forgive me if this is tough to read....

im writing this from my heart..and i cant really see well thru the water in my eyes.... :smile:

i just got a call from my son, who is at this moment in pakistan (didnt know it till he told me, and he wasnt supposed to)....havent talked to him in about 8 months, and it was great....he called just to tell me "thanx dad, i love you..." hes a great kid..."lol" kid...hes 27 now... and he remembered me on this veterans day ....my heart is full, and my life is complete...i can now die a happy man, as i finally believe he understands the sacrifices made to preserve the ideal of freedom...and i finnally think he has become a man... :smile:

i just wanna say, to peoples on both sides of the "big pond", take a minute, shake a veterans hand, and tell them how you feel.....if they didnt do what they did, we couldnt do what we do, the way we do it....

this has always been a tough day for me, as the memories come flooding back, both good and bad, and i sit in solitude most of the day, reflecting....not sure its a healthy thing, but it is what it is....

thanx for listening guys....and to all my fellow veterans, "thank you".....

Doc Brass.... :dodgy:

Veterans Day? Is that when it is in America... just odd, I'm used to calling it Armistice Day y'see :smile:

thats nice to hear though Brass, I wouldn't wish the horrors of the sights of war upon anybody. Despite my disagreements with conflict and war, I never say a bad word about the soldiers - they are doing a job that not many can, and their lives are in the hands of polticians. Utmost respect for veterans, and especially on this day commemorating the end of the Great War, a lot of needless bloodshed and young lives wasted :sad:

i tell ya gwilliam, this has been the happiest day i could imagine .....ive wondered where the hell he is, what hes doing, and is he even still f**king alive.....and i hate that feeling....i appreciate yer thoughts bud....means alot to me, and countless others.... :wink:

Alex

ps...i think ive finally grown up too, as 20 years ago, id have prolly just grabbed a jug and drank till i dropped...life is good

i always have mixed feelings for days like this.. people died to preserve an ideal, you can never praise them enough for that sacrifice, and the fact they its posthumous doesn't help much either, i guess you can just give all the more to the surviving ones.

but on the other side of the coin is the thinking, if you could go back to the 40's ( or any war period of your choosing) and inform the people about to die, how this world has turned out, would they still be as willing to commit the most important sacrifice of all, the giving of their lives?

i try to always look at it in the most positive of lights possible, but i cannot help thinking that those people died in vain, cause many of our current generation cannot remember any other life style than the one they currently have, and in doing so ignore the gift they have, and were given.

my sentiments go out to any vets we may have at snarkpit, no matter the origins of their birth.

be good

acknowledged, agreed, and im thinking, "damn i hope yer wrong Jon"....with the state of the world today, im also thinking that their war is just beginning....much to my dismay...

Doc Brass....

I stand at attention and salute you, my fellow Vets. We've been thru the good and the bad, the funny and the sad, the hot and the cold, the blood and the tears.

Thanks for the goosebumps, Dr. May your Son and all in war today find Peace and Solitude.

• Petty Officer 3rd Class / Aviation Machinits Mate / United States Navy. Served Gulf War aboard USS Pharris. Helicopter Mechanic HSL-32 H-2 SeaSprite Helicopter.

return salute, and thanx Doc....well spoken sir... :smile:

Uss Grayback SS 574...team 3 ... US Navy... Vietnam 75'-76 ..petty Officer 3rd Class, engineman

Doc Brass....

ps....i just realized, this has been cathartic for me.....thanx for indulging me fellas....the pit does rock! :smile:

altho, i hold no veteren statis ( there were no conflicts of note while i served) i do hold them in reguard..

Sgt. Jon E. Rickenbacker Jr. USAR, Co.B 489th Eng.batt. 420 brgd. 2nd armored div. 1980-1985

demolition specialist and squad leader.

hand salute jon..... :smile: yer a good man.....and ya know where im coming from.... :wink:

Doc B

been wearing a poppy for the last week.

korny, it pleases me to no end that you would take the time and make the effort to show yer appreciation....yer a good man..... :wink:

Doc B... :dodgy:

ps....you guys might get a kick out of this....i just drove my ass all the way down to the DMV to get my new plates for my truck....ya'd think that i'd remember that the gov. offices are closed on vets day... ....gee...is my face red?....early senility rears its ugly head.... :biggrin:

lol my wife was gonna go down to our local courthouse to do the same thing, and I told her it would be closed. Next sentence she says "we didn't get any mail today hmm?"

I just hadda laugh. :smile:

ROFLMAO!!!....cool....i feel vindicated!....

Doc B.... :dodgy:

while were on the subject of war.
http://www.callofduty.com/

best ww game ever, an american publisher that actually included the british & the accents sound proper.

waiting for the sdk to come out in a few days, Moving on to its engine. Had enough hl. CoD has probably the best single player ive ever played & a great mp to boot.

Since its built on Q3 engine, The modding community shouldnt be too bad & even without the sdk released there are a few server side mods out already.

ive seen the demo reels for this....and it looks very intense and true to form korny....i regret to say though, i think im gonna have to break down and dig deep for a new vid card....seems every game thats worth a s**t these days has such intense graphics that my Nvidia tnt2, which i really like, is just not gonna be up to the task///

grrrrrrrr...

Doc Brass.... :dodgy:

lol, yeah. I think ati are releasing a new card or somesuch soon, so the 9600 will go down in price prolly. Thats the best budget card out imo. Ive been uber happy with mine so far.

cool....ill definately check one out....thanx kornman... :smile:

Doc B... :dodgy:

Might as well post some shots of the map im working on ready for when the CoD level editor omes out. Its a church, Any comments are welcome. I just didnt wanna post it on a new thread in maps.

:eek: ....WOW!!!....and this is in what editor?

Doc Brasso... :dodgy:

lol, just in VHE. The editor for CoD hopefully should read .map files. so il build some now & texture it once the editor comes out.

ahhhhh.....very saavy my friend....w00t!

Doc B... :dodgy:

Nice. Can you go inside too? I have great trouble making scaled and proportioned buildings that you can enter.
As always, the topic takes a U-turn in direction.

Korn, that looks excellent. All you need is a couple of nice stained glass textures to add colour. Gj :smile:

Doc.. im happy you got to hear from your son..

RETURN SALUTE! to all our Vets and Serving members, as well as those still on the line.

My Wife and I both serverd in the US Army. She was a much better soldier than I ever was tho.

( this is a holy war, and is by no means done just because we said it is )

($)

thanx money....started out as a depressing damn day, and shot straight to heaven as soon as he called....its been the best vets day i can remember in a long, long time....**return salute... :wink:

Doc Brass... :dodgy:

Up here in Canada we call it Rememberance Day eh?

Rememberance Day here in aussie land too

/me salutes our vet's from all over

Today is really weard for me because I feel sad for all the lives that were lost in the wars but very very thankful to the men that went in to them to save the Ideal and then I feel happy cos its my sisters birthday as well.

/me salutes all the men alive or dead of all the wars.

and korn thats looking really nice I'm looking forward to when its got even more to it.

Our own death is probably the second best thing we can give for what we believe in, the first being our life, our devotion.

Once one sits back and realizes that people have died to make sure I and the things I believe in lived, it's quite amazing, really.

*salutes

Just got back from the memorial... Good to see this hasnt turned into a political/philosphical debate YET :wink:

Hey Guys check this out.. My Sister posted this on her blog.. I think it says it all.. its a good tribute to veterans everywhere.

http://www.margilowry.com

its like the 3rd or forth story down.. She is a real blabber mouth.. =) but I love her none the less. =)

($)

after an especially emotional day for me, i have to say, i am struck by the posts in here guys.....i thank you all from the bottom of this old heart; as i said , what started out to be a really s**tty day for me has turned out to be one of the best veterans days i can remember...in large part to you guys here at the pit....i consider you all my friends, with much pride in my heart for you guys allowing me to be a part of your community...thank you. if you can believe this, (and i know its a rareity) im kinda at a loss for words....if i can ever do anything for any one of you, dont hesitate to ask.... :smile:

Doc Brass... :dodgy: ...and cheers.. :beerchug:

and money, i read that set of comments too after the poem, which was excellent btw....thanx for that....if i ever run into that SOB who wrote the obnoxious comment after it, well, lets just say, there WILL be one less assholeistic idiot in the world... :wink:

No offense to you or your sister MS, but I really dont understand bloggers. Why do so many people flood the net with details from their personal lives expecting us to care about it? It's the internet extension of people who need external gratification to keep up their own self-esteem.

"OMG I can post my opinions on teh intar-web!!1 Here ill tell my entire life story to random people!1".

Guess what, NOBODY CARES! You are not a beautiful and unique snowflake! Get over it.

</rant>

Hmm that came off a bit harsh. Well anyways, I just find the whole phenomenon to be a bit odd.

I approach these topics with trepidation, since they often turn into flames. It's good to see this one hasn't :smile: From that, I judge that my thoughts are unlikely to ruin it.

For me, I mark Vet's Day (or Poppy Day over here) by taking a little time to think about the soldiers who went through the horrors of any war. I think about what might have happened if the Allies had not fought as they did, although I don't stray too far down the foggy and treacherous path of "what if".

More to the point, I think about all the people who were called upon to fight. Whether they joined to protect freedom, or joined because that's what their friends were doing, or joined because they were forced, or joined for the excitement of it all, or joined because they wanted to make dad proud - they all suffered, whatever their motives. Most of them were very young men. Those who survived were often emotionally or physically scarred for life. That is a great sacrifice to make, no matter what banner you stand under.

"The bad guys" suffered too. The German soldiers felt fear, pain and were scarred just as were the Allies. I consider them Vets too.

All soldiers past have a special insight into human life and nature that is forever denied me. I am lucky that I will never (I think) be forced to learn their sad wisdom; that is the freedom that I am grateful for, and the measure of my respect.

Well said Gollum..

Maze.. I agree man.. I am a pretty snow flake :eek: .. and I am over it.. =) lol I understand where your coming from, but my sisters site is the only one I ever read.. at least I know she is ok and all that just by reading her blog. Pretty sad really, the damn BLEEP cant call her brother, mother, grandmother etc.. and give us a heads up. We have to read about it on the web. Sorry im ranting..

I grew up in a military family, Grandmother & Mother worked at White Sands, Grand Father was in the Navy, Dad was in the Army, Step dad was in the Special Forces. So I was in the army as well.. I have seen the pride in all thier faces, and the bitterness too. WWII they were welcomed back with open arms, after Vietnam they were spit in the face, Desert Storm, paraded as heros. So I know all to well where your coming from Gollum.

($)

in one way or another, in thinking, or actions, we all essentially said the same thing, for that i am glad.

i realize that this is a touchy subject, and it is such a relief when it goes as it should, rather than another chance to stick pins in people, just because you can.

i read and re-read, the more heartfelt posts in this thread and think, "wow" we finally did it, we came to terms and accept that its ok, to have another opinion.

i think,and always will, its the survivors who need our time, and sympathy.

no matter your origin, you are a vet... in a way, even the non-combatants of any war torn region are vets.

/me bows to the more gifted among us for speaking so well.

hey...its a new day....

back to the grind..... :smile:

mike, your intellect is surpassed only by your genuine ability to put things in perspective....well done sir... :smile:

one last comment from me, and ill leave you folks alone on this one....after reading these posts again, for like, the umpteenth time, i really am glad to know you folks....i was also afraid this would degrade into a flamethrowing contest, as yes, it is a very touchy subject......that was a factor i really hadnt weighed when i first started it...i just wanted to articulate as best i could, the absolute joy i was feeling at the moment.....i did, and you guys took the care to see that and responded in kind.....i am grateful. :smile:

.....and the articulation that ensued post Brass-slobbering was incredible....any of you ever head toward Omaha, or anywhere in a 500 mile radius, lemme know, i'd be honored to buy you a beer or ten...

Doc Brass... :dodgy:

People have died for great and just things, people have died for horrible and destructive ideals, but really, the ability to persevere and do battle for what you believe in, no matter what that is, is admirable.

cass, you are the first to put a thorn in my craw on this topic......no offense.

.......and i choose to shut up about it, just to keep this post....civil. :wink:

Doc B.......

i read cass's post as positive doc.. but i am just that way i guess.

maybe that WAS the intent, and that is EXACTLY why im going to shut up about it.....i refuse to let this post degrade....it was one of the vbest i have encountered on this site, in my mind.... :wink:

peace....Doc B