behind, to tell us of the deeds they did and
: what happened.
: I wrote a little poem, who closing words
: were;
: Yes, I seen them, every time a widow get a
: folded American flag.
: Were my countrymen so kind, while that
: veteran was alive?
:
: Semper Fidelis
: Ricardo
:
:When I read your post SSgt. I was thinking
: about my grandfather and great grandfather,
: both WW1 veterans, my grandfather also
: serving in WW2. At 107, I can only believe
: that the strength of his commitment to serve
: a proud and right nation closed the chapter
: behind his loving eyes. All Harry Richard
: Landis stood for is honorably upheld by
: those who he would have bounced on his knee
: (yea, that would be most of us). May he
: recieve the prayers going upwards and
: continue to know we are ever pushing forward
: to heal the injustices suffered by our
: countrymen and with the strength of our
: brothers and sisters in all nations, whose
: efforts to preserve humanity for humanitie's
: sake who will continue to show strenght in
: the face adversity, terrorism and global
: disasters, unwaveringly, as we have been
: lead by his example. I truly believe these
: kinds of realizations must be most fully
: appreciated by those who have served and
: lived with eyes fixed on a better tomorrow.
: God Bless you Marine and thanks for the
: blog.
: Rou.
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