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Mary G
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| Posted: May 25 2006 at 5:17am | IP Logged
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I get a really cool daily email from Brenda Hyde who runs a site called Old Fashioned Living (which is one many of you might want to visit anyway for it's great tea-time, craft and other ideas).
Anyway...... 
She had a great discussion of Memorial Day ideas in her daily "newsletter". Here's an excerpt of an activity that sure sounds like a great "real learning" experience for the kiddos:
I also have another activity/discussion that you can have this
weekend with your children or grandchildren. Discuss the
concept of courage. What is it? Who can be courageous? Is
it just the people we read about that do grand lifesaving acts?
Or is it the soldier who does their duty to their country despite
doubts and fears? Is it that we work through fears to keep on
going even in difficult times? Each member of the family can
name of person they think of as courageous and why.
These quotes should give you some ideas:
Courage is simply the willingness to be afraid and act
anyway. ~Robert Anthony
Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when
scared half to death. ~General Omar Bradley
One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born
with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any
other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true,
merciful, generous, or honest. ~Maya Angelou
I feel Memorial Day is a day to set aside our political differences.
It's a day to remember the men and women throughout history
that have had the courage to face circumstances most of us
cannot imagine
MORE: The words to "In Flanders Fields" for more discussion:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/flandersfield.htm l
Doesn't that sound like a great idea? I am SO guilty of "celebrating" Memorial Day as the start of summer or end of school time or a day to barbeque -- I forget the true reason we have this one....
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MaryG
3 boys (22, 12, 8)2 girls (20, 11)
my website that combines my schooling, hand-knits work, writing and everything else in one spot!
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 27 2006 at 12:09am | IP Logged
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A rabbit trail of courageous virtue to tie in with this Memorial Day is to study the life of one particular military chaplain - Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a Maryknoll priest and Navy chaplain. He is known as "The Grunt Padre" and his cause for sainthood opened this week.
On May 29th, EWTN will be airing the 12th Annual Memorial Day Mass held at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington DC (May 21). Sponsored by the Archdiocese for Military Services, USA, the Mass also provided the occasion for the official announcement that Vietnam Chaplain Vincent Robert Capodanno has been declared by the Vatican as Servant of God.
From the EWTN Schedule:
SPECIAL PROGRAMMING
THE GRUNT PADRE (60:00)
This is an excellent and touching documentary about a military chaplain who committed his life and ultimately gave it up for the service of US Marines fighting in Viet Nam. Several Viet Nam vets recount their memories and war stories involving Fr. Capodanno.
Monday May 29, 2006 4:00 AM Eastern Time
Monday May 29, 2006 1:00 AM Pacific Time
This is an eyewitness account of his final day from the Maryknoll page:
"We had a chaplain, a Maryknoll priest named Capodanno, who had been over here for 16 months. Usual tour of duty in Vietnam is 12 months but the good padre had it extended on condition that he would be allowed to continue with the "grunts" (term applied to marine infantry men) ... He appeared, in spite of his quiet unpretentious manner, to be a veritable thorn in the Division Chaplain's bald head. The D.C. wanted Fr. C. to live at Headquarters from where he could "spoke" out to all the battalions in the division - but Fr. C. would have none of that. His mission was to the grunts, fighting in the front lines whom he felt really needed a chaplain. His audience was always a small group of 20-40 marines gathered together on a hill or behind some rocks, hearing confessions, saying Mass. It was almost as though he had decided to leave the "other 99" in a safe area and go after the one who had gotten in trouble. Over here there is a written policy that if you get three Purple Hearts you go home within 48 hours. On Labor Day our battalion ran into a world of trouble. When Fr. C. arrived on the scene it was 500 marines against 2,500 N. Vietnamese. We were constantly on the verge of being overrun and the marines on several occasions had to "advance in a retrograde movement". This left the dead and wounded outside the perimeter as they slowly withdrew. Early in the day he was shot in the right hand - one corpsman patched him up and tried to evacuate him to the rear but Fr. C. declined, saying he had work to do. A few hours later a mortar shell landed near him and left his right arm hanging in shreds. Once again he was patched up and again he refused evacuation. There he was, moving slowly from wounded to dead to wounded, using his left arm to support his right as he gave absolution, when he suddenly spied a corpsman get knocked down by a burst from an automatic weapon. The man was shot in the leg and couldn't move. Fr. C. ran out to him and positioned himself between the injured boy and the weapon. The weapon opened up again and this time riddled Fr. C. completely, and - with his third Purple Heart of the day - Father went Home.
Other resources:
Fr. Capodanno's entry on The Virtual Wall - Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Biography of Fr. Capodanno - The Grunt Padre by Fr. Daniel Mode
Catholic Answers radio show broadcast (taped) - Fr. Vincent Capodanno, Grunt Padre - Search the calendar here for the November 2, 2000 date of original broadcast.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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momwise
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| Posted: May 27 2006 at 9:19am | IP Logged
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MaryM wrote:
| A rabbit trail of courageous virtue to tie in with this Memorial Day is to study the life of one particular military chaplain - Fr. Vincent Capodanno, a Maryknoll priest and Navy chaplain. He is known as "The Grunt Padre" |
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Great idea! I have that book on the shelf. Another fantastic Memorial day read is Sea of Glory: A Novel Based on the True WWII Story of the Four Chaplains and the U.S.A.T. Dorchester . One of the chaplains was Catholic, the others were protestant and Jewish and all 4 lost their lives, along with their men when the Germans sank the Dorchester. It's a great book, available at most libraries.
Our tv, which got EWTN without cable or a dish broke and we're trying to find a cheap used tv to replace it but I'm on pins and needles waiting to see if it'll also get EWTN. If you tape any of the shows Mary, I'd love to borrow 
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"If you want equal justice for all and true freedom and lasting peace, then America, defend life." JPII
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MaryM
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| Posted: May 29 2006 at 2:14pm | IP Logged
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One suggestion I saw was to listen to "Taps" on Memorial Day.
To make it easy, here is an Audio clip
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Mary M. in Denver
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jackiemomof7
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Another Chaplain who they are working on canonization is Fr. Emil Kapaun. My dd and I discovered him during her search for catholics during the Korean war. There is a book out about him "A Shepherd in Combat Boots" she really enjoyed it. Said it really described what they endured in the army.Her words she used to descirbe him was"awesome". And he was from our state too. 
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stacykay
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Thank you for the wonderful ideas and book recommendations! We almost always go to the cemetary on Memorial Day. Right near my fil's grave is a young man who died in Vietnam (22yo.) We clean his marker off and pray for him. There is now a young marine, killed in Iraq, just twenty feet away.  I found today very emotional, more than the usual.
I was really searching for more to do, and these ideas will be a huge help.
God Bless,
Stacy in MI
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SuzanneG
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Bump. This is from a couple years ago, but thought it may be helpful for May, and adding a couple things found while searching....
Cay has The Wall listed in her Children's Hour for May.
Coloring Pages
Remembrance: a tribute to America's veterans looks good, with lots of art in it. I have it on request from the library.
US Flag/Patriotic Unit thread.
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Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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JennGM
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I was going to start a thread with ideas on how to focus on what Memorial Day means for us, and I see this old has the same ideas I was searching for.
This is the day we remember, honor, give tribute, and pray for those who lost their lives serving for their country.
Our favorite thing to do for days like Veteran's Day or Memorial Day is to go to Mass, pray for their souls, and visit the cemetery. Usually the flags are displayed for all veterans or those who died serving, so my boys really enjoy finding all the soldiers and reading their stories.
It's a great little history lesson, especially when we visit older cemeteries, which have grave markers from all different times, so we discuss Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, etc. Cemeteries do reveal more of the sacrifice, like a very young man, no wife, so obviously killed in action.
Can you think of any other picture books that would be helpful in understanding or appreciating the sacrifices of our armed forces?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JodieLyn
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This seems an appropriate place to post a favorite quote of mine..
Quote:
| True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others, at whatever cost. -Arthur Ashe |
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G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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JennGM
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That is so lovely, Jodie. I love Arthur Ashe.
Some past threads I just found:
Memorial Day Lapbooks
Memorial Day Rabbit Trail
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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guitarnan
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My dh likes to take the kids to Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day.
When we lived in Italy, my son's Scout troop and the troop from Naples spent every Memorial Day weekend cleaning the gravestones at the American Cemetery in Anzio and putting flags on each grave.
One year we were fortunate enough to have time to visit my great-uncle's gravesite at Florence American Cemetery in Italy and place flowers there for Memorial Day. (He died in WWII.) My dad was so happy we did this - it was amazing, what such a simple thing meant to him. We went back again right before we moved back to the U.S. Someday I'll get back there...
We try to make sure our children know that Memorial Day honors the brave people who served our country, knowing they were putting their safety at risk. We go to military cemeteries fairly regularly (we like history!), but Memorial Day is different.
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JennGM
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| Posted: May 28 2010 at 7:51pm | IP Logged
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Cemetery Tour had some great ideas for grave rubbings.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Family in Feast and Feria
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Memorial Day
