In honor of every single Veteran who posts or reads here...
A song I once heard a long time ago on the radio...

"That Ragged Old Flag" Written by Johnny Cash

I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin there.
I said, "Your court house is kinda run down,
He said, "No, it will do for our little town".
I said "your old flag pole kinda leaned a little bit,
And that’s a ragged old flag you got hanging on it".
He said "have a seat", so I sat down,
He said, "is this your first visit to our little town"
I said, "I think it is"
He said "I don’t like to brag, but we’re kinda proud of "That Ragged Old Flag"
"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it, writing "Oh Say Can You See"
It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson tugging at its seams.
It almost fell at the Alamo beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on tho.
It got cut with a sword in Chancellorsville,
Got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
"That Ragged Old Flag"
On Flanders Field in World War I,
She took a bad hit from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low by the time that one was through,
She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam.
The Native Americans, The Black, Yellow and White
All shed red blood for the Stars and Stripes.
And here in her own good land,
She’s been abused, burned, dishonored, denied and refused,
And the very government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.
And she’s getting thread bare, and she’s wearing kinda thin,
But she’s in pretty good shape, for the shape she’s in.
Cause she’s been through the fire before
and she can take a whole lot more.
So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don’t let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I do like to brag
Cause I’m mighty proud of
"That Ragged Old Flag"
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May God bless America and the Veterans, as well as every single person serving today..
Harold Thornburg
SGT, US Army (Retired)

POW/MIA You are not FORGOTTEN

“If you are able, save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.”

Quote by Major Michael O’Donnell, January 1, 1970, Dak To, Vietnam. O’Donnell, a helicopter pilot, went Missing In Action on March 24, 1970, during a rescue attempt. His remains were returned in 1995, and identified in 2001.


God Bless all the veterans who have come before, all those currently serving, and all those who have yet to come.

Love, Bill (Former SGT. US Army)

MM, My eyes were filled with tears. Thanks for the lyrics. And what a great tribute to our defenders, our heroes, our fallen. The girls and I talked this morning about Veteran’s Day. We remembered Grandaddy who fought in Viet Nam, Poppa H who drove tanks in the dark through Italy during WWII, , my friend who survived D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. And those who served who are no longer with us. Some sunk in I think.

Memorial Day, we have a similar talk. I think this year, B. is going to reinstate his father’s Memorial Day tradition: They drive around and visit the graves of relatives who served and tell stories. Then, and only then, do they have the picnic.

For all those who have fought for me and mine, who have lost health, wealth and even life by doing so, I honor you. I thank you. I am proud of you.

LH, and GG, thank you for responding. May God bless you both. Thank you for caring and for remembering all Veterans.
Harold