Did you honor or enjoy Memorial Day weekend?

Did you honor or enjoy Memorial Day weekend?

by
Chaplain Kathie

Many good friends talked about what they did this weekend. BBQ food, lots of beer, pool parties and having fun. Not many of them really remembered what Memorial Day weekend is for. This is not unusual considering how few have anyone in their families serving today or have served at one time or another. Forgetting what Memorial Day is for used to get me angry but now, I actually feel sorry for them, for what they are missing out on and for the kind of people they will never know. I don't have the ability to ignore Memorial day and I wouldn't trade with them for a second.

Friday I flew into Washington, took a cab to Walter Reed so that I could have a tour and meet some of our wounded. As tired as I was, thinking my legs would never carry me room to room, one after another rejuvenated me with how inspirational they all are. Young men and women healing from wounds and trying to learn to do things all over again at the same time they worry about their brothers and sisters still deployed and not regretting a second of their service.


When I arrived at the hotel, there were the Nam Knight patches everywhere.


One of them became a Prospect Saturday before the ride.



Hundreds of Nam Knights and their wives headed off to the Wall Saturday morning. The local police did a fantastic job making sure the roads were safe for us and no one tried to cut off the huge pack.






We met at the Wall for a ceremony and prayer, heard taps played and everyone walking near us stopped, took off their hats and waited in silence.



From the Wall we went to the Law Enforcement Memorial for another service. The some of the members went to Maryland while some of us from Orlando went to revisit the Wall. We wanted to be able to get a couple of etchings after all these years. Last year we didn't get close to the Wall but this year, we were finally able to touch it. Standing there everything else in our lives left our minds. All the problems, all the things we have to be concerned about vanished and all we could think about were the lives lost. We went to the statue of the three "grunts" but it was enclosed in a box for renovation. We went to the memorial for the women, also called the Nurses monument.



From there we went to the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial and to the WWII Memorial.

Back at the hotel there was time to relax and party. Most of them needed to break the emotional time of the day and they cut loose. Everyone was welcomed to join in and there was dancing in the street, laughing, hugging and just enjoying the company of this extended family.

Sunday came and my husband headed off to Massachusetts giving me time to sit and talk with hotel guests. I had a late flight back home and was not going on the Rolling Thunder Ride without him. There was a couple sitting near me and we began to talk. They are the parents of the Marine who stands saluting the Rolling Thunder parade/pilgrimage.

Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers

Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers has been doing this for eight years. His parents told me that he was recovering from having pneumonia just two weeks ago. Today I found out that on Saturday, he traveled to Maryland for the BBQ with the Knights and then even sang a song, reportedly, doing a great job. His parents told me that Tim saves his leave every year. He came from Camp Pendleton to make sure he was there, as he puts it, to honor those who sacrificed for him. Amazing! One generation thanking the other and then being thanked in return.

The Commander of Camp Pendleton must understand how much this means especially to Vietnam veterans. After they were pushed away from everyone, everywhere, to have this kind of tribute means a great deal. The Vietnam veterans came home, treated badly, to say the least, but were determined to make sure no generation of veterans would ever, ever leave another generation behind. Tim understands this and they mean a great deal to him.

The Rolling Thunder Story
In the fall of 1987, in a little diner, in Somerville, New Jersey, two Vietnam veterans met to discuss their personal concerns about the prisoners of war (POW) and missing in action (MIA) from the Vietnam War. Having honorably served their country, and having taken an oath to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies..." and to "bear true faith and allegiance to same," they were deeply troubled by the abhorrent neglect of attention given to those who did not make it out with their lives or their freedom. These two veterans discussed the more than 10,000 reported sightings of live Americans living in dismal captivity. Intelligence reports of these sightings were generally ignored by the government and mainstream press. Artie Muller and Ray Manzo were these two veterans.

One more reason why Staff Sgt. Chambers salute means so much to Rolling Thunder as well as the Nam Knights.

There were many stories about tough, leather wearing bikes being brought to tears just seeing him standing there with his salute to them. One young girl who just lost her Dad went over to him with tears in her eyes and told Tim how her Dad died. He pointed to the flowers at his feet and told her they were for her Dad and all the others who died. He talked to her until she was able to smile again. Over the years, there were many stories of how emotionally healing it is for these veterans to see Tim. This year I heard there was a Soldier standing there as well. A wonderful tribute on this very solemn day.

I got back home on Sunday night and then Monday morning headed out to another Memorial service at Glen Haven Memorial Park in Winter Park FL.

Chaplain of the Florida National Guards, Maj. Anthony Clark gave the invocation and then really came the need for tears. Bud Hedinger of 540WFLA introduced the story of Staff Stg. Robert James Miller nominated for the Medal of Honor.

Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller
Died January 25, 2008 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

24, of Oviedo, Fla.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 25 in Barikowt, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he encountered small-arms fire while conducting combat operations.
Former University of Iowa student killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

IOWA CITY, Iowa — A former University of Iowa student was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced on Saturday.

Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller died in Barikowt, Afghanistan. He suffered wounds during small-arms fire, according to the Department of Defense press release.

Robert Miller’s mother, Maureen Miller, of Oviedo, Fla., told The Gazette of Cedar Rapids that her son had attended the University of Iowa for one year before leaving school to enlist in the Army Special Forces.

She declined further comment, the newspaper reported. A phone message from The Associated Press was not immediately returned.

Miller worked in Special Forces as a weapons sergeant. He was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group Airborne, which was based in from Fort Bragg, N.C.

According to the Department of Defense, he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 and awarded with the Army Commendation Medal with Valor for courage in the face of the enemy.

He was awarded eight other medals while in service, including the Army Good Conduct Medal, two Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development ribbons, the Ranger Tab and Special Forces Tab.

During his deployment in Afghanistan, Miller earned a promotion to staff sergeant.

Miller was born Oct. 14, 1983 in Harrisburg, Pa. He enlisted in the Army as a special forces candidate on August 2003, and became a Green Beret in 2005.

Miller is survived by his parents, Philip and Maureen Miller; brothers Thomas, Martin and Edward; and sisters Joanna, Mary, Therese and Patricia, all of Oviedo, Fla.


Fallen Green Beret gets battlefield salute

Staff report

Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, who was killed in action Friday in Afghanistan, was honored by hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who lined the tarmac and roadway at Bagram Airfield on Sunday to pay their last respects.

Miller was a member of A Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).

According to a press release from U.S. Army Special Operations Command, he was killed by Taliban fighters as he protected his fellow Operational Detachment Alpha soldiers during combat operations near the Pakistan border.

The firefight took place near the village of Barikowt in the Nari district in Afghanistan’s Konar province during a security patrol with Afghan border police in the Chenar Khar Valley, the release said.

On Sunday, Miller’s flag-draped casket was carried in a tactical vehicle to a waiting Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft, and as the vehicle passed the line of his uniformed comrades, each stood at attention and saluted him for the last time.

Soldiers from Special Operations Task Force 33 formed a cordon leading to the ramp as his brothers in arms serving as pallbearers escorted Miller’s remains into the aircraft’s empty cargo area, the release said.

“He was always quick to volunteer and never thought it should be any other way. On numerous occasions when the Detachment was faced with a difficult task, Robby would just stand up and say, ‘I got this one, I’ll do it, send me,’” Capt. John Bishop of Special Operations Task Force 33 and Miller’s former detachment commander, said at the ceremony.

The release stated that on Jan. 25 Miller was leading a team of Afghan security forces and other coalition soldiers during a combat reconnaissance patrol in Konar Province, near the Pakistan border when insurgents hiding in a structure attacked Miller’s team.

A fellow teammate called for close-air support to drop ordnance on the insurgent position, which momentarily disrupted the attack. But when the combined patrol moved toward the structure to check for any remaining enemy threats, the insurgents again fired using heavy weapons.

Miller’s team captain was seriously wounded within the first minutes of the attack, and while he was being moved to safety, Miller returned fire, remaining at the front of the patrol to lay down suppressive fire on several enemy positions.

Even while injured by direct enemy small arms and machine gun fire, Miller continued to fire his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and grenades to suppress enemy fire and protect his teammates, who gained cover and also returned fire.

Miller, who was one of eight brothers and sisters, enlisted as a Special Forces trainee on Aug. 14, 2003, according to the release.

He graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course on Sept. 26, 2004, and the Special Forces Weapons Sergeant Course Mar. 4, 2005.

During his last deployment to Afghanistan from August 2006 to March 2007, Miller received two Army Commendation Medals for Valor for his courage under fire, the Army release said.

Miller returned to Afghanistan for his second tour in October 2007, where he served as a weapons sergeant for his team.

There were so many reminders of people doing extraordinary things and the others going off to enjoy themselves instead of knowing what and who this day is for, will never know what they were missing. If they think they have problems, they will never know what it is like to see them fade away in front of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. If they think they are tied or sore, they will never know what it's like to shake the hand of a young soldier in a hospital bed recovering at the same time he says he wants to go back or hear a young female MP missing a leg to say how lucky she feels to be alive. They will spend their days thinking of their own lives, their own problems and never once know what it's like to stand near a hero who was unselfish and risked their lives for all the other things we get to enjoy. Like a day to honor the fallen who gave all.

Maybe it will dawn on them as July 4th comes why we get to celebrate that day as well, but I doubt it.