Memorial Day::Great love lives on...

In the spring of 1968, when 23 year old Nicholas Cutinha was mortally wounded protecting fellow soldiers in battle, I was preparing to graduate from high school. As I anticipated my future with the hope and excitement all graduates experience, the parents of Nicholas Cutinha were grieving the tragic all-too-soon loss of their brave young son - a proud and honorable soldier in the United States Army, serving his country in the Vietnam War.

The gravesite for this young man we never knew - a Medal of Honor winner - is less than 10 minutes from our home on Pollywog Creek. His tombstone is engraved with the words:

Great Love Lives On. 

On this Memorial Day, as we have done on Memorial Days past - before baseball and barbecues, juicey slices of watermelon and tall glasses of sweet tea - we will visit Nicholas' gravesite and remember his great sacrifice with prayers and flowers and sober and somber gratitude.

{Photos - 1, 6 - Cutinha's gravesite, 2-3 - South Florida National Cemetery, 4-5 National U.S. Navy Seal Museum}

Remembering::somewhere a family is missing him...

The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery.

~ Ronald Reagan

{Photos: Ft. Denaud Cemetery and the grave of Nicholas Cutinha, who lost his life in service to our country at the age of 23 in Vietnam and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for risking his life to save the lives of others. We never knew him, but somewhere he has family who misses him, so every Memorial Day, our family places flowers at his graveside. South Florida National Cemetery, Navy SEAL Museum

We will remember...

In the spring of 1968, when 23 year old Nicholas Cutinha was mortally wounded protecting fellow soldiers in battle, I was preparing to graduate from high school. As I anticipated my future with the hope and excitement all graduates experience, the parents of Nicholas Cutinha were grieving the tragic all-too-soon loss of their brave young son - a proud and honorable soldier in the United States Army, serving his country in the Vietnam War.

The gravesite for this young man we never knew - a Medal of Honor winner - is less than 10 minutes from our home on Pollywog Creek. His tombstone is engraved with the words, "Great Love Lives On". 

On this Memorial Day, as we have done on Memorial Days past - before baseball and barbecues, juicey slices of watermelon and tall glasses of sweet tea - we will visit Nicholas' gravesite and remember his great sacrifice with prayers and flowers and sober and somber gratitude.

{Photos - 1, 6 - Cutinha's gravesite, 2-3 - South Florida National Cemetery, 4-5 National U.S. Navy Seal Museum}

Choosing to remember...

In the spring of 1968, when 23 year old Nicholas Cutinha was mortally wounded protecting his fellow soldiers in battle, I was preparing to graduate from high school. As I was anticipating my future with the hope and excitement all graduates experience, the parents of Nicholas Cutinha were grieving the tragic all-too-soon loss of their brave young son - a proud and honorable soldier in the United States Army, serving his country in the Vietnam War.

We never knew Nicholas Cutinha. In fact, it was just a few years ago that we read his story in a local newspaper and learned that he was one of just a handful of Medal of Honor recipients with gravesites in SW Florida. That Memorial Day we gathered a few flowers from our yard and visited Cutinha's grave not more than 10 minutes from Pollywog Creek.

We've visited his gravesite to leave flowers every Memorial Day since - remembering that he was someone's dear son, we choose to remember and honor the life he and so many others willingly sacrificed for their fellow soldiers, for our county, for our freedom and the freedom of others around the world.

 

Nicholas Cutinha's Medal of Honor Citation  

Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Gia Dinh, Republic of Vietnam, 2 March 1968. Entered service at: Coral Gables, Fla. Born: 13 January 1945, Fernandina Beach, Fla. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While serving as a machine gunner with Company C, Sp4c. Cutinha accompanied his unit on a combat mission near Gia Dinh. Suddenly his company came under small arms, automatic weapons, mortar and rocket propelled grenade fire, from a battalion size enemy unit. During the initial hostile attack, communication with the battalion was lost and the company commander and numerous members of the company became casualties. When Sp4c. Cutinha observed that his company was pinned down and disorganized, he moved to the front with complete disregard for his safety, firing his machine gun at the charging enemy. As he moved forward he drew fire on his own position and was seriously wounded in the leg. As the hostile fire intensified and half of the company was killed or wounded, Sp4c. Cutinha assumed command of all the survivors in his area and initiated a withdrawal while providing covering fire for the evacuation of the wounded. He killed several enemy soldiers but sustained another leg wound when his machine gun was destroyed by incoming rounds. Undaunted, he crawled through a hail of enemy fire to an operable machine gun in order to continue the defense of his injured comrades who were being administered medical treatment. Sp4c. Cutinha maintained this position, refused assistance, and provided defensive fire for his comrades until he fell mortally wounded. He was solely responsible for killing 15 enemy soldiers while saving the lives of at least 9 members of his own unit. Sp4c. Cutinha's gallantry and extraordinary heroism were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

An updated repost.

Great love lives on...

In the spring of 1968 that 23 year old Nicholas Cutinha was mortally wounded protecting his fellow soldiers in battle, I was preparing to graduate from high school. As I was anticipating my future with the hope and excitement all graduates experience, the parents of Nicholas Cutinha were grieving the tragic all-too-soon loss of their brave young son - a proud and honorable soldier in the United States Army, serving his country in the Vietnam War. I never met Nicholas Cutinha. In fact, it was just last year that we read his story in a local newspaper and learned that he was one of 4 or 5 Medal of Honor recipients with gravesites in SW Florida. That Memorial Day we gathered a few flowers from our yard and visited Cutinha's grave not more than 10 minutes from Pollywog Creek.

On our way home from church yesterday, we stopped by the cemetery and placed flowers at the foot of Cutinha's grave - remembering the life he and so many others willingly sacrificed for their fellow soldiers, for our county, for our freedom and the freedom of so many around the world, that I could live to be 60 years old and enjoy the abundant life they preserved for us all.

Nicholas Cutinha

Nicholas Cutinha's Medal of Honor Citation

Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company C, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Gia Dinh, Republic of Vietnam, 2 March 1968. Entered service at: Coral Gables, Fla. Born: 13 January 1945, Fernandina Beach, Fla. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While serving as a machine gunner with Company C, Sp4c. Cutinha accompanied his unit on a combat mission near Gia Dinh. Suddenly his company came under small arms, automatic weapons, mortar and rocket propelled grenade fire, from a battalion size enemy unit. During the initial hostile attack, communication with the battalion was lost and the company commander and numerous members of the company became casualties. When Sp4c. Cutinha observed that his company was pinned down and disorganized, he moved to the front with complete disregard for his safety, firing his machine gun at the charging enemy. As he moved forward he drew fire on his own position and was seriously wounded in the leg. As the hostile fire intensified and half of the company was killed or wounded, Sp4c. Cutinha assumed command of all the survivors in his area and initiated a withdrawal while providing covering fire for the evacuation of the wounded. He killed several enemy soldiers but sustained another leg wound when his machine gun was destroyed by incoming rounds. Undaunted, he crawled through a hail of enemy fire to an operable machine gun in order to continue the defense of his injured comrades who were being administered medical treatment. Sp4c. Cutinha maintained this position, refused assistance, and provided defensive fire for his comrades until he fell mortally wounded. He was solely responsible for killing 15 enemy soldiers while saving the lives of at least 9 members of his own unit. Sp4c. Cutinha's gallantry and extraordinary heroism were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

  Nickie "Great Love Lives On" Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

A History of Memorial Day

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. 

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. 

The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns. (From the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs)

Related: May::Day 25::Memorial Day Red, White and Blue

May::Day 25::Memorial Day Red, White and Blue

   "In Flanders Fields the poppies blow  Between the crosses row on row,  That mark our place; and in the sky  The larks, still bravely singing, fly  Scarce heard amid the guns below." "We are the Dead.  Short days ago  We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,  Loved and were loved, and now we lie  In Flanders fields." "Take up our quarrel with the foe:  To you from failing hands we throw  The torch; be yours to hold it high.  If ye break faith with us who die  We shall not sleep, though poppies grow  In Flanders fields.  " Read more about "In Flanders Fields" by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918), Canadian Army

Arlington Cemetery,where the ashes of my parents (veterans of WWII) are inurned, a portion of the Vietnam Wall Memorial

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns. Read more...(From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)