Tired, wet, miserable, 3000+ miles from home. Could you have had the courage to disembark and do your job in the face of machine gun fire and entrenched sharpshooters? Men falling everywhere always wondering if maybe the next one was going to be you. Blood and body parts everywhere, dead men washing in and with the waves. Think about who you are today could you have done this? Could you have been there on those beaches and fought to survive and liberate Europe from the NAZI stranglehold? Regular guys like you and me did, they fought and died that day; acts of courage and valor too many of us will never know and luckily will never have to know. Damn this country produces such great people too many we will never know the names of. Thank you to all of those that fought that hellish morning in the first wave. We will never forget what those soldiers who died there did for mankind. Thank a vet.
It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.
- Anonymous
Casualty estimates for Allied forces vary, but range from 2,500 to more than 5,000 dead on D-Day. Adding to the confusion is that D-Day books and histories often count wounded, missing and troops taken prisoner.
On its Web site, the D-Day Museum in Portsmouth, England, says an estimated 2,500 Allied troops died. The U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, D.C., numbers 6,036 American casualties, including wounded and missing. The Heritage Foundation in Washington estimates 4,900 dead.
"It's very difficult to get accurate figures. People get buried. Bodies disintegrate. Evidence of the deaths disappeared. People drowned," said John Keegan, author of "Six Armies in Normandy: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris."
He estimates 2,500 Americans and 3,000 other Allied troops died on D-Day.
More than 19,000 civilians in Normandy also died in Allied bombing before and after D-Day to soften up German defenses. And Allied air forces lost nearly 12,000 men in April and May 1944 in operations ahead of the invasion, the D-Day Museum says.
Even as the ranks of veterans who survived the assault and the push into Germany thin with time, work on tallying the dead continues.
Carol Tuckwiller, director of research at the National D-Day Memorial Foundation in Bedford, Va., has spent four years combing through government, military and cemetery records for names of Allied dead on D-Day. She hopes to have a figure by next year.
"We feel like we're probably going to end up with a total of about 4,500 fatalities for both the Americans and Allied countries. Right now, we have about 4,200 names confirmed," she said. "Of course we realize we may never be 100 percent complete."
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Non Sibi Sed Patriae
Just something I came across in my travels. We must never forget.
Non Sibi Sed Patriae
General Charles C. Krulak, USMC
Commandant of the Marine Corps
Commencement Remarks for the Uniformed Services University at the DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC, 16 May 1998
Thank you Admiral Zimble for that very kind introduction.
First let me say what a pleasure and an honor it is for me to be here this morning.
Like most of you in the audience, I too have a loved one that is graduating today.... And, I too feel that overwhelming sense of pride from seeing a person I cherish garner such a high achievement.
I am also honored to address the future leaders, researchers, and healers of the medical profession the graduates of the [F. Edward] Hebert School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Nursing, and the Graduate School of Medicine. And, it is to these men and women that I would like to speak for the next few minutes.
Last month, I had the opportunity to visit the island of Iwo Jima. Known to the Japanese as Sulfur Island, it is a hot, bubbling, volcanic atoll that to this day, still has active sulfur vents.
During February and March 1945, it was the scene of one of the most horrific battles of World War II. During the 36-day campaign to take that island, a Marine fell to Japanese fire every two minutes ...every two minutes for 36 days a Marine was killed or wounded. It was the only battle, in the history of our Corps, where Marines suffered more casualties than the enemy.
Today, the island still bears the scars of that titanic struggle....It is a place heavy with history and long-on memories....The winds that constantly blow across the black sands of the Iwo Jima beaches seem, at times, to carry the voices of the warriors that fought there so long ago. It is a mournful and reverent place....
Joining me on that tortured ground was the family of the late John Bradley. They had never been there before, and they wanted to see where their husband and their father had fought.
John Bradley, who survived the battle, rarely spoke to his family about his experiences on Iwo Jima. When pressed, he would gloss over and downplay how he had won the Nation's second highest award for bravery-- the Navy Cross.
He earned that decoration by rushing to the aid of two wounded Marines, and then shielding them with his body while he tended to their wounds. When Bradley hurried to their aid, he didn't exactly rush ... he crawled ... crawled, because he had been shot through both legs just a few minutes before. Another reason the Bradley family wanted to visit Iwo Jima was because they wanted to see the site of the most famous battle photograph ever taken ...the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi.
That memorable event ...captured in a bronze and granite sculpture ... is known today as the Marine Corps War Memorial. Five Marines and one Navy Corpsman took part in that flag raising -- three did not survive the battle.
The Navy Corpsman did ... and as you have probably guessed ... his name was Pharmacist Mate 2 John Bradley.... Let me encourage you to visit the War Memorial one day ... run your hands across the cool granite ... step back and read the engraved words: "Where Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue" ... and then, let your eyes travel up to the sculptured figures.... young men ... forever captured in bronze.... Look for Corpsman John Bradley, you'll recognize him ... he's the one with the empty canteen pouch.
You see, prior to climbing Mount Suribachi, he gave the last of his water to a dying Marine.... On hot ... bubbling ... Sulfur Island, John Bradley would go the next 24 hours without water....
What I want to talk to you about today goes beyond bravery ... goes beyond sacrifice ... I want to talk to you about selflessness.... John Bradley was a brave man and he sacrificed greatly, but most of all, he was selfless. His brave acts were not done for any reward ... nor were they intended to be captured by NewsCam 4 or CNN ... there was no public glory in what he did. In fact, men under fire rarely speak of glory ... instead ... they speak of: "who can be counted upon and who cannot. " Above all, they speak about and remember the small individual acts of selflessness.
When Felix de Weldon, the sculptor of the Marine Corps War Memorial, asked John Bradley what had happened to his canteen -- John couldn't even remember ... in the heat of battle, he had completely forgotten. But, the surviving Marines of Bradley's unit knew ... and they remembered ... and they told de Weldon the story of his sharing his water. Selflessness is unforgettable ... even small acts of selflessness are unforgettable.
Today, when you leave here, you will find yourselves placed into positions of great responsibility. You will be men and women of letters and possess a special and unique educational experience. That alone, will cause the mantle of responsibility to be thrust upon you. And because of who and what you are, you must don that mantle of responsibility. With responsibility comes many challenges.
These challenges normally are translated into choices.
A choice to operate ... a choice for therapy ... a choice to do nothing....
But of all the choices you will face, there is none greater than the choice between self ... or selflessness.
Is the benefit for you ... Or, is it for your team? ... Or your patient? ... Or your clinic? ...Or your family?....
Over the chapel doors at the United States Naval Academy is a simple Latin inscription -- Non Sibi Sed Patriae -- "Not for self, but for country." Simple, but powerful.... Selflessness takes time to develop.
Rarely does a man or woman suddenly grow a brain and a spine in the middle of an operating room or on a battlefield.
Likewise, rarely does a person develop a sense of selflessness in a single moment in time. Spontaneous selfless acts rarely happen. Instead, they are built on a strong moral foundation and then carefully layered by doing the right thing ... time and time again.
All of you possess a strong character ... strong morals ... and a strong sense of duty. Let me encourage you to add to those strengths a spirit of selflessness. That spirit is within you now ... draw from it ... use it ... and encourage it from others. Use it to lead ... to build your team ... and to serve those you know and those you know not.
John Bradley gave the last of his water to a wounded Marine on 23 February 1945. That afternoon, he was struggling to climb the fire swept heights of Mount Suribachi.
The next day, he braved enemy fire to aid two wounded Marines and just a few days later, though wounded himself, he again braved enemy fire to aid two more Marines. It was not for sense of self that he performed those brave deeds. It was for others ... for those he knew and for those he knew not.... Deep within his soul, John Bradley instinctively understood that:
Non Sibi Sed Patriae, is contagious. After aiding those final two wounded Marines, Corpsman John Bradley ... badly wounded ... lost consciousness. He awoke 36 hours later aboard the hospital ship USS Solace. How he arrived there is unknown. The names of those Marines and Sailors that carried him off the fire-swept field of battle ... who placed him on the small boat ... who carried him to the ship ... have been lost to history ... only their selfless deed remains.... Even small acts of selflessness are unforgettable.
Thank you and Godspeed....
Non Sibi Sed Patriae
General Charles C. Krulak, USMC
Commandant of the Marine Corps
Commencement Remarks for the Uniformed Services University at the DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC, 16 May 1998
Thank you Admiral Zimble for that very kind introduction.
First let me say what a pleasure and an honor it is for me to be here this morning.
Like most of you in the audience, I too have a loved one that is graduating today.... And, I too feel that overwhelming sense of pride from seeing a person I cherish garner such a high achievement.
I am also honored to address the future leaders, researchers, and healers of the medical profession the graduates of the [F. Edward] Hebert School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Nursing, and the Graduate School of Medicine. And, it is to these men and women that I would like to speak for the next few minutes.
Last month, I had the opportunity to visit the island of Iwo Jima. Known to the Japanese as Sulfur Island, it is a hot, bubbling, volcanic atoll that to this day, still has active sulfur vents.
During February and March 1945, it was the scene of one of the most horrific battles of World War II. During the 36-day campaign to take that island, a Marine fell to Japanese fire every two minutes ...every two minutes for 36 days a Marine was killed or wounded. It was the only battle, in the history of our Corps, where Marines suffered more casualties than the enemy.
Today, the island still bears the scars of that titanic struggle....It is a place heavy with history and long-on memories....The winds that constantly blow across the black sands of the Iwo Jima beaches seem, at times, to carry the voices of the warriors that fought there so long ago. It is a mournful and reverent place....
Joining me on that tortured ground was the family of the late John Bradley. They had never been there before, and they wanted to see where their husband and their father had fought.
John Bradley, who survived the battle, rarely spoke to his family about his experiences on Iwo Jima. When pressed, he would gloss over and downplay how he had won the Nation's second highest award for bravery-- the Navy Cross.
He earned that decoration by rushing to the aid of two wounded Marines, and then shielding them with his body while he tended to their wounds. When Bradley hurried to their aid, he didn't exactly rush ... he crawled ... crawled, because he had been shot through both legs just a few minutes before. Another reason the Bradley family wanted to visit Iwo Jima was because they wanted to see the site of the most famous battle photograph ever taken ...the raising of the American flag on Mount Suribachi.
That memorable event ...captured in a bronze and granite sculpture ... is known today as the Marine Corps War Memorial. Five Marines and one Navy Corpsman took part in that flag raising -- three did not survive the battle.
The Navy Corpsman did ... and as you have probably guessed ... his name was Pharmacist Mate 2 John Bradley.... Let me encourage you to visit the War Memorial one day ... run your hands across the cool granite ... step back and read the engraved words: "Where Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue" ... and then, let your eyes travel up to the sculptured figures.... young men ... forever captured in bronze.... Look for Corpsman John Bradley, you'll recognize him ... he's the one with the empty canteen pouch.
You see, prior to climbing Mount Suribachi, he gave the last of his water to a dying Marine.... On hot ... bubbling ... Sulfur Island, John Bradley would go the next 24 hours without water....
What I want to talk to you about today goes beyond bravery ... goes beyond sacrifice ... I want to talk to you about selflessness.... John Bradley was a brave man and he sacrificed greatly, but most of all, he was selfless. His brave acts were not done for any reward ... nor were they intended to be captured by NewsCam 4 or CNN ... there was no public glory in what he did. In fact, men under fire rarely speak of glory ... instead ... they speak of: "who can be counted upon and who cannot. " Above all, they speak about and remember the small individual acts of selflessness.
When Felix de Weldon, the sculptor of the Marine Corps War Memorial, asked John Bradley what had happened to his canteen -- John couldn't even remember ... in the heat of battle, he had completely forgotten. But, the surviving Marines of Bradley's unit knew ... and they remembered ... and they told de Weldon the story of his sharing his water. Selflessness is unforgettable ... even small acts of selflessness are unforgettable.
Today, when you leave here, you will find yourselves placed into positions of great responsibility. You will be men and women of letters and possess a special and unique educational experience. That alone, will cause the mantle of responsibility to be thrust upon you. And because of who and what you are, you must don that mantle of responsibility. With responsibility comes many challenges.
These challenges normally are translated into choices.
A choice to operate ... a choice for therapy ... a choice to do nothing....
But of all the choices you will face, there is none greater than the choice between self ... or selflessness.
Is the benefit for you ... Or, is it for your team? ... Or your patient? ... Or your clinic? ...Or your family?....
Over the chapel doors at the United States Naval Academy is a simple Latin inscription -- Non Sibi Sed Patriae -- "Not for self, but for country." Simple, but powerful.... Selflessness takes time to develop.
Rarely does a man or woman suddenly grow a brain and a spine in the middle of an operating room or on a battlefield.
Likewise, rarely does a person develop a sense of selflessness in a single moment in time. Spontaneous selfless acts rarely happen. Instead, they are built on a strong moral foundation and then carefully layered by doing the right thing ... time and time again.
All of you possess a strong character ... strong morals ... and a strong sense of duty. Let me encourage you to add to those strengths a spirit of selflessness. That spirit is within you now ... draw from it ... use it ... and encourage it from others. Use it to lead ... to build your team ... and to serve those you know and those you know not.
John Bradley gave the last of his water to a wounded Marine on 23 February 1945. That afternoon, he was struggling to climb the fire swept heights of Mount Suribachi.
The next day, he braved enemy fire to aid two wounded Marines and just a few days later, though wounded himself, he again braved enemy fire to aid two more Marines. It was not for sense of self that he performed those brave deeds. It was for others ... for those he knew and for those he knew not.... Deep within his soul, John Bradley instinctively understood that:
Non Sibi Sed Patriae, is contagious. After aiding those final two wounded Marines, Corpsman John Bradley ... badly wounded ... lost consciousness. He awoke 36 hours later aboard the hospital ship USS Solace. How he arrived there is unknown. The names of those Marines and Sailors that carried him off the fire-swept field of battle ... who placed him on the small boat ... who carried him to the ship ... have been lost to history ... only their selfless deed remains.... Even small acts of selflessness are unforgettable.
Thank you and Godspeed....
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