They fought and Died for Freedom so we could do all the things we do in a free society and that includes celebrating Happily while remembering them. They would be Happy we have been given a Day Off in many cases to Remember Them and Do Whatever We want Happily and Peacefully...Again They fought for the Right to be Free from Tyranny...I remember Them Every Day and They are all Heroes in my books...It was Hell...May they Rest in Peace Credit to All That Inspired This
With the final hours of Memorial Day 2020 coming to a close, when most Americans will once again let the true meaning of Memorial Day drift farther from they’re mind until next year. I want to share this story that affected me greatly. (even now as I type this) The VFW, American Legion and VVA worked together in our county to build a permanent Military Museum at our County Fair Grounds…. And for a week its open to everybody during the county fair, A lot of people that are curious come though, Many Veterans, Family’s of veterans. Come through the door. Everything from strollers with newborns to wheelchairs with people unknowingly enjoying they’re last fair come though the doors . The reactions we get are as varied as the people that come in,… And we’ve seen it all, From jokes and laughter, to a WWII veteran that broke down in tears seeing a picture of himself And his best friend in Europe. Just days before his friend was lost in battle (right next to him). Local veterans are on hand to direct people to what they want to see, Answer questions, And frankly welcome the visitors.. For some reason it seems there is a small group of guys that always congregate during the week that are referred to as “the troublemakers” A very early Green Beret (serving five tours in Vietnam) as well as two more GB’s. A couple Rangers and a lowly Recon Marine.. The “troublemakers” always take good nature jabs at one another and poke fun at each others Branch’s of Service and they’re specialty….. On a particularly slow morning after Fred (the old GB) and I were ribbing each other in comes a man wearing a T-shirt with the Army’s Pathfinder blaze on it. Fred jokingly said “We were the guys that made the path, And you were the ones trying to find it !”… The guy gave up a smile, I asked “Where did you serve ?” He proudly said “Oh !,… This was my sons outfit in the Army, He served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq”… We smiled a him, told him we were just giving him some good natured ribbing, Thanked him for his son’s decision to serve… Then Fred asked him “Where’s your son now” The man looked at us with a calm but sad smile,… And said “Arlington”……..
"Happy Memorial Day" Lots of people say that & they mean well, but it's supposed to be a solemn day of remembrance.
I am reading this tonight while watching John Wayne and Richard Widmark in The Alamo. Remember and never surrender!
Many people also confuse Memorial Day to be "Happy Memorial Day" which is not correct. It is simply "Memorial Day" or "Decoration Day". Memorial Day was never meant to be a "happy" occasion but a day to remember our fallen war dead. A day to remember our Brother's and Sister's who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms that we enjoy today. Our Brother's and Sister's who had died next to us or in our arms while in country. I was in basic training during Memorial Day in 1976, when one of our trainees told a Drill Sgt. "Happy Memorial Day, Drill Sergeant!" Our entire Drill Sergeant Cadre swarmed my platoon like flies on shit, dropped the entire platoon until we pushed Ft. Dix to hell and back. I never forgot about that and have never said "Happy Memorial Day" to anyone. What is Memorial Day about was also a question asked during our promotion boards.
Very well said, high school friend of mine was killed in October, 1968 in Vietnam. He never came back to his ‘35 Chevy Coupe. His parents put the steering wheel In casket with him.
My family was lucky..My dad, his older brother and their dad were all in WWII together. All made it home OK. I was in the Army from 66-69 {Vietnam era} but Sam sent me to Germany to keep an eye on the Russians. My lil' Brother also spent time in Germany.
Hello, It is a little late, but the memories will last forever. One of our early "good guys" in drag racing at Lions Dragstrip during our days there, was a family from Torrance, CA, just a few miles away from the dragstrip. The Tapia Brothers were favorites of a lot of people because they were always racing, every weekend, and winning a lot of trophies. They even won a match race against the Green Monster #11 when Art Afrons was touring out West. "Bobby slays the GREEN MONSTER" Tapia Bros Collection Like many So Cal racers, the drag racing starting point was in the popular stock car class. For him, his big competition was none other than Tom McEwen in his 57 Chevy sedan. It was Chevy vs Chevy almost every weekend. 1958 Thank you for the memories and up/close and personal adventures from some wayward kid at Lions Dragstrip in 1959. Jnaki https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImCAhR9M5oI Tapia Brothers total NOTE: Some kid in a red Pendleton shirt being up close and personal with the Tapia Bros sleek Hilborn injected SBC FED (filmed by James Nak) In a note from brother, Steve Tapia here are some highlights: Robert “Bobby” Tapia passed away on May 2, 2020, in Boston, Mass. He was 82 and died after several massive strokes over the last month. Born in Santa Monica, California in 1938, Tapia was one of the drag racing’s most formidable competitors in the sport’s early days. He began drag racing in the 1950s. His first taste of major success came racing a ’57 Super Stock Chevy at the drag strips in Southern California. It was in that class that his rivalry with Tom “the Mongoose” McEwen began. In 1957, Tapia won the weekend’s competition in the Super Stock class 13 weeks in a row at the legendary Lions Dragstrip in Long Beach, Calif. Later, Tapia raced a small-block Chevy-powered D/Gas class dragster that was constructed in his parents’ garage in Torrance, Calif. That car earned the nickname “the Giant Killer” after upsetting Art Arfons’ legendary Green Monster aircraft engine- powered land speed record-challenging car in a July 1959 match race at Lions. That same year, he won 50 out of 52 Middle Eliminator races at Lions. He made Lions’ “Standard 1320" list of record holders three times in 1958. He raced dragsters, including Top Fuelers until 1961 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. After being honorably discharged from the Army in 1963, Tapia came back to Southern California and raced Top Fuel dragsters exclusively. He drove for car owners Tarrant & Woodruff, Don Prieto, Don Madden, John Harbert, Ed Donovan, Larry Stellings, and Chris Karamesines. During this period, he continued his rivalry with Tom McEwen and was one of the few drivers who could claim to have bested the rarely beat Greer, Black and Prudhomme Top Fueler driven by Don “the Snake” Prudhomme. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/the-good-times-thread.1188361/page-2#post-13518835 Bobby Tapia history 1964 WDIFL In early 1964, Larry Stellings debuted the "Stellings & Hampshire" (Red Stamp Car) ... for a perfect excuse to change the look of the car for it's new driver, Bobby Tapia.
My father-in-law, somewhere in Belgium, at the end of the war. Just one of many exceptional men from that generation. .
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