Tom Phillips* 👁️⃤

Lololol, I’m ded. Best $22 I’ve ever spent. That said, hey dhGATE, we should talk...

Somewhere beneath white crosses & marble Stars of David are young men who never got the chance to grow old. 🪖 Memorial Day is for them. 🇺🇸

If 9 Jewish paramedics were killed ANYWHERE in the world it would be called terrorism. And we’d never hear the end of it. Israel slaughtered 9 paramedics in 72 hours, most of which we’ve seen on film, and we only hear their names on Twitter.

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On this Memorial Day, remembering that during WWII 52 American submarines never came home, and that U.S. submariners suffered a fatality rate of about 20%, more than 10X that of the U.S. Navy as a whole. Here is the crew of USS Snook (SS-279), lost with all hands in March 1945.

Generation after generation, men and women put on the uniform knowing the risk — and went anyway knowing they might not come home. Knowing their families would carry that for the rest of their lives. To the families still carrying that weight — I see you. The pain doesn’t go away, but neither does the pride. Freedom has never been guaranteed. It has to be earned, defended, and sometimes paid for in the hardest way imaginable. Today on Memorial Day, we stop, we slow down, and we remember those who did. We honor them. We thank them. And we work hard to live up to what they died for. Keep the democracy they believed in worth believing in. That is the ultimate tribute for their sacrifice.

The image depicts Katherine Cathey, the pregnant widow of U.S. Marine 2nd Lt. James “Jim” Cathey, lying on an air mattress on the floor in front of her husband’s flag-draped casket the night before his burial. A Marine honor guard stands vigil in the background. Jim Cathey was tragically killed in action in Iraq in August 2005. Overcome with grief, Katherine refused to leave her husband’s casket. She requested to spend one final night with him. Two Marines went to great lengths to provide her with a makeshift bed, using a mattress and pillows on the floor. One Marine stood guard over her and the casket throughout the night. This powerful and Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph was captured by Todd Heisler in 2005 as part of his series “Jim Comes Home” for the Rocky Mountain News.

At Arlington National Cemetery today, Trump failed to name 14 of the 15 soldiers who died during his unauthorized war in Iran. Here is the full list: Capt. Cody A. Khork, 35, Winter Haven, Florida Sgt. 1st Class Noah L. Tietjens, 42, Bellevue, Nebraska Sgt. 1st Class Nicole M. Amor, 39, White Bear Lake, Minnesota Sgt. Declan J. Coady, 20, West Des Moines, Iowa Maj. Jeffrey R. O'Brien, 45, Waukee, Iowa Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert M. Marzan, 54, Sacramento, California Sgt. Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, Glendale, Kentucky Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, Auburn, Alabama Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, Covington, Washington Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, Bardstown, Kentucky Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, Mooresville, Indiana Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, Wilmington, Ohio Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, Columbus, Ohio Lance Cpl. Kevin Melendez, 19, Grapevine, Texas Maj. Sorffly Davius, 46, New York, New York

I watched the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS last night. Every branch of the military was honored, even the Joint Chiefs of Staff were there and honored. The best part of the presentation was the absence of Pete Hegseth, VP Vance, & trump.

He fell asleep. He fell asleep at an event honoring our fallen. He. Fell. Asleep. 🤬

Remembering America’s most decorated soldier this Memorial Day…the great Audie Murphy. 🇺🇸

Their final moment of life was in service to the United States. While wearing the cloth of our nation, they took their last breath in defense of our Constitution, our families, and our liberties. This Memorial Day we honor the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Memorial Day. I left Vietnam.6\69, but Vietnam never left me. Remember the smells, sensations, horrors+small joys. Remember names on the Wall, also faces, other casualties,guys I knew by nicknames or for a couple hours. We don’t celebrate today we remember with heavy hearts.

“No man has ever gotten away with more or given less to his country than Trump. It is never too late to change that: holding him accountable is no longer just about ending one awful criminal’s lifelong spree, it is about saving our republic and honoring those who gave all for this once great land. DJT is not only not worthy of the office he holds, he isn’t fit to shine the shoes of those he punishes and attacks with his rhetoric and awful policies. The only thing substantial about Donald Trump is how much damage he has caused. Which of course is not by accident, but the strategy behind his rise to power. He represents what a few who have exorbitant wealth would prefer in place of democracy. An oligarchy run by bizarre tech bros and tasteless billionaire bozos like Jeff Bezos who looks like he shops in a Caesar’s Palace clothing boutique; he is an overstitched back pocket on Vegas jeans come to life. The sort of paunchy, middle-aged freak that bedazzled ‘Von Dutch’ t-shirts and Chrome Hearts jewelry were created for - so their rubber-lipped, face-tuned companions could say they look virile in a hotel elevator mirror. The type of wannabe-cool billionaires who have their eyebrows sculpted and use the term ‘manscaped’ unironically. We can take back this country from his ilk, but will only do so when we recognize who is really pulling the strings. Greed is motivating both this Cabinet and the Wall Street brokers making a fortune from this calamity.” open.substack.com/pub/noelcasler…

Imagine having this many gun incidents near the President (staged or not), and believing a $1 billion ballroom is the solution instead of gun regulation and mental health programs.

it’s still fuck ICE btw don’t let the media cycle changing let you forget that people are still being brutalized and disappeared by the federal government

Originally called Decoration Day, Black Americans interred the bodies of fallen Union soldiers to honor their sacrifice — now known as Memorial Day. Decades later, my great-grandfather served our nation in WWI. Then my grandfather took post in WWII and the Korean War. Today and every day, I honor their sacrifice by fighting for rights they were denied in a country they loved, knowing freedom will prevail if we refuse to give up the battle.

Before he died my grandfather finally opened up about his time in WW2. He was a forward spotter in Patton's 3rd Army. He told me a story about how he and a few other guys were asked to go forward and scope out a small village in Belgium. They'd heard it had Germans in it but weren't sure. As he about to walk out, an officer in his group told him to stay back because my grandfather just got word his wife had a baby (my aunt). That officer was killed and my grandfather was convinced he would've died as well if he hadn't been ordered to stay behind. In his last breaths he talked about the War. It never left him, 60 years later. I won't pretend to understand but God bless those who gave all and their families and those still defending us every day.

82 years ago today, Admiral Chester Nimitz pins the Navy Cross on Doris Miller. ⚓️

Sen. Tammy Duckworth lost both of her legs piloting a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq. When she talks about military valor, you listen. She just leveled a devastating charge against the administration, accusing the president of hiding "incompetence" behind our troops. Read her blistering quote:👇 dworkinsubstack.com/p/vietnam-vets…

I didn’t know about the earliest origin of Memorial Day until I was a grown-ass man, and it’s because some folks didn’t want us to. In 2021, organizers at an Ohio Memorial Day ceremony muted retired Army Lt. Col. Barnard Kemter for nearly two minutes the moment he began discussing how formerly enslaved Black Americans exhumed the remains of Union soldiers to give them proper burials. 🧵