MEMORIAL DAY 2008 MESSAGES TO THE TROOPS + 4TH OF JULY CARDS
SHOW THESE WOUNDED SOLDIER'S YOU CARE
MESSAGES FROM THE SUPPORTERS OF OMFH
TALKING WITH HEROE'S RADIO SHOW
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HONORING THOSE WHO FOUGHT + DIED IN OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM + ENDURING FREEDOM Each one volunteered to protect the USA + their fellow Americans so please keep them in your prayers |
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Wreaths Across America 2007 ************************************************* CHRISTMAS CARDS FOR RECOVERING HEROES I'm sure many of you will be writing cards to friends and family soon. If you can, please send an extra one (or 10, or 20) to our American military heroes who are recuperating from wounds this Christmas season. Please enclose a short note thanking them for their service and personal sacrifice. They are the protectors of our freedom, and we must let them know how much they are appreciated. You must have a definite point of contact so be sure you address your cards as indicated below. If more than one card is sent, enclose them in an 8x10 brown manila envelope addressed to the American Red Cross. Individual cards will be returned to the sender or if enough has accumulated could be thrown out. These individual cards will be distributed to the wards by the Red Cross. Remember, no cards will be accepted by the mail rooms if they are addressed to "A Recovering Amereican Soldier, Any soldier', 'Any Sailor' or 'Any Marine.' You must have a specific name addressed on the card. The address for this is: American Red Cross c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20307-5001 also American Red Cross c/o Bethesda Naval Hospital 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20814 Please pass this information on to others that would be willing to send cards. Source: American Red Cross at Walter Reed Army Hospital and Bethesda Naval Hospital Questions: Call Red Cross at (202) 782-6362 ******************************************************************************** NEED YOUR HELP.. |
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It's Time to Give Back to Our Wounded - Valour-IT Kick Off 2007! Posted: 29 Oct 2007 07:29 AM CDT  [Contributed for Valour-IT by the most excellent Cox and Forkum] "At that time I had no use of either hand. I know how humbling it is, how humiliating it feels. And I know how much better I felt, how amazingly more functional I felt, after Soldiers' Angels provided me with a laptop and a loyal reader provided me with the software. I can't wait to do the same, to give that feeling to another soldier at Walter Reed." - Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss at TC Override (wounded in Iraq) Want to be part of something big? Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss (Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss' father), provides voice-controlled software and laptop computers to wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand and arm injuries or amputations at major military medical centers. Operating laptops by speaking into a microphone, our wounded heroes are able to send and receive messages from friends and loved ones, surf the 'Net, and communicate with buddies still in the field without having to press a key or move a mouse. Valour-IT's online fundraising competition begins today! Let's see who can raise the most money to help reconnect our wounded warriors with the world! WHAT: Friendly fundraising competition for Valour-IT. The lines are drawn by service rivalry: Jarheads (Marines) will be led by Holly Aho Non-military bloggers should choose Now, normally, I don't take part in the Sign up for the Army team by enlisting at the Project Valour-IT site and click (under Army) "Join". We'll generate links, buzz, and get these heroes some Commo support! What Valour-IT Needs From You:
So all you bloggers sign up with your choice of service and get the word out. Donate NOW!!! It's a tax-deductible donation and eligible for matching funds from companies who do that sort of thing (see: IRS INFO for proof for the cautious). The snail mail address for those who'd rather donate that way (be sure to put ARMY in big letters on the check): Soldiers' Angels Project Valour-IT Fund - ARMY TEAM 1792 E. Washington Blvd Pasadena, Ca 91104 Let's be a part of something big. | ||||||||||
 | Matthew Snyder, of Finksburg, Maryland, died from a non combat-related vehicle accident in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to Combat Service Support Group-1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California. Died on March 3, 2006. Matthew was 20 years old. | |
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Matthew graduated from Westminster High School in 2003. After graduation, he enlisted in the Marines on October 14, 2003, and was stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. In August of 2004, Matthew was assigned to Combat Logistics Batallion-7, Twentynine Palms, Calif. as a generator mechanic. "He was a hero and he was the love of my life." - Albert Snyder, Matthew's Father The family of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, US Marine Corps, has begun this civil lawsuit* against Mr. Phelps and certain members of the so-called Westboro Baptist Church to bring an end to the reign of terror and abuse that they inflicted upon the grieving families of US service members killed in defense of our nation. Using innocent children to deliver their twisted message of hatred and fear, the defendants in this suit have sought to attack the memory of our departed heroes, to strip their loved ones of their dignity, and to use abuse and intimidation as a tool for preventing surviving family members from reaching closure over their loss. *This is a private civil lawsuit that is separate from any actions being pursued by states or the federal government against Mr. Phelps. While those cases involve Government action and potential 1st Amendment issues, this case is distinct. This case simply alleges that one does not have the right to conspire to use lies in order to inflict intentional harm upon persons who are grieving the death of their children. | ||
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A Marine from Louisville who was killed in a gun
battle in Iraq last year will be awarded the Silver Star posthumously.
One of the military's highest awards, the Silver Star will be presented
to the family of Sgt. David Neil Wimberg on Aug. 20 at the Navy Marine Corps
Reserve Center in Columbus, Ohio.
(More)<http://cl.exct.net/?ffcb10-fe5b1c71766c0d7c7710-fde817777c6204797013767d-ff011577756600>
The first opportunity that we have is our events to be held in Sturgis this year. We have been blessed to be asked by the Buffalo Chip and the Healing Field foundation, to properly salute our veterans and active duty military families. Our main event will be the healing field that we will have on the buffalo chip property. This will be a sea of flags that will represent every service member who has given their life in the pursuit of the global war on terrorism. It will cost us about $45,000 to procure the flags and get them all mounted in Sturgis. We are asking individual members and supporters of the Patriot Guard Riders, if they are so moved to do so, to sponsor a flag on the field. Any fund received will pay for the flags, and will give a small amount to the Patriot Guard Riders Fallen Warrior Scholarship Fund. To date we have about ½ of the flags sponsored but still need to sponsor another 1200 to break even on the healing field. The donation to sponsor a flag is $25. The sponsoring member's name will be associated with that sponsored flag. For more information about any of our Sturgis events please visit the following link.
http://patriotguard.org/Events/Sturgis2006/tabid/479/Default.aspx
Additionally our brothers and sisters at the American Legion are working on a new way to help fund there American Legacy Scholarship. The legion has always been so supportive to our mission it is time to repay the favor. More information about the American Legion – Pony Express can be found by clicking here.
http://patriotguard.org/Events/PonyExpressAmericanLegionLegacyScholarship/tabid/480/Default.aspx
In closing I just wanted to take a minute to let all of you know how humbling an experience the last 9 months have been. When we put up the website Jeff and I remarked that wouldn't it be great if at the end of year one we could have 5000 riders we would be able to cover every funeral across the country for active duty KIA's. Well shame on us for underestimating the level of patriotism left in America. I want you to know that you can reach me at any of the contact points listed below and my door is always open to hear suggestions on how we can do things better or what are some areas that we should really focus on with more fervor.
Thanks Again,
Jason "waldo" Wallin
Deputy Executive Director
Patriot Guard Riders
Jason@patriotguard.org
970-402-1892
www.patriotguard.org
American By Birth
Biker By Choice
Patriot Forever!
The first opportunity that we have is our events to be held in Sturgis this year. We have been blessed to be asked by the Buffalo Chip and the Healing Field foundation, to properly salute our veterans and active duty military families. Our main event will be the healing field that we will have on the buffalo chip property. This will be a sea of flags that will represent every service member who has given their life in the pursuit of the global war on terrorism. It will cost us about $45,000 to procure the flags and get them all mounted in Sturgis. We are asking individual members and supporters of the Patriot Guard Riders, if they are so moved to do so, to sponsor a flag on the field. Any fund received will pay for the flags, and will give a small amount to the Patriot Guard Riders Fallen Warrior Scholarship Fund. To date we have about ½ of the flags sponsored but still need to sponsor another 1200 to break even on the healing field. The donation to sponsor a flag is $25. The sponsoring member's name will be associated with that sponsored flag. For more information about any of our Sturgis events please visit the following link.
http://patriotguard.org/Events/Sturgis2006/tabid/479/Default.aspx
Additionally our brothers and sisters at the American Legion are working on a new way to help fund there American Legacy Scholarship. The legion has always been so supportive to our mission it is time to repay the favor. More information about the American Legion – Pony Express can be found by clicking here.
http://patriotguard.org/Events/PonyExpressAmericanLegionLegacyScholarship/tabid/480/Default.aspx
In closing I just wanted to take a minute to let all of you know how humbling an experience the last 9 months have been. When we put up the website Jeff and I remarked that wouldn't it be great if at the end of year one we could have 5000 riders we would be able to cover every funeral across the country for active duty KIA's. Well shame on us for underestimating the level of patriotism left in America. I want you to know that you can reach me at any of the contact points listed below and my door is always open to hear suggestions on how we can do things better or what are some areas that we should really focus on with more fervor.
Thanks Again,
Jason "waldo" Wallin
Deputy Executive Director
Patriot Guard Riders
Jason@patriotguard.org
970-402-1892
www.patriotguard.org
American By Birth
Biker By Choice
Patriot Forever!
Northern New York Community Foundation
HSBC Building, Suite 400
120 Washington Street
Watertown, NY 13601
WOUNDED WARRIORS VIDEO
This video is about the MARINES but it also shows what all of our brave soldiers are going thru to protect our freedom.
http://laramiecrocker.com/cargo.html
Dover AFB gallery
http://www.antiwar.com/doverimages/gallery.htm
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/site/c.iqLTI2OBKlF/b.1109075/k.9013/Headquarters.htm
James Kiehl, April 2003
TO FAMILIES OF LOST SOLDIERS
http://www.pow-miafamilies.org/
A Grim Milestone: 500 Amputees
By Michael Weisskopf/Washingto n
The giant transport planes unload their sad cargo at
Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, the first stop
home for the most seriously injured Americans of the
Iraq war. Arriving virtually every Tuesday, Friday and
Sunday nights for the past four years, the parade of
wounded warriors may be one of the most predictable
events in an otherwise unruly conflict.
Last Tuesday marked another grim milestone: the
arrival of the 500th amputee. Army officials said the
victim, a 24-year-old corporal, lost both legs in a
roadside bomb explosion on January 12. He was treated
at the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, before
landing at Andrews and being taken to Walter Reed Army
Medical Center.
The corporal became the newest resident of Ward 57,
the hospital's renowned amputee center that has
swelled with casualties since 2003. Limb-loss has
occurred twice as often in Iraq as in any conflict of
the past century, except for Vietnam, for which there
are no good statistics. The 500 major amputations -
toes and fingers aren't counted - represent 2.2% of
the 22,700 U.S. troops wounded in action. But the
number rises to 5% in the category of soldiers whose
wounds prevent them returning to duty.
Despite the devastating loss, amputation is actually a
blessing for many Ward 57 patients. That's because
they wouldn't have survived in past wars without
today's body armor to protect vital organs and
better-equipped medics to quickly stop hemorrhaging
and deliver the wounded to hospitals. The
extraordinary rates of survival in this war - 9 of
every 10 soldiers wounded make it, compared to 7.5 of
10 in Vietnam - explains the larger number of
casualties who survive with severe and lasting
disabilities, including loss of limbs.
The roadside bomb that wounded the 500th amputee is
the signature weapon of the Iraq war, racking up the
kind of body count caused by heavy artillery in past
conflicts. Usually hidden in the road and detonated by
remote control, these so-called improvised explosive
devices release powerful blasts and shrapnel as
Humvees pass by, carrying soldiers well-protected in
all but their dangling limbs. "What takes the brunt of
it are the arms and legs," said John Greenwood,
historian of the Army Surgeon General's office.
As the U.S. military has upgraded the armor of its
Humvees, the annual number of amputees has decreased
since a record high of 156 in 2004. But Iraqi
insurgents have responded with bigger bombs that cause
greater devastation. Experts say this has contributed
to the increase in multiple amputees. Last year,
nearly a quarter of the 128 amputees lost more than
one limb, compared with about 13% in the first full
year of the conflict.
This war will produce the first generation of veterans
in bionic arms and legs, a legacy that may seem most
pronounced for upper extremity amputees. It is
relatively rare to see Americans missing hands or
arms; they represent only 5% of civilian amputees in
the U.S. But nearly a quarter of those who lost limbs
in Iraq have come home in that condition.
Don't Let The Memory Of Them Drift Away
By Sgt. Sara Wood, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2007 - A new law that took effect Jan. 1 changes
the way the remains of servicemembers killed in combat are transported
and handled.
The 2007 National Defense Authorization Act states that the primary mode
of transportation for remains of servicemembers being returned to the
U.S. is military aircraft or military-contracted aircraft. This is a
change from the past, when commercial service was used to transport the
remains of fallen troops.
"It was a provision in the law, and I think ... there was some interest
to make sure that the remains were moved in an expeditious manner," Air
Force Col. Michael Pachuta, director of morale, welfare and recreation
policy for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, said in an interview.
Every servicemember who dies in a theater of combat is transported by
military aircraft to Dover Air Force Base, Del., for processing and
burial preparation, Pachuta explained. This law changes the way the
remains are transported from Dover to their place of burial.
In a memorandum to senior military leaders, Deputy Defense Secretary
Gordon England wrote that this change is to ensure the transportation of
fallen servicemembers is given priority. England instructed the military
services and departments to work together to ensure air transportation
arrangements are handled properly and efficiently.
The law also directs that an honor guard escorts servicemembers' remains
from Dover to their final resting place. The servicemember's next of kin
can request that commercial air transportation be used for the remains,
or that the honor guard not escort the remains, Pachuta said.
Another recent change that is giving more recognition to the remains of
fallen servicemembers is the use of honor covers on coffins, Pachuta
said. The honor cover is a reinforced cardboard cover that fits on top
of the airline industry's standard air tray for coffins. The cover is
embossed with an American flag, and the Defense Department seal on both
ends.
The idea for the honor covers, which the Army has been using since
October, came from feedback from family members and military members who
had escorted remains, Pachuta said. "Our intent certainly is to make
sure that those handling the remains along the way understand that this
is a fallen servicemember and certainly should be handled expeditiously
but also with care and respect," he said.
The Army designed the honor covers in cooperation with the Air Transport
Association, so they are standardized throughout the airline industry,
Pachuta said. The covers are not used more than once and are treated to
make them waterproof. When the remains reach their final destination,
the honor cover is removed and an American flag is placed over the
coffin, he said.
Please help spread the word about the request for volunteer
buglers to participate in Echo Taps Worldwide. Interested volunteers may
register online at www.echotaps.org <file://www.echotaps.org> . Artwork
and graphics promoting this effort are available for use in your
publications and are attached below in Adobe Illustrator files. Please
let us know if you have any questions or need any more information. Your
help in reaching out to our veterans in this effort is very much
appreciated.
Thank you,
Milli Alam
Public Affairs Specialist
National Cemetery Administration
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington D.C. 20420
Phone: 202-273-5049
"Echo Taps Worldwide" planned
For Armed Forces Day 2007
Hundreds of volunteer brass players are being recruited to
perform the 24 notes of "Taps" on May 19, 2007, in recognition of Armed
Forces Day at National Cemeteries, State Veterans Cemeteries and
American Battle Monuments Cemeteries overseas.
The event, called "Echo Taps Worldwide," is being organized by
the VA National Cemetery Administration and Bugles Across America to
honor and remember American veterans through a worldwide performance of
Taps. Organizers also hope the event will interest brass players in
volunteering to perform Taps at the military funerals of veterans
throughout the year. "Each day, America loses about 1,800 of its
veterans, primarily those who fought in World War II and Korea," said
Leslie Hampton, a Navy veteran of Vietnam and a member of Bugles Across
America. "In honor of them and the service they provided, it is
important that our Nation preserves the tradition of a live bugler to
play final military honors."
.
During the event, players will form a line through the cemetery
and perform a cascading version of Taps. Brass players of all ages are
encouraged to perform at the cemetery of their choice. Schools and other
organizations are also invited to participate in the tribute as
performers or support volunteers. More information and a sign-up sheet
are available at www.echotaps.org <http://www.echotaps.org> .
The first large "Echo Taps" event occurred In May 2005, when 674
brass players from 30 states lined 42-miles of road between Woodlawn
National Cemetery in Elmira, NY, and Bath National Cemetery in Bath, NY.
Playing "Taps" in cascade, it took nearly three hours from the first
note played at Woodlawn to the final note of Taps sounded at the
National Cemetery at Bath. In 2006, players performed "Echo Taps" at 52
National Cemeteries and State Veterans Cemeteries across the Nation on
Veterans Day in preparation for the upcoming effort. The Armed Forces
Day event in 2007 will involve buglers around the world to include
participants at American Battle Monument Cemeteries overseas.
""A live bugler performing Taps is an expression of the
Nation's appreciation for the service of each veteran," said Thomas Day,
a Marine veteran who founded Bugles Across America in 2000. "With more
than 600,000 veterans dying each year, we are always looking for new
volunteers to perform this valuable service. Echo Taps Worldwide will
honor America's 40 million veterans who have served over the course of
our history and draw attention to the need for more buglers to perform
"Taps" as part of final military honors," Day said.
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,
They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men,
There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,
They folded up a flag and told my mom and dad,
We're proud of your son
And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those things I've done,
I can rest in peice, I'm one of the chosen ones,
I made it to Arlington
I remember Daddy brought me here when I was eight,
We searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,
And when we finally found that cross,
He said, "Son this is what it cost to keep us free"
Now here I am,
A thousand stones away from him,
He recognized me on the first day I came in,
and it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels,
And saluted me.
And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those things I've done,
I can rest in piece, I'm one of the chosen ones,
I made it to Arlington
And everytime I hear twenty-one guns,
I know they brought another hero home to us
We're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done,
We can rest in peace,
'cause we are the chosen ones,
We made it to Arlington, yea dust to dust,
Don't cry for us,we made it to Arlington
A picture taken recently at Arlington
Patriot Guard Riders Honoring Our Fallen Heroes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.boston.com/partners/worldnow/necn/landingpage.html?clipId=1916170
This picture was taken by her mom on 11/17/06. I was attending a Wounded Warrior Rally at Walter Reed hospital in DC.
The young lady in the picture said she would do it all over again if she had to.
A TRUE HERO for sure.
