Memorial Day

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Ex-Marine Fired From Job for Lowering Flag on Memorial Day

He says he did it in memory of a Marine who killed himself

(Newser) - A former Marine says he was fired from his contract job with Time Warner Cable in North Carolina after he lowered the American flag to half-staff on Memorial Day, the AP reports. According to the Charlotte Observer , Allen Thornwell, 29, was thinking about his best friend, a former Marine who...

Major Civil War Battlefield Is Now a Crime Scene

Looting a federal battlefield is a crime that can carry a $20K fine, 2 years in prison

(Newser) - Just days before the area's major commemorative events linked to Memorial Day, the National Park Service has announced that Virginia's Petersburg National Battlefield is an "active crime scene," reports CNN. "Earlier this week, one of the park employees was out doing landscape work and noticed...

In a Small Dutch Village, Our Dead Soldiers Are Loved

How our fallen are cared for at a cemetery on the outskirts of Margraten

(Newser) - As many lay wreaths and place flowers at the graves of fallen soldiers this Memorial Day weekend, the Washington Post takes readers to a cemetery far beyond our borders: one in the Dutch village of Margraten, the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands, per the American Battle Monuments Commission...

What Memorial Day Means in 2014
 What Memorial Day 
 Means in 2014 
OPINION
May 26, 2014 11:18 AM CDT

What Memorial Day Means in 2014

EJ Dionne Jr. on what the holiday teaches us

(Newser) - Most people today probably associate Memorial Day with barbeques and sales, but EJ Dionne Jr. takes a look at its history in the Washington Post and concludes that it's "a peculiarly appropriate holiday for our times." Memorial Day began as Decoration Day, honoring those who died in...

Obama Drops In on US Troops in Afghanistan

Surprise visit his 4th; won't meet with Karzai in clear snub

(Newser) - President Obama secretly slipped into Afghanistan under the cover of darkness today for a weekend visit with US troops serving in the closing months of America's longest war. Air Force One landed at Bagram Air Field, the main US base in Afghanistan, after an overnight flight from Washington. Obama...

Woman Finds Slain Beau's WWII Diary—70 Years Later

Young Marine's journal was dedicated to Laura Mae Davis

(Newser) - Before Cpl. Thomas "Cotton" Jones was killed by a Japanese sniper in the South Pacific in 1944, he wrote what he called his "last life request" to anyone who might find his diary: Please give it to Laura Mae Davis, the girl he loved. Davis did get to...

As Funds Dry Up, US War Memorials Crumble
 US' WWI Memorials Crumbling 
May 27, 2013 7:55 AM CDT

US' WWI Memorials Crumbling

Communities debate fate of monuments as funds dry up

(Newser) - All across the US, memorials to those who served in World War I are falling apart as funds dry up and interest in the conflict fades, the AP finds. One such memorial, the Waikiki Natatorium, was built in 1927 to honor the 10,000 Hawaiians who served in the conflict,...

MSNBC Host Apologizes to Vets for 'Hero' Comment

Chris Hayes 'deeply sorry' for not being more respectful

(Newser) - The conservative blogosphere apparently got through to Chris Hayes: After sparking outrage Sunday when he said he felt uncomfortable calling fallen soldiers "heroes," the MSNBC host has apologized. The Huffington Post has his statement in full. Highlights:
  • "As many have rightly pointed out, it's very easy
...

MSNBC Host Sparks Outrage by Doubting Use of 'Hero'

Chris Hayes, meet the conservative blogosphere

(Newser) - MSNBC host Chris Hayes fired up a Memorial Day Weekend controversy yesterday by saying he was "uncomfortable" with calling fallen soldiers "heroes," the New York Daily News reports. “I feel uncomfortable about the word hero because it seems to me that it is so rhetorically proximate...

Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington

Lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns

(Newser) - President Barack Obama paid tribute today to the men and women who have died defending America, saying the country must strive "to be a nation worthy of your sacrifice." He said the war in Iraq has ended after nine years and is "winding down" in Afghanistan. But...

To Mark Day, Words of Fallen Marine Read Aloud

Gen. John Allen reads Sgt. William Stacey's reasons for fighting

(Newser) - US troops in Afghanistan marked Memorial Day with the words of a fallen comrade—one of at least 1,851 Americans to have died in the war. Marine Gen. John Allen, the leading US commander in Afghanistan, read a letter penned by Marine Sgt. William Stacey, killed by homemade explosives...

Veteran Dies Replacing Flag on Memorial Day

James Catron, 83, died of natural causes, strapped to his TV tower

(Newser) - A Korean War veteran from Ohio died on Memorial Day while trying to replace a weathered American flag on his 20-foot TV tower. An autopsy showed that James Catron died of natural causes; the 83-year-old had a history of heart trouble, according to a local newspaper. A neighbor saw Catron,...

Vets Less Likely to Approve of Job Obama's Doing

President places wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington

(Newser) - President Obama made a visit to Arlington National Cemetery today, where he placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, reports the AP . "Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay, but we can honor their sacrifice," he said at...

50K Flags Cover Veterans' Cemetery That Barred Them

Hundreds of volunteers show up at Massachusetts National Cemetery

(Newser) - A true example of patriotism out of Massachusetts: Hundreds of volunteers descended on the town of Bourne this weekend. Their mission? Plant 50,000 flags at the Massachusetts National Cemetery, which until now hasn't allowed the red, white, and blue to fly at its grave markers, citing the difficulty...

US Troops Mark Memorial Day in Iraq, Afghanistan

Soldiers honor fallen comrades

(Newser) - US soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan remembered their fallen comrades in Memorial Day services nearly a decade after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that sparked the Afghanistan war. In that country, dawn flag-raising ceremonies honored the more than 1,400 who have been killed, the AP reports. "We...

Vets Rally: Sarah Palin 'Not Invited'

Organizers decry Rolling Thunder appearance as 'big distraction;' event emcee says he invited her

(Newser) - Sarah Palin is launching her East Coast bus tour tomorrow during a motorcycle rally to honor veterans, but some organizers aren't happy about it. "She wasn't invited," Rolling Thunder organizer Ted Shpak tells MSNBC. "She's not invited to speak. We're not endorsing her...

Obama Speech Rained Out
 Obama Speech 
 Rained Out 
memorial day
May 31, 2010 2:55 PM CDT

Obama Speech Rained Out

With president in Illinois, Biden lays wreath at Arlington

(Newser) - Driving rain and an electrical storm forced President Obama to cancel his Memorial Day speech today at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Illinois. "A little bit of rain doesn't hurt anybody but we don't want anybody struck by lightning," he told the crowd, which was gathered in an...

Obama Salutes Fallen Troops
 Obama Salutes Fallen Troops 
May 25, 2009 12:13 PM CDT

Obama Salutes Fallen Troops

Hosts breakfast, lays wreath at Arlington

(Newser) - President Obama marked Memorial Day with tributes to the military and fallen troops, the AP reports. He began the day with a breakfast for those who had lost loved ones in the military; afterward, he visited Arlington National Cemetery for the traditional laying of a wreath at the Tomb of...

Remember the Meaning of Memorial Day
 Remember the 
 Meaning of 
 Memorial Day 
OPINION
May 25, 2009 10:26 AM CDT

Remember the Meaning of Memorial Day

Time to honor the 1.3 million fallen US troops

(Newser) - On a day of barbecues and baseball, “let's not forget the point of Memorial Day,” write William J. Bennett and John Cribb: to salute the sacrifices of the 1.3 million troops who have died for our country. “Through their sacrifice, the United States has liberated more...

The Death of the 'Old Army Buddy'
The Death
of the 'Old
Army Buddy'
OPINION
May 24, 2009 11:23 AM CDT

The Death of the 'Old Army Buddy'

Draft's end means a generation sans sense of service, camaraderie

(Newser) - On Memorial Day, former soldiers of all ages will be touching base with their brothers in arms, but as Michael Auslin writes in the Washington Post, real Old Army Buddies are on the verge of extinction. The men who willingly served during the drafts of the '50s and '60s came...

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