Memorial Day - Gratitude and Honor

12:48 pm on May 26, 2008 by Infidelesto

Today we remember those who have fallen for the cause of promoting freedom and defending the rights of all men. God Bless those troops who’ve given their ultimate sacrifice and God Bless those families who have lost loved ones.

I thought this would also be a good time to share with you my experience today.

I found out about a memorial set up each year (since 2003) one week before Memorial Day & taken down one week after Independence Day. Now there are efforts in the works to make this memorial permanent. The city of Irvine has approved $150,000 of the estimated $387,000 costs for a permanent memorial at Northwood Community Park. This will include a new arc memorial with the interior wall displaying the names of those who’ve fallen in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I wanted to see it first hand so I went over and took some pictures of the memorial.

Pictures below the fold

Freedom Is Not Free

WWI 1917-1918
KIA 116,516

WWII 1940-1945
KIA 405,339

Korean War 1950-1953
KIA 36,568

Vietnam War 1964-1975
KIA 58,203

First Gulf War 1990-1991
KIA 382

Iraqi Freedom 2003-present
KIA 4082

See more photos of the services that have been held at the memorial. This place has drawn huge crowds the last couple years.

There is more information at NorthwoodMemorial.com

You can also watch a short documentary here, if you’re interested in seeing the story behind the memorial.

More news coverage of the impact this memorial has had on the community.

We come here everyday

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors to provide fresh flowers, water, ribbons, bows, flags, pictures, information, wreaths, mementos.

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors to look, to read, to think, to ponder.

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors to help.

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors to greet each other.

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors to sadly add to this memorial.

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors to light candles.

We come here everyday as friends and neighbors to hear taps.

Let us not ever forget why we come here every day.

We come here everyday.

There Are 6 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by Vicki on 26 May 2008:

    Beautiful photos, and a beautiful memorial. I hope they do make it permanent.

  2. Pingback by » Memorial Day - Gratitude and Honor NoisyRoom.net: Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace. Amelia Earhart on 26 May 2008:

    [...] From Infidels Are Cool: [...]

  3. Comment by Storm-Rider on 26 May 2008:

    A word of thanks to my Dad - God rest your soul dad, for standing and fighting like a free man in World War II; so your beautiful grandchidren are free today.

    Free men fight harder and fight better - free men love life and hate evil.

  4. Comment by Tonto (USA) on 26 May 2008:

    Thanks for posting this.

  5. Comment by Karen Tintori on 26 May 2008:

    Thank you so much for posting this and for taking so many moving photos. May all our fallen heroes rest in peace, and may their memories be a blessing to their families.

    We owe them everything for their greatest sacrifice.

    Karen Tintori, author
    Unto the Daughters: The Legacy of an Honor Killing in a Sicilian-American Family
    http://www.karentintori.com

  6. Comment by Watcher on 26 May 2008:

    Great photos. Hopefully, the memorial will become permanent.

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