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Mother Crying Over The World by Albin Polasek, 1942. Used with permission of the Albin Polasek Museum, Winter Park FL.
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SiteRing
by Bravenet.com
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MOTHER CRYING OVER THE WORLD
By
Kathie Costos
The tears of a mother are not bound by nation or race.
They are bound by love, hope and grace.
She knows that this must be done
in order for the battle to be won,
yet wonders why it had to be her daughter or son,
to do what so few others have done.
She waits and prays and counts each day.
She grieves more than words could ever say.
She prays the angels will intercede.
She cries out in agony for the death caused by man and blamed on God, country, need or greed.
Mother crying all over the world in unity
for what man has done to humanity.
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The names of those who died during the Vietnam War are carved on the wall and in the hearts of the families they left behind. They are forever in the minds and prayers of those who served with them. How many more mothers will cry for a child lost to war? How many more names are missing from the wall that died as a result of their service from illness and suicide?
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Wherever the standard of freedom and independence as been or shall be unfurled, there will her (America's) heart, her benedictions and her prayers be. But she goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all. She is the champion and vindicator only of her own. She will recommend the general cause, by the countenance of her voice and the benignant sympathy of her example. She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself, beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which assumes the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force. She might become the dictatress of the world, she would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit.
John Quincy Adams 1821
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http://thewall-usa.com/stats/
This is the list of the years the troops died in Vietnam. Look at the years and then remember the attitude of those who failed to see the futility of staying the course.
This is the breakdown of the years in Vietnam.
1957 1
1958 0
1959 2
We are approaching the thousandth day in Iraq now with 2,142 dead as of today December 10, 2006
1960 5
1961 16
1962 53
1963 118
1964 206
1965 1863
We have already surpassed this figure. Five years into Vietnam we lost 2,264 lives.
1966 6,144
1967 11,153
1968 16,589
1969 11,614
1970 6,083
1971 2,357
1972 640
1973 168
The death count kept rising even after major operations ended.
The wounded figure of our troops alone in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense, is at 15,568. This is with the average troop strength in Iraq at 130,000.
Compare that to Vietnam. "between 1 and 1.6 million (40-60%) either fought in combat, provided close combat support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack."
7,484 women served in Vietnam, of whom 6,250 or 83.5% were nurses.
Peak troop strength in Vietnam was 543,482, on 30 April 1969. 11,614 died that year alone.
Casualties:
Hostile deaths: 47,359
Non-hostile deaths: 10,797
Total: 58,156 (including men formerly classified as MIA and Mayaguez casualties).
Highest state death rate: West Virginia--84.1. (The national average death rate for males in 1970 was 58.9 per 100,000).
WIA: 303,704 - 153,329 required hospitalization, 50,375 who did not.
Severely disabled: 75,000, 23,214 were classified 100% disabled. 5,283 lost limbs, 1,081 sustained multiple amputations. Amputation or crippling wounds to the lower extremities were 300% higher than in WWII and 70% higher than in Korea. Multiple amputations occurred at the rate of 18.4% compared to 5.7% in WWII.
MIA: 2,338
POW: 766, of whom 114 died in captivity.
Draftees vs. volunteers:
25% (648,500) of total forces in country were draftees. (66% of U.S. armed
forces members were drafted during WWII)
Draftees accounted for 30.4% (17,725) of combat deaths in Vietnam.
Reservists KIA: 5,977
National Guard: 6,140 served; 101 died
http://www.mrfa.org/vnstats.htm
If the government listened to the people who were speaking out against the needless involvement in 1966 they could have saved the lives of all who died after. That total is 54,748. Had they listened in 1967 they could have saved 48,604 lives. Do you think that those who argued to stay there and "finish" were any different than you? Do you think that any of them were able to see that staying there was a lost cause which should not have been done in the first place? How many lives are you willing to give up for Bush so that he can keep his pride?
Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
http://namguardianangel.blogspot.com
http://journals.aol.com/namguardianangel/media
http://hometown.aol.com/namguardianangel/KathieCostosindex.html
http://hometown.aol.com/namguardianangel/fortheloveofjackindex.html
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