Operation Fresh Air 2008

When military wives and their friends put their heads together... things happen. Good things. For the troops and their families. In this case, wounded troops and their families in the DC area.

Like Operation Fresh Air I and II, in 2007. And just this past Sunday, Operation Fresh Air I, 2008. The Castle made a donation for this effort last year... and we're pleased to note that so efficient are Carrie, Cassandra, Lisa-in-DC, et. al., that there was sufficient money left over from last year to make this year happen.

Cassandra and her fellow do-gooders (and I mean that in the best way) have a little something else up their sleeve:

Lisa did a great job of covering OFA I and II in 2007. Since that time, we've been busy little bees. Carrie, Cyndi, MaryAnn from Soldiers Angels Germany and I are starting a non-profit organization called Honor Their Service. Our goal is to improve the lives of wounded vets and their families and to make sure that all military veterans know their service and sacrifices have not been forgotten. Part of that mission includes outings like Operation Fresh Air, but we plan to expand our activities to meet other needs in the military community. We're just getting started now, so we're very excited about the future.

Many thanks to Lisa and Soldiers Angels and to the Friends of Leesylvania State Park. We believe there is great potential in getting military and military-friendly charities to work together. We can do so much more together than any of us can accomplish alone. I hope to talk more about this in the coming months. For now, I just feel incredibly privileged to be able to work with such energetic and caring ladies.

This is the Spirit of America - and it's this kind of solidarity and helping each other out that makes military service worth the annoyances and sacrifices.

Well done, ladies. You are all treasures.

Live Blogging America's Favorite Mom

[Kat]

Update 7:57pm: Soldiers' Angels' site just went down. That fast. Everybody in America must be trying to log on to see who and what it is. Wow. I don't think they were prepared for the onslaught. But, hey, if you get here from a search, don't worry, it will come back up soon. Put it on a sticky and check it out!

Update 7:47: Finalist for America's Favorite Mom. 250k prize plus lots more.

And the winner is.....

Patti!!!!!!! Patti Patton Bader wins!!! Go Patti!!

Great job military bloggers, Angels and all the rest of you who went on and went out to vote!

Thank you, America! And thank you, Patti, for being such a great mom and inspiration.

250k for Soldiers' Angels! That's a lot of moolah for our soldiers.

Don't forget, though, there are over 1000 men and women waiting for adoption. The money will go towards sending one time welcome packages, wounded first response backpacks, assistance to families and many more wonderful projects, but the men and women on the frontline still need to hear from you, America.

So...what are you waiting for? Sign up today and support our men and women in the military!

Update 7:38: Adopting Moms. Helen something (sorry, I missed her name). She volunteered as a missionary to Haiti and took care of many children.

Update 7:26pm: Working mom. Tracy Horn-Koch, New Orleans. She started a program after Hurricane Katrina to help take care of elderly and others in the community. She said one of the best phrases (after Patti's about being a citizen and supporting our men and women), she said she realized that, when she wondered where the community support was, she was the community and had to get out there.

Update 7:17pm: Single Moms - Betty Yerkes. School crossing guard. Wears crazy hats while working. Asked why, "It makes people smile." She's a really happy mom. 25k

It's the 100th anniversary of...Donny and Marie singing together. hardy-har. actually, 8 years.

Look Ma..they can still sing.

Update 7:08 pm: Gwen Beecham who saved a bunch of her kids during a fire. Says her greatest achievement were "grandchildren". She is C.O.E.

Commercial.

Update 7:07pm: That's on NBC if you want to watch, too. The final prize is 250k. After all the categories are announced they will give the final prize. Don't feel bad for the other military moms. They each got 10k just for being the top nominated ladies. And, of course, the money going to Soldiers' Angels will support a bunch of moms in the military along with some fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, etc.

Stay tuned. It's Chairman of Everything Mom.

First, the show was late starting because the PGA tournament was on. A bunch of guys chasing a little ball pre-empted moms on Mother's Day.

Anyhoos, I just caught the first part at 7:02 pm. Highlighting military moms. Patty just won that category for 25k that is going to Soldiers' Angels. Thank you, America!

Soldiers' Angels Founder to Appear On NBC Today Show

Soldiers' Angels founder Patti Patton Bader will appear on NBC's Today show on May 5, during the nine o'clock hour. She has been selected as a semi-finalist in NBC/Teleflora's America's Favorite Mom contest. Votes based on her appearance on the show with two other military moms will determine whether she moves on to the final round.

On Mother's Day (May 11), NBC will broadcast a prime-time special featuring the crowning of "America's Favorite Mom," the results of which will be determined by how many votes are received from May 5 to May 9. Each mother can only receive votes during the exact day she appears on the Today show, and the mothers with the five highest vote totals will move on to the prime-time special.

Patton Bader was selected as a semi-finalist after being voted "America's Most Inspirational Mom" in March. Her son, Staff Sergeant Brandon Varn, nominated her for starting a non-profit organization to support soldiers and their families. "My mom is one of the most amazing women in the world," he wrote. "She started an organization called Soldiers' Angels when I was deployed to Iraq. The organization is there to ensure, 'May no soldier go unloved.' It is the largest non-profit independent military support organization that has started since the onset of the 'War on Terrorism.' She puts her whole self into helping Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, and Marines every day," says Varn. Patton Bader's other son, Specialist Bretton Varn, is currently deployed to Iraq and will appear with her via satellite on Today.

Prizes for the five winning mothers include $25,000 to $250,000 in cash, and a number of free services and products. But in keeping with her efforts to support the troops, Patton Bader wants America's soldiers to be the big winners. "I plan on using everything to help heroes. Everything," she says, referring to the wide variety of prizes she could receive if she is lucky enough to win . "It is a true honor to stand with these fourteen outstanding moms," she adds.

Soldiers' Angels encourages all Americans to visit www.nbc.com/Americas_Favorite_Mom to vote for their favorite mom, and to watch the Today show the week of May 5-9 and the America's Favorite Mom show on Mother's Day, May 11, to celebrate these remarkable mothers.

We Must Be More Than An Army At War and A Nation At Peace...

[Kat]

From the Vets for Freedom, LTC Steve Russell (partial transcript)

America has never been built on the labor and the hard work of the cynic and the critic. Americans of the past knew how to sacrifice and they knew the difference between what was evil and what was good; who was a threat and who was harmless. Whether to live free or quit and die.

So, where do we go from here? What can Americans do at this critical hour? America must sacrifice today along with her men and women in uniform. We must be more than an army at war and a nation at peace. Here are some things that America can sacrifice on behalf of her soldiers: Sacrifice doubt. Sacrifice anxiety. Sacrifice any notion that allows us to come home from this war as losers.

It will not be enough to remember our service and our losses in this war on slabs of marble and national monuments on black stone. That is only remembering. And, it's not enough. If we want to honor those who will never come home; the true heroes who sacrificed their youth, their future, their ability to love; who will never raise a family in the very freedoms that their sacrifice purchased; or live to a ripe old age to see their grandchildren. That we must honor what they fought for and honor it with victory.

They are the true heroes that we honor tonight and we owe them no less.

Americans today are so apprehensive and we fret about so many things. But, the difference between what is good and evil has not changed, only our ability as a nation to identify it.

Vets for Freedom, National Heroes Tour will be in Kansas City on March 26/27:

I will be there with video camera and interviewer cap on if I get a chance to chat with them. Working on it. (PS..is it too late to nominate LTC Steve Russell for President?)

Check Vets for Freedom for other tour locations.

More Vets for Freedom Video

Another project for local supporters of the troops (or anyone else interested), I received a note from Soldiers' Angels Alert Team:

Missouri will have its largest deployment of NG (national guard) since WW I, serving under Global War on Terror orders. My boss at the Missouri Veterans Commission is the Commanding General over the entire contingent that covers 7 states (including NG from California)

We have created: Operation: Letters to A Peacekeeping Hero! and are hoping folks will help out by sending letters of thank you (no dates on them) just addressed to: Dear Soldier; Dear Hero; Dear Troop - so that we can gather in to 5100 letters in all and then we will send them to his Chief of Staff for disbursement.

We are working on an April 1 deadline to receive the letters at the address listed below:

Pat Rowe Kerr
State Veterans Ombudsman and
Director, Operation Outreach
Missouri Veterans Commission
205 Jefferson Street, 12th Floor
Jefferson City, MO 65101

Help us support our troops! We have had troops in Kosovo for over 10 years. After the Serbian death squads began ethnic cleansing, our troops were deployed to protect the innocent civilians and keep Europe from exploding again. We stay there because peace is still a tenuous thing. Recently, Kosovo declared Independence and Serbian nationalists were angered once again. These troops do hard work, have maintained security, treated the ill, built schools, built local governance, trained police and many other programs to help secure the peace and return Kosovo to a fully functioning country. Please support them by writing a letter and telling them that their service to our nation, wherever it is, whatever they do, is something to be proud of and something we appreciate.

For our readers in the Cincinnati area - a request!

The Thank You Foundation (a fairly new veterans support organization in the Cincinnati area) is sponsoring a Welcome Home celebration on Armed Forces Day, May 17. Here's a link to the celebration website, and here's a link to the Thank You Foundation.

I know we've got some Cincinnati area readers so, you guys keep WereKitty happy and click those links, 'k?

Another Medal of Honor. Someone you should know, but don't: Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble

This one is a catch-up from Korea.

WASHINGTON (Army News Service) - During the final allied offensive of the Korean War, Master Sgt. Woodrow Wilson Keeble risked his life to save his fellow Soldiers. Almost six decades after his gallant actions and 26 years after his death, Keeble will be the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the Medal of Honor.

The White House announced this morning that Keeble will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously in a ceremony scheduled for 2:30 p.m. March 3.

Keeble is one of the most decorated Soldiers in North Dakota history. A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, he was born in 1917 in Waubay, S.D., on the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Reservation, which extended into North Dakota. He spent most of his life in the Wahpeton, N.D. area, where he attended an Indian school. In 1942 Keeble joined the North Dakota National Guard, and in October that year, found himself embroiled in some of the fiercest hand-to-hand combat of World War II on Guadalcanal.

Guadalcanal

"Guadalcanal seemed to be on his mind a lot," Russell Hawkins, Keeble's stepson, said. "His fellow Soldiers said he had to fight a lot of hand-to-hand fights with the Japanese, so he saw their faces. Every now and then he would get a far-away look in his eyes, and I knew he was thinking about those men and the things he had to do." At Henderson Field on the South Pacific Island, Keeble served with Company I, 164th Infantry - the first Army unit on Guadalcanal.

"I heard stories from James Fenelon, who served with him there, and he would talk about how the men of the 164th rallied around this full-blooded Sioux Indian whose accuracy with the Brown Automatic Rifle was unparalleled," Hawkins said. "It was said he would go in front of patrols and kill enemies before his unit would get there."

The Sioux have a word for that kind of bravery, according to Hawkins - wowaditaka. "It means don't be afraid of anything, be braver than that which scares you the most." Keeble personified the word according to fellow Soldiers, and earned the first of four Purple Hearts and his first Bronze Star for his actions on Guadalcanal.

Korea

Keeble answered the call to arms again when war broke out in Korea. He was a seasoned, 34-year-old master sergeant serving with 1st Platoon, Company G, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Division.

According to eyewitness accounts, while serving as the acting platoon leader of 1st Plt. in the vicinity of the Kumsong River, North Korea, on or about Oct. 15. 1951, Keeble voluntarily took on the responsibility of leading not only his platoon, but the 2nd and 3rd Platoons as well.

In an official statement 1st Sgt. Kosumo "Joe" Sagami of Co. G said, "All the officers of the company had received disabling wounds or were killed in action, except one platoon leader who assumed command of the company." The company's mission was to take control of a steep, rocky, heavily fortified hill.

Hawkins recalled how the man everyone knew as "Woody," described the terrain. "We were driving through Colorado on a trip, and Woody was pointing at something out the window," Hawkins said. By that time, Keeble had suffered seven debilitating strokes and lost the ability to speak.

"I pulled over and realized he was pointing at a large, rocky cliff with an almost sheer drop. I asked Woody if that was what it was like during that battle in Korea and he nodded, 'yes,'" Hawkins said. "It wasn't quite a straight drop down, but you could get up the hill faster on your hands and knees than on your feet."

Sagami wrote that Keeble led all three platoons in successive assaults upon the Chinese who held the hill throughout the day. All three charges were repulsed, and the company suffered heavy casualties. Trenches filled with enemy soldiers, and fortified by three pillboxes containing machine guns and additional men surrounded the hill.

Following the third assault and subsequent mortar and artillery support, the enemy sustained casualties among its ranks in the open trenches. The machine gunners in the pillboxes however, continued to direct fire on the company. Sagami said after Keeble withdrew the 3rd platoon, he decided to attempt a solo assault.

"He once told a relative that the fourth attempt he was either going to take them out or die trying," Hawkins said.

"Woody used to tell people he was more concerned about losing his men than about losing his own life," he added. "He pushed his own life to the limit. He wasn't willing to put his fellow Soldiers' lives on the line."

Armed with grenades and his Browning Automatic Rifle, Keeble crawled to an area 50 yards from the ridgeline, flanked the left pillbox and used grenades and rifle fire to eliminate it, according to Sagami. After returning to the point where 1st Platoon held the company's first line of defense, Keeble worked his way to the opposite side of the ridgeline and took out the right pillbox with grenades. "Then without hesitation, he lobbed a grenade into the back entrance of the middle pillbox and with additional rifle fire eliminated it," Sagami added.

Hawkins said one eyewitness told him the enemy directed its entire arsenal at Keeble during his assault. "He said there were so many grenades coming down on Woody, that it looked like a flock of blackbirds." Even under heavy enemy fire, Keeble was able to complete his objective. Only after he killed the machine gunners did Keeble order his men to advance and secure the hill.

"When I first started hearing these stories I was amazed that a man of Woody's size (more than six feet tall and 235-plus pounds), could sneak up on the enemy without being noticed," Hawkins said. "So one day, I was out helping him mow the lawn, and I asked him how he did it. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"I joked with him and told him those soldiers must have been blind or old or something, because he would never be able to sneak up on a young guy like me." Hawkins said he continued to mow then was startled when Woody popped up from behind some bushes near him. "He could have reached out and grabbed me by the ankles, and I didn't even know he was there!" Keeble had slid on his back behind the brush. Although Hawkins was not positive, he believed Keeble might have used a similar maneuver when attacking the pillboxes.

Keeble's selfless acts on that rugged terrain in 1951 did not come without a price. According to Sagami and other eyewitnesses, he was wounded on at least five different occasions by fragmentation and concussion grenades. "His wounds were apparent in the chest, both arms, right calf, knee and right thigh and left thigh." Sagami cited blood at the wound locations as evidence.

Hawkins said 83 grenade fragments were removed from Keeble's body, but several others remained. "You could tell that the wounds bothered him sometimes, but he never complained."

Sagami wrote in his statement that Keeble did not complain on the battlefield either. "At no time did he allow himself to be evacuated during the course of the day. Only after the unit was in defensive positions for the night did he allow himself to be evacuated."

According to Hawkins, every surviving member of Co. G signed a letter recommending Keeble for the Medal of Honor on two separate occasions, once in November 1951 and then again in December that same year. On both instances, the paperwork was lost. Keeble was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross Dec. 20, 1952 for his actions in Korea, not the Medal of Honor his men believed he deserved. He also earned the Purple Heart (First Oak Leaf Cluster); Bronze Star (First Oak Leaf Cluster); and the Silver Star as a result of his heroics throughout his tour in Korea. He was honorably discharged March 1, 1953.

The rest of the story is in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry

A lion of the movement passes.

Bill Buckley will no more stand athwart the liberal tide, shouting "Stop!"

We here at the Castle join our friends at National Review in mourning his passing.

But his legacy lives on, the Torch passed to many thousands who follow and lead the fight.

Therefore, now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance: In Memoriam. for William F. Buckley, Jr.

Not all Americans are ugly...

This is a good little story about a vivid memory of an American P-51 and its pilot by a fellow who was 12 years old in Canada in 1967. It also gives me a good post to use a picture Neffi sent me some time ago. The match isn't perfect... but the spirit is the same.

For a better view of the picture - click here: One of these things is *not* like the others!

It was noon on a Sunday as I recall, the day a Mustang P-51 was to take to the air. They said it had flown in during the night from some U.S. Airport, the pilot had been tired. I marveled at the size of the plane dwarfing the Pipers and Canucks tied down by her. It was much larger than in the movies. She glistened in the sun like a bulwark of security from days gone by.

The pilot arrived by cab, paid the driver, and then stepped into the flight lounge. He was an older man; his wavy hair was gray and tossed. Looked like it might have been combed, say, around the turn of the century.

His flight jacket was checked, creased and worn - it smelled old and genuine. Old Glory was prominently sewn to its shoulders. He projected a quiet air of proficiency and pride devoid of arrogance. He filed a quick flight plan to Montreal (Expo-67, Air Show) then walked across the tarmac.

After taking several minutes to perform his walk-around check the pilot returned to the flight lounge to ask if anyone would be available to stand by with fire extinguishers while he "flashed the old bird up. Just to be safe."

Though only 12 at the time I was allowed to stand by with an extinguisher after brief instruction on its use -- "If you see a fire, point, then pull this lever!" I later became a firefighter, but that's another story.

The air around the exhaust manifolds shimmered like a mirror from fuel fumes as the huge prop started to rotate. One manifold, then another, and yet another barked -- I stepped back with the others. In moments the Packard-built Merlin engine came to life with a thunderous roar, blue flames knifed from her manifolds. I looked at the others' faces, there was no
concern. I lowered the bell of my extinguisher. One of the guys signaled to walk back to the lounge. We did.

Several minutes later we could hear the pilot doing his preflight run-up. He'd taxied to the end of runway 19, out of sight. All went quiet for several seconds; we raced from the lounge to the second story deck to see if we could catch a glimpse of the P-51 as she started down the runway. We could not.

There we stood, eyes fixed to a spot half way down 19. Then a roar ripped across the field, much louder than before, like a furious hell spawn set loose---something mighty this way was coming. "Listen to that thing!" said the controller. In seconds the Mustang burst into our line of sight.

Its tail was already off and I t was moving faster than anything I'd ever seen by that point on 19. Two-thirds the way down 19 the Mustang was airborne with her gear going up. The prop tips were supersonic; we clasped our ears as the Mustang climbed hellish fast into the circuit to be eaten up by the dog-day haze.

We stood for a few moments in stunned silence trying to digest what we'd just seen. The radio controller rushed by me to the radio. " Kingston tower calling Mustang?" He looked back to us as he waited for an acknowledgment.

The radio crackled, "Go ahead Kingston ." "Roger Mustang. Kingston tower would like to advise the circuit is clear for a low level pass." I stood in shock because the controller had, more or less, just asked the pilot to return for an impromptu air show!

The controller looked at us. "What?" He asked. "I can't let that guy go without asking. I couldn't forgive myself!"

The radio crackled once again, " Kingston, do I have permission for a low level pass, east to west, across the field?" "Roger Mustang, the circuit is clear for an east to west pass." "Roger, Kingston , I'm coming out of 3000 feet, stand by."

We rushed back onto the second-story deck, eyes fixed toward the eastern haze. The sound was subtle at first, a high-pitched whine, a muffled screech, a distant scream. Moments later the P-51 burst through the haze. Her airframe straining against positive Gs and gravity, wing tips spilling contrails of condensed air, prop-tips again supersonic as the burnished bird
blasted across the eastern margin of the field shredding and tearing the air.

At about 400 mph and 150 yards from where we stood she passed with the old American pilot saluting. Imagine. A salute! I felt like laughing, I felt like crying, she glistened, she screamed, the building shook, my heart pounded.

Then the old pilot pulled her up and rolled, and rolled, and rolled out of sight into the broken clouds and indelibly into my memory.

I've never wanted to be an American more than on that day. It was a time when many nations in the world looked to America as their big brother, a steady and even-handed beacon of security who navigated difficult political water with grace and style; not unlike the pilot who'd just flown into my memory.

He was proud, not arrogant, humble, not a braggart, old and honest, projecting an aura of America at its best. That America will return one day, I know it will.

Until that time, I'll just send off this story; call it a reciprocal salute, to the old American pilot who wove a memory for a young Canadian that's lasted a lifetime.......

H/t, Bob W. The back-story to Neffi's pic is in the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry!

Speaking Of the Barbary Pirates

[Kat]

Marines give famed Mameluke Swords to the Barbary Pir....er...Anbar Awakening Sheiks.

The Marines recently presented the Mameluke swords. The Mameluke sword is the prized emblem of Marine officers and a reminder of the cooperation between Arab forces and expeditionary Marines in the fight against Barbary Pirates in 1805.

Spirit of America back story

Now you know why abu Tariq wrote in his diary that al Qaeda was dying in Anbar.

More in flash traffic

Supporting the wounded warriors.

Gina has been very good to Project Valour-IT, so we'll give you guys a chance to help your brother wounded warriors out by supporting Gina in her morale-raising activities.

Hello "Pin-Ups For Vets" supporters!!!

Just wanted to write a quick note to let you know that I am making my trip to Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital at the end of this week. It's a trip I have been planning for a very long time.

There is still time to donate calendars to the Wounded Warriors there that I will bring with me to distribute...If you would like to donate a calendar for this trip, please visit:

www.PinUpsForVets.com and click on ORDER NOW

Thank you so much again for your support of this project! =)


Gina
www.PinUpsForVets.com

If you just can't wait to order a calendar for yourself or (better) a wounded warrior - just click on the calendar above, or the pics below.

And just to get you motivated - the Armorer got three calendars and three posters... do what your conscience dictates.

For all the cheesecake (and you *know* it's good stuff), click the Flash Traffic/Extended Entry

This Just In...

...via e-mail from Gina "Pinups For Vets" Elise, who has knocked Theda Bara and Clara Bow off my "Hawt Chix I Gotta Meet" list (Veronica Lake and each of the Denizennes are still firmly ensconced, naturally).

I have made some new additions to the website. If you click on "In the News", you will see an interview from my recent trip to the 2007 BlogWorldExpo in Las Vegas. I met some amazing people there---including ... " [the Armorer Hisself] "... I posted pictures from this trip on the "In the Field"pages starting on page 16.

Just returned from making a visit to the VA Hospital in San Diego and spending time to give out many of YOUR donated calendars to the hospitalized vets there. I met some amazing people including a 96 year old female WWII Vet--she was in the Army Signal Corps for four years. I was visiting with another Vet who had suffered a traumatic brain injury. I was talking to him...he told me his name, birthday, branch of the military...and after I left the room, the nurses told me that this was the first time he's talked in a month!!!

Which proves my contention that a Lady can be therapeutic as well as decorative (*sooooo gonna take hits for that*).

Gina does good work and she'll be visiting more VA hospitals in the near future and for a chick with a 1940's mindset, she's making good use of 21st Century digits -- check out her Holiday for the Troops clip and an "up close and personal" explanation of what -- and *who* -- Pinups For Vets is all about.

And while you're visiting the site, spring for a couple of calendars, okay?

"You Can't Give Someone Something You Never Received"

Yeah? Sez who?

Vietnam vets give what they never got

By Edward Colimore, Inquirer [Philadelphia] Staff Writer

For the last year, they saw the Iraq war up close; some fought gun battles with the enemy, and all were far from home and the comforts of family.

Then, after a marathon flight, the troops were back again yesterday, tired, excited, hungry, and still loaded down with their M-16s and military gear.

They did not expect anyone to notice.

But at the journey's end, Michael Engi and fellow Vietnam veterans were waiting. They are always there for the troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

At 2, 3, 4 o'clock in the morning - any time of the day or night - it does not matter. They drop what they are doing and head to Fort Dix to greet the soldiers and offer warm handshakes.

As 150 troops piled off buses at the Mobilization and Demobilization Briefing Center, more than a dozen Vietnam veterans formed a receiving line to give a welcome they did not receive decades ago. One veteran played the haunting melody of "The Minstrel Boy" on the bagpipes.

"Welcome home! Welcome back!" a beaming Engi said over and over as the soldiers moved past him.

Many lit up with smiles. Some teared up. America's newest veterans - scores of them from Pennsylvania, Delaware and other states - were surprised and touched by the gesture.

One of them took the American flag patch from his uniform and handed it to a Vietnam-era veteran, Dexter Hawkins of Browns Mills, as a way of saying thanks.

"They become overwhelmed with emotion," said Engi, 59, of Bordentown, president of New Jersey Chapter 899 of the Vietnam Veterans of America. "They're just glad to see someone understands. You see handshakes and hugs. They can't thank us enough."

Army Reserve Sgt. Tim Simon, 22, of Franklin, Pa., who just returned from al-Qayyarrah, Iraq, and who serves in the 298th Transportation Company, said: "This means a lot because of what they went through. It feels good."

The Vietnam veterans have been going to Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base for more than three years to offer encouragement and advice. They said they felt an emotional kinship with the troops forged by the shared experience of war.

But something cathartic happened along the way. Engi and his comrades said they got as much from the meetings as the troops did, maybe more.

"By welcoming them home, we were getting welcomed home, too, and we never had that," said Engi, a former Burlington County sheriff's officer who organized the welcome-home events and recruited other veterans. "Every time we go out there, it's the same thing. We get as much from these guys as we give them. It's better than any parade we could have ever had."

Hawkins, who served in the Air Force from 1966 to 1989, added: "If I had a son who went to war, it would tear me up [if he returned without a greeting]. I came home and was treated badly. It just wasn't right."

Curt Anderson, a Navy veteran of the Vietnam War who played the bagpipes yesterday, said the welcome-home ceremonies were "a bit like closure for us.

"It's good for both sides," Anderson, 53, of Willingboro said. "It's giving something we never got. It helps make you whole."

Tom Jellick, 75, of Wrightstown, the second vice president of Chapter 899 and the group's chaplain, said he recalled "how lonesome it was when I left for Vietnam and how bad the reception was when I got back."

An Air Force tech sergeant, he also recalled loading aircraft with ammunition and unloading bodies. "That bothered me more than anything else," Jellick said. "Some of the bags had only pieces and the blood was leaking out.

"So when I first started coming out here [to welcome the troops home], I was emotional. I cried. They got their welcome, and I didn't get mine. Some folks would get so emotional they'd have to walk around the corner. Now, we're pros at it. It's like having a treatment at the psychiatrist. I feel I'm doing something, and I'm feeling better."

Moments before the buses arrived yesterday, Engi asked his fellow Vietnam veterans "to raise your hands if you want to reenlist. They're looking for a few good men." Then buses began pulling up. "Here they come," he said.

Engi recruited veterans in Chapter 899 for arrival and departure ceremonies at Fort Dix and McGuire. The veterans also spend hours at the medical hold unit, where soldiers are treated for minor injuries as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. They bring chili and other food and talk and play pool or cards with the troops.

"I wanted them to know someone cares," said Engi, a former sergeant who served with an artillery unit in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 and who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Engi said he and other veterans tell the troops what worked for them, especially those affected by trauma disorder. Each group that arrives is different, depending on the role they had, and the levels of combat they experienced.

"We get standing ovations from the troops all the time," he said. "We don't want them to be forgotten. Somebody has to speak up for them."

Army Sgt. Emmanuel Maxwell, 25, a member of the 24th Quartermaster unit from Fort Lewis, Wash., felt buoyed after the reception.

"It's always good to get a welcome home. I wasn't expecting it."

Army Maj. Marla Seeman, 48, of Harrington, Del., a member of the Delaware National Guard 198th Signal Battalion from New Castle, Del., said she was "honored that they [Vietnam veterans] would do this for us. It was wonderful."

One soldier probably had the best perspective of any. Sgt. Maj. Robert Wilson, 57, of Bear, Del., had fought in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970 and remembered "going over and coming back by myself.

"I turned 20 in Vietnam and 57 in Iraq," he said. "It couldn't be any better than to be welcomed by these guys. I hope they get what they want out of this. There is a different feeling today than there was during Vietnam."

H/t to Doc E. (for those of you who were wondering if he had a serious side)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
About a month ago, I aired out part of my brain, and had a brief exchange with Two-Niner in the comments about the Company "kids" -- the children of those guys we lost. Some "adopted" us after visiting our site, some just came once or twice to ask The Question and a few came because we were a link with a face on a fading photograph...

"It's giving something we never got. It helps make you whole."

Add our Company Kids to a million children who are also now grown to adulthood. We gave the Kids something to help heal their souls and they gave us something to help make us whole...

Thanks, Obie. And thank you, Kids.

This is my day for offering a platform - this time to Veterans in Mesa, Arizona.

A missive from Jacki - who has been a long-time and substantial supporter of Project Valour-IT:

John,

I wrote to you last year about driving in a Veterans Day parade. I had to beg for you to blog like this, but I know the Veterans of Mesa, and they deserve a million times better than this.

Mesa voters voted down a property tax or and cuts have been happening. The parade went off last year without city funding, and hopefully will again this year, but I'm begging for your help.

Mostly I'm bugging you because of one stupid comment on the article. It drove me to grovel. I hate grovelling.

I know you have a lot going on with the new castle and all. If you have too much going on, please let me know. I'll understand and beg elsewhere. I came to you first because of the Clue Bat. And because you wrote back.

Here comes the flagrant sucking-up: you have a loyal readership that can make some of the connections and bring in some of the support that the Mesa Veterans Parade Association can only benefit from. Other people might follow your lead and blog more, or donate, or volunteer.

I've already been recruited for parade duty. I'm all in. If you want me to write something about last year's parade, I'll do it. If you want me to do legwork in Mesa, I'll do my best. If you want me to buy you drinks at the Milblog Conf. next spring, I'll line them up. Say it.

Again, if it's a bad time, I can bug other people. I won't think anything other than that you're busy with the new home.

I'm enclosing the entire article, but must start with the comment left on the article:

Let them Eat Cake
"Two Veterans want to give themselves a parade?
Let them pay for it themselves!"

Veterans seek funding for Mesa parade
Jason Massad, Tribune
July 29, 2007
Private donations made sure last Veterans Day would be would be marked by the usual colorful floats, bands marching down Mesa's Main Street and throngs of people waving Old Glory.

Mesa had cut off funding for the annual parade to honor U.S. military personnel. It was among several city-sponsored community events that were stripped of funding after a round of budget cuts and staff layoffs.

Still, the parade went off without a hitch after a group of local veterans raised more than $15,000 to cover the loss of city dollars.

But it's becoming clear, the veterans say, that there won't be any money coming from Mesa this year. And maybe not even the year after.

This fall, the leaders of veterans groups will try to mount another campaign so they can have a proper parade on Nov. 12. But they face a roadblock, they say.

Many in Mesa don't realize the event was ever in jeopardy, said Frank Alger, a leader in the Mesa Veterans Parade Association.

"Ninety-five percent of the people I run into think that Mesa put it on," he said. "They have no clue that there's anything wrong."

The veterans group faces challenges this year in keeping the annual tradition alive.

Last year, a local Army veteran agreed to underwrite the entire event. In the end, the vet chipped in $2,000 to $3,000 after a successful fundraising campaign brought in most of the money for the event, Alger said.

There are no such promises this year.

The group has created a nonprofit organization to accept tax-deductible donations, and has already held two fundraisers. Organizers are planning a barbecue in August to boost the total, Alger said. So far, the organization has gathered more than $4,000 for the parade.

"This year we are all on our own," Alger said. "We're not a fly-by-night group. We want people to know that we're here to stay."

Jerry Walker, who's also involved with the parade organization, said the city should at least pitch in for security.

Last year, the veterans group paid more than $2,000 to hire Mesa police officers to provide security for the parade. City regulations require that police officers be paid for their service, and they can't volunteer, according to organizers.

Walker thinks the city should step up to the plate.

"They provide free police for the baseball team when they are here," Walker said, referring to Chicago Cubs spring training at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa. "It's not free, but they are already on salary."

The city might be too cash-strapped to put on a Veterans Day Parade, but they're backing it in spirit.

Mayor Keno Hawker issued a proclamation supporting the group, declaring September a month to recognize veterans.

For information about parade contributions call (480)-890-7469 or visit www.mesaveterans.org.

The Armorer has some experience with putting on parades (Leavenworth has more parades than anyplace else I've ever lived, and Rotary marshals one and participates in the others). The Master and Mistress of the Castle have made a donation. If you're in the area and can help directly, please do. If you're out of the area... well, do what your heart tells you to do.

Hurry Up and Wait. In Reverse...

Well, I'm impressed. It only took a week to get me

1. inprocessed with my new employer, to include Import/Export certification,

2. back up on flight status (took more time to find the doc's office than it did to get a Class II Physical),

3. up to speed on the country (customs, threat, food, threat, politics, threat, geography, threat, weather patterns, threat, language(s) and threat) -- *big* hat-tip to SOCOM,

4. qualified as a counter-ambush/counter-terror driver (glad I had previous experience commuting on I-195 to Ft. Monmouth), and

5. [entry not entered -- OPSEC and all that. Gotta keep you guys guessing about *some* things...].

Meantime, I've still got some flight gear to get from the Air Force; they had to order me a helmet, since they only stock XL and XXL. I refrained from commenting, for a change (I never snark someone who's gonna give me something and *hasn't* ordered it yet). So, I'll be tieing up loose ends for a couple of days -- meantime, I figured I'd show you a bit of Bragg that the tourist brochures don't include on the itinerary.

This'n is for John. After all, ADA *is* sorta-kinda artillery.

But as far as I'm concerned, this thing is best viewed as a static display.

For the Soldiers Angels who drop in and visit (and all the Denizennes doing double-duty with SA), this retreat is tucked into a quiet corner.

Why'd I take a picture of it? Because. Just because...

Last, but never least, this'n is for the SB Brigade.

Heh. That muffled thunderclap you just heard was Maggie enroute to sign up for Jump School...

See you guys later.

[Addendum: I keep getting Line 71 Runtime Errors in the Snarkback Comment box -- durnburn hi-tech 'trons -- so I'll have to do a John for replies. BTW, kat, *all* my posts used'ta get popped in just after midnight, but one morning I woke up at zero-dark-thirty still sitting in front of the monitor...]

Happy Thanksgiving, all.

From an email. H/t, Dave F.

All,

This morning I went to my local US Post Office to mail 7 care packages to my son Daniel. (and his fellow Rangers)

While I was standing at the counter, talking to the Postal Clerk working on my packages, a man came over from another window after he was done with his transactions and asked if he could pick up the freight? I said "Sure" not fully understanding what was asked until a minute later and I told the gentlemen I had lots of packages and he didn't need to pay that much and I would split it with him. He insisted on paying the whole tab. ($70) and told me to send more next time. I thanked him and he told me to thank my son. I was overcome with emotion to say the least.

After the gentlemen paid and left, the Postal Clerk said "That was awful nice, do you know him."

I said "I have never seen him before in my life."

The postal clerk and I were both awe struck of the moment. We exchanged Happy Thanksgivings and shook hands then I left. I was overcome with emotion. I couldn't even look at anyone else in line because of my tears. I had to sit in my car to gather myself before I drove off. I watched this great American pull out of the post office in his Maroon PT Cruiser and drive off. I never even got as much as a first name or a license plate number.

We truly live in a great country with great people. Everyday people who understand the importance of thanking those who give of themselves for the greater good and wanting nothing in return.

I can't think of a better way to start my Thanksgiving holiday then to follow this man's example of a random act of kindness and be thankful for all that I have and share that with my fellow man.

I am thankful for so much and thankful that I have so many friends and family which I can share this great story.

Happy Thanksgiving

God Bless the average American

God Bless our troops

God Bless each one of you

God Bless America

Dan Alexander

"Bare is brotherless back"

And Jay over at Stop The ACLU has somebody guardng his back on this particular issue.

Two-point-seven million somebodies, actually.

The American Legion declared war on the ACLU.

Now, picking on the Boy Scouts is one thing -- Scouts are supposed to be Brave (although being assaulted by lefty lawyers would be more a trial of patience than courage). But, in 2002, the ACLU found a flaming a$$hat an Oregon resident who claimed his civil rights were flagrantly violated on those occasions he drove into California because he *gasp!* saw the Mojave Desert Veterans' Memorial -- a cross erected in 1934 to honor the dead of the First World War.

Interestingly enough, the Memorial sits on I-15, which is an east-west 'pike running from LA to Nevada. And, come to think of it, the Memorial is in the Eastern Mojave, right near the -- ummmm -- Nevada border. Now, I don't get out to the Left Coast that much, but I seem to recall that, in order to access California from Oregon, one must travel *south*, rather than one of the other cardinal directions. Such as south-and-then-*east*...

Using the Freedom From Religion clause in its (considerably abridged) copy of the Constitution, the ACLU took the cross to court and the court caved -- it ordered the cross destroyed and awarded the ACLU $63,000 for its efforts.

As I mentioned above, picking on the Boy Scouts is one thing; the living can defend themselves. But dead soldiers can no longer defend themselves, so their surviving brothers must do it.

Clever strategy -- take the profit out of religious litigation and you take the profiteers out of the religious litigation business.

H.R. 2679 has passed the House (check the political pro and con percentages) and went to the Senate, which has it's own version -- naturally -- S. 3696.

Meantime, send 1SG Keith a get well card. Take your pick, but I'd go with the Army version...

Mooning the Islamo-fascists

...so to speak...

Major "heh" -Instapilot

Prepping for tomorrow

Okay, I don't get here as often as I should. Sometimes Real Life gets overly-intrusive, sometimes retreating-brain-stall sets in for an extended stay, sometimes priorities change.

But there are a few priorities that should be forged in steel...

Tomorrow is Veteran's Day. As the years have gone by, this has become only another, almost meaningless, holiday to many.

Veterans of the Second World War are dying at a rate of 2000 each day.

Never forget to thank them for your way of life. They paid dearly for the freedom we all enjoy.

Think of them tomorrow and thank them.

Soon, all too soon, there will be not one left for you to thank...

http://www.managedmusic.com/beforeyougo.html

Right-click and save-as, then paste the URL to your window. It's only a three-minute show.

Three short minutes.

But that's longer than many lived after the C-47s hit the drop zone, or Lead reached the IP, or the klaxon sounded for an emergency dive, or the portside watch spotted the sunglint from an incoming raid, or the Higgins boats dropped their ramps...


Hand salute* to Vulture Two-Niner
*those who know, know...