Christian Photographers Community

Do you have anyone who is special to you either in your past or at the present time that you'd like to remember on November 11?

Or do you have family members or friends who are still serving their country and absent from the family circle?

Share your thoughts and memories or even photos (if you have any) so that we can all share this year around November 11.

And let's remember to have our two minutes of silence this year, in whatever country we reside in, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  It's just a 'pittance of time'.

It is an honor for me to fly my flag in front of my home in a neighborhood where some scoff at anyone who dares to fly their flags.  In my neighborhood the American and the Canadian flags are flown with pride and honor.

I am humbled by the sacrifices so many gave so that we live in freedom.

I am proud of my Grandson Nolan who serves in the United State Marines Special Forces in the Far East.

I am proud of my Grandnephew Eric who serves in the Army in the Middle East.

I am proud of my Daughter-In-Law who is in the Army National Guard who will soon leave for Egypt and is now in the Honor Guard at Fort Snelling Memorial Cemetary in St Paul, MN. 

I am proud of a husband who served in the US Navy, a grandson who served in the Submarine Service, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts and uncles who served in the European and Japan theaters and those that stayed home and loved them and kept the faith and some who never came home but are remembered with love and pride. 

My young people didn't join to get a free education, they joined to serve their country in honor and to honor those who served before them.  These are my heros, all of them, now and from the past. 

Delphine - I thank my God for you and for each and every one you mentioned.  I thank Him for their willingness to give so very deeply of themselves for our freedoms, safety, and peace.  May our God make their sacrifices productive of the peace and freedom we seek.  And may those learn who have never understood the need for such sacrifices.  May God move again upon the souls of all Americans to once again make us cherish what He so graciously gave us at the expense of blood and sacrifice.

Here's a poem that a new friend of mine wrote entitled, "In Remembrance"




Maybe Colin will come and join us here.  He lives in Northern Ireland.

I feel at a loss to add to the tributes written here, but I have the utmost respect and love for all our veterans, both from the past and those presently serving in the armed forces all over the world.  My prayer is that God will encourage, strengthen and protect them and bring them safely home to the arms of their loved ones when their service is done.  GOD BLESS ALL OUR VETERANS!!

On Photography Cafe, one of the members, Brian Waugh, posted this photo.

I hope you will click on it to see it larger:

Hi, friends,

Several thoughts come to mind when there are days to remember our armed forces personnel and their heroic and selfless contribution to life as we know it today.

First memory is of my cousin, who served in the Merchant Marine during the war. I thought he was SO handsome in his uniform. Since I was really young, I can remember his coming to our grandparents' home and picking me up and holding me above his head with flashing eyes and smile as broad as his entire face. I still treasure the shell necklace he had made for me on the island of Fiji.

My dad volunteered to go as chaplain, since he was a minister, but was rejected for poor eyesight. That's when he felt such a burden for the country that he resigned his pastorate, moved us here to Nashville, and worked in the firm that makes aircraft parts during the war. Mother also helped by working in a firm that made army boots. I was in a kindergarten during that time.

A cousin was a prisoner of war in Germany near the end of the war - in fact was liberated at the end of the war. The stories he told us when he visited with us during a long layover in Nashville. I will always remember him walking the floor, blue eyes streaming with tears as he wrung his hands and sobbed when the news came over the radio that the war was over. What an impression that made on me! And, for years I worried about his brother, who was nearly electrocuted stringing lines in North Africa during the war. Poor Hollis suffered all the rest of his life from the burns and wounds suffered in that incident.

Others in the family have served, so I've been involved with the Coast Guard, the Navy, the army and the Air Force. My husband was in the Air Force, working in telecommunications. Then, one of my sons was in the Air Force for 16 years, and another served several years in the army, and was called back for the first Gulf War. He was a POW MP, and ran one of the prisoner of war camps in Saudi Arabia during that war.

So, my heart swells with pride and humble gratitude for those who have selflessly given themselves, their time and talents, and sometimes their health or even their lives for life as we know it today.

May God be with them all, and with those who love them.

Ruth Ann

Two of my sons served in the Navy so did two uncles and a cousin. One uncle served in the Army. I had many friends woho went to Viet Nam some didn't return others returned maimed for life.

I will always be grateful for our veterans and their families.  I did not have the experience of serving in the military but my brother-in-law was an officer in the Marines and then continued to serve his country in the National Guard until he was forced to retire at the age of 60.  He was called back into active service at the age of 58 when the Iraq war began to help guard a nerve gas storage facility in Indiana.  He is also a wonderful Christian man and a good friend as well as relative.

The above tributes are very moving. 

I am so grateful for all who serve our country now and those who have in the past.  Wounded soldiers are not forgotten in this house - we contribute a bit to wounded Marines and there are other branches as well.

When I met Don, he was an officer in the U.S. Air Force Strategic Command.  We lived off base but I certainly remember our first year of marriage and the middle-of-the-night emergency phone calls, the sudden flights to Omaha headquarters and so many things that the public really never learns. 

My brother lost two good friends in Vietnam.  They were sent to the war front and he was sent to Germany in the U.S. Army.  I also remember a young man I dated who died as a prisoner in Vietnam.  My father worked on submarines as a civilian - test runs for the Navy- in the Boston area.  He went on the shake-down cruises as diesel engineer - a very young age but that is what happened so often in WWII. 

Later, we lived in Seattle near the Veteran's Hospital on Beacon Hill and I remember the white lights blazing in the surgery rooms with wounded being brought in from Korea.  I remember when Korea ended and the miles and miles of busloads bringing so many off the ships.  A cousin was wounded in Korea and he actually had more surgery on his knee just a few years ago.

Carol

I remembered my Mom & Dad yesterday while driving to Newmarket.  Then I remembered my Grandfather and Grandmother on my Father's side and the same on my Mother's side.     All wonderful Christian people.   I thanked God for a rich and wonderful heritage.   I then thought about my own children.   I want them to have a wonderful heritage too.       By the way none of them were in the war, but they were wonderful just the same.   God bless

Love Ruthie

I thank our Heavenly Father for all the precious lives laid down in several countries now and in the years before so that millions like myself may know what "freedom" is... esp. FREEDOM to worship the Living Christ.
I pray with and for the loved ones and friends left behind by these sacrificial gifts to peoples who have yet to appreciate the love of families for their "freedom"... esp. the Love of God through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross... that ALL may live and not merely exist.
I will always remember what America and her alies have sacrificed so that my people and I may truly live. 
Maranatha.
Your brother in Christ,
RK in Malaysia (a Muslim nation)

Kon, thank you so much for that.  It helps to hear that our loved ones' sacrifices are apreciated.  God bless.