At latest count, the Department of Defense estimates there are some 24 million living American veterans, and we are losing WWII veterans at the staggering rate of more than 900 a day. An estimated 40 million men and women have served in the U.S. military from the American Revolution onward.
Though large, mere numbers can only begin to frame the true meaning of Memorial Day. Numbers obscure the human elements, transform uncountable personal sacrifices, sorrows and joys into an impersonal grand sweep of history.
Please join us in remembering
and honoring those who have given their
lives in service to our country.
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Hammock's Production Director Barbara Mathieson and her husband, John, were honored by The Tennessean on Friday, May 16, as three-star letter writers.
The Mathiesons were among 160 readers who took pen or mouse in hand to express their opinions on a host of topics. Barbara also has a blog that diligently reports on litter, recycling, reusing and related issues, especially in the Nashville area. Her blog has prompted a number of cleanup efforts and led to her being appointed to the Metro Nashville Beautification and Environment Commission.
This was the third time each of them had been chosen as three-star letter writers, but only the first time that had happened in the same year.
Warriors have always struggled to find uniforms that provide both protection from the elements as well as from enemy arms. Solutions have ranged from the bronze greaves of Achilles' armor before the walls of Troy to the colorful garb of Louisiana Zouaves to the bulky battle uniforms seen on the cover of the new issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League.
Though not as heavy as medieval armor, today's battlefield attire and accompanying gear can add up to 150 or more pounds to the average Marine's 163 pounds. Much of that is in the form of composite armor plates designed to stop a supersonic bullet or red-hot shard of shrapnel. Add to that eye protection, fire-resistant uniforms, weapons and ammo, communication gear, rations and water, and it's a wonder the Marine can move at all.
The May/June issue of American Spirit allowed us to get a little crafty ... with scrapbooks. Carrie Wakeford designed a beautiful layout to spotlight smart, simple ways to compile an archival-quality scrapbook. Carrie’s creative take on preserving family history meant that, for a few days, Hammock’s library was covered with buttons, bits of wallpaper, colored paper, stickers and other scraps. Savvy readers will be able to pick out her clever use of childhood photos of editor Bill Hudgins.
And what would a family scrapbook be without those faded photos of Aunt Norma and Uncle David posing in their Sunday best? Our cover story, “Treasure Hunt,” outlines new resources to track down family photographs. Thanks to digital collections at libraries and historical societies and Web sites devoted to genealogy, it’s easier than ever to find photographs of long-lost relatives on your family tree--and we show you how.
