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KEVIN LAMARQUE / Reuters
U.S. Marine Capt. Jill A. Leyden of Woodbridge, VA, kneels at the grave of her friend Major Megan M. McClung at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Veterans Day, November 11, 2010.
McClung was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom on December 6, 2006. Leyden and McClung served together in Iraq.
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I think it is a real shame the government has the day off but not all the veterans do! I have never had the day off at any company I have worked at.
My brother served in the Marines in Operation Desert Storm. He died of Gulf War Syndrome on August 20, 2009. He was proud to serve and we were proud he was our son, brother, uncle, husband and father.
Semper Fi Skeeter, we will miss you forever.
Nannie
Seeing this made me think sad thoughts about Lt. Jack Geohagan, my friend who died at An Lao. I lived and he didn't. I would also like to use this opportunity to thank the Veterans Administration and all who work in it. They give me the means to be happy. I should have thought that what happened in Vietnam would have taught all future Presidents to avoid pointless foreign invasions, but, no...
Our service members are heroes, one and all. But I wonder, how many more have to die before mankind realizes the insanity and the futility of war?
Worse than the Veterans that don't have the day off, are the ones that don't have a place to live. I live in RI and yesterdays headline was homeless Veterans now at 15 in R.I. Shame on RI. Shame on the elite of this state, polititians and others who have let this happen. I asked people on facebook when they see the WWII veteran sitting in the wheelchair next to the plastic jar for donations, don't give a $1. Put a $10 or $20 or hopefully a $100 in that jar. This is America and how many Veterans will sleep on the streets tonight?!? I am sickened by the whole thing. Well, there are 15 in RI and I am sure more in bigger states than this. Shame Shame Shame!!!!!
Oh, but how quick they are to go off to an unnecessary war built on lies. Then, to say afterwords in their book deals that they don't owe an apology for the war or for the lives that were lost. God Bless all those innocent young souls, who fought to protect the Governments mistakes that they still make today!
The anguish on this Marine's face is so heartbreaking. I feel awful. I pray that our Lord comforts her and eases the loss of her friend on the field of battle. Please, put the bickering aside for just this day so that we can respectfully remember and pray for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. God bless this Marine Captain.
Agree
They could start by leaving this Marine alone while she mourns her lost comrade. Why in the @!$%# do the press feel the need to snap a picture of people when they are at their worst. This was a private moment and should have stayed that way. The photographer should take that camera and shove it up his ass.
Fri. 11/12/10
I agree with Travis E. This was a sincere moment of Sadness & Grief from One USMC Officer for a Fallen
Marine Officer. This should remain a Private Moment & NOT a Public Photo.
& Yes the photographer should Have His Ass Kicked for publishing that photo.
Retiree SPW "Army Airborne All the Way"
While no one is ever happy about war, FREEDOM is not free and when our country is attacked by others for pointless reasons we must act,.. We must stand united ...Never Forget Sept. 11. . While President Bush was speaking at ground zero in to a mega phone ,..... he heard many yell "we can't hear you", and he responded "I can hear you and the people who did this will hear us too",..
So 19 people who don't mind killing innocent others attacked us on 9/11
Does that give you the right to attack and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan, two countries that did not attack us?
Can someone explain to me what a Captain is doing with a red stripe on her trousers? This is reserved for non-commissioned officers. She doesn't have the right to wear it. Makes me question the authenticy of the photo!
As a prior service marine I know that the blood stripe is found on the trouser leg of the dress blue uniform of officers and non-commisioned officers. Thanks for your concern about the authenticity of the photo. But please check your information before you make such a statement which can be seen as an insult to the honor of Marine Corps officers; past, present, and future. Semper Fi !!
Sir,
I recommend you research this matter. Officers and NCOs are authorized to wear the red stripe on trousers.
Veteran's day is a sad testament to the fact that the USA is a war mongering country. Shoot first ask questions later. How sad is it to see all of those fallen. FOR WHAT? IN THE NAME OF WHAT? Certainly not progress. Unless by progress you mean tarnishing our image while killing Iraqi civilians. Lest we forget the 9/11 hijackers where from Saudi Arabia! Bush was an idiot. The fact that his biggest regret exposed during a recent interview was the Kanye West comment shows how much he cared. War and combat are solutions for those who have no diplomacy to offer. We are a foolish country. And that is what I think when I see all of those white crosses at the national cemeteries.
Please. Seriously shut the f--- up, @sshole. This is one time when I would recommend, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Today is about those who have served. It is NOT about our government or its policies. From your post, it's obvious you have never served. You have no comprehension of what it means to serve.
Be thankful you live in a country that allows you to be the moron you are.
Wow! All Veterans Day asks is that for one day you honor the soldiers instead of bickering about the politics but you can't even do that. I understand where your frustration is coming from but if you have nothing good to say then just give those who chose to do a job and lost their lives, sanity, homes, family, friends, etc... doing it, a moment of silence. Think you can handle that?
Mr. Brown, when you've fought and bled for the your rights and those of other Americans then you can talk. 1. The terrorists were not trained in Saudi Arabia but in Iraq and Afganistan. 2. We were attack and responded to that attack. 3. We have never shot first, we defend those who ask for our help or respond to attacks on US lives or property. Thank you for your opinion but as a veteran I see it as spitting in the faces of veterans past, present, and future.
Regarding Brown's comment: "War and combat are the solutions to those who have no diplomacy to offer."
What did diplomacy do for Belgium in 1914-15?
What did diplomacy do for Manchuria in 1931?
What did diplomacy do for Ethiopia in 1935?
What did diplomacy do for Nanking in December 1937?
What did diplomacy do for Checkoslovakia in 1938?
What did diplomacy do for Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1939?
What did dipolomacy do for Finland in 1939-40?
What did diplomacy do for Denmark, Norway, Belguim, Holland, Greece, Luxembourg, etc... in 1940
What did diplomacy do for Pearl Harbor, Guam, the Philippines, Wake Island, Borneo, Indonesia, Indochina, Burma, Java, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macao, Australia, North Africa, Asia, New Zealand and others in 1941?
What did diplomacy do for eastern Europe in 1945?
What did diplomacy do for South Korea in 1950?
What did diplomacy do for Hungary in 1956?
What did diplomacy do for Tibet in 1959?
What did diplomacy do for the victims of the Killing Fields in Cambodia in 1975?
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse.... A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their own free choice—is often the means of their regeneration. JOHN STUART MILL
Obviously Mr Brown, you are able to say such pathetic and naive things simply because others are willing to fight for you right to do so. Enjoy, your pitiable existence.
Being a Vietnam Vet, I remember many of my friends who paid the price, but they served for their country not for the faceless unappreciative creeps who live in it, but don't appreciate the fact fact that freedom is never free, but requires sacrifice of time, energy and sometimes lives.
NCOs and officers are authorized to wear the blood stripe on their trousers. You do not have to look long to find a grieving service member on veterans day, why fake this photo?
My Uncle served in Vietnam and died for his country in his early 20's. I was not born yet during that period and never got a chance to meet him. Still I call him a hero and he is always in my mind and heart.
Thank You, Veterans. Let this day be an inspiration to each of us, uniformed or civilian, to serve our Nation, our countrymen, our families, and ourselves, with greater honor. We are Americans. We must live our lives in a way fitting of that title.
Better study up on your uniform regulations... Officers and NCO's wear the Blood Stripe.
As a vet it makes me feel good to see the students at my school observe this day and know what it cost to live here. To my fellow vets have a great day.
To answer your question from the Marine Corps web site:
The "blood stripe" runs down each trouser leg of the dress blues worn by noncommissioned officers, staff noncommissioned officers and officers. The solid red stripe became part of the uniform in 1849. Today, it serves to honor the memory of fallen comrades.
Thank a Vet. Freedom is not Free.
It is amazing how they will fight and give there lives so people on this board can post hate about them, it is very sad.
Remembering my father today who defended his country and me, who died a young man and left me with his legacy of freedom, security and love.
My Lord, where would we be if not for the sacrifice of the men and women and their families for this country and others?
We should just hark back to WWII. My God, the evil that continues. May God bless. PEACE.
The emotions expressed here cannot but move the observer. My sincere appreciation to all the veterans who have served and those who still serve in the Armed Forces. To those who paid the ultimate price, you will not be forgotton. To the families, we are sorry for your loss, and know that your sacrifices are not taken for granted....Allan B...US Navy...Retired.
Upon visiting Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery
Point Loma, California
The tombstones stand so silently,
White sentinels, in ordered rows they stretch,
Not one, much different from the rest,
And on each stone inscribed epitaph.
A rosary held, a requiem said so many times.
Upon the grass like fallen dew the teardrops lie,
While on the beds the wreathed flowers die.
And beneath those stones within each hallowed bed,
Sons and daughter laid their heads.
© Allan M. Bedashi.
This is a heartrending and poignant photo. Out of curiosity, I typed Major Megan M McClung into google, and was greeted with pages and pages of links about this beautiful, vivacious and brave woman who gave her life for her country. Thank you, Megan, and thank you, photographer, for introducing me to her.
And hers is just one of the countless names of those who served, fought and died for our freedom. They were someone's child, sister, brother, parent. I am honored to learn your name, Megan, and I join the number of people who have been touched by your life and impacted by your story.
Thank you, veterans.
It pains me a lot to see this picture. I hope her heart heals, but never forgets.
The true cost of freedom and liberty...Thank you Major Megan McClung and all veterans for being there so that we can be here.
I have just returned from walking in the San Jose, Ca Veterans' Day Parade. Though I was a reservist in the Navy, I and my cousin walked today to honor my father who was a WWII Veteran and passed away on October 1, 2010. A man that was proud to have served his country so that we could be free. What this country needs now is to get back to the patriotism that we once had. I believe that every person who lives in this country and avails themselves of all that The United States of America has to offer them should at one time in their life visit Washington DC, the monuments, tributes and museums. Furthermore, I feel that every able person should serve the country for a short time to appreciate what we have here in the States. People that have never served yet complain about everything under the sun, should learn to keep your trap shut. As my grandmother used to say, if you can't say something good, say nothing at all!
To all the veterans thank you for serving in our military as a veteran my self having served in the navy . You have my respect and freedom does not come cheap.