Article

2008-09-28

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Besoeker 2008-09-28 08:29|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [1748 views ] Top

1 'I am going to have it stuffed and use it as a club when I get back to my unit.'

"... was a centurion with a terrible reputation, Lucilius Fabilus. Nicknamed Cedo Alteram ("Fetch me another") for his habit of breaking his cane on the backs of legionaries he would beat for various infractions..."

I think we see a pattern here.

Posted by Procopius2k 2008-09-28 11:56|| 2008-09-28 11:56|| Front Page Top

2 That story does indeed make one well up. Such stories inspire me and make me wonder why I bitch about anything. The story frames what's really important--men such as are in this story and what they stand for--they are the very finest we have.

Posted by JohnQC 2008-09-28 13:14|| 2008-09-28 13:14|| Front Page Top

3 God bless them and watch over them, and bring them all back to those who love them when they've finished the task they set themselves. I am proud to be part of the nation such men and women think worth fighting for.

Posted by trailing wife">trailing wife 2008-09-28 16:06|| 2008-09-28 16:06|| Front Page Top

4 "We had been told, on leaving our native soil, that we were going to defend the sacred rights conferred on us by so many of our citizens settled overseas, so many years of our presence, so many benefits brought by us to populations in need of our assistance and our civilization.

"We were able to verify that all this was true, and, because it was true, we did not hesitate to shed our quota of blood, to sacrifice our youth and our hopes. We regretted nothing, but whereas we over here are inspired by this frame of mind, I am told that in Rome factions and conspiracies are rife, that treachery flourishes, and that many people in their uncertainty and confusion lend a ready ear to the dire temptations of relinquishment and vilify our action.

"I cannot believe that all this is true and yet recent wars have shown how pernicious such a state of mind could be and to where it could lead.

"Make haste to reassure me, I beg you, and tell me that our fellow-citizens understand us, support us, and protect us as we ourselves are protecting the glory of the Empire.

"If it should be otherwise, if we should have to leave our bleached bones on these desert sands in vain, then beware of the anger of the Legions!"

Marcus Flavius,
Centurion, 2nd Cohort of the
Augusta Legion, to his cousin
Tertullus in Rome

Jean Larteguy quoted this in his novel, The Centurions, about the Algerian War. We now have a real problem in both Washington and Wall Street. If the Left gets elected in November they'll make it worse. Then this quote comes into play. Men such as this won't take the squandering of their sacrifices lying down, and squandering those sacrifices is exactly what the Left intends to do.

To quote Thomas Jefferson, "I fear for my country when I remember that God is just."

Posted by Jolutch Mussolini7800 2008-09-28 18:16|| 2008-09-28 18:16|| Front Page Top

5 While it is laudable that our soldiers are willing to return to battle after losing a limb, even back in the days of the US Civil War, it was noted that such men almost invariably have permanent personality changes, and need to spend a long time to find their new niche where they can perform to their own satisfaction.

Posted by Anonymoose 2008-09-28 19:37|| 2008-09-28 19:37|| Front Page Top

6 Where do they come from? They come from Montana, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, and the other forty five states and the U.S. territories. Many of them in their youth watched the Twin Towers fall, some at the beginning of their life journey. They chose to defend our country, not for glory but out of a sense of obligation to defend our freedoms, our nation, and our way of life. One day they build roads and visit schools in far away lands. The next they experience the unimaginable horror of close combat with a inhumane enemy. They make sacrifices that our "betters" in Hollywood, on Wall Street, or Martha's Vineyard could not even comprehend. They are the best of us, our sons an daughters who make us better by knowing they are on the gun line manning the walls to keep the barbarians at bay. To quote Winston Churchhill, after reading the U.S. entry into World War II, "I have read of the American Civil War, and I sleep the sleep of the saved." God bless them and their families, may He hold them close to his heart and grant them safe passage. Thank you to all of the veterans and their families here on Rantburg.

Posted by djh_usmc 2008-09-28 20:21|| 2008-09-28 20:21|| Front Page Top

7 my eldest son volunteered for the Army, two years ago, based on 9/11/01, which occurred when he was 13. Don't write our coming generations off. They are volunteering in a hot war to fight America's enemies, knowing full-well what that means.

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2008-09-28 20:26|| 2008-09-28 20:26|| Front Page Top

8 We should assemble an entire unit of disabled soldiers and set them loose in Berkley, kicking hippies.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2008-09-28 21:05|| 2008-09-28 21:05|| Front Page Top

23:56 Redneck Jim
23:54 RD
23:54 JosephMendiola
23:40 rammer
23:36 Jolutch Mussolini7800
23:25 RD
23:20 RD
23:14 RD
23:14 3dc
22:55 Jolutch Mussolini7800
22:54 RD
22:48 trailing wife
22:48 JDB
22:43 Barbara Skolaut
22:34 trailing wife
22:30 Lonzo
22:30 JosephMendiola
22:25 trailing wife
22:21 KBK
22:16 Eric Jablow
22:15 JosephMendiola
22:07 James
22:02 rjschwarz
21:57 btobecard
Merry-Go-Blog