Memorial Day Weekend

Tony Cometa was killed in the illegal Iraq war on June 16, 2005. He was basically smashed to death thrown from a crashing hmmwv

He played bass and was a great skateboarder. He was a great friend and he turned 21 the day before he died

i was gonna tell you about some others, but it's just too much. I sure do love and miss them all

It’s Memorial Day in America
Everybody’s on the road
Let’s remember our fallen heroes
Y’all be sure and drive slow.

Thank you, Slickrock for starting this thread!  Someone wished me a "Happy Memorial Day" today. I had no words ....

You don't need to like war to honor and remember the draftees and volunteers who sacrificed and died.

Will never forget when a vet told me: "once you raise your hand and swear the oath, they own your body. Too many of those souls wasted.

Patrick Stewart was killed 9/25/05 in daychopan district of zabul Afghanistan when the CH-47 he was crew chief on was shot down by a taliban RPG. He was a national guardsman. One weekend a month... as if.

to make things as difficult as possible on his wife roberta; she had to fight with the V.A. for about 2 years to have pat's religion (he was a Wiccan, and required a pentacle) recognized on his headstone in the veteran's cemetery. Eventually she did "win", whatever that means.

I don't claim to know much about wiccans, but I do know that his dog tags damn sure did say "Wiccan" right on them, and that pat was instructed by his faith to serve his community

This year i'd like to honor Eric Scott Mckinley, who died in Iraq on June 13, 2004.  

When I was a cook at Squirrels (played music there all the time too!), Eric was a regular patron, I cooked many a meal for him.  He was popular in the skater and musician cirlces, and was a fellow food industry worker as well.  Real nice guy, smart, funny, and quite the stud!  His loss was devastating to the community, noone ever expects such things to happen to such a young up and comer.  They named the newly made (at the time) skate park after him, a worthy honor for sure!  RIP Eric!!!

https://www.fallenheroesproject.org/post/eric-scott-mckinley

"Eric, front-and-center, on St. Paddy's at Kells Irish Pub in Portland in 2004."  (from his FB page)

Sickening that these losses are the result of your President Jr. doing whatever it took to let Saudi Arabia slide on its WTC attack, including sending Collin Powell to the UN to lie to the world.

Anyone die in a mushroom cloud from atomic bombs launched from Iraq, or at least have one or two grains of uranium turn up somewhere in the country?

Spoiled brat, party boy, DRAFT DODGER, that never had, or wanted, a real job, or the most votes in a Presidential election..  Who would have thought the Repugnant Party had another one in it's barrel for 2016?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bXZy-TrKlw

Democracy Now, 5/24/23 - Kissinger at 100: New War Crimes Revealed in Secret Cambodia Bombing That Set Stage for Forever Wars

one thing all countries have in common, when it's wartime, is that the wealthy and influential always start this shit (lies, propaganda), and poor young people get tio use their bodies as bullet and shrapnel pillows so that the children of the prominent can spend their time obtaining degrees from distinguished institutions and become worthy, shithole replacements for the power structure.

I have a friend who enlisted on 9/11, an iraq /afghan vet who says when thanked for his service, "I went in for my country, not for my government". 

Love to all. Peace someday.

Thank you for your memories of fallen friends. Fuck.

I don't see it done, but I want to memorialize the people who went (to Vietnam, as well as later wars) who are shells of themselves. Like my neighbor, JC, whose angry, somewhat erratic presentation just didn't make sense to me until he told me he was a Vietnam Vet. When I listened and heard him, thinking he probably has PTSD, everything made sense and I was more gentle in my thoughts. He had been cutting trees back, cutting my vines (grapes, berries) that started to grow over my fence, and then mentioned that he wanted to make sure he wouldn't be surprised by anyone and when he cut any draping growth (like wisterias) or tall grasses growing near the alley. (This is also the guy who shot arrows over the fence into my yard and then through the fence boards.) So, it's easy to think that even though he's still alive, he's not the boy who went to Vietnam.

I agree Judit, have known many nam veterans that came home with a lot of mental health challenges.  Been to several VA's, definitely good, bad, and ugly.  (be a good veterans day topic)

I thought that Eric (story above) wasn't in the military, he was part of the National Guard, who got called into action to fight overseas.....   

Also mental health issues for those who resisted the war and refused to gp. Many had to sneak into Canada, were arrested, were sent to prison, had to forgo their chosen career, committed suicide.