On ‘Mothers Day’ I updated and posted/sent this:
As Of May 14 ’06, Mothers Day, There Are 61 Pages w/5 ‘Silent Honor Rolls’ Each, Number Of KIA’s Varies With Each ‘Silent Honor Roll’;
In Honor – In Memory, in some comments, as a signature in E’s, and as a posting on the few group boards I belong to, as well as over at my site where it’s on the right hand side along with a number of site links etc., where I update it every few weeks.
I waited till today, Fathers Day, to once again make a visit, give ‘Honor To The Fallen’, of Iraq and Afganistan, and Update the Above. Todays will be updated with this:
As Of June 18 ’06, Fathers Day, There Are 62 Pages w/5 ‘Silent Honor Rolls’ Each, Number Of KIA’s Varies With Each ‘Silent Honor Roll’;
In Honor – In Memory
On fridays show I sat and watched the changing photos, names, information on 20 More who have Fallen, in Silence as was the Television!
I’m a long time viewer of the PBS NewsHour, and still am, but I find I dread the feeling as the show is closing, not knowing if another ‘Silent Honor Roll’ will be shown, and total sadness when one is, rarely now do they miss a day.
This was started right at the beginning and has been a regular feature as they receive Confermation, Photo’s, and abit of Information on Each. Thus their vigil lags some from actual reported deaths because they give each the same ‘Honor’. They don’t just show a name than later update, they wait and add each in similar ‘Honorable’ fashion. Other MSM media outlets will attempt an Honor of the Fallen, but this is the Only One I know of that has been Consistant this whole Tragic Time!
These are the Faces of Fathers/Mothers, future Fathers/Mothers, Uncles/Aunts some might have become standin Fathers/Mothers to the young who might loose one or both, they are Major parts of Family Structures no matter what the future might have held for each.>p>
On this day also keep in mind the Fathers/Mothers of the Countries of Iraq and Afganistan that exist No Longer, wiped from the face of the Earth in these last short 4 or so years, their ties to lives and families are No Differant, for We Are All The Same!
Also Especially keep in mind the Many Children who have also been Completely Wiped from this Earth, numbers will never Actually be known except by their loved ones who may or my not still exist! Think also of the Surviving Children and the Devestating Trauma’s of War they exist in, 24/7, and what it is doing to them, for what now does the future hold for them!
A Fathers’ Day Statement
by Michael Berg
Of all of the holidays a grieving father can be confronted with after the death of his child, Fathers’ Day is for me the most difficult.
My son Nick died in Iraq on May 7, 2004. He is buried next to my father, who had died just a year and a half before. That is not the way it’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to go somewhere between my father and my son. My mother is on the other side of my father, and my mother’s parents are nearby. My proud immigrant grandparents died first, then my parents died many years later. That is the way it is supposed to be.
I want to make sure no father suffers the loss of their son or daughter in Iraq or a future illegal war of aggression. I urge all those who oppose the military occupation of Iraq and do not want to see future wars of choice to sign the Voters Pledge at VotersForPeace.us. Nearly fifty thousand people have already signed. It will let politicians know that we will not support pro-war candidates in the future.
There is a lot else going on that is not the way it is supposed to be. Our leaders are not supposed to lie to us. Yet that is precisely what George Bush and company have done. They told us to beware of weapons of mass destruction, Iraqi involvement in 9/11, and Al Qaeda infiltration of Iraq. We now know these were all lies, yet still my son and the loved ones of 150,000 other grieving souls lost their lives because of them.
I have no excuse. Though I doubted the veracity of George Bush’s words, I did too little too late.
My son Nick was an independent contractor, not associated with Halliburton, Bechtel, Lockheed-Martin, or the U.S. military. Nick was murdered in retaliation for the atrocities committed at the Abu Ghraib prison: murders, rapes, and torture of Iraqi citizens. Though Donald Rumsfeld says he took responsibility for those atrocities, no consequences were felt by him, but they were by my son and everyone who loved him. George Bush ordered Alberto Gonzalez to rewrite definitions of torture essentially ordering these sins, and he did so with impunity. This is not the way it’s supposed to be either.
Nick was arrested by George Bush’s military without reason and then illegally detained for thirteen days. While he was in custody, the revelations of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal became public. These revelations ignited the resistance in Iraq and made it impossible for Nick to get home alive. When Nick did arrive home, it was to the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base, a base from which I and all other loved ones of the invisible deceased are barred. This is not the way it’s supposed to be either.
We learn more and more of the truth of what is happening in Iraq every day. We learn what is happening to America and our allies as a result of the voters of these United States electing the wrong men and women: unjustifiable wars, the undermining of vital social programs, willful neglect of the maintenance of the infrastructure of our nation, and dangerous “ignorance” of climate change that could result in unprecedented disaster. This is the legacy of these leaders. Neither of the two largest political parties in this country are doing anything to make things the way they are supposed be.
On March 17, 2006, I joined many others, both conservatives and liberals, in taking the first steps to put things right. I had the honor to be the first person to sign the Voters Pledge for Peace.
The Voters Pledge on the Voters for Peace website is a project comprising many of the major organizations in the antiwar movement – United for Peace and Justice, Peace Action, Gold Star Families for Peace, Code Pink, and Democracy Rising – as well as groups with broader agendas like the National Organization for Women, Progressive Democrats of America, AfterDowningStreet.com, and magazines including the American Conservative and the Nation. The goal of this coalition is to build a base of antiwar voters that cannot be ignored by anyone running for office in the United States. We want millions of voters to sign the pledge and say no to pro-war candidates.
You can help right now by visiting Voters For Peace and immediately signing the Voters Pledge, which states:
I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign.
And after you sign it, send it to everyone you know and urge them to do the same. Together we can change the path of the United States – move ourselves in a new direction toward the way it’s supposed to be, so that all fathers, all mothers, all Americans will be able to face the next Fathers Day, Mothers Day, and Independence Day with the pride these holidays deserve.
June 12, 2006
Michael Berg is the father of Nick Berg, who was beheaded in Iraq.
The following was found with a quick search of the web:
Father’s Day, contrary to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards. In fact when a “father’s day” was first proposed there were no Father’s Day cards!
Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a “father’s day” in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd’s mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Mr. Smart was left to raise the newborn and his other five children by himself on a rural farm in eastern Washington state. It was after Mrs. Dodd became an adult that she realized the strength and selflessness her father had shown in raising his children as a single parent.
The first Father’s Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in Spokane Washington. At about the same time in various towns and cities across American other people were beginning to celebrate a “father’s day.” In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge supported the idea of a national Father’s Day. Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed a presidential proclamation declaring the 3rd Sunday of June as Father’s Day.
Father’s Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers, and adult male friends are all honored on Father’s Day.
A site also found that has a cursor trailer All you dad’s need to see:
Happy Fathers Day
It is a Tribute to one father with poems and writings.
This site is for the Kids for Fathers Day:
Kaboose.com is a trusted, family friendly, interactive, entertaining, kid safe, helpful site with hundreds of reviews, message boards, crafts, games, …
Fathers Day: Is it a ‘Happy Fathers Day”? I guess that depends on what thoughts may carry on the day and with each differant father. If you are a father give your kids a Big Hug and think about the Fathers who have, once again, lost Sons and Daughters, to the Foolish Follies of Man!!
