Memorial Day

Joeseph L. Galloway (You may remember that name from the book We
Were Soldiers Once....and Young) wrote a very moving peice on what this Memorial Day should be about...not just backyard BarBQ's, and a day off of work...but so much more. I hope we all take a moment this weekend to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this great nation..and all in the name of freedom.

WASHINGTON - Memorial Day is hard upon us, and hard on us as well.
While most Americans celebrate the holiday as the first long weekend of summer, the rest of us will be honoring the sacrifice of countless American lives during 230 years of our nation's history. Winning our independence was bloody work; defending our freedom has been even bloodier.
We are a nation at war this year, just as we have been for the last five years since the terror attacks on innocent American citizens on Sept. 11, 2001. We are at war, but who among us knows the true cost of war, and who pays the price?
The answer to that question is, of course, our living veterans of wars.
All but 50 of the 5 million veterans of World War I are gone from among us. Only about 3.5 million of 16 million American veterans of World War II are still alive. Some 3.2 million veterans of the Korean War are still alive. About 2.5 million of the 3.4 million who served in the Vietnam War theater are still living.
They surely know the true cost of war.
The knowledge of that cost is borne even more keenly by the widows and children, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters of those who gave their lives in battle in our country's wars.
There are so many of them, and more coming with each passing day in the wars we are fighting now.
The children of war, especially, have so large a claim on our hearts. They have lost fathers, and now even their mothers, in today's wars. The estimate is that Iraq alone has left 3,000 children without one parent or with no parent at all.
This Memorial Day I will be thinking particularly of the five children of the two Army pilots of a Kiowa Warrior helicopter shot down in Mosul, Iraq, on Jan. 13. Their fathers, CWO3 Mitchell K. Carver Jr., 31, of Charlotte, N.C., and CWO2 Kyle E. Jackson, 28, of Sarasota, Fla., were flying cover for a small three-vehicle patrol of Stryker armored vehicles at the time.
I was riding in one of those Strykers at the time and was at the crash site within minutes. I watched their broken bodies were gently eased out of the shattered helicopter - Carver already dead, Jackson alive but barely. He died on the way to the hospital.
At that moment I knew that within a matter of a few hours Army sedans with a chaplain and a casualty notification officer would be pulling up outside houses bearing the news that would shatter happy lives. I knew that those young children would carry holes in their hearts all their lives - holes where a father was supposed to dwell.
This Memorial Day I will also think of the four children of my friend SFC David Salie of the 3rd Infantry Division who was killed a year ago on Valentine's Day, who was in Iraq precisely four days before he was killed in an IED explosion on his first combat tour in that war. Salie had parachuted into Panama with the 82nd Airborne, fought in the Persian Gulf War and deployed in Haiti.
His daughter is a budding writer and poet. Her mother, Deanna, shares some of Chyna's writing with me from time to time. I keep photos of Carver and Jackson, and David Salie and his family on my wall to remind me of them - to remind me of what wars cost - every day.
My friend Karen Spears Zacharias lost her father, Sgt. David Spears, in Vietnam in 1966 when she was 9. She's written a book about what that one death among 58,250 in that war did to the lives of her mother, her two siblings and herself. It's out in paperback with a new title: "After the Flag Has Been Folded."
She travels around the country talking to new widows and their heart-broken children. She knows their pain firsthand. She tries to help them understand that they are not alone. If nothing else she can cry with them over all they have lost.
So this Memorial Day think of all our fallen servicemen in America's wars. But think especially of those innocents they left behind - so filled with pride, so filled with grief, so filled with pain. They are there in many American cities and towns.
Reach out to them. Tell them you thank them for their family's great sacrifice. Tell them we grieve with them. Offer them any help they need. Tell them they are not alone.

Code Pink does it again

These idiots never fail to disgust me........
This is more like it......Marines don't wear sissy pink

31st Anniversary of the Mayaguez Incident

Today marks the anniversary of "the last battle" of the Vietnam War. A story of heroes and heartbreak, and one that is forgotten more than it is remmembered. The link at the bottom is one of the most accurate depictions of the events and aftermath of this battle.Ralph Wetterhan's book "The Last Battle", a fantastic read, finally shed some light on the fate of the Machine gun crew of Danny Marshall, Joeseph Hargrove,and Gary Hall, who were accidentaly left behind in the confusion. These men provided vital cover for the Marines that were being extracted,preventing them from being overrun. They held their ground till the end,but were left behind,and later murdered by the Khmer Rouge."A man is never dead until he is forgotten" is the saying, so we must NEVER FORGET these men's heroic stories. Those who gave all are the last 41 names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. RIP to them all.
MARINES KILLED IN ACTION
Benedett, Daniel A.
Blessing, Lynn
Boyd, Walter
Copenhaver, Gregory S.
Garcia, Andres
Hall, Gary, L.
Hargrove, Joseph N.
Jacques, James J.
Loney, Ashton N.
Marshall, Danny G.
Maxwell, James R.
Rivenburgh, Richard W.
Sandoval, Antonio R.
Turner, Kelton R.


NAVY CORPSMAN KILLED IN ACTION
Manning, Ronald J.
Bernard, Gause, Jr.


AIR FORCE KILLED IN ACTION
Rumbaugh, Elwood E.
Van de Geer, Richard


AIR FORCE KILLED IN CRASH
Kays, James G. Pilot
Froehlich, Laurence G. Co-pilot
McMullen, George E. Flight engineer
Raber, Paul J Flight mechanic
Weldon, Robert P


USAF SECURITY POLICE KILLED IN CRASH
Black, Jimmy
Collums, Bobby
Coyle, Gerald
Dwyer, Thomas
Ford, Bob
Fritz, Gerald
Glenn, Jackie D.
Hamlin, Darrell
Hankamer, Gregory
Higgs, David
Ilaoa, Faleagafula
Lane, Michael
London, Dennis
Mathias, Robert
McKelvey, William
Moran, Edgar
Nealis, Tommy
Ross, Robert

Two Words: HILTON SUCKS

For those who have been following the Fran O'Briens story....I think we can all come to agreement here. For those who don't know, long story short: Fran O'Briens has been serving steak dinners to our wounded troops from Walter Reed Memorial hospital every friday, a wonderful tradition. Hilton Hotels has decided to evict Frans for 'business reasons' . What a load of crap. Blackfive has more on this storyBlackfive.net

This was so much more than just a steak dinner to these heroes......

No Tears in Heaven

This is an absolutely amazing piece.....Brings tears to my eyes everytime I read it...It embodies all that I admire so greatly in those who serve this country.

“We volunteered to be here sir,” First Sergeant McNeely flatly explained. “You see, no Soldier, Marine, Sailor, Airmen, or Coast Guardsmen ought to arrive to Heaven without a proper greeting. It’s the least we can do considering their sacrifices. And I’d like to add, that through those gates are at least a thousand others who have volunteered to take our place here.”

Here is the link to read the whole story, a story that deserves to be read by all.http://sgthook.com/2006/04/10/no-tears-in-heaven/

My New Favorite CD

This Cd is absolutely amazing........not only are these men heroes, they are gifted musicians too. Here is a clip of one of my favorite songs. "I am a Patriot"http://www.iraq-songs.com/soundbytes/iamapatriotclip.wma
And here is the link where you can listen to more songs and purchase the CD....I promise you will not be disapointedhttp://www.iraq-songs.com/

Remembering the Bataan Death March

"Courage is a quality God has seen fit to dispense with utmost care. The men of Bataan were His chosen favorites."
Major General Edward P. King, Jr., USACommanding General, Luzon Forces, 1942

The Bataan Memorial Death March is comming up on March 26, in White Sands New Mexico. People from all around the world will come to remember, pay tribute, pay respect for our WWII heroes who endured more than what should be humanly possible. They will walk, run, hike, 26.2 miles through the dessert, an amazing experience I can imagine. God Bless those who take part in this event, those men who perished, and those who survived to tell of the horrors, will never be forgotten. These men experienced hell on earth, from the Death March, the POW camps like Camp O'Donell, and the Hell ships like the Oryoko Maru. They experienced humanity at it's worse, but they showed just how strong the human spirit can be, they were the "Battling Bastards of Bataan", and came to feel more like the "Ghosts of Bataan". The nightmare finally ended on January 28, 1945 for those at Camp O'Donell, by way of 121 hand-selected U.S. Rangers, who did the impossible, rescued 513 POW. An amazing story that seems to be forgotton at times when we remember WWII.

I highly reccomend reading "Ghost Soldiers" by Hampton Sides, he tells this story with such historical accuracy,passion and respect. The movie "The Great Raid", is an accurate depiction of the raid also, but nothing can compete with the book. Here are some links for more information
http://www.bataanmarch.com/index.htm
http://www.bataansurvivor.com/

Belzer's an Arrogant Ass

You might recognize this guy from T.V.'s "Law and Order", though you might not, let's just say that face is less than memorable. He recently was on Bill Maher's show "Real Time" and decided to make a huge ass out of himself on national T.V. I guess he thinks because he is a actor that he is also an expert on this war. He is a joke a disgrace and has disrespected every man and who has ever worn a uniform. Take a look at his bio on Wikipedia before you listen to the audio, it makes him look like more of an ass.""Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, he grew up with his parents and older brother. He worked as a paperboy and became known for his uncontrollable wit, which caused him to be kicked out of every school he attended. After high school he was a reporter for the Bridgeport Post. He unsuccessfully attended junior college and later enlisted in the Army. He soon realized it was a mistake and tried to get out."
Now take a listen to this jerk.http://newsbusters.org/media/2006-03-17-HBORTBM.wmv. If you can't get the audio you can read the conversation herehttp://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49341
I found this story on http://blackfive.net/

A Tribute to Our Heroes

The link below is a beautiful tribute to our heroes who have given so much and sacrificed so much, all in the name of freedom. They are warriors and heroes, fathers,mothers, sisters, brothers,sons and daughters. They are the ones who don't complain, the ones who do their jobs with pride and honor. They need our support, respect, care packages and letters,and as always our thoughts and prayers. GOD BLESS THEM ALL
Tribute Video

Honoring the victims of the 1983 Beirut Terrorist Attack

I was only 5 when this horrific event took place, it would be many years before I understood the impact of that day.241 heroes were lost in a dispicable act of terror. They deserve nothing less than honor and respect.......Please read this, at the bottom there is a link to sign the petition for the memorial stamp, Please take a minute and sign it, this is important to the families, therefore it should be important to us all. In just over two years from now, the 25th anniversary of that tragedy will be upon us. For 19 years, The Beirut Stamp Initiative, comprised of Gold Star Families, has been petitioning the US Congress, and the USPS Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee to commission a stamp memorializing the deaths of our troops on that fateful day in 1983. The submission has repeatedly been rejected, and one of the reasons cited is. quite frankly, an outrage. We try hard to honor positive things People want non-controversial pretty stamps Beirut lacked significance in American history and not enough people were killed * "Beirut lacked significance in American history and not enough people were killed " How disgusting to say that 241 men murdered lacked significance and not enough people were killed...An outrage to say the least.
http://www.beirutstamp.com/petition/index.html (Last I checked the total number of signers was 9228,please lets keeep it going)

A Thank You letter

From: Mayor of Tall ‘Afar, Ninewa, Iraq In the Name of God the Compassionate and Merciful To the Courageous Men and Women of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who have changed the city of Tall’ Afar from a ghost town, in which terrorists spread death and destruction, to a secure city flourishing with life. To the lion-hearts who liberated our city from the grasp of terrorists who were beheading men, women and children in the streets for many months. To those who spread smiles on the faces of our children, and gave us restored hope, through their personal sacrifice and brave fighting, and gave new life to the city after hopelessness darkened our days, and stole our confidence in our ability to reestablish our city. Our city was the main base of operations for Abu Mousab Al Zarqawi. The city was completely held hostage in the hands of his henchmen. Our schools, governmental services, businesses and offices were closed. Our streets were silent, and no one dared to walk them. Our people were barricaded in their homes out of fear; death awaited them around every corner. Terrorists occupied and controlled the only hospital in the city. Their savagery reached such a level that they stuffed the corpses of children with explosives and tossed them into the streets in order to kill grieving parents attempting to retrieve the bodies of their young. This was the situation of our city until God prepared and delivered unto them the courageous soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, who liberated this city, ridding it of Zarqawi’s followers after harsh fighting, killing many terrorists, and forcing the remaining butchers to flee the city like rats to the surrounding areas, where the bravery of other 3d ACR soldiers in Sinjar, Rabiah, Zumar and Avgani finally destroyed them. I have met many soldiers of the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment; they are not only courageous men and women, but avenging angels sent by The God Himself to fight the evil of terrorism. The leaders of this Regiment; COL McMaster, COL Armstrong, LTC Hickey, LTC Gibson, and LTC Reilly embody courage, strength, vision and wisdom. Officers and soldiers alike bristle with the confidence and character of knights in a bygone era. The mission they have accomplished, by means of a unique military operation, stands among the finest military feats to date in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and truly deserves to be studied in military science. This military operation was clean, with little collateral damage, despite the ferocity of the enemy. With the skill and precision of surgeons they dealt with the terrorist cancers in the city without causing unnecessary damage. God bless this brave Regiment; God bless the families who dedicated these brave men and women. From the bottom of our hearts we thank the families. They have given us something we will never forget. To the families of those who have given their holy blood for our land, we all bow to you in reverence and to the souls of your loved ones. Their sacrifice was not in vain. They are not dead, but alive, and their souls hovering around us every second of every minute. They will never be forgotten for giving their precious lives. They have sacrificed that which is most valuable. We see them in the smile of every child, and in every flower growing in this land. Let America, their families, and the world be proud of their sacrifice for humanity and life. Finally, no matter how much I write or speak about this brave Regiment, I haven’t the words to describe the courage of its officers and soldiers. I pray to God to grant happiness and health to these legendary heroes and their brave families. NAJIM ABDULLAH ABID AL-JIBOURI Mayor of Tall ‘Afar, Ninewa, Iraq

W.T.F.!!!!!

Okay this pissed me off, made me sick, then took me to a new level of being pissed off. Here is some pathetic wusses comments on a fallen hero and our troops.This is http://nodoodahs.blogspot.com/2006/03/American-idol.html"The second personally annoying occurrence involving an ex-NFL player was having to sit through a tribute to Pat Tillman, posthumous recipient of the Silver Star, while waiting for kickoff one Sunday afternoon. Actually, I didn't have to sit through the tribute, and didn't, but I was annoyed that it took place anyway. You see, I'm anti-war."No asshole you are a Anti-American.Here is some more if you can take it:And no, I don't "support the troops." As Brandon J. Snider wrote so well, "We hold brutal killers like John Wesley Hardin or Charles Manson in the lowest regard, but the difference between these killers and military troops is semantic and symbolic. It's time to address the issue of the troops with the brutality it richly deserves. It's time to deconstruct the myth of the glorious military adventure. It'a long past time we shame people who think about military service. Perhaps then fewer young people will throw their lives away." Do these asses realize they only have the right to be so ignorant and disrespectful because of the brave men and woman who they disrespect and criticize so? I can't stand these Anti-war, anit-military imbasols who bash the very ones who fight and die for our freedoms. All I can say is W.T.F. is wrong with people!

Marine Salutes the Terrorists

This is one of my favorite stories, an amazing story that shows how brave, corageous and down right tough our guys are, Our troops are true warriors, heroes and make me so proud to call this place home...GOD BLESS THEM ALL. The Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant in the picture is Michael Burghard, part of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team that is supporting 2nd Brigade 28th Infantry Division (Pennsylvania Army National Guard). I heard the below story first hand last Saturday during a video teleconference between his Brigade Commander and the 28th Infantry Division Commander. I thought that others should hear it as well, as I think it demonstrates the true spirit of most of our troops on the ground.Leading the fight is Gunnery Sgt Michael Burghardt, known as "Iron Mike" or just "Gunny". He is on his third tour in Iraq. He had become a legend in the bomb disposal world after winning the Bronze Star for disabling 64 IEDs and destroying 1,548 pieces of ordnance during his second tour. Then, on September 19, he got blown up. He had arrived at a chaotic scene after a bomb had killed four US soldiers. He chose not to wear the bulky bomb protection suit. "You can't react to any sniper fire and you get tunnel-vision," he explains. So, protected by just a helmet and standard-issue flak jacket, he began what bomb disposal officers term "the longest walk", stepping gingerly into a 5ft deep and 8ft wide crater. The earth shifted slightly and he saw a Senao base station with a wire leading from it. He cut the wire and used his 7in knife to probe the ground. "I found a piece of red detonating cord between my legs," he says. "That's when I knew I was screwed."Realizing he had been sucked into a trap, Sgt Burghardt, 35, yelled at everyone to stay back. At that moment, an insurgent, probably watching through binoculars, pressed a button on his mobile phone to detonate the secondary device below the sergeant's feet. "A chill went up the back of my neck and then the bomb exploded," he recalls. "As I was in the air I remember thinking, 'I don't believe they got me.' I was just ticked off they were able to do it. Then I was lying on the road, not able to feel anything from the waist down."His colleagues cut off his trousers to see how badly he was hurt. None could believe his legs were still there. "My dad's a Vietnam vet who's paralyzed from the waist down," says Sgt Burghardt. "I was lying there thinking I didn't want to be in a wheelchair next to my dad and for him to see me like that. They started to cut away my pants and I felt a real sharp pain and blood trickling down. Then I wiggled my toes and I thought, 'Good, I'm in business.' As a stretcher was brought over, adrenaline and anger kicked in. "I decided to walk to the helicopter. I wasn't going to let my team-mates see me being carried away on a stretcher." He stood and gave the insurgents who had blown him up a one-fingered salute. "I flipped them one. It was like, 'OK, I lost that round but I'll be back next week'."Copies of a photograph depicting his defiance, taken by Jeff Bundy for the Omaha World-Herald, adorn the walls of homes across America and that of Col John Gronski, the brigade commander in Ramadi, who has hailed the image as an exemplar of the warrior spirit. Sgt Burghardt's injuries — burns and wounds to his legs and buttocks — kept him off duty for nearly a month and could have earned him a ticket home. But, like his father — who was awarded a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts for being wounded in action in Vietnam — he stayed in Ramadi to engage in the battle against insurgents who are forever coming up with more ingenious ways of killing Americans. I found this story athttp://pc540.blogspot.com/2006/02/michael-burghardt.html