Stories from america’s conflicts

General Comments

From:  Name and Location Witheld

“I was an Airborne/Ranger 70/72, I was part of a team that did what others couldn't (because of our training). It was never pleasant but it was necessary. On Sept. 9, 1971, we were ambushed. All but myself and another perished during the 1st six hours. The nature of our missions was officially silenced so we had to be left behind for nine days. I would like for the men, that can never be known, to be remembered.”

From:  Cheri Spencer
Oregon

“I am a Woman Marine, my father died a POWMIA of the European theater, my brother was an Airman during Vietnam and now my nephew is a Green Beret in Iraq. Like President Kennedy, my father was a hero. He gutted out whatever hand was dealt and taught us to fight for what we believed was our American right. He died in a VA hospital, like most veterans alone, not surrounded by the family that loved him. War is a silent, long grievous cry that hurts long after it is over and is remembered long after we are gone. The cut is deep, ribbons and medals, flags and song capture and touch us, but healing comes from only above and beyond ourselves. It is a path that takes us all to the end of ourselves into the trail of tears and in the arms of God's nature. We see our failings, our touched moments with those we have lost and even ourselves in death. We see the wounded, lost and courageous, we wonder what are the answers to so much pain? So much love is lost ... at a cost for truth and freedom? We hold a memory, a picture, an old film and remember loss. We look up at flight and see the eagle, and know we were gifted from above, because love is never lost ... we carry it our hearts.”

From:  John Myers
Massachusetts

“I remember my best friend, 1/Lt Ken Hill, USMC (‘Grinch’), lost during Operation Praying Mantis, CM 2-88, 1988.  Grinch was my closet friend.  He, Laura and their son came through deployment after deployment, and he died far too young.  I think of Grinch all the time, especially this time of year.  I miss you.  John”

From:  Linda Bhame
Georgia

“William Gill of Pennsylvania died of camp fever during the Civil War.  He left home a healthy young man with a wife and four small children.  A few months later, he was dead of the dreaded conditions in his Army camp.  His son Thomas, my grandfather, was without a father’s love and support.  Yet William did his duty and helped his country in a time of great need and horrible division.  I have had relatives in every war since the French and English War and the American Revolution.  I honor their memory and am proud to be descended from such serving Americans.”

From: Gena L. Eberhard

"In memory of my friend, PFC Alan H. Benningfield, USN who fell during Operation Desert Storm, 1991. He was loved by so many and this is on behalf of all of us."

From: Luretta Dramis
 New Jersey

"Please remember our Marines killed in Beirut, Lebanon. My son, L/Cpl. George L. Dramis USMC was the last Marine to be killed in actual battle in Beirut leaving behind 4 sisters that dearly love and miss him.

“His last letter home began, ‘By now you know, I won't be coming home ... Please keep me in your memories.’ Please help us by keeping him and all those Marines in your memory too ... Semper Fi Luretta Dramis."

From: George W. and Muriel E. Schulte
Oklahoma

"Although my father, Leo J. Schulte was not killed in World War II, he did receive a Purple Heart while fighting in Sicily. The scars on his legs were terrible and he went through months and months of pain. He never complained about the scars or the pain but we knew he was hurting. He passed away in December 1986 of a heart attack and we miss him dearly.

“My wife’s father, James L. Stewart was in the Army and the Navy during WW2, and both of her brothers were in the service, Jimmy L. Stewart II, a Marine who received 2 Purple Hearts in Vietnam, and Jerry Stewart who served in the Air Force. I was also in the Navy and served overseas and in the states. The sacrifice of our families and those of our fellow Americans will never be forgotten and our prayers go out to all of those Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen protecting our freedoms throughout the world. God Bless You and God Bless America."

From: James C. Boyd
North Carolina

“As a 30-year veteran of the USAF, having served in Korea and Vietnam, I salute those men and women who have volunteered to serve our country and support the premise ‘freedom thru vigilance.’ It is not always easy to wear the uniform of our military services. It is often a symbol that others find offensive because it represents the greatest nation on earth and it stands for the freedom we enjoy. Something not shared by other nations or it's people. So, as you wear that symbol of freedom, I salute you and want you to know that I am grateful for your service to our country. From a retired CMSGT (USAF) I SALUTE YOU."

From: Charlotte Williams Jeffers
Arkansas

"What a moving experience this concert was!

“I am writing this letter in memory of my uncle, Clyde Ramage, from Nashville, Arkansas, who died in 1918 in France. When I was a child and looking in my grandmother's house for stamps to add to my collection, I found letters from Clyde to his mother. When he enlisted in the army, he was studying to become a dentist at Southern State College. Unfortunately, Clyde died in December of 1918, after the armistice had been signed, of typhoid fever he caught during the march back from the front. He had survived the fighting in the trenches, but was beaten by the germs which proliferated in contaminated water supplies. His death greatly affected my grandmother and all his brothers and sisters. He died before marrying; thus he produced no children. His last living sister is my 90 year old mother. Once she is dead, there will be no one on earth to remember him or mourn his passing."

From: Annemarie

"In memory of Frank, Jack and Charles Morgan
Thanks to Bob Lewis, Iselin NJ (Korea), Elizabeth (Betty) Miller (WW II and beyond, Bedford Pa)
“In Memory of Jackie Reid and Tom of Kearny, NJ
( Vietnam)
”Thanks to Pat Spraggins (Long Island, NY) and Peggy Perri ( ? Mass), KCHSN, (Vietnam)
God bless all the NURSES

“THANK YOU ALL AND SO MANY OTHERS FOR OUR FREEDOM, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE NEAR OUR HEARTS."

From: Sharon A. Flood
New York

"Our family had two men who made the ultimate sacrifice: Pvt. Edward Flood, Waterloo, Iowa, Company C, 32nd Iowa Infantry, KIA, Canton, Mississippi, February 28, 1864; and Sgt. Frank G. Flood, Battle Creek, Nebraska, 47th Infantry Regiment, Machine Gun Company, KIA at the Argonne Forest, September 27, 1918. So many others in our family served – my late father, his father, my great great grandfather – I cannot recount them all here. To some, this may seem like ancient history, but to those of us who remember them, their bravery and sacrifice will live as long as one person recalls their names. They live on with us, having given the last full measure of their devotion for our freedom."

REFLECTIONS

“Thank you, James, for your ultimate sacrifice you made for your country. It was your dedication as a soldier and man that helped me through that terrible year in Nam. Soldiers like you are what make our freedoms so special. I thank God for people like you and will make sure your sacrifices will never be forgotten.”

Veteran in Virginia