Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow. Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth. Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand: "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

-Ruth Apperson Rous

The following was written by a Vietnam veteran and former neighbor of mine after a visit to the Vietnam Memorial in WashingtonDC.

"We all served with honor, devotion to duty and love of country. We all know people that gave varying degrees of themselves serving with us, 'All Gave Some, Some Gave All' but it doesn't stop there. Just like the survivors of the victims of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks there are many scars being carried by others. On Monday last week I was down at the wall with some more of our brothers, I was wearing my Vietnam jungle fatigue jacket. We had paid our respects to our departed comrades in arms and were going over to the Lincoln Memorial when I noticed two ladies my age, both were sobbing. I walked up to them and extended my hands and said to them 'If I could remove your pain, I would'. One of the ladies took my hand but the other bolted up and put a neck lock on me and started crying uncontrollably. I hugged her back and held her while her emotions flowed forth. My accompanying friends came over and started talking to the second lady and consoling the lady draped around my neck. After quite a while the crying started to subside and she finally eased herself from my arms and started looking at my outfit. We engaged in some small talk and she told me she was from Massachusetts. She had lost her husband and brother in Vietnam and later she lost her son in the Persian Gulf war. This was her first trip to the 'Wall' and she realized how she had lost it. She thanked all of us for the comfort we extended and we then walked on knowing that the combatants are not the only ones that carry scars. There are many scars that are carried everyday by survivors. These scars may be visible or invisible, but they are there.

So while we honor our dearly departed brothers and sisters on this Memorial Day let us not forget the others that also carry and share the burden and price of Freedom."

God Bless you all.

God Bless America!!

Dave ([email protected])