From the Book “Not Ready To Die”
My Life As I Remember It
Nacho Vasquez
As Told To Nila Gott
Nacho Vasquez was part Yaqui Indian and was born in a boxcar along the New Mexico SP rails (his father was an employee). The following is an excerpt from a book about Nacho's survival in life.
This is a poem being sent from a marine. For those who read it, please pass it on to all those you know. It makes you truly be thankful for all of our troops.
THE MARINE
We all came together,
Both young and old.
To fight for our freedom,
To stand and be bold.
In the midst of all evil,
We stand our ground,
And we protect our country
From all terror around.
Peace and not war,
Is what some people say.
But I'll give my life,
So you can live the American way.
From David
By Dr. Zoe Simmons
Besides Christmas, I would have to say that the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, not to mention it is my birthday.
I remember growing up and my father taking me to see fireworks, always telling me that they were just for me. That the world was celebrating my birthday.
There was a train headed for Buffalo, and Ted Whitney was bound to be aboard. He had given himself a choice between going to Buffalo or to bed. The latter would have meant waking to a another day like the one before: unfreezing the lock of his car door with his lighter after shoveling a path to pull the car out of the driveway. He’d done that; he’d had enough. In Buffalo he would train to become a Naval Officer. It was 1943 and it was the obvious alternative, join the Service, do something for the war effort.
Jack Dale Asher entered the US Army August 17, 1949 at Evansville, Indiana. He was attached to the 3rd. Armored Division and served his basic training at Fort Knox, KY. From there, he was assigned to Fort Benning, Ga. where he served as an M.P.
By Jeff Durham
Apart from the cemeteries and memorials, to the trained eye there is little sign of where the front lines were. Occasionally though a shallow depression, a crater that has remained unfilled, fragments of metal, shrapnel or pieces of barbed wire are still reminders. Scenes that to this day remain vivid to the veterans who were there.
By Louis MeDoupe, MD
His face underwent an incredible metamorphosis as I entered the room.
I knew from the nurse’s note that he suffered from a painful and swollen knee, and as I drew back the examining room's curtain, his appearance fit such a man. He was about seventy years old, and his wizened visage was drawn up into a grimace that seemed to have been there long enough to carve deep furrows into his face and brow.
This is my dad, Ken Van Slyke, when he was Lt. Ken Van Slyke, Army Air Force, 99th Combat Bomb Wing.
By: David R. Van Slyke
By Kathy Warnes
One of America's bravest war heroes never fired a shot at the enemy that he helped conquer. His picture doesn't stare from the history books and he doesn't lie in Arlington National Cemetery. But Private John Kissinger of Huntington, Indiana, made an invaluable contribution to American health.
In the words of his commanding officer, Major Walter Reed, "In my opinion his exhibition of moral courage has never been surpassed in the annals of the Army of the United States."