Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Elena

Chief Master Sergeant Paul Wesley Airey

"Chief Airey was an Airman’s Airman and one of the true pioneers for our service," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff. "He was a warrior, an innovator… and a leader with vision well ahead of his time. His legacy lives today in the truly professional enlisted force we have serving our nation… and for that we owe him a debt of gratitude."

Chief Airey was born in Quincy, Mass., on December 13, 1923. At age eighteen, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December, 7, 1941, Airey quit high school to enlist in the Army Air Forces on November 16, 1942. He later earned his high school equivalency certificate through off-duty study. During World War II he flew as a B-24 radio operator and additional duty aerial gunner. On his 28th mission, then-Technical Sergeant Airey and his fellow crewmen were shot down over Vienna, Austria, captured, and held prisoner by the German air force from July 1944 to May 1945. During his time as a prisoner of war he worked tirelessly to meet the basic needs of fellow prisoners, even through a 90-day forced march.

Chief Airey held the top enlisted from April 3, 1967 to July 31, 1969. During his tenure he worked to change loan establishments charging exorbitant rates outside the air base gates and to improve low retention during the Vietnam Conflict. Chief Airey also led a team that laid the foundation for the Weighted Airman Promotion System, a system that has stood the test of time and which is still in use today. He also advocated for an Air Force-level Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy. His vision became reality when the academy opened in 1973, becoming the capstone in the development of Air Force Senior NCOs. Chief Airey retired August 1, 1970. He continued advocating for Airmen’s rights by serving on the boards of numerous Air Force and enlisted professional military organizations throughout the years. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Airmen Memorial Museum, a member of the Air Force Memorial Foundation and the Air University Foundation.

On the north wall of the Air Force Memorial in Washington D.C., Chief Airey’s thoughts on Airmen are immortalized, "When I think of the enlisted force, I see dedication, determination, loyalty and valor." The Air Force Association honored Airey with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Chief Airey passed away on March 11, 2009 at his home in Panama City, Florida

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Brian K. Baker

27 years old from West Seneca, New York

2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division

(Light Infantry)

November 07, 2004

Near his hometown, the flag flew at half-staff outside the East Concord Volunteer Fire Department where Baker had been a junior firefighter. He joined the Army shortly after graduating from Springville-Griffith Institute in 1996 with the goal of making it his career, friends said."You might say it was his calling," said Lori Ploetz, a longtime family friend. "He was great at what he did. He was respected by his peers." Spc. Brian Baker was killed when a vehicle-borne IED detonated near his security patrol in Baghdad. He leaves behind his parents, his wife, Amy, and two daughters who were born after his death.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Another Heartwarming email

Found this waiting in my inbox today. Wanted to share it:

> The Old Man
As I came out of the supermarket that sunny day, pushing my cart of groceries towards my car, I saw an old man with the hood of his car up and a lady sitting inside the car, with the door open. The old man was looking at the engine.
I put my groceries away in my car and continued to watch the old gentleman from about twenty five feet away.
I saw a young man in his early twenties with a grocery bag in his arm, walking towards the old man. The old gentleman saw him coming too and took a few steps towards him. I saw the old gentleman point to his open hood and say something. The young man put his grocery bag into what looked like a brand new Cadillac Escalade and then turn back to the old man and I heard him yell at the old gentleman saying, 'You shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car at your age. And then with a wave of his hand, he got in his car and peeled rubber out of the parking lot.
I saw the old gentleman pull out his handkerchief and mop his brow as he went back to his car and again looked at the engine. He then went to his wife and spoke with her and appeared to tell her it would be okay.
I had seen enough and I approached the old man. He saw me coming and stood straight and as I got near him I said, 'Looks like you're having a problem.' He smiled sheepishly and quietly nodded his head. Looked under the hood myself and knew that whatever the problem was, it was beyond me.
Looking around I saw a gas station up the road and told the old man that I would be right back. I drove to the station and went inside and saw three attendants working on cars. I approached one of them and related the problem the old man had with his car and offered to pay them if they could follow me back down and help him.
The old man had pushed the heavy car under the shade of a tree and appeared to be comforting his wife. When he saw us he straightened up and thanked me for my help. As the mechanics diagnosed the problem (overheated engine) I spoke with the old gentleman.
When I shook hands with him earlier he had noticed my Marine Corps ring and had commented about it, telling me that he had been a Marine too. I nodded and asked the usual question, 'What outfit did you serve with? He had mentioned that he served with the first Marine Division at Tarawa, Saipan, Iwo Jima and Guadalcanal . He had hit all the big ones and retired from the Corps after the war was over.
As we talked we heard the car engine come on and saw the mechanics lower the hood. They came over to us as the old man reached for his wallet, but was stopped by me and I told him I would just put the bill on my AAA card. He still reached for the wallet and handed me a card that I assumed had his name and address on it and I stuck it in my pocket.
We all shook hands all around again and I said my goodbye's to his wife. I then told the two mechanics that I would follow them back up to the station.
Once at the station I told them that they had interrupted their own jobs to come along with me and help the old man. I said I wanted to pay for the help, but they refused to charge me. One of them pulled out a card from his pocket looking exactly like the card the old man had given to me. Both of the men told me then, that they were Marine Corps Reserves. Once again we shook hands all around and as I was leaving, one of them told me I should look at the card the old man had given to me. I said I would and drove off.
For some reason I had gone about two blocks when I pulled over and took the card out of my pocket and looked at it for a long, long time.
The name of the old gentleman was on the card in golden leaf and under his name....... Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
I sat there motionless looking at the card and reading it over and over. I looked up from the card and smiled to no one but myself and marveled that on this day, four Marines had all come together, because one of us needed help. He was an old man all right, but it felt good to have stood next to greatness and courage and an honor to have been in his presence.
Remember, old men like him gave you FREEDOM for America

America is not at war
The U.S. Military is at war***
America is at the Mall

If you don't stand behind our troops,
PLEASE feel free to stand in front of them!

"America will never be destroyed from outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. Abraham Lincoln


God Bless,
aam

Wednesday Hero

Sgt. Stephen Howell
Sgt. Stephen Howell, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific Band percussionist, races a student at Palisades Elementary School in Pearl City, Hawaii during an 11-event circuit course Feb. 20. More than 20 Marines assisted local park volunteers with manning the different events.These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.

We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

All Good things must come to an end.

Early morning trip to the airport
Last few minutes with the lil brothers

Saying good bye to mom

We put Chris on a plane yesterday morning and sent him back to the land of Snow aka Ft. Drum.

Chris enjoyed 60 and 70 degree weather while he was home until Saturday night when all of a sudden we were hit with about an hours worth of sleet and snow. I couldn't help but wonder if the snow from Ft. Drum had come looking for him. LOL.

For a short few weeks things were back to normal again and nothing or noone was missing from our home. It was great to wake up in the morning and see him there sleeping and to hear his voice through out the day.

Several things stick out in my mind when I think about his time at home.

The look on his face when he caught sight of us at the airport.

His laugh when the whole family went to see Jeff Dunham live.

The little boy that stopped and saluted him as he was walking out of the store.

Watching him and Kyle sit across from each other and play the same game on their laptops.

Hearing him talk about his team and how proud he is to be a Cav Scout.

Listening to him make up songs to make us all laugh.

The minute his best friend Matt walked in the door.

Taking him and Matt to get tattoos and letting Chris talk me into getting my nose pierced. OUCH!!

Visiting Devin's class and seeing his classmates clapping for Chris.

Watching him tuck his little brother in at night.

There are so many more but if I continue I will need to find more kleenex.

I am not going to say that it was easier to see him leave but, it wasn't harder. He was ready to get back to his routine and he enjoys what he does. There is no way I would ever stand in his way.

I hope everyone is having a great week. Remember our Military Members and their families in your prayers each night.

God Bless,

aam