Tomorrow

[idnative1948]

Any of you knuckleheads know what tomorrow is? Or, are you loaded up on testosterone for the upcoming season? Just gripes my chaps that so many forget those how are still out there and those who have gone before us. Just think about it, come back from RVN and have your own countrymen spitting on you in the SFO airport. Just a little pizzed off right now just remembering. At least honor your GD family members......

 

[noharleyyet]

Have a nice Independence Day native. Thanks for your service.

 

[JohnCushman]

Welcome home, native...my dad got the same welcome that you did

 

[ardrhi]

I am sorry to hear that a bad homecoming makes it hard for you to celebrate at a party that the whole country is supposed to be throwing in your honor.
If is is any consolation, there are still places where we honor our veterans and we appreciate your service. Tomorrow morning I will meet a dozen teenage boys (that's all there is in town) and a few other adults (to do the driving) and we will get 100 flags up around town before everyone else wakes up. Most of the kids live on farms and will be waking up around 4am to get chores done in time to show you that they care. We have to be done putting up flags by 6:45 because that is when the American Legion has asked the boys to raise the flag at the park. Then they will help the local volunteer fire department serve breakfast. After that they will march behind the military color guard to escort the flag through town at the head of a parade. There are only 300 of us in this small town, but we haven't lost the American spirit.

I am happy that my little brother is back home spending this Independence Day on American soil. Last year I flew an EXTRA flag on Independence Day to remind me that his blackhawk may be flying over Afghanistan taking bullets while I was at the park eating sausage and eggs.

 

[MattK]

IDnatie1948- you asked this knucklehead what he thinks the 4th of July is...This would be my answer....While we are all eating hot dogs tomorrow...ribs for me. Let's not forget that the day is about an idealogy that a government is made up of the will of the people, by the people and for the people. The declaration of independence was less about war and more about people willing to do anything for an idea...that people had rights not given to them by the government but instead they were rights given them simply because they were alive. It's also interesting to note that these individuals were revolutionaries...not patriots. Only in hindsight do we see them now as patriotic to this nation. To their government (England), they were traitors...So to me, the 4th of July is about standing up for the freedom, rights and liberty given us for simply being.

 

[mlbuck84]

I just got back from the M. east in April. I traveled throughout afghanistan as a communication's tech fixing comm's for our men/women. I joined in 2005, the war had been going on for awhile at that time. Now, i'm 28. Think about the 18 - 20 year olds, and think about how old they were when the war(s) started. All they know is war. I am so proud to serve with everyone of them. You would be amazed at the expertise i witnessed. The professionalism, selfless service, willingness to face the unknown. They are all warriors. This year is a turning point. Iraq drawdown, uprising in syria and the unknown in iran. On my way back home, every airport I passed through in Italy, Germany, and the States; we were faced with nothing but claps and thanks. I couldn't even imagine coming home to the environment that the Vietnam vets did. Anyway..... Happy Gosh Dang 4th to you all. We have a tight group of people here on OYOA's hunt talk and we should be thankful that we can still.... hunt/fish the way we do.
MOLON LABE!! Knuckleheads
someone on here said, " war is not about who's right, but who's left." So keep fighting

 

[Big Slick]

Native I wish I had words to make it better for you.....I do indeed respect the fact that you fought for this great nation and for the others that will not get the chance to let me know how they feel because they payed the ultimate price. Maybe one day while I'm in your beautiful state of Idaho visiting family we can meet so I can shake your hand and say thank you face to face. May all in this Great nation take a moment and reflect and shall we pray to God that the people of this Great Nation are teaching their kids about our Holidays and what they mean and how we get to keep celebrating them.

 

[tarheel]

For me it's not so much for the fireworks, the bratwurst and beer, the day at the lake, but more about being sure the flag is flying and remembering the sacrifices of those who stood up for that flag when it mattered most.

 

[Khunter]

Gripes my chaps?

 

[dustinf]

A quote from a speech that a good friend's husband(decorated veteran Iraq) gave a few years ago:

‎'It is the Soldier, not the minister
Who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the Soldier, not the poet
Who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer
Who has given us freedom to protest.

It is the Soldier, not the lawyer
Who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the Soldier, not the politician
Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag,
Who allows the protester to burn the flag.'

 

[AH64DMatt]

Native,
I've got two deployments to Iraq under my belt, for a total of about 27 months of time away from anything comfortable. I've lost friends, too.
I, too, get the feeling that America has lost track of why we celebrate our freedom and the sacrifices that have been made. I can tell you this, for every douchenozzle out there who hates our country and lives in it, there are also kind, caring, and patriotic people who appreciate everything we've done.
You are not alone, and never will be. Your service is greatly appreciated, especially by those who've followed in your bootprints. Thank you for paving the way for the rest of us. Happy Independence Day. May God Bless America and those who defend her.

 

[nmtaxi]

On Independence Day I spend a lot of time thinking about our Founding Fathers. Revolutions through out the world were usually lead by people that had nothing to lose. In America, it was the people that had everything to lose that lead the charge. Amazing men who did not do it for power, but for freedom for all. These men could have seized all the power when the Revloutionary War was won, but instead, gave the power to the people. Amazing. I think of them, the heroes that have fought and died to preserve those ideas, and the many people in this country that are so willing to watch these freedoms slowly diminish in exchange for the government taking care of them.