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Subscribe to RSSIn Pocatello, Idaho, virtually the entire town has been involved in a special Memorial Day celebration. NBC's Mike Taibbi reports.
By Mike Taibbi, NBC News correspondent
POCATELLO, Idaho -- I was walking past a hard-used SUV when the passenger window rolled down and a woman’s crooked finger emerged, summoning me over to talk.
“See that man over there, in the red cap?” she asked. “That’s my husband. He started all this…”
‘All this.’ As I let my vision follow hers, I saw a vista beneath a morning drizzle of more than 6,000 simple white crosses arranged more or less precisely, filling the entire soccer field behind Pocatello’s Century High School. The crosses, seized together by a local Korean War veteran and then painted, labeled and tapped carefully into the turf by hundreds of volunteers of every age and interest, were the once-a-year memorial to the fallen in America’s two longest wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We have right now 6,378 casualties,” said the man in the cap, who introduced himself as John Rogers. “Each cross has a label, with the name and unit and casualty date…and if we can keep this going we’re not gonna forget them.”
I told him his wife Joyce had explained his motivation to me: on the day he came home to San Francisco from his war, Vietnam, a “hippie girl” protester had met him as he stepped off the ship and let him know for the first time what his welcome home would be like … no matter his two Purple Hearts and three tours fighting for his country.
John nodded. “She come up to me, she stops and holds up her arms like this…” He pantomimed carrying an infant. “And she says, ‘Hey, you baby burner!’”
So in 2004, with the controversial Iraq war a year old and Afghanistan an intensifying warzone following 9/11, he decided to see to it that the veterans fighting and dying in those two conflicts would be treated differently. He got some fellow veterans to help him find the wood for the crosses and to fabricate simple labels, and talked the town into giving him the use of a piece of land. Then he set up the first “Field of Heroes.”
It was a simple idea, “sort of like the Vietnam Memorial in Washington,” Rogers said. A gathering place where each name with identifying details would allow loved ones to reclaim moments of personal connection and remembrance, while permitting strangers who just needed to give thanks a gateway to learn what they choose to learn about the heroes who gave their lives so the rest of us can continue to flourish in ours.
That first year, there were fewer than 1,400 crosses. Now, with well over 6,000, there’s almost no more room for additional crosses on Century High’s field; but the Iraq War is effectively over, and Afghanistan is winding down.
Mike Taibbi / NBC News
Iraq war veteran Bruce Marley paints the crosses marking fallen comrades at Pocatello, Idaho's 'Field of Heroes.' Each cross includes the soldier's name, rank, unit, and type of casualty.
“If we’re lucky, we won’t need this eventually,” Rodgers said. “But look,” he continued, gesturing. “Now we have people … veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan … they come here and find the special friend they lost over there … they get down on their knees and pray, in front of their crosses.”
And then there are the loved ones of the fallen: like Tiffany Petty, whose husband Jerrick Petty, with two toddlers back home in Pocatello, volunteered to go to Iraq only to be killed three days after landing. Tiffany spent several days with the volunteers affixing labels on the crosses of the other war dead, whose service and sacrifice have too often been overlooked by too many.
“I’ve seen that happen, and it just hurts,” she told me. “It hurts your heart, it hurts your soul … we need to remember these people.” She looked across the broad field, a thick coil of labels hanging from one wrist. “And we need to remember them not as a group of people, but as specific people.”
Prepping for Memorial Day
For a few years now, Pocatello’s “Field of Heroes” has been too big a job for John Rogers to handle with just a handful of friends. Now Bannock County is lending a hand, and whole platoons of volunteers plow into a full week of preparatory work so the field will be ready when the long Memorial Day weekend starts.
Mike Taibbi / NBC News
Pocatello, Idaho's annual memorial, 'Field of Heroes,' honors each of the dead service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Scout troops, high school kids, and senior citizens pitch in, alongside strangers who are moved to lend a hand. Big tents with generator-fired heaters warm the volunteers; the local Sign-A-Rama shop makes and donatesthe waterproof labels; and professional surveyors measure the field and line up the rows so the matrix of crosses looks the way it should. In the middle of the Snake River Plain, in the shadow of the foothills of the Rockies, more than a full brigade of the honored dead appear in silent and precise formation.
The visitors come from all over the West, bonding over a patriotism that’s as humbling as it is palpable, and understanding each other’s tears. In fact, there’s nothing like it anywhere in the country, though the feelings generated by a visit to this Pocatello yearly shrine are like those that arise from a famous national shrine:
“Arlington Cemetery is a long way from here,” said Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad. “There’s a special spirit there … but you come here, you can feel that same spirit.”
“It’s immense now,” Rogers said, a touch of wistfulness in his voice as he surveyed what his simple idea had turned into. “But it’s not just a field of crosses…you can come out and read each name…the dates, the places they died…and if you want you can learn their stories.
“It’s important, that we don’t forget the young people we’ve sent to war.”
The old soldier smiled. “Oh yeah,” he said, pointing to the flags stretched by the breeze on the periphery of the field. Each flag was accompanied by a yellow streamer. “I still make the printed yellow ribbons for every local soldier coming home. I’ll keep doing that.”
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Thank you Mr. John Rogers! One man can make a difference!
Thank you, John Rogers, and thanks to your band of volunteers as well.
I was newly married, working, and my husband took me to lunch at a hotel near my job. There, across the dining room from us were these very young men ... teenagers ... skinny, pimpled .. and he told me they were the newest recruits for 'Nam. The local recruiter had a contract with the hotel to feed them until the train arrived. I wondered then, "how many of these KIDS will come home". I still wonder that. I am not a war hawk, but I do support the effort and bravery of our servicement and women. For many, they are from small towns and this is the only job they can get upon graduation from High School, and for our returning soldiers now, there is so little for them.
"Old Soldiers Never Die They Just Fade Away ........" General Douglas Macarthur before congress 1951
http://www.presentationmagazine.com/general-macarthur-speech-7523.htm
Unfortunately the politicians have stolen the American dream from the Americans and lined their own pockets along with the discourse they have created to keep us occupied.
A very wonderful story of tribute to our fallen hero's started by one man and grown into a greter thing...Kudos to him and every volunteer. And you ileworldchamp have to bring politics into it...go away and get over it!
Well said, Marlo.
remember George C Scott as Patton?
"You don't get to be a HERO by dying for your country. You get to be a HERO by making that OTHER DUMB SON-OF-A-BITCH die for HIS country!"
The folks who died in AFGHANISTAN died for a cause. Iraq was promulgated on a LIE - SHRUB LIED AND PEOPLE DIED
And before anyone questions it - Yes, I was in the ARMY in the mid-1960's. My last duty assignment was Ft Bragg. I drove a staff car - I always had 2 officers in the back - 1 was ALWAYS a CHAPLAIN. Rotten job, but somebody had to do it. And for those of you who THINK that the USA was "defended" by military action in IRAQ, I would suggest that you consult an unbiased HISTORY
John Rogers thank you! I have two sons and a nephew that have been enlisted during the past several years and a brother who served in Vietnam.
Regardless of the political reasons of the conflict the military personnel are representing our Nation and our People! When they die or sacrifice body limbs and or mental stability those sacrifices are the evidence of a heroic effort to represent our nation.
Please never mention your contempt for the politics in the same speech regarding our Heroes. It shows an unfair bias toward the individual even though that person had no say in the basis of the conflict. These people are heroes regardless of the politics. By honoring the individual hero you are not endorsing the conflict nor those responsible for it. When a soldier is shot risking his life to save the life of his fellow soldier does it really matter where he is in the world or what war he is fighting in? He or she is still a Hero!
Honor our brave young soldiers who are the true Patriots. Honor all those that served and take a minute for a prayer of thanks to the 3,000 Afghanistan/6,000 Iraq US soldiers that died for all of us. I was blessed with my daughter coming home safe but in 2003 a soldier name Kyle Gilbert from Vermont wrote in his journal that he didn't want to be forgotten. I read his words and each day in prayers a special thanks to Kyle and each Memorial Day/Veterans Day I put a rose in Santa Monica oceans for the earth and world remember Kyle Gilbert was here on earth and made a difference. So many stories and lives as all are part of what makes America. I clipped the article out of the news paper and put Kyle picture in a frame with the other photos of my kids and ask guest visit they often ask who's he and I love telling Kyle's story so as many people pass it on to their friends.
Honor our soldiers oorah!!!
How long until we stop killing ourselves, I wonder. Old men disagree so young men die.
Very nice and thoughtful gesture but I wonder if they took the time to make Crescents for Muslim soldiers and Star of David's for Jewish soldiers or are we just going to assume that their are only Christian soldiers in the U.S Military.
Really?
Really. This actually DISRESPECTS non-christian soldiers. If he truly respected ALL soldiers, he would have checked to see which symbol was approprite for each, rather than just slapping every name onto a christian cross.
It is meant to be a symbolic gesture of a life that has been lost, not to designate religious beliefs. Both of you, CaptainFSU and Rationalist-1729484 are asses for bitchin' about the good that a gentleman is trying to do.
What have YOU done to remember the fallen - be they Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Agnostic or Athiest?
I will bet my last dollar that the answer is absolutely nothing.
It's a shame, it really is. One man does what he thinks is right and someone,somewhere HAS to gripe about it. You could'nt do it yourself, make sure each marker was correct, could'nt take the time or effort, probabily did'nt even had the thought.... but someone else.
I'm a Vet. and damn proud of it, If I had fallen and someone,somewhere who I did'nt know put a cross or whatever up for me it would make me feel good to know complete strangers took the effort to think of me in a possitive way. Thank you Mr. Rogers
You missed the point CaptainFSU and Rationalist.... I feel sorry for you both!
Did you?
I don't believe religion had anything to do with this. It was just a genreic symbol that most acknoledge as a death symbol, to pay tribute. Stop nit picking a great man and a great concept.
the poster is not being PC or missing any point. It is some of you that may be missing the point.
We get that the man who does this does it for a wonderful reason...poor guy was a Vietnam vet got spat on when coming home,wants to remember these Veterans who died.
Symbollically he makes a field of crosses...a symbollic graveyard....to remember each and every service member who died in these wars. He makes sure their individual name and unit is on one cross. That cross is their cross and stands for them in the overall display.
All crosses looks uniform and the display overall is symbollic of all of our losses as a country. I GET THAT>
thing that isn't gotten is that the CROSS, when used to mark Jewish and Muslim graves, is very disrespectful to them. What I am saying is that it HURTS. THis is not PC. I can speak for Jews...the cross symbolises our persecution in Europe, our repeated murder and pogroms instigated by the church, the inquisition, antisemitism etc. Not belonging. THis is historic and subconcious. We live in a Christian country. Crosses in churchs, homes, around people's necks are fine. We live and let live. WE mostly are assymilated here and don't say anything. But crosses in public make most of us uncomfortable given it's history. It's also a reminder of our exclussion (you have to remember even in my father's youth antiSemetism was so rampant in the US that they had negative quotas in college and we not allowed in certain hotels etc). It's pretty recent.
Since the field of crosses is meant to represent a graveyard, as a whole with no names on each cross it would be fine. It looks nicer as all crosses even if it doesn' t represent the reality of the US that has Jews and Muslims and other religions (in case you don't know the cross is not a symbol for ANY graveyard that is not Christian!)
But if you put names on a cross, it's different. It feels bad to the INDIVIDUAL VETERAN, it is in fact disrespectful innadvertantly to WHO HE OR SHE WAS if they were not vaguely Christian and have another symbol to their religion to MARK THEIR SYMBOLIC GRAVE or a have a symbol stand for them that IS NOT THERES
If you cannot understand this I am sorry. If you want to attack the Jews now as sometimes happens on this sight or bring Israel in somehow, so be it. I feel equally that Muslims who died for our country would feel terrible with their name written on a cross.
maybe it's just a blindspot of being in the majority religion of the country that makes you not understand this. Have you heard of "White privledge?" I had not until recently. I am White. Turns out I, and many other WHites, are often blind to assumptions we make because of our color being the majority/one in power. Maybe what it is is that ALL majority types have assumptions. Christian is the major religion in our country (Christmas, a religious holiday not celebrated by Muslims or Jews or others, is a national holiday, government offices closed, for example) so maybe as the majority they make assumptions and blinders on as well, like White people do.
So, we aren't being "nit pickers" or "asses" for "bitching". Concept overall is beautiful but truth is if you really want to honor individual service people as well, you need to know that putting their name on a Cross does not honor all of them. For some of them INDIVIDUALLY, it would in fact maybe even bother them.
one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. i dont believe that we are remebering their particular belief or faith so much as we are trying to honor the individuals. i guess i have difficulty in understanding why one would need to look for a loophole to turn this beautiful thing into a negative.......regardless of what any one else believes, i think that the people involved in making this memorial happen are heros in their own right.....thank you
Are you kidding me. This gentleman is remembering fallen troops nothing more, nothing less. Religion plays no part in what he is doing. You brought religion into it. Death don't care what your religion is. If the families of this HEROES had a problem they would had said something, it is not up to you, so keep your nose out of it. Do really want to make this Memorial something to fight over or let be what it is. If you don't agree with what this VET is doing fine don't look at it, don't go there but honor our fallen HEROES.
Captain FSU and Rationalist-1729484 why do you not donate your time and efforts to help Mr. Rogers and add the appropriate symbols. It is easy to criticize from the sidelines when 1 man has decided to take action to remember the fallen!
Laurali, PC or not, this man is honoring the fallen in his way. I guarantee you that the honored serviceman does not feel slighted or insulted that someone has remembered him or her. Mr. Rogers is remembering each and every fallen hero. What are you doing/have done to honor the fallen? Having a burger and a beer at your barbecue tomorrow does not count! I am so tired of hearing about this PC BS. Build a bridge and get over it!
It was the thought that counts. And I suppose you'd b*tch if there were any spelling errors, wrong locations, or some such trivial detail misplaced.
Like it or not, the cross is arguably the most obvious sign that a dead person lies there (in this case in spirit). I'm atheist and I have no problem whatsoever with a cross being used. I see this in the spirit it was meant to be seen in, and I don't focus on some petty little detail like some.
What I am not understanding, is how can anyone say this is not a religious statement. Of course it is. These names, all of them are on crosses. That in and of itself is a religious statement. I am hoping no disrespect was intended, but many of the fallen were not Christian and therefore should not have their names splashed across one. Go to ANY military cemetery and look at the markers. They are all identical with the exception of the religious symbols on their face. This is done to keep things uniform, and so as not to disrespect the religious beliefs of the dead. While I applaud this heartfelt attempt, I cannot but question why he didn't just use single white markers, or flags or makeshift headstones. Headstones would have been a stronger statement in my view. I think it was a subconscious and ignorant error. Why is it that some simply cannot or will not acknowledge that not all of us are Christian, and therefore this is might be misconstrued? Even sadder is the knowledge, however, that had there been Crescent Moon markers for the fallen Muslims, or Stars of David for the fallen Jews, desecration was a possibility if not a probability. Do not under the guise of patriotism and honor think for one minute there was nothing overtly religious/Christian about this display, because there is, there just simply is. Hopefully next time he will honor the dead by not insulting their faith.
This is what angers me. I was in the military, and joined so you morons can make statements like these. Just goes to show you cannot please everyone, no matter how hard you try. For those of you complaining, why aren't YOU out there doing this and designating everyones religious preference? Since you are not, since you are sitting on the side lines complaining, shut the he ll up! Sheesh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am amazed at how assinine some people are.
BTW I saw this yesterday and it is beautiful. The video doesn't even come close to show you how moving it is. You can see the respect for the fallen troops which is given here. The love and hard work these people put in is impressive. ANYONE that would complain about this obviously never served in the military (so your voice is about as important as a fart in a crowded room), you're probably cowards anyhow so we wouldn't want you.
Stop insulting MY country and My military by your ignorance. This is one of the best tributes to our fallen heros that I've ever seen. I'm proud that it was done in my community, I wish I'd have known about it so I could have been a part of it.
Thank you Mr.Rogers. I too experienced the Flower people when I came home and thought of all my friends that didn't have that opportunity. Thank you again and I hope your efforts give solace to the relatives of those represented by those crosses. I put a cross up this morning, as I do every Memorial Day, for my friends and may my G O D have mercy on any S O B that tries to take it down or deface it.
Obama promised us the soldiers would come home and the war would be over on his watch...and we are still fighting and dying in a place where we will never make a difference...
President Obama is one man, a solitary individual doing the best he can against great odds, but performing miracles is out of his league - Prez Obama leaves that to a Higher Power. Thank you, Mr. Rogers, for all you have done.
President Obama is keeping his promise. He has ended combat in Iraq and the draw down has begun in Afghanistan. Both of these things have been lambasted as mistakes by the right. Don't blame him for our participation in the 2 Bush wars. He is only one man working as hard as he can against a bigger enemy, the Republican Hawks, who want us there indefinitely.
President Obama - did nothing to get the troops out of Iraq. He wanted to leave troops there but Iraq didn't want us staying and would not give immunity to US soldiers left in the country. Obama however stated we would be out of Afghanistan within 4 years - and we're not. He can't keep blaming Bush for the campaign promises he didn't keep.
Monday morning a group of us will set the Avenue of Flags with a veterans name on each flag. With a slight breeze and the flags flying it is a sight to behold, hard not to shed a tear or two. Bless you veterans living and dead, may we never forget. Thank you.
Flags are a great idea, much better than crosses.
Because crosses are like a graveyard, they are meant to be. As said below, even sybollic "burial" of someone who is not Christian, marking their passing with the Cross of Christianity...even if meant to be respectful and part of an overall display of American losses...is just not respectful to the INDIVIDUAL who died.
All of these service members who died, died for their country. A better symbol united them, then, is a FLAG. NOT A CROSS..
Cross does not unite. To nonChristians, it divides us. It is not our symbol. WE don't want our dead brother's name on it..it is disrespectful to him personally even if it is meant well.
We will do almost 500 flags...Main street, courthouse and the main drag through town main st. and both sides of the road leading up to our Vet's Monument. 3x5 flags and 10ft poles. We are so lucky.
My heartfelt thanks to all those wonderful people who take time out of their lives to help Mr. Rogers with this project.
As a Veteran myself, wife of a Veteran of Desert Storm, daughter of a Korean War Veteran and descendant of a Veterans who served in each previous war from the Revolutionary War to WWII, and sister of several Veterans, the reading of this story brought tears to my eyes.
Thank you so very much for showing your dedication, support and pride in our Veterans, their families and America.
Thanks,sir.
I realize their hearts may be in the right place, but to those of us who are non-Christian, the idea of having our names placed on a memorial cross is just as bad as being called a "Baby Burner". It is the ultimate disrespect for a non-Christian soldier who dies fighting for the liberties of this country.
I respect your beliefs but i think you are missing the point, Yes i am sure that there are quite a few of those crosses that represent and fallen service member who was not christian and i can tell you that this was not down out of disrespect...sometimes you have to take religion out of the picture and look at this display for what it is..a simple reminder that those who have gave the ultimate sacrifice will not be forgotten..at the end of the day no one cares what religion anyone of us was but more that we were a son/daughter/father/mother.
The gentleman who did this just used a simple cross not to force religious beliefs but because for most when they think of a memorial, or a makeshift field burial site the cross naturally comes to mind
If religion truly wasn't a factor, he would have used an even-simpler round-topped tombstone for each. THAT is an even more common grave marker.
It disturbs me that Michigan Patriot brings in the religious aspect. I agree with VH Navy. This I feel was done as a trbfute to those fallen heroes. For one man to spend his own money and time building a eulogy to not only Idaho Vets, but to all, takes courage and passion. The community here supports him immensley. We take pride in this tribute. It's not about religion, but freedom and what we fight for. And we must remember, those fighting for our freedom are the ones that protect our right to complain. Do the naysayers contribute money to our memorials to those that have fallen? I doubt it. It's always easier to criticize that to contribute. So I stand for the man, John, who took it upon himself to do something positive and make a memory and experience for younger generations. I hope this becomes a permanenet fixture in Idaho, and people flock from all over to see one man's effort to honor fallen soldiers. Good for him... bad for people who criticize. Why is it these days, that we diss some of the most passionate and thoughtful contributions to recongnition of heroes? Have we become that shallow and self centered?
Those who are not Christian have trouble understanding. We understand and applaud the sentiment but having another religions symbol mark your dead loved one simply feels false, bad, and a lie. If the symbol is one that your people were MURDERED for for centuries it feels even worse. It also feels excluding.
If I were to bury your Christian grandfather under the Crescent of Islam or under the the Jewish star it and he were again, Christian, would it not feel wrong?
WHen you are a minority (religion or really in other ways) being marked and judged as the majority carries an extra mark. WHen you are Gay in a straight society, or Black in a mostly White society, or Jewish in a mostly Christian society...assumptions can hurt.
Christians don't want to believe it but to Jews at least...and few will admit this to you we are so assymilated in the US. ...the Christian cross reminds us of the millions of our people who were murdered under Christ's name (misuse of his name)...but by the Church and persecuted by the CHurch...right up to this century. It hurts. WE don' t like the symbol associated with US though we are fine if it's in a church or around someone's neck or in their home. WHen we see it in a public place many of us feel excluded and uneasy.
If this is about remembering that one soilder who is another religion other than Christian, if he were Jewish, I am telling you members of his family would be very uncomfotable with him being memorialized by a cross and so would he himself be. The GESTURE is beautiful but SINCE the town is obviously Christian they are sort of oblivious to 'sybollically making a graveyard" and marking Jews with Crosses.
I now expect many antiJewish statments now, as often happens here. So many people don't fully realize the long history of the Christian church murdering Jews. The cross is hard for us though not as bad as the swastika. Jews rarely speak of these things and many might not realize it until confronted.
If you are remembering each and every soildier he'd need a marker from his religion if not even vaguely Christian ..if he were Muslim, Jew especially becaues those two religions especially have negative associations with the cross. THe dead soldier himself would not be honored by a cross most likely and in some ways the family might be uneasy even if overal they feel it's better then nothing, not having their loved one represented and they LIKE the overall thing the man is doing.
I am so sorry he came back from Vietnam and was mistreated. GOod for him for marking memorial day properly overall in reminding us what it is for.
basically marking a nonChristian (Jewish, Muslim, I know for sure) symbollic grave with a Cross is disrepsectful to that individual even if it meant well and even if it is meant to convey an overall loss of all the American veterans who died.
This field of crosses is meant as a symbollic graveyard of all of the AMericans lost in these wars. I DO GET IT. I DO GET the overall sentiment to commemerate them as a group so they are not forgotten especially on Memorial Day.
However they take pains to write each veteran's name and unit, he says, on the cross. THey want to remember each person. I am telling you, as individuals, many if not most of those non-Christians and their families are between uncomfortable and saddened and horrified by being marked by a cross.
It is a blind spot with Christians and you just don't know. I get the filed LOOKS NICE AND UNIFORM with all the CROSSES. Maybe to you Christians cross is a symbol of memorial in a graveyard. FOr Jews, for example, the Jewish Star of David is. WE have no crosses ever (again the cross was always the symbol of the Church in Europe in who's name we were killed) it is not our symbol and is not a generic symbol to us.
I personally am not offended by the star of David or a Muslim crescent. I would see the comfort in the beautiful gesture as it was given in love and remembrance. Perhaps you should start a memorial in your own area or volunteer? I applaud you for speaking what you are so passionate about. My son joined the Marine Corps to preserve that. Your arguments are very eloquent. Not completely thorough in your historical facts and mostly an expression of a very heartfelt personal opinion. But hats off anyway.
@VH Navy: Your Christian Privilege is showing.
Laurali - you just like to argue because this man did something wonderful to remember these fallen soldiers. It was his idea and if you can't make a difference doing it your way - where you live - then your opinion doesn't count. Touching story, especially for those of us who have kids over there serving.
This veteran salutes you, and all those that are forever on tour.
All gave some, while some gave all....thank you Sir for this simple yet meaningful gesture of respect
"What nobler way for man to die than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his Gods!"
From "Horatius at the bridge"
Thank you to the people if Pocatello, Idaho. You have a new cross on your field this year, marked with the name of a young man who grew up with my brother. Matt and my brother shared a birthday and had been close friends throughout their school years. They had play dates and shared friends and joint birthday parties. They worked together on school projects and Matt practically grew up at my house. I can remember him as a scrawny little kid, interfering with the "cool" things I did with MY friends (five years is such a difference to elementary school kids!), and as a middle school kid who thought it would be a good idea to film himself jumping onto the hood of my car. (As a 16-year old, and still "cooler," I was not impressed.)
And then he enlisted and was died protecting his fellow soldiers. And suddenly my "coolness" didn't seem to matter anymore. It's hard to separate yourself from the death of a kid who was so like your brother in so many ways. To see your mother come home shaking from her first burial at Arlington. To have your co-workers ask if you knew "that kid who died in Afghanistan." To see the obituary with your brother's birthday and to know the kid in the photo.
I think it goes without saying that the story on the news tonight had every member of my household in tears.
So thank you to the people of Pocatello. Thank you for caring about Matt and respecting Matt's memory like we do. This will be a rough Memorial Day for Matt's family and friends. Knowing that there are people like you out there, caring about us and giving respect to our memories, makes it just a little bit better.
And thank You for caring and sharing.
If you submit a picture of your brothers friend they will attach it to his cross. Here is the link for more details. Also under Photo Archives on the left check out the panoramic photo. It is truly sobering, and also shows the amout of work that goes into this by the volunteers who do this each year.
Proud to live in Pocatello, Idaho!
Thank you NBC Nightly News for telling our story and thank you VH Navy for your kind words I could not have said it better. Our field has NOTHING to do with religion but with honor and respect.
This field is to show respect and has nothing to do with religion..I personally have 2 freinds on this feild and would only hope that if i were in the same position that there wouldnt be discussion over my religous beliefs and know that my belief in the love of my country is what would be reconized..THANK YOU JOHN AND THANK YOU VETERANS AND FAMILIES..
As a resident of Pocatello I must thank John Rogers for all he has done to remind us to thank those who gave their lives so we can live in freedom. God Bless you John
Mary Johnson,
Pocatello, Idaho
When my mother was dying of Lou Gerhigs disease, the only thing she wanted was to know what kind of man her father was,how he died,and if his body was really in the burial site here in ventura. Some of you might have read the story"The search for my grandfather" Colleen Cason so generously wrote on my obsession to grant mom's last wish. I feel so different now after studying wwll..... The horrors and heroics will be forever etched in my brain and so T.F. Vaughan did not die in vain, I don't care for material things at least like i used to. I also never take it for granted when I wake up and breathe ,and talk and eat. The wordly dark side creeps in and I speak up,much to the chagrin of my family! My mother is dead now,6 years....My father died 7 and 1/2 years ago. They don't make em like that anymore. Dad saved all his life to leave his kids money, it was so very important to him. Ironically, my stepmother confiscated the trust fund, sold the home he left to us,and we didn't even get a tobacco pipe. She thinks there is no one watching, or hurting because of what she's done, but in the end I am sad my dad was disrespected, but really he did his job for we will survive, and meet god with a clean slate. Money.....it's not what the brave clutch to, it's not what real integrity and fortitude rely on. It's the adage"Our sucess in life is 90% attitude, and 10% luck" that I try to instill in my kids. 1. Be kind 2. always take the hard road 3. see the lovely sweetness of our world 4. and if you feel sad, depressed or at your wits end?....Be the heroic one who smiles at a stranger,or lets the worlds sorrows be his mission. God is there, God is there.
They shall grow not old. As we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them. Nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun. And in the morning
We will remember them.
From the grand daughter of an ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) from WW1.
Love this!!! I will be driving right past the "Field of Heroes" when I go home in a few weeks. My family lives very close to Pocatello. I will be stopping at it to see it first hand. Maybe I will find a name or two, not that I ever want too but if I do I will post pictures for our Marine Corps family.
John Rogers, you are also a hero. I salute you.
Our country is full of heroes ,some serve by going to war to protect our rights,some are home helping those efforts. May GOD ,whoever that GOD is in your own mind, take the fallen to their eternal resting place. And may we all be grateful for their sacrifice and that of their family and friends.Thank you John for your thoughtfulness
nice gesture
feel bad for the Jews and Muslims that died that are remembered by a cross though. ANd those who'd condemn me for saying that...you probably don't understand what a cross has come to mean to those other religions. some of which have been murdered for centuries in the name of symbol...to have your dead labled by it would feel very bad to the family but they would not say anything because they also agree with the ovrall sentiment and know that they people doing it mean well and dont' know any better. But it would burn in their heart in sadness, perhaps secretly
I doubt it, you never served in the military so you have no clue. I know you didn't because of your comments. It's sad that someone whom has done nothing chooses to complain about a nice gesture another has done. Congrats, you have used your freedom of speech for the negative instead of positive. I guess there always has to be someone. I wouldn't expect someone like yourself to understand what memorial day is about, what the military is about, or how lucky you are to live in this country. Do you know what brotherhood is? Have you ever heard of the army of one? You do not get it. But thanks and continue to be negative, it shows you do not get it. Those that have fought for your ignorance do and people like yourself are tiring.
Laurali, you've made this point multiple times on this page. If you put even a quarter of the effort you've made b*tching about someone else's touching non-religious gesture into a memorial of your own, then maybe you could have the memorial you want. You haven't, though. You've just gone off the rails and p*ssed all over someone else's hard work. It's obvious that you've never served in the military. It's obvious that Memorial Day is just about BBQs and a day off from work. It's obvious that you have absolutely NO APPRECIATION for what these men and women died to give you...the freedom to make idiotic statements. Please, for the love of all that is holy (or not, if that offends you) JUST STOP. Mr. Rogers is a good man, a veteran, and a man who appreciates the sacrifices of this country's youth. Your constant complaining is just getting old.