It's Memorial Day - Thank You For Your Service To All Members Of U.S. Military & Welcome Fleet Week 2010 To Roosevelt Island
In addition to enjoying ourselves this Memorial Day weekend, let's also take a moment to remember the men and women of the United States Military who are currently serving our country, those veterans who have done so in the past and those who gave their lives. From History.com:
Memorial Day, which falls on the last Monday of May, commemorates the men and women who died while serving in the American military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Many Americans observe Memorial Day by visiting cemeteries or memorials, holding family gatherings and participating in parades. Unofficially, at least, it marks the beginning of summer.If you know a veteran or someone currently serving tell them you appreciate their service and say Thank You. If you see a Sailor or Marine on the street this weekend, say Thanks to him or her as well.
Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves...
It's also Fleet Week 2010 in New York City and our Sailors and Marines are enjoying all that NYC has to offer
including our very own Roosevelt Island. Yes, Fleet Week made it to Roosevelt Island and the Riverwalk Bar & Grill last Friday in the persons of FMF Corpsmen of the 2nd Marine Division
- Nick Sollenberger,
- Marc Petrine and
- Andrew Whisner
I spoke with the Corpsmen (from Ohio, California and upstate New York) and asked how they found Roosevelt Island. They said they got lost on the subway trying to to get to Queens when they asked for assistance from another rider who suggested they follow him to Roosevelt Island where they would have a great time - and they did!
Interested in learning more about FMF Corpsmen? Here's some more information:
For seven boot camp-like, rifle-toting, blister-breaking weeks down south at Camp LeJeune, N.C., the Navy and Marine Corps team up at Field Medical Service School (FMSS) East to mold standard Navy-issue corpsmen into Sailors good enough for the Fleet Marine Force (FMF). The good ones will earn the Marines’ respect. The great ones earn the title, “Doc.”
“There are corpsmen and then there are ‘docs,’” said Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Richard Lister, an advisor at FMSS East. “A doc is someone you can count on. He’s someone in your platoon that when something happens to one of our fellow Marines, you can call on him and not have to worry. He’s your buddy, a comrade in arms, a person who you count on to cover your back, to lay down fire, dig fighting holes or do whatever the hell Marines are doing. That’s who a doc is.”...
1 comments :
Up till this week, I can't say I had ever heard of the Roosevelt Island blog, or Roosevelt Island for that matter.
You can thank a particular FMF Corpsmen (Andrew Whisner) for getting the word out for you. Makes sense though, since I am his dad and still require much from him; such as letting me know when an article is written up about or around him.
I would love to tell you more about my son sometime, but I will only ask for a little space in this post to tell you about what kind of person volunteers to run in where others will be fired upon to look after those who are injured.
The world can think what they want of these young men and women, but I can tell you that this boy was given all the gifts that the Lord could bestow upon a man save possibly a family of note. He is as smart as they come (while still being able to tie his shoes), his fitness and health are off the chart, and for goodness sakes his mother must have been gorgeous because he certainly didn’t get those good looks from me.
Like most young men with his particular bent in personality, he seeks adventure, danger, a bit of risk to test his metal against. Believe me he could have chosen any safe place he wanted within the Navy’s various programs. The Navy would have paid him handsomely to select a few of them, but he chose the one that will leave me sleepless many nights when his time finally comes.
Some ask me how I will handle it, and I tell then…Proudly. He is becoming the man HE wanted to be, the son I asked him to be, and the defender and protector God made him. So take heart Roosevelt Islander’s…you had with you this last weekend my best; my most precious gift. Thank you for treating him well :)
Montie
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