Wednesday's Hero

Something a little different this week. Instead of profiling a service member, Wednesday Hero will be profiling a movie. Band Of Brothers. But it's just as much a profile of the men it was about as it is the movie itself. Band Of Brothers was a miniseries tha aired on HBO in 2001. It follows Maj. Richard Winters, Cpt. Lewis Nixon and the men of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, aka E-Company or Easy Company on their march to Germany. From their training to their battles at Normandy and Bastogne, their liberation of the Kaufering IV concentration camp to their taking of Hitler's Eagle Nest. A great cast and great writing make this one of the best war movies ever made. But it is graphic in visuals and language. And parts of it may be hard to watch, but it is worth it.

What the men of E-Company did will never be forgotten. They are the heroes that helped the cause of freedom.


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.

Support Battalion provides amenities to Afghan Schools

By Pfc. Chris Baker

Task Force Spartan PAO Broadcast Journalist

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHANK, Afghanistan – Afghan National Police from Pul-e-Alam supported by Soldiers of 710th Brigade Support Battalion, Task Force Spartan, delivered some 2,000 pounds of supplies June 2 to the Darwesh and Karzai Elementary Schools, near Pul-e-Alam .Notebooks, pens and soccer balls were handed out, along with many other items in an attempt to provide more amenities for Afghan students.

The most significant gift given during the day was work desks for the otherwise empty Darwesh Elementary."When we found this school, it had no furniture whatsoever. What we've done, using Commander's Emergency Relief Program funds, we've brought furniture for them in order for them to have a better learning experience," said Lt. Col. Eugene Shearer, 710th BSB commander."I've never been in school and tried to read and write while sitting on the floor. The desks will create a more organized classroom," said Capt. William Bennett, commander of A Company, 710th BSB.

Battalion leaders hope these basic supplies will help make the learning process easier for Afghan children, who are accustomed to having very little. As Afghan children ran around excitedly and asked Soldiers for pens, Bennett explained the progress his unit has made in Logar. "We've made great strides to build trust and relationships in this area. Today's a good day. We actually have furniture and supplies for the children who would otherwise be sitting on the ground," Bennett said. Bennett said one of the biggest requests from local leaders were the desks. With that request fulfilled, the battalion focus can shift towards other projects in the area, such as power, wells and building projects. According to Shearer, many more improvements are on the way."In our area of operations, we've planned projects for several schools, mosques and roads," he said. Shearer also mentioned the International Security Assistance Force's dedication to helping in Afghanistan."It's a long-term commitment. You can't get everything done right away. It takes time," he said.

Soldier receives Military Motherhood Award

Staff Sgt. Melissa Dion, a medic at Fort Drum, and her 9-year-old son, Ryan, are honored during the Operation Homefront Military Motherhood Award ceremony May 27 at the Pentagon. Photo by Lacey Justinger

By Lacey Justinger
Army News Service
WASHINGTON – "She did the bravest thing a mother could do when she drove away from our house, leaving her son and not knowing if she would see him again. Many people ask her how she could go off to war and leave her son behind ... she always replies the same. She joined the Army to serve and protect her country and if her country needs her ... she needs to do what is expected."Staff Sgt. Melissa Dion, a medic at Fort Drum, read these words when she linked onto the Operation Homefront web site to nominate her own mother for the Military Motherhood Award. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Dion realized her mother had already submitted her and that she had been voted by web site visitors to be a finalist. Dion said she had never looked at the situation the way her mother wrote it. She was just doing her job. "The military mothers who do what my daughter has done and go to war for their country and leave their Families behind are the most unselfish women I know," Carol Dion wrote in the essay about her daughter. With a slightly apologetic smile, Dion disagrees. "I just had to get on the plane and go," she said. "The Families back home – the spouses, parents, children – they go through more and have more to deal with more than Soldiers. Soldiers just do their job. I knew my son was taken care of. I knew my finances were taken care of. All I had to worry about was my job." So Dion deployed as a combat medic to Iraq twice – missing her son's first day of school, his first lost tooth, learning to swim and ride a bike, his birthdays and Christmases. Ryan admits that it was hard when his mom deployed, especially the first time when he was 4. But he said his grandparents explained his mom just had to go; it was her job. And, he said, the daily phone calls helped. Often during these daily calls, Dion would express concern to her Family about fellow Soldiers who were not receiving care packages, letters or phone calls. She would ask that her Family send gifts to be shared with others. It was her unselfishness that made Dion shine among the qualified finalists. Amy Palmer, chief executive officer of Operation Homefront, said the judges pick the winner based on actions in significant situations, above and beyond ordinary circumstances for deployed service members and Families. Palmer said it was apparent that Dion had faced unique challenges being a single mother and missing very significant milestones but was still more concerned about others' welfare rather than her own.In fact, Dion couldn't believe that she had actually won when she received the phone call. She said she almost fell over. She kept asking, Are you sure it's me? Do you have the right phone number? Are you talking to the right person? Operation Homefront's Military Motherhood Award is sponsored by Lockheed Martin and TriWest. Dion and her 9-year-old son, Ryan, were flown to Washington for a ceremony May 27 at the Pentagon, where Dion was awarded a trophy and a $5,000 check. During the ceremony, Dion continued gave most of the credit to Ryan for his patience. "He has been so helpful," Dion said. "My son has been by my side the whole time. He's a great supporter. You're looking at a future officer right there. He wants to be a doctor and deploy to serve his country.""I'm planning to be a Soldier, but my mom said I have to go to college first," Ryan said.Dion has served in the Army for 16 years and received the Meritorious Service Medal, but she said this is an experience that she and Ryan will never forget. The highlight of the trip was rolling down Constitution Avenue in a 1930 Model A Ford behind Medal of Honor winners in the Washington, D.C., Memorial Day Parade. "I wasn't looking for an award to be a mom and do what a Soldier does," Dion said. "But it's been an awesome, amazing experience. The Army is a wonderful place to be; I have loved my time in the Army."

Thursday Email

The people I work with know that these are my favorite kinds of emails so they keep them coming.

Look at the black patch under the U.S. Flag

The patch says 'Doing the work of '

The flags are France, Germany and Russia

This should be on the cover of Time, Newsweek etc

Why is it we never see pictures like these in the news?

Isn't it a shame that you never seem to see the good things our Service Members are doing? Well this might not be a major media outlet but I am happy to post pictures like these all day long.

Have a great Thursday

God Bless;

aam

Wednesday Hero

Pvt. William Long

23 years old from Conway, Arkansas

D Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry

June 1 2009

"My brother taught me valuable lessons and made me the man I am today," said Pfc. Triston Long, brother of Pvt. William Long. "My commander said, 'Make your brother one of us.' I will miss my brother with all that I am, and I serve in honor of him.

Pvt. William Long had just completed basic training and was set to ship out on June 8 to his first duty station in Korea when he and Private Second Class Quinton Ezeagwula were shot outside a Little Rock Arkansas Army-Navy Recruiting Center by Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad. They were in Little Rock to speak with potential recruits about their experiences.

Pvt. Long's father, Daris Long, a former Marine, wrote a letter to give to him when he shipped out for South Korea. In the letter he wrote, "Your day only ends when you've done your duty. You and your brother... are both heroes for having the moral courage to stand up when your contry needs you most. You are in my hopes and thoughts and my prayers. Your are my son, you are my hero. I love you. Semper fidelis."

Along with his father and brother, Pvt. William Long is survived by his mother, Janet, who had served in the Navy herself.

All information was found on and copied from RedState, Sipsey Street Irregulars & Army Times with help from Kathi.

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 Wenesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

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