By Andy Rooney; originally broadcast on May 29, 2005

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day we have set aside to honor by remembering all the Americans who have died fighting for the thing we like the most about our America: the freedom we have to live as we please.

No official day to remember is adequate for something like that. It’s too formal. It gets to be just another day on the calendar. No one would know from Memorial Day that Richie M., who was shot through the forehead coming onto Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944, wore different color socks on each foot because he thought it brought him good luck.

No one would remember on Memorial Day that Eddie G. had promised to marry Julie W. the day after he got home from the war, but didn’t marry Julie because he never came home from the war. Eddie was shot dead on an un-American desert island, Iwo Jima.

For too many Americans, Memorial Day has become just another day off. There’s only so much time any of us can spend remembering those we loved who have died, but the men, boys really, who died in our wars deserve at least a few moments of reflection during which we consider what they did for us.

They died.

We use the phrase “gave their lives,” but they didn’t give their lives. Their lives were taken from them.

There is more bravery at war than in peace, and it seems wrong that we have so often saved this virtue to use for our least noble activity – war. The goal of war is to cause death to other people.

Because I was in the Army during World War II, I have more to remember on Memorial Day than most of you. I had good friends who were killed.

Charley Wood wrote poetry in high school. He was killed when his Piper Cub was shot down while he was flying as a spotter for the artillery.

Bob O’Connor went down in flames in his B-17.
Obie Slingerland and I were best friends and co-captains of our high school football team. Obie was killed on the deck of the Saratoga when a bomb that hadn’t dropped exploded as he landed.

I won’t think of them anymore tomorrow, Memorial Day, than I think of them any other day of my life.

Remembering doesn’t do the remembered any good, of course. It’s for ourselves, the living. I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future if we don’t find some new way – some new religion maybe – that takes war out of our lives.

That would be a Memorial Day worth celebrating.

© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Commentary by Gen. Donald Hoffman, Commander, Air Force Materiel Command

5/19/2009 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – More than 1.3 million Americans have fought and died on behalf of our country during the past 233 years. Except for Afghanistan and Iraq, those wars and conflicts have receded into the pages of history books.  But our country was not built on history books. It was built on the backs of men and women who believed in the fundamental principles of freedom, principles for which they were willing to put their lives on the line.

I was recently TDY in Europe and had the opportunity to visit the American Cemetery at St. Mihiel, France. Buried there are 4,153 Americans who gave their lives defending the freedom of others. It is just one of many cemeteries around the world where we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

On Memorial Day, we owe these people more than a day off of work, a backyard barbecue or a day at the water park. I plan to stop wherever I am and whatever I’m doing on Memorial Day at 3 p.m. for the National Moment of Remembrance. I hope you will too. Take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made and the lives lost in the name of freedom.

Our history is full of stories of ordinary people who displayed extraordinary heroism. No doubt our future holds more amazing stories of heartache and heroism. Some of those stories are playing out now in current conflicts around the world. These are stories that bind us together, as one, under the Stars and Stripes of the United States of America. They’re the stories of real people whose loved ones suffered and mourned. Let us never forget to honor them all.

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By Captain John Rasmussen (Army News Service, May 22, 2002)

It was raining “cats and dogs” and I was late for physical training.

Traffic was backed up at Fort Campbell, Ky., and was moving way too slowly. I was probably going to be late and I was growing more and more impatient.

The pace slowed almost to a standstill as I passed Memorial Grove, the site built to honor the soldiers who died in the Gander airplane crash, the worst redeployment accident in the history of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

Because it was close to Memorial Day, a small American flag had been placed in the ground next to each soldier’s memorial plaque.

My concern at the time, however, was getting past the bottleneck, getting out of the rain and getting to PT on time.

All of a sudden, infuriatingly, just as the traffic was getting started again, the car in front of me stopped.

A soldier, a private of course, jumped out in the pouring rain and ran over toward the grove.

I couldn’t believe it! This knucklehead was holding up everyone for who knows what kind of prank. Horns were honking.

I waited to see the butt-chewing that I wanted him to get for making me late.

He was getting soaked to the skin. His BDUs were plastered to his frame. I watched as he ran up to one of the memorial plaques, picked up the small American flag that had fallen to the ground in the wind and the rain, and set it upright again.

Then, slowly, he came to attention, saluted, ran back to his car, and drove off.

I’ll never forget that incident. That soldier, whose name I will never know, taught me more about duty, honor, and respect than a hundred books or a thousand lectures.

That simple salute — that single act of honoring his fallen brother and his flag — encapsulated all the Army values in one gesture for me. It said, “I will never forget. I will keep the faith. I will finish the mission. I am an American soldier.”
I thank God for examples like that.

And on this Memorial Day, I will remember all those who paid the ultimate price for my freedom, and one private, soaked to the skin, who honored them.

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Our morning show jokester Nicholas has been going through a tough time lately. In case you’re not familiar with his situation, our 9-year-old friend has been battling brain tumors since he was 2. He recently finished up a round of chemotherapy, but in the week and a half since, has suffered from severe headaches. Nicholas had a seizure Saturday, May 15th, and was rushed to Duke, where doctors put in a ventricular shunt to relieve a backup of spinal fluid in his brain. (That’s a photo of Nick in the PICU, enjoying a Krispy Kreme after surgery on Sunday.)

Neither Nicholas nor his parents have ever asked for financial help or any other type of handout. But the sad truth is, that after seven years of various cancer treatments, the family is about maxed out on their lifetime health insurance.

That’s why we want you to come to the NICHOLAS JAM on Saturday, May 29th. It’ll be at the Country Corral in King (just 10 minutes north of Winston-Salem; take the “King-Tobaccoville” exit from US 52). Doors open at 8:30pm for this benefit concert with Jason Michael Carroll and Jerrod Niemann (“Lover, Lover”). Tickets are just $15 and you can get ‘em by clicking here. (You’ll also be able to get ‘em at the door or at the Country Cafe in King.) The show’s promoter has agreed that after the basic costs of the show are taken care of, that the net proceeds will go directly to Nicholas’s family to help with expenses related to his illness.

We appreciate your support of the Weis family more than you can possibly imagine. God bless you for all your kind thoughts and prayers for Nicholas!

You heard about it on the Wake Up with the Wolf Show…order safely and securely online now by clicking here!  Makes a great wedding or anniversary gift!

The Better Marriage Blanket – Watch more Funny Videos

By R.F. Dees and his grandson, Justin Pierce; posted in the Marietta Monitor, Marietta, OK – May 28, 1999

He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast;
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies, they were heroes everyone.
And tho’ sometimes to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we’ll hear his tales no longer, for old John has passed away;
And the world’s a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He’ll not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won’t note his passing, though a soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
And thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Newspapers tell their life stories, from the time that they were young.
But, the passing of a simple Soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land,
A person who breaks promises and cons his fellow man,
Or the ordinary fellow, who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers his life?
It’s so easy to forget them, for it was so long ago,
That the “old Johns” of our country went to battle, but we know,
It was not the politicians, with their promises and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.
He was just a “common soldier” and his ranks are growing thin.
But, his presence should remind us, we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the Soldier’s part,
Is to clean up the troubles, that others often start.
If we cannot give him honor, while he’s here to hear the praise,
Then at least, let’s give him homage at the ending of his days.
Perhaps a simple notice, in the paper that would say,
“Our country is in mourning, ‘cause a Soldier passed away today.”

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C’mon… a Twitter tattoo? Really???

Let us know what you think, or if you’ve seen one stupider than this!

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Talk happiness. The world is sad enough
Without your woes. No path is wholly rough;
Look for the places that are smooth and clear,
And speak of those, to rest the weary ear
Of Earth, so hurt by one continuous strain
Of human discontent and grief and pain.

Talk faith. The world is better off without
Your uttered ignorance and morbid doubt.
If you have faith in God, or man, or self,
Say so. If not, push back upon the shelf
Of silence all your thoughts, till faith shall come;
No one will grieve because your lips are dumb.

Talk health. The dreary, never-changing tale
Of mortal maladies is worn and stale.
You cannot charm, or interest, or please
By harping on that minor chord, disease.
Say you are well, or all is well with you,
And God shall hear your words and make them true.

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

By Barry Spilchuk

Pete Rose, the famous baseball player, and I have never met, but he taught me something so valuable that it changed my life. Pete was being interviewed in spring training the year he was about to break Ty Cobb’s all time hits record. One reporter blurted out, “Pete, you only need 78 hits to break the record. How many at-bats do you think you’ll need to get the 78 hits?” Without hesitation, Pete just stared at the reporter and very matter-of-factly said, “78.” The reporter yelled back, “Ah, come on Pete, you don’t expect to get 78 hits in 78 at-bats do you?”

Mr. Rose calmly shared his philosophy with the throngs of reporters who were anxiously awaiting his reply to this seemingly boastful claim. “Every time I step up to the plate, I expect to get a hit! If I don’t expect to get a hit, I have no right to step in the batter’s box in the first place! If I go up hoping to get a hit,” he continued, “then I probably don’t have a prayer to get a hit. It is a positive expectation that has gotten me all of the hits in the first place.”

When I thought about Pete Rose’s philosophy and how it applied to everyday life, I felt a little embarrassed. As a business person, I was hoping to make my sales quotas. As a father, I was hoping to be a good dad. As a married man, I was hoping to be a good husband.

The truth was that I was an adequate salesperson, I was not so bad of a father, and I was an okay husband. I immediately decided that being okay was not enough! I wanted to be a great salesperson, a great father and a great husband. I changed my attitude to one of positive expectation, and the results were amazing. I was fortunate enough to win a few sales trips, I won Coach of the Year in my son’s baseball league, and I share a loving relationship with my wife, Karen, with whom I expect to be married to for the rest of my life! Thanks, Mr. Rose!

© Wake Up With the Wolf Show – 93.1 the Wolf – WPAW.  Please share this with your friends!

Your thoughts?

From an Arizona protest yesterday.