A Life Aloft
Well-Known Member
One hundred fifty years ago, Arlington’s first grave was tilled, hollowed, the first soldier was laid down, and the first headstone was planted. Private William Henry Christman of Monroe County, Pennsylvania was 20 years old on March 25, 1864 when he volunteered with the 67th Regiment in the Union Army. He was described in his enlistment papers as having sandy hair and gray eyes with a scar on the left side of his neck.
As Memorial Day approaches this is the time that we remember the men women who served and gave their lives for this county and it's citizens in all of the past wars and conflicts where Americans served and died.
"Those who say that we are in a time where there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look".----Ronald Reagan
Boys, mere boys flying bombers over Europe during World War II. The first Patriots of this nation who served in the Continental Army..... these men were not really soldiers, they were farmers, shoemakers, bakers, inn keepers, teachers,etc. From Cantigny to Manila Bay to Saratoga, to Heartbreak Ridge, to Khe Sanh, to Huế to Kandahar, to Mazar-i-Sharif, to Kabul to Fallujah to Mosul, to Tongo Tongo.
Then there are the fallen who never made it home.
The final resting places of over 124,000 U.S. Servicemen are at far away, hallowed grounds, not always known to their countrymen. They are America's overseas Military cemeteries.
There are 26 cemeteries in 17 foreign countries, ranging from the Philippines, to Hawaii, to England, France, Luxemburg, and Italy, to Tunisia, and Mexico City. Perhaps the only overseas cemetery well known to many, is the cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, which was featured in the film "Saving Private Ryan."
The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in France:
But it is in these cemeteries that the toll of a century of war, sacrifice, heroism and death unfolds. Those cemeteries also serve as markers in the ebb and flow of history across the years of America's involvement in two world wars.
Just in Belleau Woods where our Marines fought in the woods for nearly a month, and in the end.....1,811 Americans had been killed and nearly 8,000 were counted as either wounded or missing in Belleau Woods.
In all, some 116,516 Americans died in the First World War.
And then, there are our missing. POWs and those simply labeled as "Missing In Action."
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. At the end of the war, there were approximately 79,000 Americans unaccounted for. This number included those buried with honor as unknowns, officially buried at sea, lost at sea, and missing in action.
Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted for from WWII.
Korean War. More than 7,800 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the Korean War.
From the Cold War, 126 U.S. Servicemen remain unaccounted for.
Vietnam. There are close to 1,700 Americans classified as either MIA or POWs who never returned.
I ask that all of you remember our men and women who fought and died in service for this nation and how their essence, their personal history, their souls and their blood are a tremendous and honorable telling of our country's being and history. They once were wives, daughters, sisters, Mothers, sons, uncles, Fathers and brothers. They all belong to our own American family, each and every one of us. They are a part of who we are and we owe them a debt that can never really be repaid. They are a part of our past, our present and our future. Never forget them.
Just in Afghanistan, there have been 2,374 U.S. military deaths. 1,856 of these deaths have been the result of hostile action. 20,320 American Service Members have also been wounded in action during the war.
In Iraq, there have been 4,494 total deaths (including both killed in action and non-hostile) and 31,952 wounded in action.
As Memorial Day approaches this is the time that we remember the men women who served and gave their lives for this county and it's citizens in all of the past wars and conflicts where Americans served and died.
"Those who say that we are in a time where there are no heroes, they just don't know where to look".----Ronald Reagan
Boys, mere boys flying bombers over Europe during World War II. The first Patriots of this nation who served in the Continental Army..... these men were not really soldiers, they were farmers, shoemakers, bakers, inn keepers, teachers,etc. From Cantigny to Manila Bay to Saratoga, to Heartbreak Ridge, to Khe Sanh, to Huế to Kandahar, to Mazar-i-Sharif, to Kabul to Fallujah to Mosul, to Tongo Tongo.
Then there are the fallen who never made it home.
The final resting places of over 124,000 U.S. Servicemen are at far away, hallowed grounds, not always known to their countrymen. They are America's overseas Military cemeteries.
There are 26 cemeteries in 17 foreign countries, ranging from the Philippines, to Hawaii, to England, France, Luxemburg, and Italy, to Tunisia, and Mexico City. Perhaps the only overseas cemetery well known to many, is the cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, which was featured in the film "Saving Private Ryan."
The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in France:
But it is in these cemeteries that the toll of a century of war, sacrifice, heroism and death unfolds. Those cemeteries also serve as markers in the ebb and flow of history across the years of America's involvement in two world wars.
Just in Belleau Woods where our Marines fought in the woods for nearly a month, and in the end.....1,811 Americans had been killed and nearly 8,000 were counted as either wounded or missing in Belleau Woods.
In all, some 116,516 Americans died in the First World War.
And then, there are our missing. POWs and those simply labeled as "Missing In Action."
Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died during the war. At the end of the war, there were approximately 79,000 Americans unaccounted for. This number included those buried with honor as unknowns, officially buried at sea, lost at sea, and missing in action.
Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted for from WWII.
Korean War. More than 7,800 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the Korean War.
From the Cold War, 126 U.S. Servicemen remain unaccounted for.
Vietnam. There are close to 1,700 Americans classified as either MIA or POWs who never returned.
I ask that all of you remember our men and women who fought and died in service for this nation and how their essence, their personal history, their souls and their blood are a tremendous and honorable telling of our country's being and history. They once were wives, daughters, sisters, Mothers, sons, uncles, Fathers and brothers. They all belong to our own American family, each and every one of us. They are a part of who we are and we owe them a debt that can never really be repaid. They are a part of our past, our present and our future. Never forget them.
Just in Afghanistan, there have been 2,374 U.S. military deaths. 1,856 of these deaths have been the result of hostile action. 20,320 American Service Members have also been wounded in action during the war.
In Iraq, there have been 4,494 total deaths (including both killed in action and non-hostile) and 31,952 wounded in action.
Last edited: