Memorial Day Tribute 2022

[shiv]

Please watch our Memorial Day Tribute in full screen with the volume turned up:

 

[Chris Farley]

Taps always makes my throat get heavy. Thanks for the sick vid. Preciate it.

 

[shiv]

Taps always makes my throat get heavy. Thanks for the sick vid. Preciate it.

You're welcome. Just updated the original post with the 1080p version with a couple minor fixes

 

[ChicagoFats]

Thanks @Croot_Overlord for this great video. It’s a great tribute to our troops. Thanks for your service @Chris Farley. Really enjoyed reading your article and hope to hear more stories in the future.

 

[IrishStout]

Wonderful job, fellas.

 

[IU/NDFAN]

Cool video. Curious who made it. It was 90% my unit so obviously I love it and it's what we did. We paid respect to fallen soldiers.

Everyone go check out the comment some douche put on youtube from this video about our great soldiers. I already added my response to the idiot.

 

[Chief_Trojan]

Excellent work, really a wonderful tribute.

 

[Chris Farley]

Here is the story of Willis and Morley. It’s a very long read, but once you get into it, you can’t put it down. This is the story I was referring to about Christopher Corriveau receiving the Distinguished Service Cross. Warning: fucking intense


https://iraqwarheroes.org/morley.htm

and here’s the YouTube in case your too lazy to read about some heroes:

 

[ChicagoFats]

Figured now was a good time to bump this thread. The Free Speech Forum made an awesome Memorial Day video last year. Thanks @Croot_Overlord

 

[shiv]

Figured now was a good time to bump this thread. The Free Speech Forum made an awesome Memorial Day video last year. Thanks @Croot_Overlord

Thanks man

 

[TheNJNole]

Taps always makes my throat get heavy. Thanks for the sick vid. Preciate it.

What happened to this dude?

 

[shiv]

What happened to this dude?

He’s still around, just been busy. We text sometimes

 

[hmt5000]

Drone footage of the first MOH ever recorded as it happened.


Thank you Mr Chapman.

 

[d-tiger45]

Worst cry of my life was TAPS played at my granddaddy’s funeral. WW2 vet. I was fine until that played and they folded the flag.

 

[imprimis]

Thanks all for the videos and stories.

Memorial Day is always tough on my Mom and us. My uncle, a highly decorated AF reconnaissance pilot in Korea, was killed on Memorial Day 1953 when his AF plane crashed in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City, Florida.

 

[MVTPatriot]

Thanks for resharing.

I've been to two military funerals. My FIL, 2 months before my wife and I were to be married. And my nephew, Justin L. Sisson in 2013. Driving from KC out to Leavenworth was like the final scene from American Sniper.
People were lining the road holding up signs for Justin, standing at attention. The local FD had the ladder trucks creating an arch with the American flag.
It was an amazing home coming and absolutely gut wrenching at the same time.

Salute to all who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country!

 

[Rebarcock.]

Thank you to all who served for our country and freedoms. Hopefully soon we will get our country back and destroy the DS

 

[Scrouch2434]

Thank you to all that serve or served. We’re very grateful for your sacrifices.

 

[Chris Farley]

What Memorial Day Means to Me

I remember being a young boy in the late 80s, playing with my vast collection of GI Joes and watching the GI Joe cartoon every morning before school. I even had a GI Joe themed birthday party when I was probably 4 or 5. I remember my grandfather showing up in his WW2 garb, complete with carrying a .22 long rifle. I thought he was so cool, and he was! I wanted to be just like him one day and serve in the Army myself. Boyhood dreams faded away as I grew older, and sports became a bigger part of my life. The team aspect of playing sports helped develop my passion for a team e spirit de corps but when 9/11 hit, it’s those boyhood dreams that suddenly kicked back in. I remember everything like it was yesterday. I was a 17-year-old junior in high school, sitting in history class that morning when Mrs. Kohl rolled the tv cart into the room and turned on the news. I remember seeing the second plane hit. Feelings of confusion quickly turned to feelings of anger and a need for vengeance. I remember coming home from football practice that day, and my mom was outside getting the mail. I got out of the car and told her as soon as I turned 18, I was enlisting. It’s like she already knew. There was no look of shock or disappointment on her face. So after about a year, I finally did what I said I was going to do. I went to the recruiter’s office and told him what I wanted. I remember telling him “I don’t know what it’s called, but I want to jump out of planes, and I want to fight on the ground.” He got me an Airborne Infantry contract and so that’s how I began my career. Little did I know what exactly I was getting myself into.

Vengeance became my mantra in the following years. Hell, I even have the word tattooed on my chest. These days, I have found peace, but it’s always there to remind me of who I used to be and what it took to drive me to be the best Soldier I could be. That team e spirit de corps that I always found comfort in was in full effect with the Army. I was part of group; something bigger than myself. I always appreciated brotherhood and camaraderie, but never before had I experienced it like this. Over the years, I met some of the best friends I ever had; some of the best men I ever knew. But when you’re in the Infantry, you know in the back of your mind, when your unit is called and it’s time to suit up and get to work, that it’s a definite possibility that you could lose a friend, or in my case, several. You see, when we were in the states training, it was like practice for a football game. We would go months preparing, and then our unit would get the word and it was time for the big game. Over that time training together, living together; you develop a bond like no other. Many platoons I was a part of were really tight. We would go out to the bars and clubs as a group. While I was at Fort Bragg North Carolina, on weekends, we would get into the occasional brawl with the Marines from Camp Lejune, or frat boys from UNC. The team environment created rivalries. Army Infantry always rivals Marine Infantry, but it goes all the way to the smallest level. Units in the Army rival others like the 82nd Airborne and the 101st “Airborne”. I put that in quotations because they aren’t really “Airborne”. They haven’t been since WW2. I kid…i kid… So, there’s that rivalry, but you could even take it on down further. Brigades would rival other Brigades in the same division. One time in the middle of the night, some Paratroopers with the Devil Brigade (the 504thParachute Infantry Regiment) went over to the Panther Brigade (the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment) and spray painted their huge black panther, pink. We woke up that morning, running down Ardennes Street for PT only to see our beloved Panther painted pink! Battalions would rival other Battalions within the same Brigade. I remember in the summer of 2006; we were gearing up for a year-long deployment to Iraq. I was in 2nd Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Our barracks was right next door to 1st Battalion’s. There was always a tension between the 2 Battalions, but this one specific night, it boiled over. So, the week prior, some of the 1st Battalion Scouts jumped one of ours at a bar. The next weekend, several of the Paratroopers from the barracks; boys from Alpha Company, Bravo Company, Charlie Company, Delta Company, and our Scouts grabbed whatever they could find and marched over to 1st Battalion’s courtyard. It resembled a quad at your local university. There must have been about 50 Paratroopers standing outside their barracks, calling them out. Several of theirs came out and it became an all-out battle. Fists were flying, it was pure mayhem. The entire MP unit assigned to the 82nd came out and had to stop it. It was probably the most intense physical fight I’ve ever been in on this side of the world. Rivalry would trickle down to the Company, Platoon, Squad, and even Team levels. Rivalry was what fueled the overflowing amounts of testosterone pouring out of the Infantry Paratrooper. But that’s where it ended. Once we were overseas, all of that was thrown to the side, and we became one again. The brotherhood, camaraderie, and team environment were ever so strong in the states, but once we were suited up and it was time to get to work in real life, it only increased.

We started out as friends, but friendship turned into brotherhood. We became brothers. So, when we went to war, we knew some of our brothers wouldn’t make it back. It stung that much more when it was someone you were particularly close to. Over my 6 combat deployments, I lost over 24 brothers in battle. Some, I would consider best friends. Each time, it became harder than the last. I remember each instance like it just happened, like the first time I lost some buddies.

 

[Chris Farley]

It was the night of 15October 2006. We were on our way to cordon off a suspected IED. En route to the site, the first vehicle struck 2 land mines. The driver, PFC Stephen Bicknell, and the gunner, SGT Lester Baroncini were KIA instantly. Bicknell was only 19, fresh out of high school and just married with a baby on the way. He was from my home state of Alabama and was a star on the Prattville High School Football team. He even played in the 2004 state championship game. That baby boy of his is probably about 15 or 16 now. What a proud son he must be. It was my 3rd deployment, but the first time I had friends die, and especially in the same Platoon.

Then there was the “Samarra 7”. One of the vehicles struck an IED. Without hesitation, the next vehicle’s crew behind them got out to render aid, when a secondary IED struck. It was a devastating loss, losing 7 guys in one incident. SPC Ryan Bell was among them. He was a dear friend to me and my wife. He was a short and stocky troublemaker but had a big heart. Among him were also SSG Justin Estes, SSG Robert Stanley, SGT Andrew Perkins, SPC Justin Rollins, SPC Joshua Boyd, and PFC Cory Kosters. I remember grappling with Estes in the Charlie Company Combatives Tournament just before we deployed. You can find an iconic picture of Stanley wading through the flooded waters of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment was sent down there to aid with recovery and help control the looting after the massive destruction of Katrina. I’ve had the privilege of visiting Rollins’ grave a couple times when I went to DC. He is buried at Arlington.

There is also the intense story of SGT Joshua Morley and SPC Tracy Willis. It’s a long and grueling tale involving a sole survivor, SPC Christopher Corriveau who received the Distinguished Service Cross from the President of the United States. To make a long story short, their sniper team was in a building in downtown Samarra when a flat-bed truck of over 30 Al-Queda insurgents bombarded them. Willis & Morley died defending their position. Corriveau took out close to 30 enemy combatants by himself. It is a sad but remarkable story that you can hear about if you youtube Christopher Corriveau’s name.

There was PFC Jalfred Vaquerano who was hit by a sniper in Charkh, Afghanistan. Also, in Charkh, I lost a hell of a buddy in SSG Roberto Loeza, whose 10 year anniversary of his death was on the 25th. Loeza and I were squad leaders together in the same Platoon. He was KIA after an 82mm Chinese rocket went straight through the top of our TOC. I will never forget that, but what I will remember the most are things like his guilty pleasure of watching professional wrestling, and his passion for college football. He would always smack-talk me because I am a Bama fan, and him a Texas Longhorns fan. He just never could get over that whoopin’ we put on them in the 09 National Championship game.

Lastly, I’ll remember guys like SSG Marc Scialdo, who my baby boy is named after . Although I was not deployed with him when he passed, he was one of my best friends and such a great friend to me and my wife. He was one of the first people at the hospital the morning my daughter was born. We did some recruiting time together in Peachtree City, GA. He was one of the funniest people I’ve ever known. There were many times that he made me laugh when I was having a bad day. I miss him terribly. I miss all these guys terribly. The list goes on and on, but these are just a few stories of men that gave their life to protect the way we live ours.

These men and all the men and women that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country are the standard for what a human being should be. In war, it’s easy to forget the politics of everything because in war you’re trying to survive, but you’re also trying to watch your brother’s back; and I think that’s really what it’s all about…being there for your fellow man and woman. I used to keep up with each one of their death dates and would tend to celebrate their life on those days, but when it got to be too many, I just decided to do it all on Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a heavy day for me. Even the week leading up to it is hard for me. About a week out, I put out my little American flags along the edge of my yard. Often, I will get a “thank you for your service”, and I appreciate that, but I must tell them who say that to me on Memorial Day, that today is not about me. If you want to honor me, you can on Veterans Day, but today is about those that cannot be here. Today is about the ones that gave all. Today is about the ones that paid the ultimate sacrifice. May their memory always remain. Thank you to every veteran who died for us in battle, from the very beginning with the Revolutionary War all the way to today and beyond. You may be gone, but you’ll never be forgotten. That is what Memorial Day is all about to me.

 

[Oler Ted]

It was the night of 15October 2006. We were on our way to cordon off a suspected IED. En route to the site, the first vehicle struck 2 land mines. The driver, PFC Stephen Bicknell, and the gunner, SGT Lester Baroncini were KIA instantly. Bicknell was only 19, fresh out of high school and just married with a baby on the way. He was from my home state of Alabama and was a star on the Prattville High School Football team. He even played in the 2004 state championship game. That baby boy of his is probably about 15 or 16 now. What a proud son he must be. It was my 3rd deployment, but the first time I had friends die, and especially in the same Platoon.

Then there was the “Samarra 7”. One of the vehicles struck an IED. Without hesitation, the next vehicle’s crew behind them got out to render aid, when a secondary IED struck. It was a devastating loss, losing 7 guys in one incident. SPC Ryan Bell was among them. He was a dear friend to me and my wife. He was a short and stocky troublemaker but had a big heart. Among him were also SSG Justin Estes, SSG Robert Stanley, SGT Andrew Perkins, SPC Justin Rollins, SPC Joshua Boyd, and PFC Cory Kosters. I remember grappling with Estes in the Charlie Company Combatives Tournament just before we deployed. You can find an iconic picture of Stanley wading through the flooded waters of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment was sent down there to aid with recovery and help control the looting after the massive destruction of Katrina. I’ve had the privilege of visiting Rollins’ grave a couple times when I went to DC. He is buried at Arlington.

There is also the intense story of SGT Joshua Morley and SPC Tracy Willis. It’s a long and grueling tale involving a sole survivor, SPC Christopher Corriveau who received the Distinguished Service Cross from the President of the United States. To make a long story short, their sniper team was in a building in downtown Samarra when a flat-bed truck of over 30 Al-Queda insurgents bombarded them. Willis & Morley died defending their position. Corriveau took out close to 30 enemy combatants by himself. It is a sad but remarkable story that you can hear about if you youtube Christopher Corriveau’s name.

There was PFC Jalfred Vaquerano who was hit by a sniper in Charkh, Afghanistan. Also, in Charkh, I lost a hell of a buddy in SSG Roberto Loeza, whose 10 year anniversary of his death was on the 25th. Loeza and I were squad leaders together in the same Platoon. He was KIA after an 82mm Chinese rocket went straight through the top of our TOC. I will never forget that, but what I will remember the most are things like his guilty pleasure of watching professional wrestling, and his passion for college football. He would always smack-talk me because I am a Bama fan, and him a Texas Longhorns fan. He just never could get over that whoopin’ we put on them in the 09 National Championship game.

Lastly, I’ll remember guys like SSG Marc Scialdo, who my baby boy is named after . Although I was not deployed with him when he passed, he was one of my best friends and such a great friend to me and my wife. He was one of the first people at the hospital the morning my daughter was born. We did some recruiting time together in Peachtree City, GA. He was one of the funniest people I’ve ever known. There were many times that he made me laugh when I was having a bad day. I miss him terribly. I miss all these guys terribly. The list goes on and on, but these are just a few stories of men that gave their life to protect the way we live ours.

These men and all the men and women that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country are the standard for what a human being should be. In war, it’s easy to forget the politics of everything because in war you’re trying to survive, but you’re also trying to watch your brother’s back; and I think that’s really what it’s all about…being there for your fellow man and woman. I used to keep up with each one of their death dates and would tend to celebrate their life on those days, but when it got to be too many, I just decided to do it all on Memorial Day. Memorial Day is a heavy day for me. Even the week leading up to it is hard for me. About a week out, I put out my little American flags along the edge of my yard. Often, I will get a “thank you for your service”, and I appreciate that, but I must tell them who say that to me on Memorial Day, that today is not about me. If you want to honor me, you can on Veterans Day, but today is about those that cannot be here. Today is about the ones that gave all. Today is about the ones that paid the ultimate sacrifice. May their memory always remain. Thank you to every veteran who died for us in battle, from the very beginning with the Revolutionary War all the way to today and beyond. You may be gone, but you’ll never be forgotten. That is what Memorial Day is all about to me.

Hey man, how’s it going?

 

[tgsio]

Worst cry of my life was TAPS played at my granddaddy’s funeral. WW2 vet. I was fine until that played and they folded the flag.

Both of my grandfathers. (Granddaddy and Papa)


WWII and Korea, respectively.


I'm the oldest granddaughter on both sides. I have both of their uniforms, ribbons and medals. I adored those men.


God bless those we've lost and God bless those/y'all who have survived such a loss.