Syria | Damascus President Bashar Al Assad and First Lady Asma Al Assad host Armenian delegation from Aleppo, on the eve of Armenian Genocide remembrance day.
A poignant letter found in the pocket of a young American corporal who died May 28, 1918, in the battle of Cantigny, is a moral reminder that these young heroes should always be revered and their honor and sacrifices never tarnished or despoiled.
In May 1918, 20-year-old Ruffus Shelton wrote the following letter to his mom:
“Dear Mother:
I am writing these few lines that in case I do not return you may know how I feel about the war. Mamma, we are about to enter into the first drive that the United States has made in the war and I’m sure it will be a great success – in fact I know it will. There are some of us who will not live through it, but, Mamma the reason I am writing you these few lines is to let you know that I am willing to give my life and more if I could I would give my life gladly and I think very little of the man who would not. For me to fall on the field of honor I know would hurt you but not like it would if you knew I was not giving my life freely for my country and that I am leading a better life – a life that when the Lord calls me I am ready to go. Mother, we may not meet on earth again, but some day we will meet and there will be no sorrow there. And, if I go mother, in my last minutes on earth my thoughts will be on the dear little mother who has fought the battles of life for the last fourteen years – long years to raise me to where I am now. I have gone through many hardships since I have been over here that did not look like I could go through, but I went through o.k. and I am glad I have. I have always tried to do my duty and be as cheerful as I could. It does not matter what hardships I have gone through I could not compare them with yours or what you have suffered for me. I know I am not worth half the trouble you have endured for me, but if I had lived to come back one aim in life for me was to come back and show the world that I could be somebody, and most of all to show mother how much I love here. With love to mother, I remain your son. God keep and bless you till we meet again.
Corporal Ruffus Shelton”
Note: After receiving word of her son’s death, Ruth Ann Shelton wrote numerous letters to the US Army, the War Department, and her congressman, trying to gain more information about her son’s whereabouts, sometimes with little success. After the war was over, and the military agreed to return some of the deceased to the United States, Ruth Ann Shelton purchased a large headstone, which displayed Ruffus’ name next to hers. Ruth Ann lived until April 15, 1949 and was buried next to her son
Photo: Ruth Ann Shelton and family at the grave of her son, Ruffus Shelton.
THIS IS AN INSULT TO THE VICTIMS OF MARTIAL LAW. THEY BLATANTLY SPREAD FAKES NEWS TO REVISE OUR COUNTRY’S HISTORY. THEY HAVE NEVER EVEN APOLOGIZED OR FACED THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRIMES COMMITTED DURING THEIR REGIME.
THIS IS ALSO AN INSULT TO OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COUNTRY’S FUTURE. HE HAS NO PLANS FOR THE COUNTRY ASIDE FROM “UNITY”. THE MARCOS FAMILY ARE ONLY DOING THIS FOR POWER AND SELFISH REASONS.
NEVER AGAIN. NEVER FORGET.
Also need to take into account that these stats are the documented ones. God only knows how much more lives were taken and destroyed before being kept in the dark.
THIS IS AN INSULT TO THE VICTIMS OF MARTIAL LAW. THEY BLATANTLY SPREAD FAKES NEWS TO REVISE OUR COUNTRY’S HISTORY. THEY HAVE NEVER EVEN APOLOGIZED OR FACED THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CRIMES COMMITTED DURING THEIR REGIME.
THIS IS ALSO AN INSULT TO OUR COUNTRY AND OUR COUNTRY’S FUTURE. HE HAS NO PLANS FOR THE COUNTRY ASIDE FROM “UNITY”. THE MARCOS FAMILY ARE ONLY DOING THIS FOR POWER AND SELFISH REASONS.
Its that special time of the year again, please have a moment of silence for the 3000 lives we lost on that tragic day, never forget, support the troops, Bush did it. RIP
When I let you come out with me, you will be the hottest girl in the room, and you will behave as if you are clearly there for me and me only. Now pour that champagne for me and my friends.
Today, January 27, 2017, marks 72 years since the Soviet army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi occupied Poland. Today we remember the worst of humanity: genocide. Today we remember all the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. We remember the roughly 11 million people (1.1 at the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp) who were slaughtered simply for who they were and those who were imprisoned, and sometimes killed, for what they believed.
The Nazi regime murdered an estimated 6 million Jewish people, 2 million Romani people, 250,000 mentally and physically disabled non-Jewish/non-Romani people, and 9,000 non-Jewish/non-Romani gay men all in the furtherance of white supremacy and “racial purity.”
Today we remember them all and continue to fight against fascism, totalitarianism, and white supremacy so that this never again happens.
Today, January 27, 2018, marks 73 years. Never again.
Today, January 27, 2020, marks 75 years. Never again.
To the Filipinos messaging me today over the ongoing election results (and for the foreigners to be aware of our political situation),
I feel you — this is humiliating, painful, and devastating. A legacy of dictatorship back on the seat of power, over hundreds of reported bribery and cheating cases with evidence, an election committee with their own preferred people, actors and abusers over human rights lawyers, history forgotten and rewritten.
But let’s never forget that we’re on the right side of history. My first vote was for someone with the best possible credentials and character, along with a colorful senatorial team with great campaigns.
We’ll grieve this time around, but let grief turn to anger and let anger turn to hope for a better future.
I’ll always remember how every university banded together for her; how professionals and celebrities chose her and her team. I’ll never forget the flash mobs singing peace hymns in malls, markets, and streets; the house-to-house campaigns where my friends ventured to the most unreachable places; the sports games where everyone wore pink instead of their school colors; the crowded rallies where food and water were passed around, and not a single wallet was stolen.
We turned a political campaign into a movement for change and love — and I’ll always be proud of that. We made the right choices. We did what we can. That, in itself, shows promise for our future.
For brighter futures, laban lang, Pilipinas! fighting!
The first time I ever read RIP I thought it referred to the sound a page makes when you tear it out of a book. As in well, you are being riiiiiiiipped out of the encyclopedia of existent people, and therefore, you will no longer be relevant as you’ve been riiiiiiiipped from the collective consciousness.
To a certain extent, I’m not really convinced that my thoughts were entirely incorrect, to be honest. I think the only people who don’t RIP you in this manner after you cease to live are the people who truly loved you to the extent where they cannot conceive of a reality that does not include you. They cannot riiiiiiiip you because that would mean they would be tearing a part of themselves away.
Yeah, I’m sure that’s what that means and the whole ‘Rest In Peace’ acronymization was merely retrofitted to obfuscate the true significance.
Show this photo to your daughters as they grow up.
Show them that courage is important, even in the scariest of situations. This woman stood up and faced her fears, spoke her truth in front of a group of men while balancing the world on her shoulders. She is a hero. She is a representation for all women who are done being assaulted and abused.
I Believe Dr. Christine Blasey Ford
Show it to them because our mothers didn’t show us this one:
Who is she? Anita Hill.
What’s she doing here? Testifying about the sexual misconduct of then supreme court nominee Clarence Thomas aka nowthe most senior justice on the Supreme Court.
