Thanks for that great (re)post, Fi guy! I always get a little depressed on Veterans Day, and today, it's raining (yay, though!), so that sort of adds to the mood.

Wish I could hug every U.S. veteran (current and future) today and simply say, "Thank you."

Brenda

I'll be happy to re-read that story every year, Semper, and remember all the people in my life who have served. There have been so many. I'll pause to think about all the others who have made it possible for me to live my life in freedom and wish those on duty everywhere a safe tour and welcome home. Sandy

In an e mail from
LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq .... he asks a special request and sends
A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam,
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile."

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
"I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

Thank you C3D and Sir Nappy! :-)

And thank you LCDR Giles, et al.

Brenda

For those sending packages PLEASE include cans of the innocuous SILLY STRING. It can be used to safely detect trip wires.

Serious use for Silly String ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To help the Navy Marine Corps Society, see what you can do.

Just checking in...thank you all...

One of the pictures above shows hundreds of Xmas wreaths adorning the graves at Arlington National Cemetary. Here's a video story about how this got started. Semper Fi to those folks who dedicate their valuble time and hard earned money to make it happen.

Twas the Night Before Surrender
by Catherine Moy

** Dedicated to our Troops **

T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the land
We argued about our troops in the faraway Sand.
Our politicians grabbed pork with so little care,
While our soldiers risked life, limb and soul over there.

Congress was nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of another win danced in their heads.
Our soldiers dodged bombs, bullets and suicide freaks
While protesters hung their effigies on our streets.

Inside the Beltway there arose such a clatter,
Another Kennedy crashed a car, its window in shatters.
The Capitol police flew like a flash,
But the Kennedys just gave them some cold, hard green cash.

Thousands of miles away, how could our soldiers know,
That our support was more than just pomp, smiles and show?
When, what to their wondering eyes should appear,
But a half-baked report that made surrender clear.

What of Justin and Casey, once lively and strong,
They'd given their lives, how could it be wrong?
Patriots fought back, called the cowards by name,
"Come from under your beds, have you no shame?"

"Now Murtha! Now Al Gore! Now Obama! Now Kerry!
And your first woman speaker, oh, this could get hairy!
Our soldiers stand strong as you cut off their funds,
They leave behind their blood, as you cut, turn and run.

Stop where you are, Kennedy, get out of the booze,
Our colors don't run, we can't and won't lose.
Remember Sept. 11, and the radicals who pray,
That they cut our throats and kill Santa's great sleigh.

And now, as we look to the north for the miracle star,
We get on our knees, and pray for peace here and far.
We will not falter, if we stand all together,
In cold desert nights, whatever the weather.

We love our men and women, so far from their home.
This Christmas we pray for them, so they don't feel alone.
We will stand by them, as they drive the enemy from sight,
Then Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

...and God bless everyone!

-Tiny

has this been posted?

The USO of Northern Ohio is in need of items to be shipped to local service men and women serving overseas, especially the Middle East. The USO needs the following items for the military personnel by request:

-canned tuna
-fruit snack cups
-fruit snack and raisins
-beef jerky
-canned vegetables
-canned soup and stew
-disposable cameras
-eye drops
-cough drops
-2007 calendars

If you are not in the Northern Ohio area, PLEASE do contact your local USO and make your donations there.

If you are able to make a donation to the Northern Ohio USO PLEASE do call 440-454-2537 or visit the USO web site.

All praise and respect for those who served in the past, serve in the present and will serve in the future! RAH!

Mike

From the December 2006 issue of National Geographic -

When They Come Home

For many injured service members returning from war - and for their families - a new battle has begun. Issues of physical recovery, post-military training and employment, and the stresses of everyday life present huge challenges. Hundreds of nonprofit and other organizations, many run on shoestring budgets, have sprung up to help veterans navigate their futures. These are just a few:

Fisher House Foundation has provided lodging for more than 100,000 service members and their families at major U.S. military and VA medical centers since 1991. Now 35 of their custom-built homes accommodate families free of charge.

Operation Comfort helps families of patients at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas by funding travel and other services. The group also offers fun activities - from dinners out to ski trips - for otherwise hospital-bound vets.

Wounded Warrior Project works to smooth the transition of severely injured service members and vets back to civilian life, offering personal counseling, financial and job advice, advocacy, and sports and recreational programs for them and their families.

Yellow Ribbon Fund arranges temporary housing, transportation, and more for families and patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

Tracy Woman Plans $25 Million Veterans Retreat

Nadia McCaffrey said she's finally found her true calling and won't stop until it's built.

McCaffrey's foundation, named after her son Patrick, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, is hoping to build a $25 million retreat center designed to soothe veteran's soldiers' souls.

"So many soldiers are returning from Iraq with deep emotional scars that the VA (hospitals) can't always assist with," McCaffrey said from her home in Tracy.

McCaffrey proposes to build the 200-acre Veterans' Village retreat center in Asheville, N.C., which would offer temporary housing to about 195 veterans. The center would help vets settle back into their lives through counseling and activities.

McCaffrey plans to ask military contractors such as Halliburton and Bechtel for financial help.

"I believe they will help us with donations to see the center built," McCaffrey said.

It's too bad that all parents of lost soldiers who wished to couldn't make the journey.

Brenda

You'll recall Senator John Kerry insulted our troops by saying that they didn't get a good enough education to avoid being "stuck in Iraq."

Brenda

JOHN KERRY:
"STUCK" AND ALONE IN IRAQ

{{gwi:170796}}

A friend of mine serving in Iraq sent me this photo and note. I received it before Christmas but was out of the office. Priceless story it tells...."This is a true story.....Check out this photo from our mess hall at the US Embassy yesterday morning. Sen. Kerry found himself all alone while he was over here. He cancelled his press conference because no one came, he worked out alone in the gym w/o any soldiers even going up to say hi or ask for an autograph (I was one of those who was in the gym at the same time), and he found himself eating breakfast with only a couple of folks who are obviously not troops."

Courtesy of: Ronnie D. Foster ("Not as lean, not as mean, but still a MARINE.")

LOL! Gotta love politicians.... here's their spin on this:

"Kerry staffer Frank Lowenstein (who said he was present when the photo was snapped) reported that the picture wasn't taken during an "eat with the troops" event, but rather during an off-the-record breakfast discussion with newspaper reporters for which the small group deliberately sought out an empty table so they could converse in private.

TRANSLATION: Yeah, yeah! That's the ticket.... He wanted time alone with his wife... MORGAN FAIRCHILD!

Ooorah to Mr. Foster. I've got a T-Shirt that has that quote on the back.

LOL! Great find on the quote, Fi guy! The world could be ending before our eyes, and they'd say something like, "No, no, it's a minor disturbance off the coast of California. Nothing to worry about." :D

Funny how Hillarious shows up for things like this (see below) while she's campaigning...

High-tech Army rehab center opening

SAN ANTONIO - Of the roughly 20,000 soldiers injured since the start of the Iraq war, more than 500 have lost a limb many of them in roadside bombings.
On Monday, a $50 million high-tech rehabilitation center opens that is designed to serve the growing number of soldiers who return from war as amputees or with severe burns.

The 60,000-square-foot Center for the Intrepid will allow the Army to move its rehabilitation program out of the Brooke Army Medical Center and into a separate facility.

"The Center for the Intrepid is going to let us keep advancing what we've been doing," said Maj. Stewart Campbell, the officer-in-charge of rehabilitation at Brooke.

The facility tells soldiers "we're going to take care of you for as long as you need us, to get you back to where you want to be," he said.

At Brooke, amputees were being treated in offices and facilities carved out of the larger hospital. The new facility includes a rock-climbing wall, wave pool and a 360-degree virtual reality sphere to help soldiers recover their balance and other basic skills.

The center will be officially dedicated at a ceremony Monday. Sens. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., both 2008 presidential hopefuls, are scheduled to attend.

Brooke's amputee program started two years ago and has about 50 patients, but the new center will allow it to expand and offer more advanced rehabilitation, Campbell said.

Prior to the Iraq war, amputees were generally given acute care by the military and then turned over the Department of Veterans Affairs, said retired Col. Rebecca Hooper, program manager for the Center for the Intrepid. But since 2003, the military has kept those patients and made rehabilitation part of its mission.

Amputee rehab programs are now being run at Brooke, Walter Reed Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Medical Center.

Because the new Center for the Intrepid offers high-tech equipment and better facilities for severely injured soldiers, Hooper expects it to become a magnet for advanced amputee rehabilitation.

The center was funded by private donations to the Intrepid Foundation, a charity that has built dozens of houses to shelter families of wounded soldiers while they undergo treatment.

As part of the construction at Fort Sam Houston, two new houses have been added to two already there so that additional families could be housed near the center.

Staff Sgt. Jon Arnold-Garcia, who lost part of a leg in a grenade attack, got his first look at the rehab center on Sunday.

"This place is amazing, that the American people donated the money for this," said the 28-year-old from Sacramento, Calif.

Arnold-Garcia has been in rehabilitation at Brooke since May, but he was anxious to get to work at the Center for the Intrepid, a four-story glass building decorated with art and modern decor.

Arnold-Garcia and other amputees have been eyeing the rock climbing wall, visible through the glass. They have also heard about the wave pool, in which they can use wake boards to strengthen their back and stomach muscles.

"It doesn't look like a hospital," Arnold-Garcia said, sitting in the center's cafe. "It's a place I can see myself getting up and being motivated instead of walking hospital hallways with doctors."

Listening to this audio story (Click the "listen" link at the top of the article) about a platoon of National Guardsmen from Arkansas *MIGHT* make one realize that an overwhelming majority of these boyz may not be the cold-blooded "Nazis" that some (here and elsewhere) have portrayed them to be. Who would've thunked it?!

I think I just became a San Diego Padres fan! RAH!

The soldier above all others prays for peace,
for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.
--Douglas MacArthur

Here's a link provided by our local USO. RAH!

Mike

I haven't heard this show yet, but it sounds great!

Brenda

Girl Scout Troop No. 91 in Vacaville supports our troops! Thank you, girls!

Brenda

Girl Scout Goodies Headed for Iraq

Some sweet treats are on their way to soldiers in Iraq, thanks to Girl Scout Troop No. 91 in Vacaville.

During their recent Girl Scout cookie sale, the 28 members of the Vacaville troop also collected money to purchase cookies for soldiers serving overseas. The girls pitched in some of their own money and raised $1,554, enough to purchase 37 cases of their Girl Scout cookies.

On Thursday, the girls included personal messages along with 444 boxes of Tagalongs, Thin Mints, and Samoas. The cases were then boxed up and handed over to Travis Air Force Base personnel, who will take them to Baghdad next week on a scheduled supply flight.

"I'm sure they'll really appreciate them," said Hannah Larson, 8.

Scout member Alyssa Harrison, 9, agreed. "They'll say, 'Wow, how nice of them to give us cookies,'" Hannah said.

Those 37 cases translate out to 5,328 cookies total. The girls said that will make a sweet day for a lot of soldiers.

Here is the story of Staff Sgt. Eddie Lopez. (He ROCKS!)

Born in Guatemala, 24-year-old Lopez and his family came to the United States in 1989 when he was just seven. "The only thing I actually remember is flying in here to the airport, and my mother telling me we're in America," said Lopez.

Lopez admits that at seven, he didn't really understand the significance of his mother's words. It was only after he'd graduated from high school and decided to join the military that he realized what that phrase his mother uttered so many years ago really meant. "I understood that it's basically freedom, and it's something completely different from any other country out there," he said.

Two months before the attacks on September 11, 2001, Lopez joined the military. "I find it a duty for every citizen and non-citizen of the United States to actually do it. If you're living in the United States, if you're enjoying the freedoms of this country, it's your duty, you should do it," he said.

Lopez said his plan was to serve one year for each of the five members of his family. "I felt I was the one responsible, I mean, I felt really grateful for being here."

After serving a tour in Afghanistan, Lopez was sent to Iraq. He's currently serving his second tour in Iraq. He's an infantryman in Charlie Company 116, the Bandidos, based at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Thursday morning, during a special ceremony on the second floor of the federal building on Capitol Mall in Sacramento, Lopez became a U.S. citizen.

A crowd of federal employees gathered to watch. Lopez's parents and his girlfriend were present.
Many shed tears as they watched the young man with a big smile fulfill his dream.

"I'm really excited right now, I'm really at a loss for words," said Lopez.

Susan Curda, the district director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, conducted the citizenship ceremony.

"I personally always thought it takes a special person to put on a uniform every day and to work in a profession where you lay down your life either for your country or your fellow citizens," said Curda. "I believe it's really an extraordinary person who does that every day for a country that is not yet his own."

On July 3, 2002, President Bush signed an executive order that allows immigrants serving in the U.S. military on active duty to become immediately eligible to apply for citizenship.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services figures, more than 26,000 U.S. military personnel have taken advantage of the new rules.

In two weeks, Lopez will return to Iraq to complete his second tour of duty there. Now he'll be fighting as a U.S. citizen.

But Lopez said he doesn't believe it'll feel different. "In my heart, I've always been fighting like a citizen."

Heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the pilot of the U.S. Navy Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet that crashed during an air show yesterday.

I think this one sums it up pretty well.

May 1st is Silver Star Day honoring those wounded in combat. Here's an eye-opening Picture Story of three such cases.

(WARNING: Contains graphic images)

Major Eric Egland supports our troops (and he IS one!).

Brenda

GREAT article! Heartbreaking, yet laced with humor, as well.

Marine's last request inspires charity

And the website inspired by Adam C. Conboy.

Brenda

As you are munching on your BBQ ribs or buying a new Toyota during their Memorial Day Super Sale please remember those who helped to make it possible for you to enjoy your freedom.

Dittos, Mike!

This local lady had a very rough time (thoughts of suicide) after her son Jesse was killed in action outside of Baghdad, Iraq, on January 7th, 2004. Instead, she was able to pull herself out of her deep depression and continue sending packages to the troops.

Bless her!

Brenda

Operation HomeFront - Supporting our troops and helping the families they leave behind

Local group Rebels With A Cause

Brenda

Maybe a bit strange, but still a very special American.

This one was a tear-jerker! (The dance....*sob*)

Brenda

I heard on the local radio station today our August '07 has been the hottest month since they've been keeping such records starting in 1890!

No doubt it's been HOT! But every time I catch myself b!tching abouth the weather lately (which has been quite often), I just stop and think about how good we've really got it here.

It reached 113 degrees in Baghdad today. 113!!! It will be even higher than that there next week. Imagine being outside in THAT hell hole with full armor having been away from your family and friends for many, many months while every pile of trash or stranded vehicle you pass COULD be a potential death trap.

100+ degrees where I can do what I want and ride when I want without such worries??? Bring it on!!

Amen, Fi guy. Actually, any time I start to complain about ANYthing, I (usually) catch myself and think about what they're going through over there. Nothing in my life can compare to that.

Brenda

Imagine, if you can, being someone who would actually VOLUNTEER to go to Iraq! Not once. Not twice! But the brother of someone I work with has volunteered for a third tour of duty in Iraq to help train the Iraqi soldiers how to take care of their own country. He will be leaving next month.

May God keep him safe and his family strong!

Prayers galore for that fine American and his family, Chicka! What a wonderful human being!

Brenda

The Senate Transporation Committee here in Cali is on my shatlist right now. "Supporting the war," my arse! And to top it off, when I tried to contact the senators from their STC website, most gave an error message stating that I'm not in their district, that I should contact my own senator. Oh, you bet your butts, I will!

Brenda

Oh man, that is pathetic. Go kick some butt, Brenda!!

Still haven't heard anything new on the license plate issue.

But the soldier in the story below deserves a black and blue heart....for puttin' the smackdown on a woman beater. WTG, Private Nicholson! :D

Brenda

I just don't see how provisions cannot be made for these wonderful people who gave all. It breaks my heart...

Brenda

Couple of links today. :)

Hire a Hero

And a very nice letter from Captain Richard Lund, Marine and awesome dude, in response to a clearly misguided protest outside his office.

Brenda

According to a news story I read this morning, these guys performed in Vacaville last night, not too far from here. I wish I would have known about it beforehand! It would have been a very worthy cause...

Brenda

just something i came across today while looking for scholarships!

Please send something nice for our folks through the Honey Baked Ham Company.

WOW!!! There were alot of nice things said here! I got mauled a few days ago down in the Hot Topics forum. Lydia (Chickadeedeedee) recommended that I stop in here and take a look around. Its a much better environment here. : )

I also typically hangout in the Palms and Cycads forum as I have two Pindo (Jelly) Palms that I grow up here in north Mississippi. Just in case you were wondering!

This is how the thread began but perhaps time to take another look?

You can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!

It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them.