tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post8656776117528508159..comments2024-03-22T05:18:29.555-04:00Comments on Romance Bandits: Pro Patria MeaLoucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02217492654108300014noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-4784205194146293142011-08-16T01:41:44.178-04:002011-08-16T01:41:44.178-04:00Nancy, Your post is a wonderful tribute to your pa...Nancy, Your post is a wonderful tribute to your parents and their military service. I enjoyed reading it. - JonJon Maloneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07600521585136851870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-5075053544624144362008-05-26T22:48:00.000-04:002008-05-26T22:48:00.000-04:00Gannon, I somehow missed CDR Donovan in my earlier...Gannon, I somehow missed CDR Donovan in my earlier comments. I'm so sorry to have omitted that and sorry for your loss.<BR/><BR/>Beth, your father-in-law sounds great!<BR/><BR/>Anna, I hope Sgt. Massey will soon return safely home. Yes, McCallum is now on NCIS. Very good! I loved Memphis Belle. It's a great buddy movie as well as a war movie, I think.<BR/><BR/>Doglady, I've always wanted to see the wall, and now I'd like to see the WWII memorial as well. As for going Air Force, I can see wanting to get out of the mud. Rumor has it that's the cushiest branch of the service, relatively speaking.<BR/><BR/>Virginia, thanks for stopping in. Glad you liked the blog.<BR/><BR/>Trishl, your husband's babysitter sounds pretty cool! <BR/><BR/>Thanks to everyone who stopped by today.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705259501965011703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-64248691604039090132008-05-26T22:15:00.000-04:002008-05-26T22:15:00.000-04:00gannon, so sorry about your husband's friend, and ...gannon, so sorry about your husband's friend, and thanks to your husband for his service.<BR/><BR/>Minna, sorry about the loss of your cousin in Vietnam.<BR/><BR/>Kate, that's sweet about being your daddy's lucky charm.<BR/><BR/>My family's service on my mother's side goes back to the Revolution. My two earliest ancestors to come over to what would become the USA came in the 1700s and served in the Revolution.<BR/><BR/>This isn't a relation, but we know this older guy who, along with his wife who is now deceased, used to babysit my husband when he was little. This guy was a paratrooper for the 101st Airborne and told us stories about how he parachuted down behind Nazi lines in Germany. During one mission, he was the only one of his group to make it out alive.<BR/><BR/>I forgot to mention the movies. I recently watched Memphis Belle, which I enjoyed. Also liked Pearl Harbor.Trish Milburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08812010789617982102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-37365450454522441352008-05-26T22:04:00.000-04:002008-05-26T22:04:00.000-04:00Great post! I would like to honor all of the men a...Great post! I would like to honor all of the men a women who has served our country in the past and the presant.Virginiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06924888528166831610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-13278128422801697722008-05-26T22:03:00.000-04:002008-05-26T22:03:00.000-04:00Doglady! Isn't that the most wonderful cemetery?! ...Doglady! Isn't that the most wonderful cemetery?! It and the one in South Carolina - is it Beaufort? - are so incredibly moving. Even the one in my husband's home village, just outside Cambridge, is amazing - it has German soldiers buried there.Anna Sugdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02015356374453032571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-82374314985193199162008-05-26T21:53:00.000-04:002008-05-26T21:53:00.000-04:00Gannon, please convey my deepest respect and appre...Gannon, please convey my deepest respect and appreciation to your husband for his service to our country. And give your friend my heartfelt sympathy and appreciation of her sacrifice on 9/11.<BR/><BR/>What a great bunch of posts. Thanks, Nancy for starting us off on a terrific Memorial Day. I visited the American Military Cemetery in Cambridge, England and it was so poignant and awe-inspiring even to my ten year old self.<BR/><BR/>When I went to Baltimore for the opera auditions we decided on a whim to stop by DC. My Mom and Dad were with me and we got to see the Vietnam Memorial. My Dad spent much of the time searching in silence for certain names on the wall. I always knew when he found one of the many pilots he knew. He would stop and press his palm to that name and bow his head. You have to understand my Dad was a very old-fashioned, stoic, John Wayne type. He was an Air Force mechanic. He kept those planes in top shape so those pilots would make it home. Sometimes they didn't and he took it very personally.<BR/><BR/>I think Nancy asked why he switched from Army to Air Force. After Korea he decided if he was going to be wet, cold, tired and dirty - he would rather the dirt be engine oil and not mud!dogladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03392561174583932552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-56167099371724546342008-05-26T21:21:00.000-04:002008-05-26T21:21:00.000-04:00Nancy - no, we don't have a day for Dunkirk, but w...Nancy - no, we don't have a day for Dunkirk, but we're proud of our Dunkirk spirit *grin*.<BR/><BR/>Isn't David McCullum in NCIS now?<BR/><BR/>Hmmm I don't know if I have a favourite war movie - A Town Like Alice is probably it. There are lots of good ones, I know. I do have a lot of favourites which are based at the time of war - like Brief Encounter and Enchantment and Yanks.<BR/><BR/>And if you like stories set in that time - I highly recommend Elizabth Elgin's sagas. All The Sweet Promises is fabulous - about WRNS during the War.Anna Sugdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02015356374453032571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-35912907230853552122008-05-26T21:16:00.000-04:002008-05-26T21:16:00.000-04:00Can I give a shout out to my dear friend Francella...Can I give a shout out to my dear friend Francella's twin sister who is serving out in Iraq ... Sgt Francine Massey of the 325th Hospital Cash Unit based at Camp Alasad. We're all hoping Francine will be coming home to NJ soon and we're so proud of the work she's doing out there.Anna Sugdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02015356374453032571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-89534535399219802892008-05-26T20:40:00.000-04:002008-05-26T20:40:00.000-04:00What a great post, Nancy! Thanks for sharing *g*My...What a great post, Nancy! Thanks for sharing *g*<BR/><BR/>My father-in-law, a Pathfinder for the 101st, was a true inspiration and a wonderful man and one of my real life heroes *g*<BR/><BR/><BR/>Thanks to all the men and women who serve our country!!Beth Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01204356784898045866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-76088907217716424842008-05-26T20:09:00.000-04:002008-05-26T20:09:00.000-04:00Thanks to everyone for the kind words about the po...Thanks to everyone for the kind words about the post. Everyone's contributions helped make it what it is. <BR/><BR/>Minna, thanks for the information on the holidays there. I'm sorry about your cousin.<BR/><BR/>AC, thanks for adding your father-in-law and nephew.<BR/><BR/>Anna C., that's a wonderful story about the furniture. <BR/><BR/>I think The Great Escape is a lot of people's favorite movie. Some people glom onto Steve McQueen in that movie, but I prefer David McCallum, who went on to become Illya Kuryakin of UNCLE (or maybe already was).<BR/><BR/>Jeanne, that's interesting about your family in the Civil War. You have long NC roots! That's so sad about the boy who ran away to WWI. Glad you liked the clips.<BR/><BR/>Anna S.--Dunkirk? You have a day for Dunkirk? That evacuation fascinates me. One of the most interesting things for me when we toured the tunnels at Dover was hearing how Channel Command had planned and supervised it from there.<BR/><BR/>Pat, that's an amazing list. I'm in awe of such a service tradition. I'm sorry some of them are no longer with you, but I can see why you're so proud.<BR/><BR/>Joan, thanks for the link on service support.<BR/><BR/>Tawny, thanks for adding to your other information. I think the chivalrous tradition of not shooting at medics died around WWI. Maybe earlier.<BR/><BR/>Helen, I'm glad your cousin made it back from Vietnam.<BR/><BR/>Suz, thanks for reminding us about the military medical staffs. My father owed a lot to navy nurses and doctors. The TV show JAG did an episode that paid tribute to navy nurses in one of its later seasons.<BR/><BR/>Claudia, thanks for adding your father-in-law and mother. My mother heard her first swear word in the navy--in a softball game, if I remember correctly.Nancyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13705259501965011703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-32767058803825424942008-05-26T19:44:00.000-04:002008-05-26T19:44:00.000-04:00Nancy, thank you for such a lovely tribute and rem...Nancy, thank you for such a lovely tribute and reminder.<BR/><BR/>Congrats on the GR, Pam!Fedorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10879033776125666713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-79436193156823081422008-05-26T19:38:00.000-04:002008-05-26T19:38:00.000-04:00What a lovely tribute! I would like to honor my la...What a lovely tribute! <BR/><BR/>I would like to honor my late father, who served in the Marines in WWII and my father-in-law, who served on a mine-sweeper in the Navy, WWII. And my late mother, who was a nurse in a VA Hospital in the post WWII years. <BR/><BR/>Stories? My mother said she heard her first swear word from the doctors in the hospital, particularly the OR, and went on to learn all the rest of the curse words from the disabled vets. <BR/><BR/>My dad didn't deny the charge so much as laugh at it.Claudia Dainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07018678621098546704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-8282118190165891802008-05-26T19:27:00.000-04:002008-05-26T19:27:00.000-04:00Hey, everyone.After posting about my previous expe...Hey, everyone.<BR/><BR/>After posting about my previous experience with supporting active military personnel in the Middle East, I heard this website advertised on the radio.<BR/><BR/>www.operationmilitarysupport.com <BR/><BR/>This organization has been in existence for 4-5 years and provides addresses of service members who do not get mail etc.<BR/><BR/>I now have an address of a PFC and am drafting my letter. Really, there is nothing better than getting to know these guys and gals and doing even a small bit to keep their spirtis up.Joanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12566704374877697300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-30398626946683790312008-05-26T18:39:00.000-04:002008-05-26T18:39:00.000-04:00Lovely post for Memorial holiday, Nancy. I'd like ...Lovely post for Memorial holiday, Nancy. <BR/><BR/>I'd like to add a special remeberance of all the nurses who have served throughout the years. My mother-in-law, Peggy Staten Welsh was an Army nurse during WWII, stationed on the east coast. <BR/><BR/>One of my favorite nursing instructors, Norma Gurklis was an army nurse during the Korean conflict. And I have had several friends over the years who were nurses in Viet Nam.<BR/><BR/>And a friend of mine, Jack Freeman CRNA, recently went back to his second tour in Afghanastan as a nurse anesthetist.<BR/><BR/>Without their skills or dedication under stressful situations many of our soldiers might not have made it home.Suzanne Ferrellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761579189372602292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-44800892982535248082008-05-26T18:01:00.000-04:002008-05-26T18:01:00.000-04:00Thanks for the name of the movie everyone it was s...Thanks for the name of the movie everyone it was such a moving story. <BR/>So many people we need to honour and praise for all the work they did for us.<BR/>I had a cousin who went to Vietnam with and Australian singer Normie Rowe as well and he never talked about it at all when he came back but thankfully he came back.<BR/>Have Fun<BR/>HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03984438742736003285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-15879789987113049702008-05-26T17:41:00.000-04:002008-05-26T17:41:00.000-04:00Congratulations, doglady!I would like to honor my ...Congratulations, doglady!<BR/><BR/>I would like to honor my family members who have served our country:<BR/><BR/>John Veloz, US Army, W.W.II<BR/>Alfonso Veloz, US Navy, W.W.II<BR/>Faustino Veloz, US Merchant <BR/> Marines, W.W.II<BR/>Salvador Veloz, US Army, W.W.II<BR/>Pete T. Castillo, US Army,W.W.II<BR/>Henry Colunga, Sr.,US Navy,W.W.II<BR/>John H. Cochran, US Army, Korea<BR/>Frank Castillo, Jr.,US Navy, Viet<BR/> Nam<BR/>William Castillo,US Navy,Viet Nam<BR/>Sylvester Castillo, US Navy, Viet<BR/> Nam<BR/>David Garcia, US Army, Desert Storm<BR/> & Operation Iraqi<BR/> Freedom, Iraq<BR/>Juanita C. Estrada, US Army, <BR/> Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq<BR/> -daughter of Frank Castillo, Jr. <BR/>Kevin Estrada, US Army, Iraqi<BR/> Freedom, Iraq<BR/>Tony Henriquez, US Marines, <BR/> Operation Iraqi Freedom, Iraq<BR/><BR/>The first eight have passed away<BR/>and the last two of our Viet Nam<BR/>veterans are well. All four of<BR/>our Iraq veteran are home safe <BR/>and sound. God bless all of our<BR/>own veterans! God bless all who<BR/>have served and who are now in<BR/>service to our country!<BR/><BR/>Pat CochranPat Cochranhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11997396930842831460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-32324089127584323672008-05-26T16:30:00.000-04:002008-05-26T16:30:00.000-04:00Anna - just like the Brits and their Dunkirk spiri...Anna - just like the Brits and their Dunkirk spirit!<BR/><BR/>Nancy - the tradition of poppies is another wonderful one ... and it raises money for veterans/families of veterans at the same time. I can't imagine not having a poppy on Remembrance Day - it's interesting that all public figures also wear their poppies with pride - from newsreaders to football managers.<BR/><BR/>Minna - fascinating how different countries have different wars to remember, yet we all try to honour those who serve.Anna Sugdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02015356374453032571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-36679372795182420502008-05-26T16:22:00.000-04:002008-05-26T16:22:00.000-04:00What a lovely post and a fabulous tribute Nancy :-...What a lovely post and a fabulous tribute Nancy :-) Thank you!!!<BR/><BR/>My Grandfather served in the Army as a medic during WWII and my husband served in the Army as well - I'm grateful and awed by their strength and commitment -theirs and everyone who serves.Tawnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14076851566613018105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-22399886222333434432008-05-26T15:46:00.000-04:002008-05-26T15:46:00.000-04:00Wow, Gannon! Picture me awed about your DH's serv...Wow, Gannon! Picture me awed about your DH's service. I have a friend whose DH is about to retire from the Navy after many year's service as well. Wow. And my sorrows and sympathies to your friend's family. That was a dark day here in DC, and around the world.<BR/><BR/>Nancy, those links to the UTube clips are fabulous and moving.Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03492480881584553111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-19387896614056101942008-05-26T15:41:00.000-04:002008-05-26T15:41:00.000-04:00Joanie, I think you're right about the Sullivan br...Joanie, I think you're right about the Sullivan brothers and the ship. The whole movie Private Ryan is about that too - bringing home a soldier if all the other sons serving have perished, the rule for which is also based on the Sullivan family losing all their sons to service.<BR/><BR/>Wish they'd realized it in the Civil War. In one of my ancetral families they lost 5 sons and a bunch of cousins - practically an entire generation - in Company K from N. Carolina.Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03492480881584553111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-61551525778913332682008-05-26T15:38:00.000-04:002008-05-26T15:38:00.000-04:00Wow, Pam, what a great story about your Dad. Oh, ...Wow, Pam, what a great story about your Dad. Oh, and congrats on the GR! Guess he's headin' to L.A. today, eh?<BR/><BR/>Helen, I've read stories about the gassing, and its awful. Also, my father was a Surgical Tech in WWII and he talked about gas patients and how terribly hard it was for them. My DH's family has a wild story about one of the wayward sons who ran away to join the circus - really - then lied about his age and joined up to serve in WWI. The only way his family knew what had happened to him was that he put his mother down as next of kin to be notified when he died. Which he did, and is buried in France as well. His mother went to France with the Gold Star Mothers program to see his grave in the late 1920's. So sad, eh?Jeanne (AKA The Duchesse)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03492480881584553111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-27757449285098280382008-05-26T15:20:00.000-04:002008-05-26T15:20:00.000-04:00Nice post. I do not have anyone close to me in the...Nice post. I do not have anyone close to me in the military. I do wish that our men could come home and be with their families.<BR/>Happy Memeorial Day!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-83239182736222079602008-05-26T15:19:00.000-04:002008-05-26T15:19:00.000-04:00Wow, Nancy, this was such a terrific post.Happy Me...Wow, Nancy, this was such a terrific post.<BR/>Happy Memorial Day, everyone!limecellohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16331447498798826649noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-14830023446323362852008-05-26T15:15:00.000-04:002008-05-26T15:15:00.000-04:00Gannon, that's so sad about your friend. As Helen ...Gannon, that's so sad about your friend. <BR/><BR/>As Helen said, our version of Veterans' Day is Anzac Day which I think is the most important public holiday we have here. It's interesting - Anzac Day commemorates a defeat, the Gallipoli campaign in the Dardanelles in World War I. I think there's something very significant to the national character that we don't celebrate a victory, we commemorate all those men who lost their lives in a hopeless battle.Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3815530646091177574.post-5776463269427167902008-05-26T15:11:00.000-04:002008-05-26T15:11:00.000-04:00Nancy, what a marvelous, moving post. Thank you so...Nancy, what a marvelous, moving post. Thank you so much for sharing your parents' stories with us. And it was also really moving to see the list from the other Banditas. <BR/><BR/>I don't have any close relatives who served in the military although I have uncles by marriage and blood great-uncles who did. The furniture in this house was carved by my mother's uncle Loll Hansen who signed up for WWI at the age of 16 and lost a leg in France. <BR/><BR/>I think my favorite war movie is THE GREAT ESCAPE. <BR/><BR/>Pam, congrats on the rooster!Anna Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06695579361323275316noreply@blogger.com