MEMORIAL DAY! A Day to REMEMBER!

Cards made to celebrate and remember!

Patriotic Gnomes are from {a vintage girl}and her daughter

Thank you to those who have served and lost their life for our country over the last 200 plus years!  We would not have this great place to live if there were not men and women to fight for what it stands for. 

Remember The Men & Women Who Have Served Our Country!

Monday is our day to remember those who have served in the military.  I collect old pictures & postcards.  When I see any that with soldiers or have to do with military I snatch them up.  Over the years I have collected a few.  Here are some I would like to share with you.  Many who are no longer with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Lee VA (cira 1940's)

Remembering those who have served!

(From my collection of vintage postcards circa 1940's.)

 

World War I the first Camp Lee was selected as a state mobilization camp and later became a division training camp. After World War I, Camp Lee was administered by the Commonwealth of Virginia and designated a game preserve.

 

World War II  the War Department ordered the construction of another Camp Lee on the site of the earlier installation for Quartermaster training. 

 

Many soldiers walked the grounds of Camp Lee prior to departure for Europe.

 

 

 

In 1950 and the post was redesignated as Fort Lee

and still operates today.

 

For more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lee_(Virginia)

 



"In Flanders Fields"

During my early years in school, I remember memorizing "In Flanders Fields"   as a class and reciting for an assembly.  At that time I didn't understand what John McCrae was describing.  Today when I hear it I rememberer reciting it, more importantly I remember those who died fighting. 

In Flanders Fields 

In Flanders fields the poppies blow 

Between the crosses, row on row,   

That mark our place; and in the sky   

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,   

Loved and were loved, and now we lie         

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw   

The torch; be yours to hold it high.   

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow         

In Flanders fields.

Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was also a poet.  John McCrae was in the FLANDERS region of Belgium, April of 1915, fighting the Germans.  It is said, after the battle he noticed how fast the poppies grew around the graves of the fallen. Learn more about "In Flanders Fields" and John McCrae: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields

A Memorial Day Thanks!

THANK YOU TO ALL THE MEN and WOMEN 

who have and continue to serve

OUR COUNTRY!  

Dad fifth in the front row. 

Picture of Dad's class graduating from a training in 1952!  Thankfully Dad is still with us, 

many of his fellow soldiers may not.

    ****************************************************

CAMP LEE, VA WWII

Postcards of Camp Lee, VA recently added to my collection!

Excerpt from Wikepedia, to learn more about Camp Lee, VA go to this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lee_(Virginia)

"In October 1940, the War Department ordered the construction of  Camp Lee on the site of an earlier installation by the same name. Built as rapidly as the first, construction was still ongoing when the Quartermaster Replacement Training Center (QMRTC) started operation in February 1941. Their number grew to 25,000 in 1942, and peaked at 35,000 in 1944.

Camp Lee was also the home of a Medical Replacement Training Center (MRTC), but as the Quartermaster training increased, it was decided to relocate the MRTC at Camp Pickett. Later, the QMRTC was re-designated as an Army Services Forces Training Center, but it retained its basic mission of training Quartermaster personnel. While the QMRTC was getting underway, the Quartermaster School was transferred to Camp Lee. A full program of courses was conducted, including Officer Candidate School. By the end of 1941, Camp Lee was the center of both basic and advanced training of Quartermaster personnel and held this position throughout the war. "

 

"When World War II ended, the fate of Camp Lee was in question. In 1946, the War Department announced that Camp Lee would be retained as a center for Quartermaster training. Official recognition of its permanent status was obtained in 1950 and the post was redesignated as Fort Lee."
Excerpt from Wikepedia

MEMORIAL DAY!!!

THANK YOU ALL 

for 

Serving this GREAT Country of Ours

The United States of America!

Cards made with vintage images from Alter Pages!

Altered Pages Vintage Soldiers collage sheet

Altered Pages Made in America collage sheet 

In Honor of Memorial Day.

This is a weekend to remember those that have served, those that continue to serve and the families behind those men and women.  

To thank each one that sacrifices a part of their life for this great country of ours.

THANK YOU!!

Vintage image on the card from Altered Pages 

Vintage Patriotism collage sheet!

In Memory of Servicemen (5 of 5 posts in honor of Memorial Day)

To those who have served

currently serve

or have served our great country.

To those who left us during combat.

Those recuperating in hospitals or at home.

Those who have retired. 

To the families of these brave men and women.

THANKS FOR YOUR SACRIFICE!

You give so much for our freedom!

On Memorial Day the flag is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.

The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.

The sailors in this collection are serving on the USNS Hugh J Gaffey

The photos are from an album I purchased in an antique store.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

USNS Hugh J Gaffey - She supported American troops during the Korean War in the early 1950s and performed similar service during the Vietnam War in the mid-1960s.

Scroll Down for More Memorial Weekend Posts!

In Memory of Servicemen (4 of 5 posts in honor of Memorial Day)

Postcard:  Infantry Training Battalions in Review Camp Croft, Spartanburg, SC

Sent 2/12/1945 to Weekstown, NJ

"Dear Mom,  I received the package yesterday "boy" do the cookies and cake taste good. I gave some to a couple of other fellows they said the same.  Its really warm today.  I got a letter for Uncle Boyce today everything is okay there.  Love David"

Those packages to the troops meant so much!!!

Exerts from History Camp Croft, South Carolina - Read more HERE!

"In June 1940, the United States Army quickened its mobilization activities to train personnel in response to the situation in Europe. In the fall of 1939, Army personnel numbered a little more than 200,000 men. By November 1944, the Army had facilities to house and train six million troops in the continental United States. This drastic increase necessitated the construction of numerous mobilization training camps known as Replacement Training Centers (RTC), Camp Croft being one of four camps intended for the instruction of Infantry replacements. By March 1941, twelve RTCs were set up to provide  Infantry, Field Artillery, Coast Artillery, Cavalry, and Armor."

"In 1947, the entire acreage of the former Camp Croft was declared surplus by the War Assets Administration. By 1950, the Army sold the land by pieces to organizations and businesses, including the transfer of 7,088 acres of land to the South Carolina Commission of Forestry for the creation of the Croft State Park. The remaining acreage has been converted to residential housing, and industrial and commercial businesses."

Scroll Down for More Memorial Weekend Posts!

5 Days of special posts - Last post on Memorial Day

In Memory of Servicewomen/WAC's (3 of 5 posts in honor of Memorial Day)

In 1942, the first contingent of 800 members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps began basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. The women were fitted for uniforms, interviewed, assigned to companies and barracks and inoculated against disease during the first day.

WAC Facts Korean & Vietnam Wars HERE

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5 Days of special posts - Last post on Memorial Day

In Memory of Soldiers WWI (2 of 5 posts in honor of Memorial Day)

I collect a lot of old postcards, photos and paper.  Here are a few photo postcards from WWI 1918.

 This is the only postcard in this selection with any writing. 

On the front: "Our way towards Paris a view of our train hauling Boche guns captured at Soissons by 1st Division" 

Click on the photos for enlarged view.

Read more here:

Soissons 1918

Soissons Through the Wheat

Scroll down for another Memorial Weekend Post!

5 Days of special posts - Last post on Memorial Day

Postcard Friendship Friday - Decoration Day AKA Memorial Day (1 of 5 Posts in honor of Memorial Day)

This card is a little worn, but it is my only Decoration Day card.

This will be my first of five posts in honor of Memorial Day,

please come back each day to view my new post.  

I am sure you will enjoy the vintage postcards and photos.

Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day, commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in the military service. Decoration Day, began during the Civil War, family and community members would place decorations, such as flowers and flags, on the graves of the war dead.  Decoration Day (later declared “Memorial Day” 1882) was made an official holiday by General John A. Logan on May 30, 1868. Over time, however, the holiday began to encompass all wars of US involvement.  In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still called Decoration Day by some.

Visit Best Hearts Are Crunchy to view more postcards!