A tribute to our Active Members and Veterans of Military and Civil Service
This virtual candle burns in memory for our men and women in uniform.
Links of Special Interest
"That Ragged Old Flag" - A very nice read		Thank You Vets for protecting our Flag
A Soldier's Prayer dedicated to our Veterans	A verse about "The Wall"	A Soldier's Thoughts dedicated to our Active members
They Served Too	Ode to the U.S. Military	The Star Spangled Banner
America the Beautiful	America	A Fireman's Prayer From the website of Rocky and Shirl Chaplin
Santa Weeps, remember our Soldiers during the Holiday period	The Night Before Christmas, contributed by a US Marine	Index of Inspirational Pages provided by Ishaah
The Lord's Prayer
This image can not be reproduced for sale without expressed written permission from Jeff Hobrath. NavyChief.com
On September 11, 2001, terrorist struck with an attack on the World Trade Center in New York City and at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. See a pictorial summery of the events in this Power Point Presentation (This file is 827K and may take a minute or two to load)	I AM THE FLAG . . . Rogue Memorial to the victims of 9/11/01	USS Cole Tribute On October 12, 2000, the USS Cole (DDG 67) was attacked / bombed in the Port of Aden in Yemen by a terrorist group yet to be identified. See Reports and information on the USS Cole repair progress.
	The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight. The sparkling lights in the tree, I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve. My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep In perfect contentment, or so it would seem. So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream. The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow. My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near. Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight. A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child. "What are you doing?" I asked without fear "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here! Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve, You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!" For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts, To the window that danced with a warm fire's light Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line, That separates you from the darkest of times. No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me." "My Gramps died at 'Pearl' on a day in December," Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers." "My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam And now it is my turn and so, here I am." "I've not seen my own son in more than a while, But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile." Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, The red white and blue... an American flag. "I can live through the cold and the being alone, Away from my family, my house and my home." "I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat." "I can carry the weight of killing another Or lay down my life with my sister and brother who stand at the front against any and all, to ensure for all time that this flag will not fall." "So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright; Your family is waiting and I'll be all right." "But isn't there something I can do, at the least," "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast? "It seems all too little for all that you've done, For being away from your wife and your son." Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, "Just tell us you love us, and never forget To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone. To stand your own watch, no matter how long." "For when we come home, either standing or dead, To know you remember we fought and we bled is payment enough, and with that we will trust. That we mattered to you as you mattered to us." Friends, keep Our military people in your prayers. They are risking their lives to protect what we take for granted, and we are losing soldiers every day. They won't be home with their families this Christmas. Pray God will Bless Them, and keep them safe.