Phoenix Activities

Memorial Day – Less We Forget

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My wife and I spent the morning at the National cemetery at the Memorial Day ceremony. An amazing event. 



Sands Of Kuwait 

Here I sit so far from my home

Here I sit with my thoughts alone

Thoughts of my kin, thoughts of my love

Thoughts of the hills and clouds above

No green can I see; all seems barren to me

No stream running by to a bountiful sea

No trees with their shade, no cool summer’s breeze

No soft words to cheer me

 

The sands of Kuwait stretch far from the eye

Here we shall live or here we shall die

So pray for us all, my comrades and me

That we may return safe back home to thee

Our thoughts are with you, our loved ones at home

But here for a while the sands we must roam

A boundless expanse – no end can I see

As boundless my dear as my love for you

 

I recall when first we met

At the fair on that warm summer day

Your eyes so bright, your hair flowing free

A smile full of joy and laughter so gay

A heart full of care wherever you go

A heart ever true whene’er I must roam

Fate smiled on me then, oh smile once again

And lead me back home

 

The sands of Kuwait stretch far from the eye

Here we shall live or here we shall die

So pray for us all, my comrades and me

That we may return safe back home to thee

Our thoughts are with you, our loved ones at home

But here for a while the sands we must roam

A boundless expanse – no end can I see

As boundless my dear as my love for you

 
The White Table – A Remembrance to Our POW/MIAs

Happy Thanksgiving

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“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” — Frank A. Clark

20 Quotes on the Importance of Thankfulness and Gratitude

Memorial Day – Remembrance!

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In traditional observance, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day. The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

In traditional observance, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day. The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

Beginning in 1987 Hawaii’s Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, introduced a measure to return Memorial Day to its traditional date. Inouye continued introducing the resolution every Congress until his death in 2012. In his introductory remarks to the bill he introduced in 1999 he stated:

“Mr. President, in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer. My bill would restore Memorial Day to May 30 and authorize our flag to fly at half mast on that day. In addition, this legislation would authorize the President to issue a proclamation designating Memorial Day and Veterans Day as days for prayer and ceremonies honoring American veterans. This legislation would help restore the recognition our veterans deserve for the sacrifices they have made on behalf of our nation.” (1999 Congressional Record, page S621)