To all those that have served, Thank you for your sacrifices.
May you live all of the days of your life.
Happy Veteran’s Day.
Semper Fi.
Yes much aloha to all those who served in the armed forces. My dad spent his whole life working for the DOD. Worked at Pearl Harbor from 1940 till 1945 when he was drafted into the ARMY and stayed for 20 years. Went back to Pearl and retired with a combined 42 years of service. He was living at Hickam AFB and saw the death and destruction from Dec 7, 1941 up close and personal. He spent time in Korea during that war, and was sent to Germany to prepare for a strike against Russia during the Cuban Missle Crisis. He retired in 1965 because he didn’t want to end up in south east asia, but was sent to Viet Nam as a civilian DOD worker anyway. Then they sent him to the Philipines when Marcos was being put into power.
His generation proudly served in the armend forces, his brothers, cousins, and a few nephews are all veterans, many retired vets. My generation was lucky, he didn’t want us to follow in his footsteps. He had lots of medals, but he would never talk about them. I miss him so very much.
I married into a military family.
My wifes dad spent 20+ years in the Marines. Two purple hearts. He was a bad-ass!
I get to surf DMJ’s on Camp Pendleton thanks to him.
Much appreciation for the military.
Thanks guys for all you sacrifice. Both you and your families.
Freedom isn’t free!
If you go to the American Cementary in Normandy, the crosses seem to go on forever. I stopped at one in particular that indicated she was a Red Cross nurse that died in action. Another had the Jewish Star. All ranks, genders, religions… too well represented along this beautiful stretch of coastline.
The older French in the area still treat Americans kindly stating they will always be appreciative of what our guys (and gals) did for them during this tumultuous time.
all gave some…
some gave all…
in memory to those who didn’t make it back…i salute you.
herb
Yup. Thanks ya’all. Hope you had a great Veteran’s Day, Herb.
Gents, I have follwed Sways for years now and this is my first post! I have been in the Marine Corps for 19 years and lived through a couple of wars. I have also been a garage shaper for the last 11 years (inbetween deployments, moves, family, Marine life). I am posting a few picks of my boards (go easy man, I am only on about #20 ha ha). My point, I suppose, is that I would have never made it this far with my shaping if it werent for Sways and the wealth of info you all have provided over the years. No matter where I have been in the world I always read the forums and kept my stoke up… even when I was in the middle of some rediculously remote desert and the thought of surfing couldnt be further from my reality. You guys have taught me some intangable lessons that have saved my boards from ruin, kept me from making horrible design mistakes and consistantly provided good humor. Thanks!
Semper Fi,
Clint
Welcome aboard, Clint. Thank you for your service. Cool boards, too. Mike
“{We} are soldiers so our sons may be farmers, and so their sons may be artists” - John Adams
Thanks you to all who have served.
(maybe applies to surfers/shapers!)
i live real close to a regional park…very user friendly ,but large and wild looking…dogs love it there.
my best to you my friend.
herb
I visited the Normandy beaches recently. While standing in the train station waiting to get back to Paris, a little old French man came shuffling up. Beret, twead coat. Very old looking. I thought I might be in trouble or maybe he was going to pan handle. Instead, he asked “American?”. When I said yes, he took my hand in both of his and shook it saying " We will never forget." It would be good if more folks over here “never forgot”. I think about that moment often. I think about it when my contacts are getting dry and I need a little lubrication. Works everytime.
You do have to go to Normandy to see the price paid Just visit your local VA Hospital. There you will see old men that have lived without a leg or arm for more years then they had one. Young men looking at a life without a leg or arm. The wounds seen and unseen. Are all there. These are the living monuments to war. Broken Bodies and broken Spirits. It isn’t all gloom and doom. Many can still laugh. There are many times that I have gone down to The VA foreign appointment. I take some magazines like Surfer Surfing. Hot Rd magazines and the like just drop them in the waiting room. It’s small thing no big deal But maybe fora few minutes it will help take mind off of The cancer They now have from agent orange. Might help break the cycle of reliving the horrible moment when a land mine blow up the truck in front of you. When Thanks a Vet keep in mind that the Homeless guy hanging out by the Beach just might be one of those Vets. one that never really made it all the way home. As For me I was one of the Drafted reluctant GIs. I served in a time that it was very unpopular to be in Uniform. If you want to Thank me then please do something for those that are still fighting their war long after the guns were silenced.
The military will spend months and months or even years training a warrior.
When he returns, there is nothing to train him to get back to “normal” life. This is a SERIOUS shortcoming of the DoD.
We need post operational training to be instituted immediately. Toughing it out on your own is NOT the answer.
How do you wrap your head around going from a combat theatre to the “States” in less than 48 hrs???
Some WWII vets had to return via troop ships. It took months sometimes. It gave some step-down time…not NEARLY enough.
Clint,
Great looking work… I really like your sense of color design too.
Your post is the best I have ever read in Swaylocks.
T Blank really hit the nail on the head for guys coming home. Thankfully, I’ve seen a couple great programs… one was focused on getting veterans into the water to feel the pure thrill of riding a wave… many of them for their first time. Another program connects homeless dogs with vets. What a win win program, for both parties, seeking relief and unconditiional love.
some on here would say i am tough and cynical?
but for you sir i have the upmost repect and personaly thank you for your sacrifice and i am an ausie
cheers huie
Huie, from what I’ve read about what you do in Oz, I’d say you’ve got quite a heart.
I have a lot of friends, and several family members who have been to the middle east several times since little bush started his war on terror. A good number of them weren’t even in the regular military, most were reserves or national guard. My cousin’s boy went twice, but on the second trip was hurt and his military career is over. I think he’s on permanent disability.
WOW,
I am so stoked, despite the different views and cultures represented on Sways you guys get whats its like for the military guys. My family and I have survived three combat tours (I really mean it when I say the entire family) together. I am a Combat Photographer and I can honestly say I have seen my share of war, much of which will never be unseen. I have lost friends and have so many close brothers that came home mentally or physically changed forever. But I chose this life of service and I am thankful to be able serve. I am not as young as I used to be and I cant run down a 19 year old Marine anymore but I can still do my bit, and it is truly an honor to pass my trade down from combat cameraman to cameraman.
DeadShaper, Huie, Rooster- Guys I have been following you all for a long time and pay close attention to the info you have passed- Such a wealth of knowledge and I cant begin to tell you all how much it is appreciated. There are to many amazing guys on here to mention that I have learned from through Sways. My work doesnt hold a candle to the stuff you guys do but it is all about the process for me! When I came home from Afghanistan in 2012 I had been gone a year and was so disconnected from the world. After the good family time all I wanted to do was shape and surf! Shaping became my therapy and man did it work. Dead, you are spot on about the dog program and getting vets into the water. Some of my cameramen that work for me have gone through so much over the last 4-5 years it is almost unbelievable half of them are alive. Their stories about getting the “shot” and surviving would shock most folks. We spent a lot of time working with the guys after their deployments to help them “come down” like T Blank said. Coming off an intense combat deployment and a week later you are standing on a downtown street corner doesnt really work out so well. the military is getting a LOT better at the decompression stages. Needles to say there are amazing programs available for the boys that have really helped.
I can tell you all as board builders- Personally, I just needed my planer a handful of design ideas and some foam.
Semper Fi,
Clint
I am a disabled Vet who did his time in the 1970’s, back when those in service would be called baby killers and even spit on by certain civilians.
These days the flag is waved and everybody’s a hero.
Until they have to deal with the VA. Then they’re just one more sw!ng!ng d!ck in the crowd.
We should have listened to Ike.
The Vietnam vets got a raw deal. They got sent over to a civil war that the French pulled out and Kennedy sent “military advisors” to protect our economic interests (rubber, etc.)… yeah, Kennedy, that ever popular Navy man in the White House that the Secret Service tried to keep from getting caught as a womanizer among other things. It WASN"T LBJ that got us into it.
So our boys get put on TWA and Pan AM commercial airliners (my wife worked for TWA) and these guys were headed for an abyss that would leave them different for the rest of their lives. As in all life, some are stronger than others… life finds a way, but it isn’t always what we might hope for.
There are NO winners in war.
But as long as people believe in something…anything…there will be disagreements, conflicts…war.
For better or for worse, it’s called the “human condition”.
Let’s get back to surfboards and riding waves…