(Some thoughts for Memorial Day from CA-10 Candidate Anthony Woods… – promoted by Brian Leubitz)

The willingness to make the “ultimate sacrifice” in defense of our country stands as the enduring value which binds every active duty serviceman, servicewoman, and every veteran of the United States military.

Each Memorial Day we are reminded—and rightly so—of the courageous Americans who have given their lives in defense of our nation–between 1 million and 1.3 million since the American Revolution, depending on whose numbers you read.

Indeed the willingness to make that sacrifice is the pre-requisite-along with adherence to a strict code of conduct and respect for the chain of command—to joining an impenetrable fellowship as diverse as the nation every veteran has pledged their lives to defending.

As the son of a veteran, a West Point Graduate and Iraq War Veteran, Memorial Day will always be a day of gratitude, of solemn reflection, and remembrance for me.  

Gratitude for the courage and untiring loyalty of the 81 soldiers I was proud to command during my two combat tours in Iraq.  And a special appreciation for the fact that I was able to bring every one of them home alive.

Solemn reflection upon the near misses that are impossible to forget–like the roadside bomb attack 4 members of my unit narrowly survived during my first tour, the intensity of urban combat in Tal Afar, and the carnage of suicide bomb attacks on civilians in Baghdad.  

And remembrance of the friends I came to know at West Point, during officer training, or on the sands of Iraq—those who made the “ultimate sacrifice,” the families they left behind, and those who may have left Iraq, but are still a long way from really “coming home.”

At parades and ceremonies across our country this weekend, we will read names, recite stories of battlefield heroism, and recommit ourselves to the cause of keeping our nation’s promise to honor and care for all veterans, past, present and future.  And we must.

If we watch and listen closely this weekend, we’ll see that the capability to serve, and the willingness to make the “ultimate sacrifice” for America is not limited by era, branch, rank, age, gender, or the popularity of the mission they were called to serve.  The reading of the names of the fallen will make no mention of race, ethnicity, marital status, the number of children left behind, religion, political affiliation, or sexual orientation.

And why?

Because what matters in defending America has never been our differences, but the common cause, common values, common bonds and the shared sacrifices that unite all who serve.

That said, and in light of ongoing policy debates about who gets to serve in our military, it is important to remember, that among those who have given their lives for America, and among those who have stepped forward with a willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice in defending America today, are large numbers of every conceivable demographic group…

…including members of the LGBT community.

For example, the Urban Institute estimates that of the 27.5 million living American Veterans, about 3%, or 1 million, are gay or lesbian.  

If we apply this trend over history, that means that at least 35,000 of the 1-1.3 million Americans that have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country since the American Revolution were gay or lesbian.  That’s more than the total number of Americans Killed in Action during Iraq, Afghanistan, Desert Storm, Pearl Harbor, the War of 1812 and the American Revolution COMBINED.

Military leaders have reported that approximately 65,000 members of the LGBT community are currently serving in the Armed Forces —substantially more than the total number of U.S. troops currently fighting Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.  

And every day, at great cost, two more servicemen and women who have volunteered to give their lives if necessary in defense of our country are forcibly discharged for reasons with no relation whatsoever to their capacity to fight for the freedom of others.

I would know.  I was one of them.

So as we honor our fallen heroes this weekend, and recommit ourselves to all who wear the proud uniform of our nation, I hope we can remember that for more than two centuries, protection of the land of the free has never been the responsibility of a narrow ideology, or a singular demographic—but by the willingness of brave Americans, from every walk of life, to step forward and if necessary, to make “the ultimate sacrifice.”

May God protect every single one of our troops.

Anthony Woods

Democrat for Congress, CA 10

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The Leibham campaign has just wrapped up their week-long series of events honoring Memorial Day, which they called "Bring Our Troops Home Week." A summary of all the events is below the fold. It was my pleasure to join them for the highlight of the week, visiting patients at the VA hospital in La Jolla and delivering gift baskets.

The group was assigned to the spinal cord injury unit. Most of the patients were from the first Gulf War or Vietnam; La Jolla VA is a center of excellence for spinal cord injuries, so they were from all across the western states–Nevada, Colorado, Arizona to name a few. They travel to the La Jolla VA annually for 3-4 days filled with tests and evaluations. The medical care was universally praised. The food, not so much. 🙂 One woman said she ordered her meals delivered from a variety of local restaurants! And many were especially grateful for the fudge included in Nick’s gift baskets.

Visitors are prohibited from campaigning, and the group was meticulous about observing these rules. But many patients eagerly broached the topic of politics on their own, sharing their anti-Bush sentiments. Of those who said anything, anti-Bush feelings were unanimous. Most of the time it came up in off-hand jokes/mocking/derision. The most heart-breaking was a veteran of the first Gulf War, a mother whose son is now in the military. She said she didn’t mind being deployed since it was her duty, but watching her son was too much for her. She choked up while expressing her hope for a new president with a new direction. Nick’s volunteer’s response was simply, “A lot of people are working really hard to make that happen.” Amen.

Although seeing paralyzed young guys back from Iraq was as every bit as harrowing as you would imagine it to be, it was–unexpectedly–seeing the aging veterans that hardened my resolve more than ever to get us out of Iraq. Seeing so many who weren’t really that old, but whose bodies were deteriorating in a thousand ways, well beyond their age, I began to realize how the subtler, more invisible damage of war can accumulate. A Vietnam veteran who escorted the group said that service[wo]men who have seen and survived combat still have 10-20 years shorter life expectancy than their civilian contemporaries. We have all heard how damaging stress is for the body–but seeing the evidence a few years down the road, and seeing it so starkly and visually…I have no words.

Nick spent a full hour and a half at the hospital. It was touching to see an emotion that maybe can best be described as resolve on his face during the visit. Now let me say that having spent several years as a twice-weekly volunteer at an emergency family housing shelter, we regulars developed a (admittedly somewhat elitist) contempt for the one-time feel-good volunteers. What bugged wasn’t that it was one-time–we all have different priorities–but the uncomfortable this is ickier than what I expected expression on the faces of so many. So bravo to Nick and co., who walked right in with confidence, real warmth and a sense of humor (and no icky expressions). Even for those with unusual abundance of tact and warm hearts, carrying on a normal chat with someone laying down and hooked up to various hospital machines is not easy. Double the difficulty when the war is so emotionally-charged. And–speaking just for myself here–triple the difficulty when there’s a whole foreign language going on between the veterans, having to do with their division, rank, assignments, specialties, friendly rivalries, and so on, that I’m largely clueless about. Nick has evidently spent enough time on military issues to be more fluent in this culture than I am.

Leibham’s Memorial Day/Bring Our Troops Home Week events:

• Monday: Nick will attend the Allied Veterans Council Annual Memorial Day ceremony in Escondido and the City of Solana Beach and VFW ceremony at the Veterans Memorial at La Colonia Community Park.
• Tuesday: Nick will release a statement condemning Bilbray’s recent vote against the G.I. Bill and our Veterans.
• Wednesday:  Nick and volunteers assemble care baskets for Iraq veterans at the VA Hospital.
• Thursday: Accompanied by members of Veterans for Peace and American Combat Veterans, Nick will personally deliver the care baskets to Veterans of the War in Iraq at the V.A. Medical Center in La Jolla.
• Friday: Nick will release a two-page statement on the War in Iraq emphasizing his commitment to a timetable to bring our troops home by 2009.

One thing I’d like to highlight is Leibham’s statement on Bilbray’s vote against the 2008 G.I. Bill. It is shameful that Bilbray and other Republicans would still walk lock-step with Bush on this war. But if they insist on doing so, the least they can do is also take the best possible care of our veterans. Bilbray voted against the 2008 G.I. Bill, which would allow our troops to attend college. He had the nerve to do this just a couple weeks before Memorial Day. I really can’t explain it–I don’t think Republicans realize how much trouble they will be in this Fall.

UPDATE: Now available in orange, please give it a rec.

(Full disclosure: I am connected with the Leibham campaign in that I signed up to be on their volunteer list. As it turns out, I've been too busy and/or lazy to actually ever do any volunteering. I support vigorous primary seasons. If you must know, on June 3rd, I'll be voting for Leibham.)

(Go Congressman!- blogswarm;
Now cross-posted at MyDD! Go over and rec it! : ) – promoted by atdleft)

NOTE: The initial inspiration for Jerry McNerney to advocate this action was a Daily Kos diary titled “Will he still love me?” by testvet6778; this is also cross-posted on Jerry’s Blog… – Eden w/ McNerney for Congress

Today is Memorial Day, a time to recognize and honor the men and women who have given their lives in service to our nation for over two centuries, from the American Revolution to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

While this day is always a solemn national event, I know many Americans are feeling a profound sense of pain on this particular Memorial Day. The thoughts and feelings you have expressed to me about how to support our troops in this time of war — in-person at my “Congress At Your Corner” events, by phone, through email, or in the hundreds of comments on my blog — is a reflection of that deep sentiment.

More below the fold, including a very important action you can take to support our veterans living with Traumatic Brain Injury and an update on our effort to save the Livermore VA hospital from being closed…

While our country may be divided about how best to support our troops in these conflicts abroad, this day is about uniting to remember those who have given their all to our nation.

Today, you can join millions of your fellow Americans in reconciliation and respect by observing the “National Moment of Remembrance,” a national minute of silence at 3 p.m. local time. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada says, this is “a way we can all help put the `memorial’ back in Memorial Day.”

We have a duty as Americans to remember the people who have sacrificed for our country. And, we also have a duty to take care of returning veterans whose body, mind or spirit may be wounded in the conflicts they fight abroad. That’s why I’ve recently led the effort to pass legislation that will significantly increase funding and research into Traumatic Brain Injury (or “TBI”), often caused by roadside bomb explosions.

Last year, I asked you on Memorial Day to financially support a grassroots organization called “Operation Helmet,” which provided special blast-protective headgear to troops in combat to prevent TBI. Your generosity — and the response by thousands of other Americans — was so profound that Operation Helmet recently announced that it no longer needed to solicit donations.

This year, no matter your feelings about the war, I want to ask you to join together again in collective action to heal our soldiers and our nation. Bob Woodruff, the former ABC News anchor who suffered a serious brain injury after a roadside bomb explosion last year, has founded the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury to help soldiers suffering from TBI to receive cognitive rehabilitation.

http://www.bobwoodru…

On behalf of all the veterans who continue to suffer the ill effects of these horrific injuries, today I would like you to seriously consider making a contribution of whatever amount you can afford to the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Rest assured that contributions to the Woodruff Family Fund will actually go to the cause of caring for our veterans. When you click the “Donations” link at the web site above, you will be redirected to the Brain Injury Association of America. Under the section “Program Area," please click the scroll bar to select “Bob Woodruff Family Fund for TBI” as the recipient of your donation.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this important request on this solemn day.

Sincerely,

Jerry

P.S. Many of you have recently asked me how we can save the veterans hospital facility in Livermore from closing due to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs federal budget cutbacks. Rest assured that I will continue to focus my energy on keeping the Livermore VA hospital open and potentially expand its services to help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

With growing support for my PTSD proposal for Livermore from major newspapers across our region, there is a growing consensus that keeping the Livermore VA open and reshaping its mission would be in the best interests of our veterans. You can read those newspapers editorials and other posts on my efforts to keep the Livermore VA open by clicking here to read the “Veterans Affairs” section of my campaign blog.

(Pretty powerful stuff – promoted by SFBrianCL)

The organizers started putting up the crosses at 5 am Memorial Day. There were 2,465, one for each US soldier killed in Iraq since fighting began there, and each had the name of a soldier attached. Visitors found members of their families and friends who had been killed in action. More at montereycountydemocrats.org