For Digger on Memorial Day

HENRY MEURSINGE DUYS JR.
OCT.17,1924 - MAY 11,2007

(Photo from 1943)

Three weeks ago, my good friend and Union Brother, Henry Duys, (aka "Digger"), suffered a tragic loss, when his Father passed away.

Mr. Duys served in the United States Navy as a Signalman on a Frigate in the South Pacific, and was later stationed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, now home to Steiner Studios, where we often work. As someone who was also stationed at the Navy Yard for a brief time, I can still "feel" the thousands who served there everyday I go to work.

I know Henry must sometimes "feel" his Father as well, and I hope it is some small consolation to know that he is working where his Father once served and that his Father is always with him now, living on in his heart.

This Memorial Day I will add Signalman Henry Meursinge Duys, Jr., United States Navy, to my prayers for the Faithful Fallen.

God Bless him and grant him the Peace he once fought to bring to all of us.

d.

End The Madness

Anthony Martini of Chicago, mourns his brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Philip John Martini while visiting a memorial of over 3400 pairs of boots representing the U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq, in Chicago's Grant Park, Saturday, May 26, 2007. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

U.S. Deaths Near Grim Memorial Day Mark
By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD - Americans have opened nearly 1,000 new graves to bury U.S. troops killed in Iraq since Memorial Day a year ago. The figure is telling _ and expected to rise in coming months.

In the period from Memorial Day 2006 through Saturday, 980 soldiers and Marines died in Iraq, compared to 807 deaths in the previous year. And with the Baghdad security operation now 3 1/2 months old, even President Bush has predicted a difficult summer for U.S. forces.

"It could be a bloody _ it could be a very difficult August," he said last week.

(Full story)

As we prepare to honor our fallen Heroes tomorrow, keep this in mind. This didn't have to happen and it doesn't need to continue.

It is time to end the madness.

d.