Everybody has their own memories of past 4th of July holidays. It has always been a special day for me. Below is a couple of posts I made on my Facebook page quite some time ago. When I posted the pieces, I was thinking about October 17, 1969, and how much my life had changed since then. I was discharged from the USAF on that date. The transformation from Ron Miller, college student, to Ron Miller, Viet Nam era veteran, was dramatic. Only the fond memories of the old Ron Miller remained. A new life with new fond memories in Texas was ahead. It has not been a disappointment.
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The below piece is often referred to as the "full rendition" of Taps. However, it was composed in 1965 by an Italian composer by the name of Nini Rosso. It's title is "Il Silenenzo." It is based on the Taps refrain. The below performance occurred in the Netherlands in 2010. It was in honor of over 8,000 Americans that died in the fighting to free the Netherlands from the Nazi grip during WWII. Not Taps? True. Based on Taps, moving, beautiful, dedicated to American heroes? Also true. I am very familiar with Taps and I like it. However, this piece is very moving and in this setting was quite appropriate, and highly acclaimed.
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https://www.facebook.com/donna.reidy/videos/1329312881355/?pnref=story
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Happy 4th of July!!
When I was a young kid growing up, Memorial Day and 4th of July were second only to Christmas as my favorite holidays. Of course, Christmas is a no brainer. You get presents at Christmas. However, growing up in a small farming community in northern Indiana, one looks forward to summer and frolicking on nearby lakes. Memorial Day was the official opening of Summer. Great day!! We had been waiting nine months for it. Then, came the 4th of July......right in the middle of the summer fun and frolic and meeting new people. Water skiing, dances at the dance pavilion, ski boats, drive in theaters, hamburgers at the drive-in restaurants, etc. The 4th of July was the epitome of summer fun. Great youthful memories, although I have now been in Texas for 51 years.
Around age 17 you start maturing. You begin to listen to stories of real people about wars, killing, pride in a job well done, post high school careers or college.....and military service. You begin to realize that comic books and movies might not tell things exactly as they were.
Back in the days of the military draft, the question was never whether you were going to serve. The question was when. Some were apprehensive about it, and others were not. Some volunteered right after high school and others deferred while in college. The ones volunteering right after high school experienced intense cultural shock. Four weeks earlier, there was fun at the beach, and now there was a DI yelling at you with his nose two inches from your face. You had absolutely no doubt he would, with the slightest of provocations, pull his 45 out of his holster and shoot you.
Wounds of Korea were still present. The veterans coming back from Korea seldom talked about their experiences but occasionally did. There was no bragging, only distant memories of bad things. We were just beginning to read about a new place called "Viet Nam." A new image of veterans and what they did began to emerge in young male minds.....at least the thinking of intelligent young male minds. Hollywood hero worship began to take a back seat to the less flashy real world. One began to learn that when someone died or was killed in the real world, it was in fact real. You couldn't turn a page or change channels and get a different ending to the story.
The history books told us what the early fighters for the USA did. There was a little bit of the comic book syndrome connected with the history books. That was because one couldn't relate those stories with contemporary stories of heroism and political in-fighting; the stuff we read about every day. As one matured, the earlier concepts of what the USA was, became more real.
I have a distant (five times removed) grandfather who fought in the Revolutionary War along side four of his other brothers. He and his brothers were just a few years off the boat from Europe. For their services, each of the five brothers received a land grant in Bucks County, Ohio, down near present day Cincinnati. He improved his land, then sold it for cash to buy better and more productive land in northern Indiana. That's how I got to Indiana. My grandfather died in 1837 and his wife died in 1854. They are buried together in a small church cemetery near Wild Cat Creek, in Clinton County, along with one of his brothers and other members of the family. I have visited their graves. I am very proud of my heritage. They were true "Leather Stocking Tale" participants.
Although the pleasures of my original 4th of July celebrations remain cherished, they have been substantially replaced by a more mature celebration of the holiday. I still reminisce about the lake and the dance pavilion, but I think more about my distant grandfather and what he did. I think about subsequent grandfathers that contributed with their military efforts in the War of 1812, and even my own little effort I made with my military service.
The 4th of July remains one of my favorite holidays, but increasingly I celebrate the efforts that my ancestors successfully performed to keep this nation and my home as I enjoy today. It took generations of efforts to keep us as we are. It was no small feat. Many, many people died just so I could keep a barbecue grill in my back yard, if I wish.
I become deeply concerned, angered, and saddened with some of the behavior I see demonstrated today. All the name calling, demonstrations, AG investigations, media bias, and just plain old childish behavior is far below the standards of the expected behavior of an American. We are different than all the other people of the world. That is not a criticism of the rest of the world. It is a standard that other nations should aspire to attain. There are real enemies in this world that delight in the most cruel torture, rape and murder of innocent civilians. These same enemies wish to kill you in the same manner. Don't take my word for it. Listen to them.
When I see half of the House of Representatives throw a fit like a two year old, evidenced by three members walking out of a session during a moment of silence honoring victims of Orlando, or demonstrating like a bunch of morons in Congress, I just wish my great, great, great, great, great grandpa was still alive to go kick some ass. I think he would and could do it, aided by all his many layered grandsons. I am thoroughly fed up and disgusted with this present day crap we call politics.
Have a great 4th of July weekend. Enjoy family, friends, and place. Remember what started it, and support the current heroes who keep the date meaningful. Tell the ones you love that you really do, and be thankful that you can do all this in the country that my grandpa and his friends built for us. It's our job to pass the USA on to our decedents at least intact.
Me? I'm going to remember Indiana Beach on Lake Shaffer, maybe do a little sailing on Lake Ray Hubbard, enjoy as much family as I can, put some steaks and burgers on the grill, and drink a beer as a libation to my grandpa, John Mattix,......and maybe have another beer dedicated to all the current service personnel now serving in the US armed forces. The damned politicians will have to buy their own beer.
____________________
The below piece is often referred to as the "full rendition" of Taps. However, it was composed in 1965 by an Italian composer by the name of Nini Rosso. It's title is "Il Silenenzo." It is based on the Taps refrain. The below performance occurred in the Netherlands in 2010. It was in honor of over 8,000 Americans that died in the fighting to free the Netherlands from the Nazi grip during WWII. Not Taps? True. Based on Taps, moving, beautiful, dedicated to American heroes? Also true. I am very familiar with Taps and I like it. However, this piece is very moving and in this setting was quite appropriate, and highly acclaimed.
_________________________
https://www.facebook.com/donna.reidy/videos/1329312881355/?pnref=story
_________________________
Happy 4th of July!!
When I was a young kid growing up, Memorial Day and 4th of July were second only to Christmas as my favorite holidays. Of course, Christmas is a no brainer. You get presents at Christmas. However, growing up in a small farming community in northern Indiana, one looks forward to summer and frolicking on nearby lakes. Memorial Day was the official opening of Summer. Great day!! We had been waiting nine months for it. Then, came the 4th of July......right in the middle of the summer fun and frolic and meeting new people. Water skiing, dances at the dance pavilion, ski boats, drive in theaters, hamburgers at the drive-in restaurants, etc. The 4th of July was the epitome of summer fun. Great youthful memories, although I have now been in Texas for 51 years.
Around age 17 you start maturing. You begin to listen to stories of real people about wars, killing, pride in a job well done, post high school careers or college.....and military service. You begin to realize that comic books and movies might not tell things exactly as they were.
Back in the days of the military draft, the question was never whether you were going to serve. The question was when. Some were apprehensive about it, and others were not. Some volunteered right after high school and others deferred while in college. The ones volunteering right after high school experienced intense cultural shock. Four weeks earlier, there was fun at the beach, and now there was a DI yelling at you with his nose two inches from your face. You had absolutely no doubt he would, with the slightest of provocations, pull his 45 out of his holster and shoot you.
Wounds of Korea were still present. The veterans coming back from Korea seldom talked about their experiences but occasionally did. There was no bragging, only distant memories of bad things. We were just beginning to read about a new place called "Viet Nam." A new image of veterans and what they did began to emerge in young male minds.....at least the thinking of intelligent young male minds. Hollywood hero worship began to take a back seat to the less flashy real world. One began to learn that when someone died or was killed in the real world, it was in fact real. You couldn't turn a page or change channels and get a different ending to the story.
The history books told us what the early fighters for the USA did. There was a little bit of the comic book syndrome connected with the history books. That was because one couldn't relate those stories with contemporary stories of heroism and political in-fighting; the stuff we read about every day. As one matured, the earlier concepts of what the USA was, became more real.
I have a distant (five times removed) grandfather who fought in the Revolutionary War along side four of his other brothers. He and his brothers were just a few years off the boat from Europe. For their services, each of the five brothers received a land grant in Bucks County, Ohio, down near present day Cincinnati. He improved his land, then sold it for cash to buy better and more productive land in northern Indiana. That's how I got to Indiana. My grandfather died in 1837 and his wife died in 1854. They are buried together in a small church cemetery near Wild Cat Creek, in Clinton County, along with one of his brothers and other members of the family. I have visited their graves. I am very proud of my heritage. They were true "Leather Stocking Tale" participants.
Although the pleasures of my original 4th of July celebrations remain cherished, they have been substantially replaced by a more mature celebration of the holiday. I still reminisce about the lake and the dance pavilion, but I think more about my distant grandfather and what he did. I think about subsequent grandfathers that contributed with their military efforts in the War of 1812, and even my own little effort I made with my military service.
The 4th of July remains one of my favorite holidays, but increasingly I celebrate the efforts that my ancestors successfully performed to keep this nation and my home as I enjoy today. It took generations of efforts to keep us as we are. It was no small feat. Many, many people died just so I could keep a barbecue grill in my back yard, if I wish.
I become deeply concerned, angered, and saddened with some of the behavior I see demonstrated today. All the name calling, demonstrations, AG investigations, media bias, and just plain old childish behavior is far below the standards of the expected behavior of an American. We are different than all the other people of the world. That is not a criticism of the rest of the world. It is a standard that other nations should aspire to attain. There are real enemies in this world that delight in the most cruel torture, rape and murder of innocent civilians. These same enemies wish to kill you in the same manner. Don't take my word for it. Listen to them.
When I see half of the House of Representatives throw a fit like a two year old, evidenced by three members walking out of a session during a moment of silence honoring victims of Orlando, or demonstrating like a bunch of morons in Congress, I just wish my great, great, great, great, great grandpa was still alive to go kick some ass. I think he would and could do it, aided by all his many layered grandsons. I am thoroughly fed up and disgusted with this present day crap we call politics.
Have a great 4th of July weekend. Enjoy family, friends, and place. Remember what started it, and support the current heroes who keep the date meaningful. Tell the ones you love that you really do, and be thankful that you can do all this in the country that my grandpa and his friends built for us. It's our job to pass the USA on to our decedents at least intact.
Me? I'm going to remember Indiana Beach on Lake Shaffer, maybe do a little sailing on Lake Ray Hubbard, enjoy as much family as I can, put some steaks and burgers on the grill, and drink a beer as a libation to my grandpa, John Mattix,......and maybe have another beer dedicated to all the current service personnel now serving in the US armed forces. The damned politicians will have to buy their own beer.
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