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Post by Moderator on Sept 28, 2009 8:04:51 GMT -6
ECHOTAPS WORLDWIDE Armed Forces Day May 19, 2007 EchoTaps Worldwide was a cooperative effort of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - National Cemetery Administration and Bugles Across America to create awareness of VA programs and the availability of volunteer buglers to render Taps at the funerals of Veterans. Volunteers sounded a cascade of Taps at 11:00 AM local time on May 19, 2007 at American Battle Monuments Commission sites overseas, National Cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery, National Park Service Cemeteries, and participating State Veterans Cemeteries across America. The Military Salute Project coordinated the event at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The ceremony included patriotic music, a Parade of Colors, speakers, a Rifle Squad salute, and a Cascade of Taps in honor of those who have given the last full measure of devotion. Participants and guests included active-duty Military, Veterans, families of those who have given their lives serving America, first responder organizations, and civic and patriotic groups that support America's Military, past and present. ---------------------------------------------------------- Event Sponsors ...Event Coordinator ...Principal Participants ...
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Post by Moderator on Jul 25, 2011 22:36:09 GMT -6
EchoTaps Worldwide
Armed Forces Day - May 19, 2007 Fort Snelling National Cemetery - Minneapolis, MNCeremony is Free and Open to the PublicPROGRAMMain Gate opens at 8:00 a.m. Tribute To The Troops motorcycles enter Cemetery at 9:35 a.m. Minnesota Patriot Guard Riders enter Cemetery at 10:05 a.m. The Minnesota State Band begins the Prelude at 10:30 a.m. Ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m.Arrival of Tribute To The TroopsArrival of the Minnesota Patriot GuardPrelude (Minnesota State Band) Call to Order (Minnesota State Band) Welcome (Merrilee Carlson) Invocation (Lt. Col. Kenneth Beale, Jr.) Parade of Colors[/i] (Minnesota State Band)[/ul] The National Anthem[/i] (Minnesota State Band)[/ul] The Pledge of Allegiance (Jean Duane) Introduction of Speakers (Merrilee Carlson) God Bless America (Minnesota State Band) Honor and Remember[/i][/ul] The Last Full Measure of Devotion (Minnesota State Band) Rifle Salute (Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association Honor Guard Rifle Squad) Cascade of Taps
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Post by Moderator on Jul 25, 2011 22:39:11 GMT -6
Transcript of the speech delivered by Jeff Seeber on May 19, 2007 for EchoTaps Worldwide at Fort Snelling National Cemetery ...
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Thirty-seven years ago, almost to the day, I was in a hospital bed watching helplessly as the third of three buddies spent everything he had left in a futile attempt to live long enough to see his 20th birthday. All three of them, one a United States Navy FMF Corpsman and two United States Marine Corps Infantrymen, had been wounded in Vietnam, survived the arduous trip back to the United States, and yet, despite the heroic efforts of the medical staff at Great Lakes Naval Hospital, they died, one by one, for a cause they each believed in and for the same cause I believed in.
I would later learn that none of them received Military funerals. That was a common occurrence back then. Families of Servicemembers had enough grief visited upon them without seeking additional trouble by laying their sons to rest with Military Honors. I made a pledge to my 3 buddies in the summer of 1970. I promised that I would some day publicly acknowledge their service ... that I would publicly Honor and Remember them.
As the years turned into decades, it appeared I would join them WITHOUT honoring my oath. The only people who seemed to care were those who served alongside us. Then, September the Eleventh, Two-Thousand One happened. I cannot speak for all Vietnam-era Veterans, but I can speak for myself and for the hundreds who have contacted me since EchoTaps Worldwide was announced last year. I have a message for all of you wearing the uniform, a message for all of you who have worn the uniform since Nine-Eleven, a message for your families, a message for the families of those who have given their lives.
Your willingness to put on a uniform and do what others cannot or will not do, your willingness to interrupt your lives for this Nation, the blood you have shed to defend us, the lives your brother and sister Servicemembers lost so that others could experience freedom, are directly and solely responsible for liberating hundreds of thousands of Vietnam-era Veterans. Your sacrifice has allowed those of us who proudly served some four decades ago to come back from the perimeter where many of us exiled ourselves, to return from the wire because we had intentionally separated ourselves from those who shunned us, and to rejoin the America many of us thought had vanished.
Here are two brief illustrations to make my point. In late spring of 2002 after Operation Enduring Freedom was well under way, we had an appliance break-down in our house. The two repairmen who responded were in their late 20's, maybe early 30's. They noticed some of my Navy stuff sitting on the shelves and asked a couple of polite questions. Both of them said they had never served during the conversation that followed. As they approached the front door on their way out, one of them reached out to shake my hand and said, "Thank you for your service." The other one extended his hand, saying, "Welcome Home."
Thankfully, they left immediately. Thankfully, a couch was only one short step away. Thankfully, there was a very large box of Kleenex sitting on the coffee table. It had taken 32 years for someone, anyone, to thank me for my service. It would not have happened except for your sacrifice.
And then a year or so ago, I was sitting in the VA Medical Center in-between appointments having coffee with 3 other guys. Because of the baseball caps we were wearing, it was obvious we were Vietnam-era Vets. As we sat there talking, a Marine suddenly appeared at our table. He was in dress uniform. He placed a five-dollar bill on our table and said, "It would be my privilege to buy you guys a cup of coffee. Welcome Home." He left as quickly as he had appeared.
Those of us who have served all do the same thing when approached by someone in uniform. We look for the rank or rate insignia first. Then we look at the ribbons. Then we look at the face. It took maybe a minute before any of us could speak. It seemed like a day. We remembered he was a Lance Corporal. All of us noticed his Purple Heart. We guessed he was maybe 20 years old, 22 tops. One of the guys remembered that the Marine was limping as he walked away. None of us had read his name tag. Purposely trying not to make eye contact with anyone sitting near me, I looked away and saw a guy at the next table giving me a "thumbs up". So, whoever you were, Lance Corporal, you made a group of old Veterans feel very good.
It's supposed to happen the other way around, but there is obviously something very special about your generation. To you and to all who serve with you, in all of the Branches, all of their families, and especially the families of the fallen, THANK YOU.
Something else happened after Nine-Eleven that no one saw coming. I have spoken with many Veterans who served during Korea, Vietnam, throughout the Cold War, during Desert Storm and Bosnia, who wonder how different things may have been for us if groups like the Patriot Guard Riders and Tribute To The Troops had been in existence back then.
I have had the privilege of riding through a tunnel of American flags held by the Minnesota Patriot Guard at the funeral of a friend when the PGR had just begun to spread across this nation. I have had the honor of standing with them in this very cemetery on September Eleven last year, on the fifth anniversary of the very reason why Specialist Lee was being buried that day.
While there are many Veterans among the ranks of PGR members, most are not. That makes what they do and why they do it all the more special, in my opinion. When strangers who have not worn the uniform come together with those who have, to stand in honor of my brother and sister Veterans, and especially in support of the families burying their loved ones who died while serving this Nation, they provide a comfort that will last as long as those of us who served with them, or shared lives with them, knowing that their deaths were not in vain. I don't know if the PGR members behind me can hear us, but I respectfully request that you join me in thanking them with your applause.
About a year after the families of the fallen have buried their loved ones, when the phone calls have tapered off, when the cards of condolence have become few and far between, it is only natural that they might wonder if anyone remembers. Then, one day out of the blue, someone from Tribute To The Troops calls and asks if they can stop by the house during their annual Tribute ride. On the appointed day, dozens of strangers on motorcycles ride up their driveway, maybe bearing a picture of their loved one, maybe presenting some small memento that suddenly becomes larger than life itself, just to let the family know, YES, WE REMEMBER. There are no words to describe how important that is to those families. I ask the Tribute To The Troops riders to rise and be recognized.
There are likely as many reasons for being here today as there are people in attendance. I think it's safe to say all of the reasons are in some way related to the theme of EchoTaps ... Honor and Remember. On behalf of the Minnesota Platoon, I will read a few lines of The Last Full Measure of Devotion, because they summarize why my group wanted to coordinate this commemoration. "And for those who did survive, and came back home alive, they join in praise of comrades who were slain. And highly resolved, most highly resolved, that these dead shall not have died in vain."
Now, I want to say to my three buddies, today is for you, guys. Anchors Aweigh and Semper Fi.
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