This is the post of the video from above. Most excellent.

Memorial Day, 2006, 50 miles from pavement and the flag was flying!

similar to another pic

WW II Memorial, Korean War and Vietnam War in DC.

I just have a little story about something that happened to me today when I took my wife to see a doctor.
The receptionist at the clinic had a delightful Southern accent, and I told her it was nice to finally hear someone talk normal. She laughed.
As I waited for my wife, a very elderly man with Parkinson’s disease and a ball cap on walked up to the receptionist. I heard her say “Thank you for your service, and thank you for MY freedom.”
OK, I’m tearing up.
He was called in by the nurse, and as he walked by I saw he had “Airborne” and a very large paratrooper badge on his cap. I stood up, said “Airborne all the way!” Loud enough for everyone to hear.
He turned to me, smiled, gave me a thumb’s up, and said with a chuckle “That’s a thumb.”
I was not the only one with watery eyes.
I think I want to go back there again.

My uncle, LCpl.Robert W. McCabe. My mother's brother. Kilo Co., 3rd BN, 7th Marines. KIA August 28, 1969 in Quang Nam province, RVN. He was the oldest son out of eight children in my mother's family. A rough and tumble Irish ironworker's kid. I had a letter from him to my Mother written from bootcamp at Camp Pendleton. The funniest part: "Yesterday some guy gave me some shit in the chow line so I punched him in his fat mouth." I'll bet that was a long day for Recruit McCabe.

Our family did not know for decades what happened to him. In typical DoD understatement, he was noted to have been "killed in action, cause of death, missile wound to the head" He never shared any of his experiences with his family in letters back home. But he had written to his closest friend back in Cincinnati "this is an awful place, I hate it here." along with other details he would not share. He was a RTO, and was proud of that job. He told my mother "I'm the guy that calls in the fast movers."

With the advent of the Internet, more information was revealed. As it happens, he was killed in one of the USMC's larger engagements of the war. Here is the note from the Virtual Wall:

A Note from The Virtual Wall

Three companies from the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, got caught up in a full-fledged battle during a search and destroy operation in Quang Nam Province on 28 Aug 1969. Kilo 3/7 took the initial action when they came under heavy fire while deplaning in a "hot" landing zone. Lima and Mike 3/7 were inserted with a dual mission - to ease the pressure on Kilo 3/7 and to take the fight to the NVA regulars. They did both, but while the NVA were forced from the field the Marines lost at least 14 men as a result of the action:

Kilo 3/7:
Cpl Charles C. Buchanan, Bristol, VA
Cpl Clarence H. Saint Clair, Pensacola, FL (Navy Cross)
LCpl Johnny S. Bosser, Fort Lupton, CO (Silver Star)
LCpl Jose F. Jimenez, Red Rock, AZ (Medal of Honor)
LCpl Robert W. McCabe, Cincinnati, OH
Pfc Dennis D. Davis, Capitol Heights, MD (Navy Cross)
Pfc Edward H. Sherrod, Oklahoma City, OK (Silver Star)

Lima 3/7:

Cpl Donald G. Bailey, Olean, NY (Bronze Star "V") (DoW 01/11/1972)
LCpl John C. Reevs, Calera, OK
Pfc Welby H. Grayson, Vienna, VA

Mike 3/7:

Cpl Michael A. McAninch, Houston, TX (Bronze Star "V")
LCpl Salum E. Chard, Millville, NJ
LCpl William F. Davis, Vina, AL Pvt Marco A. Fregoso, Los Angeles, CA

The Marines view awards for gallantry in action with great seriousness. The fact that at least one Medal of Honor, two Navy Crosses, and two Silver Stars were awarded gives an idea of both the ferocity of the fighting and the bravery of the Marines involved.

Years after the war, my aunt contacted Richard Jaehne, the officer Bob was working with when he was killed. He indicated that the NVA soldier who shot Bob hit him with the same burst. Lt. Jaehne also received the Navy Cross for his actions in this battle. Here is his citation:

The President of the United States, takes pride in presenting the NAVY CROSS to: SECOND LIEUTENANT RICHARD L. JAEHNE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS for service as set forth in the following:

CITATION: For extraordinary heroism while serving as a Platoon Leader with Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division in connection with combat operations against the enemy in the Republic of Vietnam. On 28 August 1969, while moving through an open rice paddy during a company-sized search and clear operation in the Que Son-Hiep Duc Valley in Quang Nam Province, Second Lieutanant Jaehne's came under intense mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms fire from a well-entrenched North Vietnamese Army force. Quickly accessing the situation, he deployed his platoon into firing positions and launched an aggressive counterattack. During the ensuing firefight, he repeatedly disregarded his own safety to gain vantage points from which to direct the fire of his men against one hostile position after another. When one of his squads was temporarily pinned down by fire from a heavy machine gun, he inched his way through the deep rice paddy and, in full view of the enemy gunners, destroyed the machine gun with a hand grenade, using his pistol to dispose of the last of the enemy gunners in the emplacement. Although he has sustained a painful fragmentation wound in the shoulder and a bullet wound in the hand, Second Lieutenant Jaehne rallied his Marines, retrieved the radio from his fallen radio operator, restored communications, and continued the attack until the enemy broke contact and withdrew, leaving behind thirteen casualties, several crew-served weapons, and numerous rifles and items of equipment.

By his courage, aggressive leadership and unflagging devotion to duty in an extremely hazardous situation, Second Lieutenant Jaehne upheld the highest traditons of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.

Kilo 3/7 had attacked an understrength NVA antiarcraft regiment which was using their 12.7mm AA guns against them. A bad situation. The USMC billet in Rota, Spain is named after Jose Jimenez, who was awarded the Medal of Honor in this action.

Our family is proud of Bob and I have gone to great lengths to make sure my son understands his sacrifice. We toast him every Memorial Day.

Thanks for this thread. I served with the 1/69 in in Iraq ( the same fighting 69th featured in the movie with a long glorious history) and this year is the first time I recited the rouge bouquet and the names of all the guys I served with who didn’t survive , and didn’t cry for hours.

“Memorial Day”

The finest tribute we can pay
Unto our hero dead today,
Is not a rose wreath, white and red,
In memory of the blood they shed;
It is to stand beside each mound,
Each couch of consecrated ground,
And pledge ourselves as warriors true
Unto the work they died to do.

Into God's valleys where they lie
At rest, beneath the open sky,
Triumphant now, o'er every foe,
As living tributes let us go.
No wreath of rose or immortelles
Or spoken word or tolling bells
Will do to-day, unless we give
Our pledge that liberty shall live.

Our hearts must be roses red
We place above our hero dead;
To-day beside their graves we must
Renew allegience to their trust;
Must bear our heads and humbly say
We hold the flag as dear as they,
And stand, as they once stood, to die
To keep the Stars and Stripes on high.

The finest tribute we can pay
Unto our hero dead to-day
Is not a speech or roses red,
But living throbbing hearts instead
That shall renew the pledge they sealed
With death upon the battlefield;
That freedoms flag shall bear no stain
And free men wear no tyrants chain.

From the exceptional book
“POEMS OF PATROTISM” by Edgar A. Guest.

Thanks to all who contributed. It really is what the holiday is supposed be about.