This photo is from a gorgeous memorial in Boston honoring the US Soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. Today, 269 days ’til 40, I am thankful for the men and women who serve in the armed forces. Even when I do not necessarily agree with the decisions the US government makes regarding the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, I have tremendous respect for the men and women who have dedicated themselves to serve our country. They are brave, they are heroes. Nothing more needs to be said.
~400daystil40
Fortuitous Forty!!! 
walkwiththerabbi
May 28, 2012 at 00:32
Succinct and yet sufficient. Amen sister.
jensine
May 28, 2012 at 01:14
love the photo
400daystil40
May 28, 2012 at 23:07
Thanks, it was far more powerful in person.
jensine
May 28, 2012 at 23:08
I bet, that is always the way
buckwheatsrisk
May 28, 2012 at 05:14
that picture is so moving, and i too am grateful for their sacrifices and that of their families left behind to wait for them…
400daystil40
May 28, 2012 at 23:07
Yes, it was a very powerful memorial.
Spider42
May 28, 2012 at 12:21
Nice.
My thoughts on wars and ethics and duty and all that aside, I have a lot of respect for the “grunts”, the soldiers who must live by the “mine is not to reason why, mine is but to do and die” code because like the man said, “if you don’t follow orders, people die!”. That goes both ways a lot of the time but the soldier on the ground, the facing fire and not in an armchair or a control room is the one LITERALLY putting his life on the line for something they believe and for their loved ones and homes.
These are the soldiers who should be honoured and remembered and taken as models for what a soldier should be… there are the ones who make all soldiers look bad, the rotten eggs, but they are few and far between and in the end will be forgotten while the honourable dead shall live in the hearts of others and the heart and soul live on forever.
Cheers.
400daystil40
May 28, 2012 at 23:06
Yes, well said!
charlesmashburn
May 28, 2012 at 15:06
I agree!
viveka
May 28, 2012 at 16:17
we don’t have anything like this at all … in Sweden and we should really have it,m because we have lost soldiers too through the wars. Think it a beautiful gesture – in UK the have the poppy day, 11th of November.
400daystil40
May 28, 2012 at 23:05
Yes, I think it is important for every country to remember its fallen soldiers. It is for respect to them and their families.
viveka
May 29, 2012 at 00:21
Yes, I agree but there need to be a lot more than just remembering for them – and for all the of them that had their life’s destroyed and still alive – fare too many of those too.
400daystil40
May 29, 2012 at 10:37
Yes, so very true – they need a lot of support.
rachturner
May 29, 2012 at 20:44
Yes.