jetophile Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Executive Mansion, Washington, Nov. 21, 1864 Dear Madam: I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Yours, very sincerely and respectfully, A. Lincoln Scholars debate that it was written by a young John Hay (a personal favorite), but it only proves that Lincoln knew how to pick them. The original doesn't exist. The Widow Bixby didn't have five sons, hated Lincoln, and threw it in the garbage. No matter. It's timeless, and stands alone as one of the most lovely and complete things ever scriven in the English language. God Bless America, and a big hand up to our veterans. Thank You. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgoguy Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Thanks for this posting, Jeto. My only quibble with the missive is the use of the word beguile in this most somber of circumstances. Thanks to all the veterans who lost their lives, were wounded, or survived this bloody battle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowmoe57 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Yea a hard fought battel against the na - whoops German army. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgoguy Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Yea a hard fought battel against the na - whoops German army. Army of the National Socialists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 8, 2009 Author Share Posted June 8, 2009 Thanks for this posting, Jeto. My only quibble with the missive is the use of the word beguile in this most somber of circumstances. Thanks to all the veterans who lost their lives, were wounded, or survived this bloody battle.He used it rightly, but you can argue that it if it pleases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drago Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 I thought the president's speach in France was great. Touching on individual stories is, IMO, the way to go about such a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatriotReign37 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Thanks to all the veterans who lost their lives, were wounded, or survived this bloody battle. + 1 Amen The US Military has cemeteries around the world. No other nation has sacrificed more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 http://photosthatchangedtheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/omaha_beach.jpg Holeeeeee....... Daniel Inouye, a grenade was going to blow, but he had the presence of mind to pry it out of his dead hand and chuck it. You've got to be kidding me. Then he rolled down the hill full of adrenalin while he was was bleeding to death with his arm useless and stabbed some other bastards. He single-handedly held that position - pun intended. Blows my mind. He got morphine at the bottom of the hill, and a blood transfusion from a 'Negro soldier'. "You're gonna make it..." He did; but it haunted him that he never knew the guy's name. The fact that it took nearly 50 years for the Congressional Medal of Honor to happen is a disgrace. Better late than never, I reckon. EDIT: I forgot to add that he'd also been shot in the stomach. Silly me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gagoots Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I think, to garner more interest from this generation, they should change the name to DOUBLE D DAY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 + 1 Amen The US Military has cemeteries around the world. No other nation has sacrificed more. Right; which is why when other countries piss on us, they should be thankful and recognize that they're permitted to hate us because we let them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jet Moses Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Right; which is why when other countries piss on us, they should be thankful and recognize that they're permitted to hate us because we let them. Other countries? 60% of the sh*tbags in this country piss on us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavrik Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Ironically, no mention of D-Day in any of the German press here in Berlin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoFlaJets Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 My Dad jumped into St. Mere Eglise with the 82nd Airborne-the 505th Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Of course we should honor our vets. My grandfather was part ofthe D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. But that "Lincoln" letter? C'mon. I've seen better writing from African princes who want to send me millions of dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Borgoguy Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Of course we should honor our vets. My grandfather was part ofthe D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. But that "Lincoln" letter? C'mon. I've seen better writing from African princes who want to send me millions of dollars. Bob, I ask you: Didn't you think the use of the word "beguile" in that context was bizarre? No way any writer would have written that sentence to a mother of five fallen soldiers. It bothers me. Maybe that's why the lady tore it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gagoots Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 What a stupid, stupid species we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 They saved the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 My Dad jumped into St. Mere Eglise with the 82nd Airborne-the 505thI'm very thankful for that. By the by, the album cover you're sporting. Good call. That album is one of the most timeless things in the American lexicon. It'll never be 'dated'. Never ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoFlaJets Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I'm very thankful for that. By the by, the album cover you're sporting. Good call. That album is one of the most timeless things in the American lexicon. It'll never be 'dated'. Never ever. when I'm not working on putting my new live covers CD together-I've been listening to a lot of Marvin Gaye Jet-O-what a simply amazingly talented man he was. Check these clips from the PBS American Masters series http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/marvin-gaye/exclusive-clips-from-the-program/75/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryK Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I spent some time checking, apparently there are almost zero photos (a dozen?) of the first wave of the invasion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 I spent some time checking, apparently there are almost zero photos (a dozen?) of the first wave of the invasion.That's an astute observation. I've wondered about it, too. They were picked off like flies along with tactical photographers in my estimation. It always made sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzer Division Marduk Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I spent some time checking, apparently there are almost zero photos (a dozen?) of the first wave of the invasion. I remember reading somewhere that quite a few photos were taken, but the technicians, in their hurry to develop them, wrecked them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 9, 2009 Author Share Posted June 9, 2009 I remember reading somewhere that quite a few photos were taken, but the technicians, in their hurry to develop them, wrecked them.That sounds about right, too. I didn't get to see the documentary 'Return to Tarawa'. It's about 'Red Beach', and 89 year old Leon Cooper's quest to consecrate what has essentially become a garbage dump. I saw an interview and sobbed. Honestly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneStarLady Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 My uncle went over on D-Day. My father was a 1st Lt in the 1056th Engineer Dock Construction and Repair Group. His group came over a few days after D-Day, I recall, and led the reconstruction of Cherbourg, Le Havre and other cities and ports before going on to Paris. He left a bunch of photographs and negatives of the construction and barracks life. They're very interesting though not as dramatic as the ones of the actual invasion would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetophile Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 My uncle went over on D-Day. My father was a 1st Lt in the 1056th Engineer Dock Construction and Repair Group. His group came over a few days after D-Day, I recall, and led the reconstruction of Cherbourg, Le Havre and other cities and ports before going on to Paris. He left a bunch of photographs and negatives of the construction and barracks life. They're very interesting though not as dramatic as the ones of the actual invasion would be. GB. I have scores of war photos with my Daddy toting a rifle bigger than him. Hehe, he was skinnier than me. He had 'pernicious anemia' but defied the draft board. In fact, he became a 'citizen' on the spot. He was born in Buenos Aires and lived there until he was two due to the quota for Sicilian immigrants. His name is carved on the monument on Ellis Island. Gotta love that. He was naturalized, got a broken nose with a baseball bat at the ripe old age of 9 courtesy of an Irish gang and refused to get it fixed until the day he died. "Just because they spoke 'English', they thought they were better than me. Unknown to them, I spoke 'English' very well." Daddy spoke our national language on his own without struggle. He was thrown into PS at age 6 without instruction. He left in the 8th grade through necessity to drive a bakery truck (a 14 yr old driving in Manhattan, what a country!). He had an affinity for language(s), borderline genius. He wound up in the garment industry and I consequently had a colorful life that I wouldn't trade for anything. I think I can say, 'Go fukk yourself' in 7 languages at the very least. He never saw mano a mano, but I treasure every photo and every thing about him and his war experience. The puppy he saved on the streets of Naples and brought home. His dog tags and discharge papers. His army jacket. They're mine, and I feel honored to have them....plus he was a wild and crazy dancer (Lindy) and a snappy dresser. F, I really need to scan some things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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