Fresh from my inbox

A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America for an amount of "up to and including my life."

That is Honor and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it!!

AWESOME!!! Read below pic before making judgment on 'The Finger' gesture and you'll understand...

Leading the fight is Gunnery Sgt Michael Burghardt, known as 'Iron Mike' or just 'Gunny'. He is on his third tour in Iraq . He had become a legend in the bomb disposal world after winning the Bronze Star for disabling 64 IEDs and destroying 1,548 pieces of ordnance during his second tour.

Then, on September 19, he got blown up.

He had arrived at a chaotic scene after a bomb had killed four US soldiers.

He chose not to wear the bulky bomb protection suit.

'You can't react to any sniper fire and you get tunnel-vision,' he explains.

So, protected by just a helmet and standard-issue flak jacket, he began what bomb disposal officers term 'the longest walk', stepping gingerly into a 5 foot deep and 8 foot wide crater. The earth shifted slightly and he saw a Senao base station with a wire leading from it. He cut the wire and used his 7 inch knife to probe the ground. 'I found a piece of red detonating cord between my legs,' he says. 'That's when I knew I was screwed.' Realizing he had been sucked into a trap, Sgt Burghardt, 35, yelled at everyone to stay back.

At that moment, an insurgent, probably watching through binoculars, pressed a button on his mobile phone to detonate the secondary device below the sergeant's feet 'A chill went up the back of my neck and then the bomb exploded,' he recalls.

'As I was in the air I remember thinking, 'I don't believe they got me.' I was just ticked off they were able to do it. Then I was lying on the road, not able to feel anything from the waist down' His colleagues cut off his trousers to see how badly he was hurt. None could believe his legs were still there

'My dad's a Vietnam vet who's paralyzed from the waist down,' says Sgt Burghardt. 'I was lying there thinking I didn't want to be in a wheelchair next to my dad and for him to see me like that. They started to cut away my pants and I felt a real sharp pain and blood trickling down. Then I wiggled my toes and I thought, 'Good, I'm in business.'

As a stretcher was brought over, adrenaline and anger kicked in. 'I decided to walk to the helicopter. I wasn't going to let my team-mates see me being carried away on a stretcher.'

He stood and gave the insurgents who had blown him up a one-fingered salute.

'I flipped them one. It was like, 'OK, I lost that round but I'll be back next week.'

Copies of a photograph depicting his defiance, taken by Jeff Bundy for the Omaha World-Herald, adorn the walls of homes across America and that of Col John Gronski, the brigade commander in Ramadi, who has hailed the image as an exemplar of the warrior spirit.

Sgt Burghardt's injuries - burns and wounds to his legs and buttocks - kept him off duty for nearly a month and could have earned him a ticket home.

But, like his father - who was awarded a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts for being wounded in action in Vietnam - he stayed in Ramadi to engage in the battle against insurgents who are forever coming up with more ingenious ways of killing Americans..

Almost a month

OMG!!! It has been almost a month since I have had a spare moment to do anything even remotely considered blogging.
We have been so busy with baseball this year that it seems like the only time I am not at the ball park, I am at work. I am sick of dust and concession stand dinners but, the season is finally over and hopefully we will be able to skip All Stars this season although I will not know that for sure until tomorrow. We are also in the process of trying to buy a house and that is taking up a lot of time filling out papers and finding required documents etc. And my custom scrapbook business is taking off like fire right now with lots of baseball albums that need to be completed for others before I can even think about starting D~man's for this year. Enough with the excuses, lets see what I can tell all of you about the Cav World.

We are facing the big "D" word in a few short months and although I knew this would be coming I am still trying to wrap my mind and heart around the news that it will be sooner than we thought. Our Scout will be home sometime in August for a few weeks so we are all looking forward to that.
I was finally able to join the VFRG for the 1-89 and I have enjoyed reading all the information that is on there. Lately my phone conversations with Chris have been sitting in a lawn chair at the ball park and we spend alot of time saying "huh, what did you say?" because it is hard to hear over the cheering.
Chris has been having trouble with a shoulder injury and has had to do physical therapy the last few weeks so please remember him in your prayers.
I hope to get back to checking all of my favorite blogs and keeping this one more up to date now.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

God Bless,

Tami

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Robert Hamilton



Spc. Robert Hamilton, from Corpus Christi, Texas,
Company C, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment,
prepares to bandage the thumb of an Iraqi boy in Ula Market in Sadr City, April 19.
The boy cut his thumb while preparing meat at a local butcher shop.

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.

GOVERNMENT WITHHOLDS EVIDENCE

ARMY RANGER GOES TO PRISON FOR 25 YEARS FOR SHOOTING AL QAEDA OPERATIVE

Army Ranger

1st LT Michael Behenna

Please take a few minutes and follow the link below. Michael needs our help

http://defendmichael.wordpress.com/

Thank you to Chris Brocksmith for bringing this to my attention.

God Bless;
aam

Sgt. Patch Update.

First let me say thank you to everyone that has been calling and sending me emails concerning Sky and his family.
I have been informed this morning that the State of Illinois will be cutting the family a check this month.
I have not talked with Julie this morning but as soon as I do, I will be able to give a more complete update.


Thank you,
aam

Please help correct this injustice.

On Monday I read this post on GAP and was immediately sick to my stomach and heartbroken
that this could be happening. I contacted Julie and she gave me permission to post this here:

As many of you know Schuyler Patch who was KIA on 02/24/09 was from my family. When Sky's mom called the VA to inquire about his death benefits from the state (he was National Guard, Illinois) she was told the State of Illinois does not have the money to pay right now, maybe next fiscal year!! This is totally unacceptable and I am asking everyone to write the Governor to see that this is taken care of. Following is the link to the Governors page where you can email him or send a letter. There is also a link to the White House and Our President.
I have also attached the letter I wrote, so feel free to copy and paste, or write your own. I know Sky's family is not the only family going through this horrible loss, then compounded by Government disrespect and errors. I am asking anyone who reads this to send a letter and pass it on to family and friends. We need to make sure that no Soldiers family be put through this after their child gave their life!!

Thanks

Governor Site

White House

Office of the Governor
207 State House
Springfield, IL 62706
phone: 217-782-0244

Dear Governor Quinn,

On March 7th of this year you attended the funeral of Sergeant Schuyler Patch, in Kewanee, Illinois. In your speech you spoke of him being a hero and his honorable service to The United States and the Illinois National Guard. Schuyler died in Afghanistan while serving in the National Guard from Kewanee, Illinois, and now his parents are being told by the VA that due to the budget crisis in Illinois that the death benefits for the parents of the Solider Killed in Action are not being paid now, but they will be issued an IOU!
This is a complete disregard to not only Schuylers' memory, but to any Soldier who has Volunteered to serve their country in a time of war. How dare the State of Illinois tell grieving parents, "Sorry you Soldier was killed in action, but we can't pay for the sacrifice of your Son/Daughter."

On behalf of the family of Sgt. Schuyler Patch and any other Soldier who has or will givetheir life for their country we insist that this insult and complete lack of respect to all Soldiers be rectified immediately, In addition an apology to the families who have been denied death benefits should be issued without delay.

I certainly hope to hear that this is given a priority status and that the State of Illinois is remorseful for causing heartbroken parents more agony in addition to the loss of their Soldier.

"He heard freedom's call," Army Chaplain (Capt.) Jon Prain told more than 1,000 mourners who filled a school gym for Patch's funeral in Kewanee, Ill. "He paid freedom's price. Sgt. Patch could have stayed home. Instead, once again, he volunteered to go."

This having been said it is a small price for the State of Illinois to give parents death benefits when their child paid the ultimate price of their life. This is not about money which will never bring Schuyler home again, but about doing the right thing!!

Sincerely,

Julie Nelson
Proud Mom of a U.S. Army Soldier

Wednesday Hero

This weeks post was suggested and written by Mary Ann

Sgt. Kenneth G. Ross

24 years old from Tucson, Arizona

7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment

September 25, 2005

" He believed in serving his country," said Ross' father, David C. Ross. Gary Anderson, Ross' best friend and an Army infantry veteran who served nine months in Afghanistan and 11 months in Iraq during his active duty stint, was a classmate of Ross at Marana's Mountain View High School. "You know, I heard this news of Ken and I broke down and cried hysterically," said Anderson, now a firefighter for the Ak-Chin Indian community in Maricopa. " He loved everyone; everyone who came in contact with him loved him. He'd always help everyone out that he could.

A 1999 graduate of Mountain View, Ross played drums in the marching band and orchestra, his father said. Ross enlisted in the Army right after graduation. "He just wanted to take part in history," Anderson said.

At the time of his death, he was a helicopter mechanic - acting as a door gunner on his last mission, his father said. SSgt. Ross was killed when his helicopter went down southwest of Deh Chopan, Afghanistan. Also killed in the crash were Sgt. Shawn A. Graham, Warrent Officer Adrian B. Stump, Sgt. Tane T. Baum, Chief Warrent Officer 2 John M. Flynn and Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.

Along with his father, SSgt. Ross is survived by his mother, Mary Ross, 57 and his sister Stephanie Ross, 30. "I know his last thoughts were for everybody else and not for himself," Anderson said. "I know he wanted to make sure everybody was safe and would go home."

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everday. Fot 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.