Sgt Leo & Roque,
Though we can look at the pictures and imagine what it must've felt like,
we can't ever experience it as you guys did. To be so cold, so wet, so
tired - and then worry about getting killed or wounded - only
you guys who were there could possibly understand what that felt like.
Like Marion says - we understand only a portion of it when we're outside
and start bitchin' about the cold & think: "Hey you whiner! how'd THEY
feel livin' it day after day, no hot chow, no dry boots & getting shelled?!".
My Uncle John Harrington was Airborne Glider Infantry and I know that
he got frostbitten feet which gave him trouble throughout his life.
I'd don't think I've ever told anybody this, but one of the biggest regrets of
my life was one night during a blizzard, I was mad at my father
& wouldn't give him a ride to work. It wasn't far, only up the street,
but I can still see him in my mind - in his overcoat, trudging up the street
in the freezing cold & blowing snow. I was young & stupid & was sorry
about it too late to go up after him. It may not seem like a big deal, but - OH how
I regretted it and regret it still. He was a working man all his life & never asked for
anything for himself. After he died and I read his letters from Italy & France and
began to "understand" what it must've been like for him & all you guys,
the memory of him & that snowstorm came back to me & I bawled my eyes out.
To this day, I can't think about it without tears. Recalling it, I always say: "Forgive me Dad!".
Whether you realize it or not - you guys teach all of us (and we NEED to be taught!).
You also MUST be thanked 
. My Dad's not here for me to thank,
so that means I'm thanking YOU all, whether you like it or not! 
so just shut up and
stand at attention while you are being thanked!! ha!
mary ann