US Military
“Some of the Marines who were shot to death last week in Chattanooga, Tenn., effectively sacrificed themselves to save the lives of others, diverting the gunman away from a larger group of potential victims, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation into the killings,”
July 17, OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - After a deadly shooting at a military installation in Tennessee, Gov. Mary Fallin is authorizing the state's adjutant general to arm full-time Oklahoma National Guardsmen at military facilities in Oklahoma. Fallin issued an executive order on Friday granting Maj. Gen. Robbie Asher the authority to arm National Guard soldiers and airmen with whatever weaponry he deems necessary to adequately provide for their safety and security.…
Four Marines and a sailor were slain in the attacks on two military facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Some of them had deployed overseas and seen battle, others had not. Here is a look at the victims…
There’s been all sorts of political pundits commenting on the Iranian nuke deal announced yesterday. But sometimes the best commentary is made through just an image that is worth much more than a thousand words…
Civilians, with semi-automatic carbines, eating Chick-fil-A, guarding Marines.
Service records of the Marines killed at Chattanooga:
Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells
Reservist on active duty operational support.
Entered service: February 2014.
From: Cobb, Georgia.
Occupation: Field artillery cannoneer.
Gunnery Sgt. Thomas J. Sullivan
Active duty.
From: Hampden, Massachusetts.
Entered service: September 1997.
Occuption: Field artillery cannoneer.
Deployments: Iraq (September 2007 to April 2008, September 2004 to April 2005).
Among his decorations was the Purple Heart.
Staff Sgt. David A. Wyatt
Active duty.
From: Burke, North Carolina.
Entered service: September 2004.
Occupation: Field artillery operations man.
Deployments: Afghanistan (October 2010 to May 2011), Iraq (October 2007 to January 200.
Sgt. Carson A. Holmquist
Active duty.
From: Polk, Wisconsin.
Entered service: January 2009.
Occupation: Automotive maintenance technician.
Deployments: Afghanistan (September 2013 to May 2014).
…It was taken 35 years ago. In the picture, an Army sergeant is on his belly, pinned down by enemy fire, looking grim and determined. In the foreground is a dead GI, in the background, a seriously wounded one. The person behind the lens that day was me: a skinny young civilian war photographer experiencing his most terrifying day in Vietnam… I decided to try to find him, see how his life had turned out. … "I know who that sergeant is in your photo," he said. "That's Sergeant Rock. Joe Musial." …
…Minnie Smith said she was gardening in her yard earlier this month when she dug up an old dog tag. The tag belonged to a Marine named Arthur Riva. Smith said she has no idea how the tag got in her backyard. …She wants to find the Marine's family. "I'm going to hold on to it just like my life depended on it…." Smith has lived in Onslow County all her life. She said growing up in the community has taught her to respect all military members. That's why she's determined to return the tag. …
TULSA, Oklahoma - A special honor for a World War II and Korean Conflict veteran took place on his 90th birthday. During his party, Barney Mecom was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in the European Theater.… [Video news report]
…Experts apparently fear that ISIS will use the upcoming “celebration” of the start of Ramadan and the first anniversary of its declaration of a caliphate (June 29th) to spread the joy with some chemical weapons, noting that the group usually reserves its major operations to coincide with the Islamic holy month.
Because the Obama administration has benched itself for the last three quarters of the game, our troops may now face the worst sort of warfare. Had we left sufficient troop levels in Iraq to take out these thugs at the inception, we wouldn’t be facing the prospect of our military personnel — oops I mean trainers — being hit with a dirty bomb.…
…And so it is, just days after Commander-in-Chief Obama announced to the world ten months after first stating he did not have a strategy to combat ISIS, that he STILL doesn’t have a strategy, the White House announces it will send another 450 troops into Iraq as trainers.
No clear guidance was issued other than an intent to train more Iraqi troops. Sadly, we now have a little over 3,400 “trainers” in Iraq and only 2,598 Iraqi Soldiers in training. Of that number there are 800 Kurds and 1798 Shia, and no Sunnis are being trained. Do y’all see the laughable irony? We have more “trainers” in Iraq than those being trained.…
The Oklahoma Honor Flights will take 82 veterans — including six from the Bartlesville area — to Washington, D.C. for a one-day trip to visit the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Wall, the Lincoln Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and other sites on Wednesday. The Oklahoma Honor Flights is a hub of the national Honor Flight Network. This will be its 20th flight from Oklahoma and the eighth from Tulsa…
An Oklahoma National Guardsman received the Star of Valor award for his heroic acts in saving a stabbing victim from her attacker and treating her wounds.…
…Listed below are some of the various commanders, vice-commanders, etc. who have been relieved, fired, forced into early retirement and otherwise let go of…or, gotten rid of…depending on how one chooses to interpret all this. Grand Total thus far: 197 (Mostly Colonel and above. 127 AF majors included…they all occurred at one time, apparently). Also, provided are 11 links to various articles about said officers and the various ends of their military careers.…
Jack Leroy Tueller - one sentimental night in Normandy. [Video, 2:14]
Pausing today to remember the sacrifices of our fallen warriors, it has been difficult to watch the gains of ISIS in Iraq’s Anbar Province and the subsequent fall of Ramadi where America’s first Navy SEAL, Marc Lee, was killed in a ferocious firefight.…
…Yesterday, Cody set up a Missing Man table for Memorial Day. He didn’t know he needed a permit to go inside the Marietta National Cemetery, but that didn’t stop him. Cody set up his table outside, and remained at attention for two hours.…
Of all the places to locate the National D-Day Memorial, why Bedford?
Because of the Bedford Boys.…
memorial contains the name of every Allied soldier who died in the invasion of Normandy.
Four thousand, four hundred and thirteen men.
It is the most complete list of any memorial in the world.…
The plight of Lance Corporal Monifa Sterling seems unbelievable – a member of the Armed Forces criminally prosecuted for displaying a slightly altered passage of Scripture from the Old Testament: “No weapon formed against me shall prosper.”
Sterling, who represented herself at trial, was convicted February 1, 2014 in a court-martial at Camp Lejune, North Carolina after she refused to obey orders from a staff sergeant to remove the Bible verses from her desk.
Major Michael O'Donnell, "Six Seconds," Remembering Melvin Garten, Remembering the "Forgotten War," more…
On May 26, 2008 Sgt. Raymond Hubbard gave a touching Memorial Day speech. He was wounded during his tour in Iraq and is a recipient of the Purple Heart. His speech is so incredibly heartfelt and honest. He reminds us just how much our brave men and women have put on the line for our freedom.… [Video]
Be sure to remember the people who made it possible for all of us to do so. We owe them a debt which can never be repaid. [Video]
Ronald Reagan could deliver a speech almost like no other President. 31 years ago, Reagan delivered an address to commemorate an unknown serviceman in the Vietnam War. Never one to make such moments about himself, the speech is a brief 9 minutes long.… [Video]
…Rolling Thunder, an annual event that has been bringing motorcyclists and spectators to the National Mall in downtown Washington since 1988, started the "Ride for Freedom" at the Pentagon in Virginia, crossed the Potomac River over the Memorial Bridge and circled the Mall. Organizers estimated that more than a million bikers and spectators attended, making it the largest one-day motorcycle gathering in the world….
It’s Memorial Day – but please don’t put a “Happy” in front of it like the clueless, tactless @TheDemocrats. Memorial Day is a somber day – a day to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our freedom. For many vets, remembering those sacrifices, stings.…
As we do on this day each year, we pause to remember the men and women who died fighting for our freedom. We stand by humbly, gratefully, silently, to honor their sacrifice.… [graphics]
A ceremony that has been taking place for 115 years in Bartlesville took place again Monday morning to honor our military veterans.…
… For 70 years, the Dutch have come to a verdant U.S. cemetery outside this small village to care for the graves of Americans killed in World War II. On Sunday, they came again, bearing Memorial Day bouquets for men and women they never knew, but whose 8,300 headstones the people of the Netherlands have adopted as their own. For the American relatives of the fallen, it was an outpouring of gratitude almost as stunning as the rows of white marble crosses and Jewish Stars of David at the Netherlands American Cemetery.…
[The bluebird picks up some nice political panels for Memorial Day.]
Just a thought on Memorial Day greetings
Please, do not say “Happy Memorial Day”.
Memorial Day isn’t a day to be “happy”. It is not “celebrated”, it is observed.…
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