Leroy,
Your comments said it all today. I think we need to start educating the very young, on what is truly the message and purpose of Memorial Day. When asked, one little girl said it meant that swimming pools opened. It is our fault that we have let that happen.
It is so easy to go about our own ways each day with no real thought of those brave young men and women. Remembering them everyday must come naturally. They weren't here for the cook-outs or picnics this weekend.
Prayers,
Wanda Amorose

Sent by Wanda Amorose | 7:37 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy, I looked at the photos at my neighborhood Memorial Day display yesterday. The photos were as you described - mostly young faces. They made me very sad for all the lost potential.

War is a young man's scourge. Cancer, generally speaking, is for older folks.

Sent by Marilyn | 7:38 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Good morning Leroy,

Exceptionally well said. I agree with you. Completely.

My family and I looked at the pictures.

We do not forget.

Peace,

Kim & Virgie & Gracie

Sent by Kim & Virgie & Gracie | 8:16 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy,
You are so right. Whether we were for the war or against it, the young soldiers are there today and will be there again tomorrow. We won't see their flag draped coffins returning home or their battered bodies arriving at the hospitals. They are numbered in the thousands (tens of thousands injured) and and one day a year is not enough to honor them.
I've never been to war, but I've heard that your soul is forever changed once you've experienced it. So they are very similar to us here is "Cancer world"...and they keep on fighting hoping for a good outcome.

Sent by Deb | 8:20 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Memorial day weekend, the first long weekend of summer. While we are supposed to be thinking about those who sacrificed for our freedom, some do not. TCM ran back to back war movies. A&E had war movies. Parades were held in many communities. We saw the Lima Lima planes flying overhead in the western suburbs of Chicago.

In yesterday's news paper, I saw they were arranging bus trips for surviving WWII vets to visit the WWII memorial in Washington D.C. I really wanted to get my dad there, but....

Remember the fallen, for they fell for our freedom.

Sent by Sue Chap | 8:24 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Amen. We should be thinking and praying for them every day not just when something out of the ordinary happens like a holiday. They don't get holidays.

Sent by John | 8:25 AM ET | 05-27-2008

I wrote the other day about a Soprano's episode where an inmate, a doctor, makes the comment, "If the doctor's state 3-6 months, and you make it longer, who looks good?" I just read that Sydney Pollack succumbed to cancer. Apparently, his doctors were never able to determine the root of the cancer. Sydney Pollack played the role of the inmate. I guess he knew, first hand, what he was talking about. God bless him.

Yesterday, I did remember those people over in Iraq and all those before them. Can you imagine what life would be like without them? If not for their contribution, would we, as cancer patients, be able to beat the perceived odds? Probably not. Words cannot express my thanks to these heroes.

Sent by Kathy B. | 8:52 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Good to hear from you Leroy. Hope your week end was quiet and reflective. Yes, I was well aware of all the Memorials yesterday and also to the many "man-made" changes in this Holiday since my childhood. While my family has not been touched by the tradgey of the last few wars, my husband did return, unscaathed after joining the Marines the day after Pearl Harbor and fighting on those islands until America dropped the"bomb", ended the war, just as his group was preparing for the invasion of Japan, probably saving a lot of lives while taking many others. Leroy, should we be proud of all this bloodshed? What is the matter with man? We've inherited this beautiful, fascinating Planet and we don't know how to live on it together! Remembrance? I also remember that "Memorial Day" was on the 30th of May and at eleven o'clock, everthing stopped for two minutes of silence in honor of the moment the Armistice for WW1 was signed. My family lost a very young member of our family in the Battle of the Somes, in France, in that war.My poor Grandmother never stopped grieving for her fourteen year old son who had run off, joined the Canadian Army, and was sent over before the Red Cross wa able to trace his whereabouts. Nothing was left of him but my Dad had the Purple Heart and other Medals of his beloved older Brother's until the day Dad died. Yes, my Uncle Robert is mentioned in History as the youngest, American soldier to die in WWI. Is was worth all thees lives? Aren't we civilized yet?

Sent by J C R | 9:05 AM ET | 05-27-2008

We need to really support our troops, and not just with magnets on the backs of our cars, but with real action. We need to bring them home now.
It is really just that simple, bring them home, all of them, and do it now.

Sent by Brit | 9:11 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy, I sure remembered. My husband was a Viet Nam veteran and a cancer warrior. He died in April of this year, and his name read by the VFW. While my daughter and I did attend a barbeque later, this was way more than a 3 day home improvement or shopping holiday for us.

Sent by Teri | 9:16 AM ET | 05-27-2008

I hate when the news states that one or two soldiers have died. We owe it to these soldiers to know their names. They are so much more than a number.

Sent by Jen | 9:26 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Yes, I looked at the pages of pictures. I read about each of them and wondered about them, much as I do whenever I visit the memorials to the fallen that abound in DC.

And, while I wonder about lives unlived and families left to mourn for the balance of their lives, my main question is why we as a nation continue to settle issues with barbarian methods.

In a few years we will welcome Iraqi & Afghani refugees to our country...as we have in the past welcomed former enemies
and watched them thrive here.

I wish to hell we could just skip the intermediate step...the one where people get killed...and somehow move forward unarmed.

Let's focus the BILLIONS of dollars being spent to kill people on improving the chances for (and the quality of) life here... Let's turn the war money to medical research, to our schools, to our homeless.

Sorry to rant, but this topic hits many nerves!

Peggy

Sent by Peggy | 9:40 AM ET | 05-27-2008

During a sleepness night, I heard the poem read "In Flanders Field" by John McCrae.I believe i was listening to NPR. It had a profound effect on me.Google it and read it and remember. God Bless you Leroy!

Sent by Anne | 10:07 AM ET | 05-27-2008

My Uncle was killed in Vietnam and my brother had many problems after returning from there. In 1996 my brother committed suicide and it was from problems he had since his return. I always remember what Memorial Day is for - it is more than just a day off for me. Thank you LeRoy for such a nice writting today.

Sent by Deb from Michigan | 10:21 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy,

The families never forget. They live each day without the loved one who was lost. My father was killed in a plane crash in WWII and a day hasn't gone by that I am not aware of his loss. It totally changed the direction of my life.

Thank YOU for remembering him and the others. I think it is important, too.

Blessings.

PS How are you?

Sent by Diana Kitch | 10:43 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy, I live next to a beautiful cemetery. This weekend was very busy. I always look at the young kid's grave- the one who died in Iraq. He went to the local high school. We live in a pretty unpopulated state, so we don't hear of many local soldiers not making it home.
I wish this madness would stop and that no more young lives are cut short. Having been in war zones, you must know, so much better than the rest of us, what the horror is all about.
Thank you for reminding us what the day is really about. Very brave people who can't come home until they are allowed.
When others say we are brave to be coping with cancer, I think that I have no idea what real bravery is compared to what the soldiers, journalists and medical staff deal with everyday.

Sent by NancyGM | 10:47 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Dear Leroy
Thanks for choosing that topic today. We MUST remember all those families torn asunder by the great sacrifice their loved one has made. Love from Sherri in Texas

Sent by Sherri Eggleston | 11:05 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Every Sunday, I see the names, military rank and place of residence and ages of each US soldier that died that week on George Stephanopolisis' news show. It is so sad to see the numbers go up and up and up.

Memorial Day, for me, is about the failure of our politicians to resolve conflict peacefully. War is Not the answer.

The war in Iraq is one that our leaders decided we needed to be safe from "terrorists" who attacked the USA on 9/11/01. The fact that , NON OF THE ATTACKERS WERE FROM IRAQ, makes the sacrifices made by our soldiers even sadder than normal. War is NOT the answer.

What an amazing waste of beautiful men and women who are dying under false pretenses. We are not safer becuase of this war. Neither are our children or grandchildren. To pretend otherwise is to add insult to injury.

When will our country learn that war is NOT the answer?

Sent by Free | 11:34 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy, We are so very lucky! We have such men and women, who go in harms way for our Country. I remember everyday just how lucky we are. This is the "Home of the Brave", just look at those faces! Thank You to all the Veterans! Stan

Sent by Stan Wozniak | 11:36 AM ET | 05-27-2008

O-o-oh Leroy,
I remember the Nightline program, The Fallen, which I watched tearfully in 2004: there were over 700 Fallen then. I remember thinking how fitting, how dignified, how moving was the choice to read those names on your Nightline...and how controversial! Sinclair Broadcast - probably others - would not carry it. But I watched and listened as Nightline put a marker at the foot of each life...gone. Few things can excite the level of deep outrage and grief that your program did. It has given me a lifelong model, a sense of poignancy, a deeply-felt awareness about that day. It was the best the medium of television could do. It stands in chorus with the Vietnam Memorial and this poem by Billy Collins (written after 9/11) as a quiet outrage. It was iconic.

Here's Collins poem, The Names. http://www.divinestra.com/names.html

Sent by Cathi | 11:53 AM ET | 05-27-2008

The Gardens of Stone at Arlington, Normandy plus so many more cemeteries serve to remind us all of the sacrifices of so many. The magnificent array of the headstones, the manicured fields in which they stand and the quiet of each of these noble places do so little to capture the ugliness of war but do reflect war's costs. They went; they served; many died and many more were wounded, maimed and scarred for life. I salute them, honor their service and sacrifice for our country. Sadly the war continues as well as the sacrifices.

Thank you Leroy for your blog today! It hits right on the mark as it always does.

Sent by Al Cato | 11:56 AM ET | 05-27-2008

My father is a very proud WWII/Pearl Harbor veteran. He served on board the hospital ship the Solace. He'll be 90 this November. I think he may have just seen his last Memorial Day, so I tried to make it as special for him as I could. It's so important to remember.....

Sent by Sue in Rochester, NY | 11:58 AM ET | 05-27-2008

Dear Leroy,
Thanks for your post today. You're amazing to be thinking of others at this time of your life.I used to be a news hound but now that my husband is so sick, I barely read the newspaper so I didn't think about the vets this year. Last Memorial Day weekend, my husband was only 5 months into his illness so we managed to have a pleasant evening out. I said that we should make a date to celebrate every Memorial Day weekend. This weekend, he was in bed with Hospice Care and I ate dinner at the desk in the bedroom. I must admit, I spent the weekend feeling sorry for myself and my family. Thanks for reminding me that there are many others for whom life is challenging. I guess Memorial Day is for memories both good and bad.

Sent by Elaine | 12:10 PM ET | 05-27-2008

We have a relatively new cemetery in our city for soldiers.. It has HUNDREDS of graves.. Shouldn't be so full so soon.. But it will get fuller sooner.. God bless America and God bless our soldiers...

Sent by Patsy Elmore | 12:17 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Yes, indeed we should face these faces daily. I am grateful that the News Hour with Jim Lehrer is faithful in showing them often, with silence, at the end of their programs. It should be required viewing for everyone continuing our lives as if nothing is happening elsewhere. And we should read the toll of civilian lives too. And we should act on where all this hard information leads us to in our individual understandings.

Sent by Sarah | 12:46 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy, I respectfully suggest that you do not disenfranchise a segment of your support base by using your column for political commentary. (Some of us know darn well "what the heck they're doing over there.") That is not the intent of this blog, nor do I read it to gain your unsolicited opinion on such matters.

Sent by Dave | 12:53 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Anne~ You mentioned thay you were very moved by the poem, "In Flander's Field". It is beautiful. Do you realize that the Veterans that sell those paper Poppies outside Walmart and some other places on Memorial Day are doing so as a reminder of those who died and are buried in Flander's Field? We never fail to contribute and wear our Poppies proudly! However, as to this current mess we are in, I agree
with Brit who wrote that we should bring ALL our boys home - NOW. This is so political and no more of our boys and girls should die for it any longer. Enough!

Sent by J C R` | 1:34 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Every week on This Week with George Stephaopolous he lists those who died in Afghanaistan and Iraq in the last week. I can never fast forward the tivo for that - always pray. I'll skip the politcal thoughts, but there is a tragic cost being paid - by the dead and the wounded.

For the last 15 years we go to my father-in-law's grave to plant flowers and such. He survived landing on d-day.

Sent by Geoff | 1:53 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Yes,JCR i did realize about the poppies after I read the poem. Before that I did not know why they the veterans sold them. I think todys message from LeRoy was very moving. it is good to get autside ourselves and think of others.Dave many died for freedom of speech. Why can't we speak and write of things without "Disenfranchising segmments". People are just expressing opinions and most are very thoughtful.[

Sent by Anne | 2:22 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Hey Leroy, Thank you. Thank you for mentioning what a lot of us would prefer to ignor, to have vanish, to not have to admit the awful costs in human terms of what we send these Brave Warriors to do. I continue to remember, thank you.
Army Air Corps Daughter
Blue Star Mom
Patriot Guard Rider

Sent by Stitches | 3:31 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy, Thank you my friend. You are a beautiful writer and so right. Every day, every day they should be remembered. -Graham from Sag Harbor

Sent by Graham G. Hawks | 4:06 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy and fellow bloggers,
I often think of those who come home with missing limbs, trauma to the brain and grave burns. We must support these people totally. Forever we are indebted to those who gave lives for country. Bless them all.

Sent by Paulette | 4:11 PM ET | 05-27-2008

To the person who scolded Leroy for the alleged political commentary:
Since when is it political commentary to be patriotic? Or to be simply humane? Why is it political commentary to remember our fallen? Do you disrespect all the men and women who died in wars? Do you disrespect those who came home in tragic conditions? If we do not remember our past, we may be doomed to repeat it

Sent by Sherri Eggleston | 4:49 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Hi Leroy,

I don't think you disenfranchised anyone. Cancer involves the risk of death. War involves the risk of death. Your column was moving and thought provoking.

Dave, are you trying to disenfranchise people in this community by suggesting what Leroy can and cannot write about?

Sent by Marcy in NJ | 4:56 PM ET | 05-27-2008

My question is, who is the author of this blog? Next, do they not have a right to say what they wish? We are participants may be screened for content, however, it is Leroy's blog, and he can say what he pleases. Talk about starting a minibrawl Dave, get a life, please.

Sent by Sue Chap | 5:15 PM ET | 05-27-2008

A primary reason Lance Armstrong has been such an effective advocate is his remarkable ability to transcend above politics in favor of the greater cause. While Leroy is certainly free to make remarks like "What the heck are they doing over there", my caution is that in so doing, he has injected divisive commentary into the context of a topic (cancer) on which we are united.

Sent by Dave | 5:27 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy,
I could not agree with you more when it comes to honoring our service men and women on a regular basis and the matter of recognizing those who have past with a picture squeezed into the news paper one day a year. I have utmost respect for those that are and have served our country and this respect is ongoing as I have a father, brothers and a nephew that have and are currently serving. Yesterday was a very difficult day for me as I found myself building a memorial shelter area for a swing that my wife and I can enjoy in the yard in memory of our son who passed last September. I am grateful to you for your daily messages and your experience sharing which ultimately motivates others who have or are going through the horror of the "Cancer" experience. Concerning your messages the last few days pertaining to the time table, keep up the great work at out living your doctors expectations. For folks new to, or those that are caught up in the "experience" I understand the uncertainty of the time table. On the other hand, my 26 year old son who was strong as an ox, discovered a lump in his neck which was diagnosed as metistatic poorly differentiated adnocarcinoma with an unknown primary, was given nine months. During that time we sought specialist with this type of cancer and he was treated with chemo and radiation at Zions Cancer treatment Centers of America. My point is, my son passed nine months after his diagnosis and never gave up. How do you rationalize the reality of a desease existing that can end a life of a strong, healty young man and not being able to do anything to stop it? I am referring to our doctors and professors. I would have done anything to have helped my son save his life and feel like there should be more options.
Respectfully submitted,
Ted

Sent by Ted Voller | 5:36 PM ET | 05-27-2008

How sad that your moving (and I thought pretty even-handed) column elicited even one negative comment.
Many of us are sitting here barely aware there is a war on because we have not had to suffer, except for the friends and families of the dead. In fact, our taxes were cut during war time! In past wars, especially WWII, everybody pulled together. At the least, we had higher taxes. If it doesn't affect us, we don't think about all those dead. We should, and we should wonder what it is they are dying for. Is it worth it? A completely rhetorical question, of course, I wouldn't want to disenfranchise anyone.
I am thankful to live in a country with freedom of speech. So while I can disagree with Dave, he has the right to his opinion and to express it.
Marcia

Sent by Marcia | 5:59 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Thank you for remembering our military, Leroy. I said goodbye to my husband yesterday for several weeks not knowing when I would next hear his voice or read words that he wrote. Knowing that there are a few Americans who remember helps me be strong during separations.

Sent by Cynthia V. | 6:25 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Dear Leroy,
This was a Memorial Day which I will never forget. At the radiology center I sprained my wrist and it had to be put in a splint. Then to put the icing on the cake my husband fell flat on his face and broke his nose.
Prayers to all.

Sent by sasha321 | 6:35 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy, thank you for the reminder of what is lost in order for us and others to gain, freedom!
I hope ya'll had a memorable weekend.....

Sent by Laurie Hirth | 6:51 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Dave,

It isn't YOUR blog! He can write about whatever he damned well pleases!

Sent by Diana Kitch | 8:10 PM ET | 05-27-2008

Leroy,
I must say that it was nice to forget about cancer for the time it took me to read your post today. It was my second Memorial Day holiday without my veteran here with me, so I, like Elaine, felt sorry for myself. Then the Grand-Girls got here and I was BUSY.
Thank God for all the men and women fighting for our country. And all their families....and You, Leroy, for all you do.
Jane

Sent by Jane from Arkansas | 8:59 PM ET | 05-27-2008

In our small community, they read the names of all the war vets from the civil war forward. It takes a little while, but we all wait for the names of our relatives and friends and for a moment, it stops our hearts.

This year, I thought Burge would be added to the list, but since he has the exact name as an Uncle, they thought it was a duplicate and read only one. I had to smile as I don't know how they will distinguish the two men next year. They have very interesting/unusual full names and many people pause before trying to pronouce our last name.

I thought it would be hard to go to the service and decorate graves, but when I arrived I realized that Burge really wasn't "there" and it wasn't as bad as I thought, especially when I saw how many people had put flowers on his grave. He had so many friends.

I hope that all who have passed are at peace, no matter the way they went. I also hope that all who are left behind found a moment of peace, too.

Sent by Nikki in Kansas | 12:36 AM ET | 05-28-2008

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure."--Thomas Jefferson

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other." ----- John Stuart Mill

My heart felt thanks to those men who have given their blood as the "natural manure" for refreshing the tree of liberty, and for their moral and patriotic feelings that spured them on to rise above their own personal safety in the cause of liberty for all mankind.

Sent by J Curtis | 10:07 AM ET | 05-28-2008

Dave, if you don't like what Leroy says on HIS blog, don't read it.. Just as simple as that!!

Sent by Patsy Elmore | 11:25 AM ET | 05-28-2008

I have been with AA for 23yrs. What I learned there has helped me with cancer. One day at a time. Heed medical advice and ask questions,but live within quality of life. I have no interest in being alive and a 90lb. person who must rely on family to stay alive. There comes a time to let go with peace.

Sent by john harvey | 10:09 PM ET | 06-09-2008