More than a Long Weekend

With Memorial Day right around the corner, check out this wonderfully moving article printed in USA TODAY entitled "More Than A Long Weekend" by Kathy Roth-Douquet, Blue Star Families' Co-Founder and co-author with Frank Schaeffer "AWOL: The Unexcused Absence of America's Upper Classes from Military Service -- and How It Hurts Our Country".

So it is surprising that, as a country, we still have to work hard to remind ourselves that Memorial Day is meant to be more than the three-day-weekend that heralds the start of summer. This year is the seventh Memorial Day in a row that finds American men and women in uniform in ongoing missions in Iraq and Afghanistan that are sure to bring more American losses..........

The message is not only powerful, but draws upon the major finding of Blue Star Families' Military Families Top Issues Survey Military Life Issues Survey - PDF that 94% of respondents felt that - quote - "the general public does not truly understand or appreciate the sacrifices made by service members and their families." More information about the survey results we presented to the Speaker of the House, Congressional Women's Caucus, the White House Council on Women and Girls and 12 interested House Members is
available at Blue Star Families

Assistant Secretary Duckworth Joins U.S. Postal Service for Purple Heart Stamp Ceremony

May 18 2009 Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs, L. Tammy Duckworth, spoke at a U.S. Postal Service ceremony announcing the reissue of the Purple Heart stamp. Hundreds of people attended the morning event at the Washington Convention Center.

“This stamp is a tribute to our nation’s wounded Veterans and a reminder of our society’s commitment to care for them when the war is over,” Assistant Secretary L. Tammy Duckworth said. “Many people who are severely wounded have their initial fears of a life destroyed replaced by the understanding that they can do just about anything.”

To a certain large group of individuals who seem to Think they can use Words and Symbols, and their inner fears, to say they're Supporting those who serve them and have taken an Oath to Defend the Country and our Constitution, this small grouping of photo's, and the video's and spoken words than, show the Symbol burned into many of the minds of those of us who have served you and are serving now, especially in your wars of choice. As you found enjoyment mocking one, and all who are awarded, who served because he doesn't follow your false patriotism nor hollow support. Your Symbol, and laughter, is not what Assistant Secretary Duckworth is talking about in her statement above!

Secretary Shinseki Addresses the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans National Conference

“President Obama has made it clear that homelessness among Veterans is unacceptable,” Secretary Shinseki said. “We have a moral duty to prevent and eliminate homelessness among Veterans.”

The NCHV is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Veteran-specific service organization whose 250-plus member organizations represent a variety of homeless providers in 45 states and the District of Columbia. It was organized in 1990 by a small group of community-based service providers who were troubled by the disproportionately large percentage of homeless people who are Veterans. It serves as the primary liaison between the nation’s care providers, Congress and the executive branch agencies charged with helping them succeed in their work...........

Veterans Retreat:

Bellingham, Washington VFP Chapter 111 member and former National Guard sergeant Ash Woolson, OIF, has created Vetretreat.com, a website dedicated to veterans deployed and returning home, not only to facilitate a reconnection but to emphasize support using YouTube vignettes.

This project was created to connect everyone and anyone to the soldiers returning or involved in war. We want to make a place for civilians to broadcast gracious messages to soldiers, and for the soldiers, this is a place to come from anywhere in the world and watch people thanking them for their service.....Visit the Site for More and to Connect

Spending for Pleasure is.......

Easier than Remembering the Pain of our Veterans

Over the last seven years we veterans keep re-visiting the subject of shared national sacrifice. Maybe we ought to talk even more about shared national awareness. Without awareness, nothing happens, and certainly not shared sacrifice.

A couple of years ago it was reported that in one American city, on a day when only 1100 people showed up for a veterans’ march, 40,000 showed up for a paint-ball championship.Soon Memorial Day will produce an article or two on Iraq and Afghanistan, none on peace-keeping missions anywhere, and probably 40 pages of Memorial Day Sale ads.........................

“It is easy for us who are living to honor the sacrifices of those who are dead. For it helps us to assuage the guilt we should feel in their presence. Wars can be prevented just as surely as they are provoked, and therefore we who fail to prevent them share in guilt for the dead.”
General of the Army Omar Bradley
Administrator of Veterans Affairs, 1945-48

Beyond Tribute

Each Memorial Day and Veterans Day, many of us take time to recognize the sacrifices of those men and women who have served in uniform.

But around the country, these solemn holidays often end up meaning little more than a chance to buy things on sale.

Yesterday I did an event with Jill Biden for a non-partisan, non-profit group called Beyond Tribute that's launching a campaign this Memorial Day to convince stores to donate a portion of their holiday promotion proceeds to medical treatment and family support for veterans. By Veterans Day, we hope to be able to raise significant money for veterans in need from the very businesses that usually capitalize on these solemn holidays.

But before businesses will sign on, they need to see that people are committed to truly honoring, and actually helping, former service members.

Sign the Memorial Day pledge to shop at Beyond Tribute business partners today and together we can do a lot of good for some people who really need it.

When I was on active duty as a four-star general in the U.S. Army, the soldiers I commanded were serving me, and they were serving the President.

But above all, they were serving America -- all of us.

So we all owe them a debt of gratitude, especially the troops who have sacrificed their health and well-being in the line of duty.

By signing the pledge to shop at Beyond Tribute businesses during the veterans national holidays, you're doing more than making your own personal commitment to help. You're also showing businesses that their customers will reward them if they do the right thing.

Sign the pledge now.

Anyone who has served, or has a loved one who's served, knows how important this help is.

That's why people like Walter Cronkite, philanthropist Jerome Kohlberg, and Kim Cattrall (Sex and the City's Samantha) have joined Beyond Tribute with me and pledged to do their shopping at participating businesses, too.

Join us in signing the pledge to do your Veterans Day shopping at Beyond Tribute businesses, then ask your friends and family to sign the pledge, too.

The troops we honor are real people, many of whom have very real injuries. They and their families need our help to get back on their feet. This is something we can all do that will really help them.

Sincerely,

Wes Clark

Take More Than a Moment!!

And do give thought to what has happened and what will be, from that, as we try to go forward!

What we're leaving, far different than what was left to us!