---------- Vets ----------

Here is to You..

Thank you for all you did to make this country the great nation it is today.

Read on....

It is important to remember ALL who served and sacrificed for the greatest country on earth!!

HEAR A PIN DROP

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush.

He answered by saying: "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.

You could have heard a pin drop.
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Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American.

During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?"

A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people. They are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities.

They have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people 3 meals a day.

They can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.

We have eleven such ships, how many does France have?

You could have heard a pin drop.
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A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navy's.

At a cocktail reception he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries.

Everyone was chatting a way in English as they sipped their drinks, a French Admiral suddenly complained that "Whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English." He then asked "Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?"

Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied "Maybe its because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German."

You could have heard a pin drop.
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AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...

A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour.

Robert Whiting an elderly gentleman of 83 arrived in Paris by plane. At French Customs he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on.

"You have been to France before, monsieur?" the French Customs Officer asked sarcastically.

Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously.

"Then you should know enough to have your passport ready." the French Customs Officer stated.

The American said, "The last time I was here I didn't have to show it."

"That's impossible Americans always have to show their passports on arrival in France!" the French Customs Officer said in contempt.

The American senior gave the Frenchman along hard look, then he quietly explained. "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944 to help liberate this country you call France, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to!"

You could have heard a pin drop
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What Is A Veteran?

A "Veteran" - whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to
"The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including his life".

That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact or have no idea what honor is or does not have any honor.