What do RallyPoint members think about on Memorial Day?

RallyPoint Team — Fri, 22 May 2015 14:01:32 -0400

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki6GakghQoA

We wanted to put something special together for you for Memorial Day. We wanted to find a way to capture what this day might mean to someone with service experience. Thanks to 1SG Private RallyPoint Member we have a powerful story that does just that.

We hope you enjoy this. Share it with as many friends and family members as you can, and invite your veteran friends to join us!

While we were filming, Logan said something really great about RallyPoint. He said on RallyPoint, we don't have to wait for days like Memorial Day to come together and celebrate our service. We're working hard to keep that true for you and every service member and veteran that joins us in the future.

What we remember as veterans on Memorial Day 2015

RallyPoint Member SFC Logan Leslie shares his thoughts on combat, Afghanistan, and his plans for the future approaching Memorial Day 2015. www.rallypoint.com...

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made May 22 at 2015 2:07 PM

Capt Brandon Charters — Fri, 22 May 2015 14:07:17 -0400

1SG Private RallyPoint Member Your story is truly humbling. Thanks for sharing this with us as we enter such a special weekend.

Response by Elizabeth Malkin made May 22 at 2015 2:16 PM

Elizabeth Malkin — Fri, 22 May 2015 14:16:38 -0400

1SG Private RallyPoint Member, thanks for sharing with the RallyPoint community some of your feelings and thoughts as we enter Memorial Day weekend. We are proud to have you as a member of the RallyPoint community!

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 22 at 2015 2:19 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Fri, 22 May 2015 14:19:33 -0400

Thanks for sharing your story 1SG Private RallyPoint Member. Semper fi ...

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made May 22 at 2015 2:52 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 22 May 2015 14:52:14 -0400

For me I basically just think about my family members who have passed and try to attend a memorial service of one of the vets groups.

Response by LCpl Josh McNeill made May 22 at 2015 2:55 PM

LCpl Josh McNeill — Fri, 22 May 2015 14:55:20 -0400

I think of all the people that gave there lives for this great country. And personally the great family I have and the opertunities that are given to us by those who sacrificed all for us .

Response by SFC Mark Merino made May 22 at 2015 3:21 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Fri, 22 May 2015 15:21:20 -0400

1SG Private RallyPoint Member RallyPoint Team Home Run!!! I immediately posted this to.......those other internet media websites. Memorial Day is very special for us, but the vast majority knows that there just aren't enough hours in a single day to express our gratitude. Americans all have days that are infamous to us as individuals, just as Dec 7th was to our nation. RallyPoint is a perfect conduit for us to share these days with our military families. I connected with friends who were devastated by the loss of 14 servicemembers in a single day in Mosul, or the 10th anniversary of dear brothers during the early days of Iraq. All of these stories and significant dates can't all be shared in a single day, nor kept inside because we need to unburden ourselves. RallyPoint is the one place where you KNOW that members who are verified (duty status illuminated in green) have worn a uniform, understands sacrifice, and what it means to be in harms way. I used to live in San Tan Valley, AZ. Population: 30, with 100 corn & cotton fields, 45 minutes from everywhere. RallyPoint was the only contact I had with the veteran community. No matter where we are in life, no matter what our situation may be, we are never alone.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 22 at 2015 3:29 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Fri, 22 May 2015 15:29:12 -0400

There are some posts that are very similar to this SGT Jamell Culbreath -- you may wish to check them out. If I may ask, why do you say "Happy" Memorial Day? Personally, I never thought of Memorial Day as a particularly happy day. I'm just curious ...

Response by SGT Michael DeLaGarza made May 22 at 2015 4:56 PM

SGT Michael DeLaGarza — Fri, 22 May 2015 16:56:38 -0400

Celebration in Augsburg Germany with my best "Brothers and Sisters" in Uniform. Those are my cherished memories. May those whom have passed on, "Rest In Peace"...

Response by SrA Daniel Hunter made May 22 at 2015 5:18 PM

SrA Daniel Hunter — Fri, 22 May 2015 17:18:56 -0400

For the past several years it has been CPO Tyrone Snowden Woods (Retired). A classmate of mine from high school. Oregon City High School Class of '89. We called him Ty. He died September 12, 2012 in service to our Country, in Benghazi Libya.

Response by A1C Charles Hagen made May 24 at 2015 8:19 PM

A1C Charles Hagen — Sun, 24 May 2015 20:19:28 -0400

On Memorial Day I remember that my job, my mission, for the rest of my life is to live my life to the fullest. The sacrifices of my brothers and sisters who have fallen in my stead demand it. I am NOT whole but I came home and I am lucky for it. I recognize that. I teach my children growing up about the sacrifices they made so that I could be here with them.

To my brothers and sisters and their families, thank you. My family thanks you and I thank God for you as well.

Response by SFC Sherryl Jones-Presley made May 24 at 2015 8:29 PM

SFC Sherryl Jones-Presley — Sun, 24 May 2015 20:29:29 -0400

That video sums it all up better than I could. Never take what we have (freedom, choices) for granted for one day! Someone, somewhere they may not have wanted to be sacraficed for it.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made May 24 at 2015 9:03 PM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Sun, 24 May 2015 21:03:39 -0400

Memorial Day is a Day unlike any other.

Memorial Day is not a day to honor the living, but to the contrary, it is a Day to Honor the dead.

Memorial Day is a Day of remembrance and to honor and remember all those men and women, many of them just boys who gave their lives, paid the ultimate sacrifice for us and this Country, protecting our freedom and our way of life.

Memorial Day is a time to remember and celebrate. Though sadness touches our hearts, courage and bravery are two Memorial Day traditions that will carry on, long after we are all gone.

On this Memorial Day, try and take some time, even if just a few minutes, to think and remember those men, boys, and women from our hometown and from across the Country who have served and died but who will never be forgotten.

Because the Real Meaning of Memorial Day is to honor and remember all those American Soldiers who died defending our freedom!
Have a wonderful and meaningful Memorial Day!
SEMPER FI!

Response by SGT Robert Roadifer made May 24 at 2015 9:16 PM

SGT Robert Roadifer — Sun, 24 May 2015 21:16:18 -0400

What I think about is the sacrifices my older brothers and uncles made for this country while they were in Vietnam fighting for this Country and how they were treated when they came home. I also think of how my dad tried to join the Marines so he could go off and fight in WWII but was told that due to the size of his family that he was better off staying home and being the sheep rancher that he was to provide the wool needed to make the uniforms and blankets that the troops needed. I know that if I had not heard their stories of what they had gone through and how even though they were not treated very good when they came home that they were still proud of what they did for the country during its time of need I most likely would not have joined the Military. I feel that every American know matter what needs to serve the country to get a since of what this country stands for and why the men and woman who joined the armed force do what they do. I am proud of what I did for this country while I was in the Army and wish I could have stayed in longer than what I did. Every person who served this country deserves to be treated with respect because they gave a lot when they made the choice to join and/or was drafted. Memorial Day is a time to honor all those who gave their lives and sacrificed almost everything to make this country what it is today.

Response by PO3 Gregg Kemp made May 24 at 2015 10:41 PM

PO3 Gregg Kemp — Sun, 24 May 2015 22:41:43 -0400

He speaks of the poverty in these countries. I remember rolling into Zachko, Iraq from Turkey from an over night ride on civilian buses and seeing bombed out government buildings and all the people walking through the streets, if you would call them that. Half paved dirt roads and kids everywhere. I thought to myself if our people in the U.S. could just see how poor these people live, we would have a different perspective about our own lives. I know that I have been blessed to have served in the military for the good of another people. We are so blessed to be here, most Americans have no idea what it is to experience poverty on this scale. All I could think was that the ruling class of Iraq were cheating the rest of the country of the money and supplies needed to let these people live at least a meager life.

Response by SSgt Ed Schwartz made May 24 at 2015 11:40 PM

SSgt Ed Schwartz — Sun, 24 May 2015 23:40:51 -0400

Very nice

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 25 at 2015 1:30 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 25 May 2015 01:30:27 -0400

Outstanding video! I can remember when I was deployed to"Operation Desert Storm" my unit was in a small town 30k from Bagdad and I just turned 24 years old. I remember seening little children and some adults with torn clothing and some without any shoes on their feet. I said my God bless those who are and live in tyranny and the children they did not ask for this degradation. I know that I have grown up when I saw this dispair on human beings. I know my role in the military was, but at this time my humanitarian side opened up. The little children asking for food as well as the adults as we rode through the town, we gave them some MRE's as we drove by. I grew up in a urban environment and America's poor do not know what poor is until you see what most of us that have deployed overseas. I still have memories of the horrors I experience of the war, but I never forgot the soldiers that lost the lives defending the oath we all took for the"Constitution for the United States of America". Enjoy this Memorial Day not just for BBQ and parties, but for the fallen military brothers and sisters. Thank you SFC for the video I enjoyed it.

Response by GySgt Joe Strong made May 25 at 2015 1:31 PM

GySgt Joe Strong — Mon, 25 May 2015 13:31:31 -0400

Right now I'm thinking of Uncle Tully, who made it back physically, but ever remained in Vietnam.