Shrink
08-14-09, 06:27 PM
For All:
The news and TV seems to be full of celebration recalling the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock. There is nary a mention of another anniversary which means a great deal to many of us. My friend Seamus forwards the article below:
On the 15th thru the 18th of August in 1969 approximately 500,000 young Americans gathered together in a rural setting. For many of them it was their first major trip away from home. They encountered plenty of rain – and mud – and heat. It was a hassle to get there. No one ever expected it would get to be so huge. They camped in the open. Basic sanitation was scarce. But they came together as one – intent on making the world a better place. The bonds of friendship that were formed would never be broken. Years later they would tell their friends “I was there…” Their experiences would forever change them. It was a major event in American history – memorialized in movies, books, and recordings.
You might have thought I was talking about Woodstock….40 years ago this weekend. I wasn’t.
I was talking about Vietnam. 500,000 of our finest young men and women were fighting to protect the freedom of a people a half world away. They were fighting to protect a fledgling country that had asked for our help.
During the 4 days of Woodstock – while Jimi Hendrix; The Who; Country Joe and the Fish; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; and Canned Heat played….111 Americans paid the ultimate price in the mountains, jungles, and rice paddies of Vietnam – and hundreds more were wounded.
Several years ago David Crosby visited ‘The Wall’. This music legend from Woodstock had come to pay his respects and said of these soldiers “they were some of the best of a generation…”
Richie Havens sang of ‘Freedom’ at Woodstock. Always remember that ‘Freedom is not free’. 58,261 Americans on this Wall paid for it with their lives.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2207/2105612231_2cfde021d3_m.jpg
The news and TV seems to be full of celebration recalling the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock. There is nary a mention of another anniversary which means a great deal to many of us. My friend Seamus forwards the article below:
On the 15th thru the 18th of August in 1969 approximately 500,000 young Americans gathered together in a rural setting. For many of them it was their first major trip away from home. They encountered plenty of rain – and mud – and heat. It was a hassle to get there. No one ever expected it would get to be so huge. They camped in the open. Basic sanitation was scarce. But they came together as one – intent on making the world a better place. The bonds of friendship that were formed would never be broken. Years later they would tell their friends “I was there…” Their experiences would forever change them. It was a major event in American history – memorialized in movies, books, and recordings.
You might have thought I was talking about Woodstock….40 years ago this weekend. I wasn’t.
I was talking about Vietnam. 500,000 of our finest young men and women were fighting to protect the freedom of a people a half world away. They were fighting to protect a fledgling country that had asked for our help.
During the 4 days of Woodstock – while Jimi Hendrix; The Who; Country Joe and the Fish; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; and Canned Heat played….111 Americans paid the ultimate price in the mountains, jungles, and rice paddies of Vietnam – and hundreds more were wounded.
Several years ago David Crosby visited ‘The Wall’. This music legend from Woodstock had come to pay his respects and said of these soldiers “they were some of the best of a generation…”
Richie Havens sang of ‘Freedom’ at Woodstock. Always remember that ‘Freedom is not free’. 58,261 Americans on this Wall paid for it with their lives.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2207/2105612231_2cfde021d3_m.jpg