Thank you!

Memorial Day is about honoring those who have fallen while defending our country. The holiday’s origins date back to May 5th 1868:

On May 5, 1868, Gen. John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, officially proclaimed the holiday, and on May 30 of that year, flowers were first placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery.

As you read this we have soldiers abroad doing what their country has asked of them in both Iraq and Afghanistan. These wars have been going on for a decade now and while casualties have been kept low compared to other historical conflicts, it is important to remember that not all of our troops will be coming home.

In the Afghanistan War we have lost 1594 American soldiers since 2001. Last year was the deadliest year of the Afghan War for US troops since it began, we lost 499 men and women in 2010.

The Iraq War, which began in 2003, has cost us a total of 4454 lives thus far and countless injuries. Thankfully, the amount of US troop casualties in Iraq peaked in 2007 and has declined each year since.

If you want to read blogs more specific to the military, I suggest Milblogging.  Amazing!

 

taken directly from: http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/The-Reformed-Broker/2011/0530/Memorial-Day-remembering-what-it-s-really-about

Do you know Nowzad?

I am a big fan of Icanhascheezburger, but if you have ever read my blog, you already know this. I check it about once a day to get my daily smile or giggle.  Recently, I came across some pics of some soldier heroes who had saved some kittens. Here’s just one:

I read some of the comments associated with these pics on the site and was a bit astounded to see a few indicate that the soldiers need to spend more time with the Afghan people helping them. They are!  But they also need to have more than just a singular purpose in their lives. Do you have just one purpose in your life – to work?  Do you not have friends, family, movies, books, restaurants, parks, and a myriad of other choices every single minute of your life?   For those few who commented like that, I say STFU.

I find every single person in our military to be selfless heroes who protect freedom in this world. I don’t know that I could do what they do and some, repeatedly, having gone back for more than one tour.  If you would like to see more about what our soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq are doing, please visit Nowzad for more information.  I know, some say I am a bleeding heart when it comes to animals. Well so be it.  It’s who I am. I routinely provide money to various animal charities throughout the year and I will continue to do so.  I believe our pets are our family.

My family, Menley then Mew: