StevC on May 30, 2012 at 11:09 AM

well said

I retired from the Air Force with 21 years service many years ago. I am still offended when folks comment about Vets or thank Vets for their service on Memorial Day! That isn’t what Memorial Day is about.

Pecozbill on May 29, 2012 at 5:33 PM

Men and women who serve, serve to protect our freedoms and that includes personal freedom. I am always grateful when others recognize my service, be it Memorial Day or any other day.

Gunny Wade – USMC 1962 – ???

They were all heroes. A medal only recognizes a specific achievement. It does not define heroism.

BMF on May 30, 2012 at 7:55 AM

Words of truth and experience. Thank You!

Wrong.

I was a Marine platoon commander in Vietnam. When we received an order to attack, I’d tell my Marines “OK, we’ve been ordered to seize an objective, here’s what we are going to do.”

They’d listen. Unspoken was the fact that some of us would not see the sunset that day or would be severely wounded.

We’d saddle up, check our weapons, pass out extra ammo, and move out. Some didn’t see the sunset. Some were medically evacuated.

The rest of us prepared for night operations. Some would never see the sunrise. Some would be wounded.

The next day, we’d do it again.

I can tell you that the absolute truth is that everyone of those Marines performed heoric acts that have never been officially recognized. Very few awards that I submitted were approved and most were down graded to a lesser award.

But it’s not just the soldier with a rifle. It takes the entire team to get the mission accomplished with the least casualties. I would not be here today if were not for the pilots flying close air support, the mechanics that kept them flying, the artillery support, the personnel who prepared and delivered the resupplies, the doctors and nurses, the intelligence analysts, and the list is endless. They all gave their personal best with sacrifices that only a tiny fraction of Americans will ever understand, much less appreciate.

When our position was in danger of being overrun, every individual is a rifleman. The enemy doesn’t give a rat’s flying potato what your job is. He will kill you if you give him the chance.

They were all heroes. A medal only recognizes a specific achievement. It does not define heroism.

I’ve been retired from the Marine Corps for more than twenty-five years. I still marvel at what those Marines accomplished in the rice paddies, jungles, and mountains of Vietnam. Believe me. They were all heros.

“I would strongly suggest another line of work for Mr. Hayes that might increase his empathy and his love of country—say in the military.”Steve Newton, Founder-Silver Star Families of America

While I understand how Chris Hayes made Newton and the families of those killed in service to our nation feel, for what reason would Hayes be fired? Ed M

Steve Newton made it explicitly clear!
Throwing the young Bum out, would free up his
calander to schedule in some mind expanding
activities that may help the lil fop to
grow some sense from the experience.
I know it’s a lot to expect from a
pusilanimous punk, but heck just
maybe he’ll grow a pair too, and
learn that hiding behind his
gibberish doesn’t protect
a Nation from enemies!
Plus,the 4-eyedCreep
is bad for ratings!
“Let’s Roll”

for what reason would Hayes be fired?

Just demanding that the democrats go by the same rules they have set for the GOP.

One of the points made during Sunday’s show was just how removed most Americans are from the wars we fight, how small a percentage of our population is asked to shoulder the entire burden and how easy it becomes to never read the names of those who are wounded and fight and die, to not ask questions about the direction of our strategy in Afghanistan [Operation Enduring Insanity/The Trillion Dollar Bridge To Nowhere/Mad Hatter's Sociology Experiment from Hell with American Soldiers and Marines used as Lab Rats], and to assuage our own collective guilt about this disconnect with a pro-forma ritual that we observe briefly before returning to our barbecues.

This is absolute truth.

I retired from the Air Force with 21 years service many years ago. I am still offended when folks comment about Vets or thank Vets for their service on Memorial Day! That isn’t what Memorial Day is about.

Pecozbill on May 29, 2012 at 5:33 PM

I agree. It’s become something other than a day of reflection and rememberence.

“One of the points made during Sunday’s show was just how removed most Americans are from the wars we fight….and how easy it becomes to never read the names of those who are wounded and fight and die”

He is only removed from the wars we fight because he chooses to be. For someone who wants to work in the news industry and give his opinion on these wars this statement is very revealing. Is it not like an electrical engineer saying: “none of us really study electricity”? Also, I find it kinda sad that he finds it so “easy” to just blow off and never read the names or appreciate the sacrifice of our war dead. He finds it easy to never give them a second thought. What is worse is how clueless this guy is to what a terrible explanation these statements reveal. This is a guy who can’t understand the meaning of the sorrow Americans feel inside for heroes we never knew. He clearly doesn’t get it.

That said, the apology is NOT accepted and I will continue to not watch MSNBC. Frankly, I don’t believe he would have apologized had he not realized that he was being rightfully vilified. And anyone who is so out of touch with real issues in the real world should should be rightfully ridiculed for his biased stupidity.

Why is he not in jail ?

burrata on May 29, 2012 at 4:00 PM

Because this is America and he has the right to say what he thinks and earn MSNBC all four viewers.

My last post resulted in my being slammed for insulting true heros.
As a result, I need to appear to apologize. And, hey, most Americans have never fought a war, either, so I’m not so
removed from them… my vile comments are not far from what most Americans think.

Just because I never read the names of the fallen heros, this must mean most Americans don’t.

And, since I feel guilty about defending our freedoms, this must be true for most Americans.