Please consider becoming an "Angel"

A "Soldiers Angel", that is.
Over 800 Heroes waiting to be 'adopted.'

Ros over at NewsBlaze says it well here

Soldiers Angels Needs YOU

Send a free personal recorded greeting to your loved one serving in the Military

Talking Memories and Operation Homefront are proud to offer the families of America's military personnel the chance to send your loved one the best gift they could receive this holiday season: hearing your voice and seeing your smile.


With their easy-to-use program, you can create a customized personal message that combines your voice recorded greeting and uploaded photos. This service is free of charge and can be completed in just a few short steps.

The link is here
http://talkingmemories.com/operationhomefront-greeting/

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Kathi


2nd Lt. Christopher E. Loudon
22 years old from Brockport, Pennsylvania
1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division
October 17, 2006


2nd Lt. Christopher Loudon graduated from Slippery Rock University with a Baccalaureate Degree in Environmental Health in 2005. Upon graduation, he entered the United States Army on September 9, 2005. He received his commission as an Infantry officer and was assigned to 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas. He deployed to Iraq in July 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2nd Lt. Loudon’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Ranger Tab.

He was KIA in Baghdad, Iraq when an IED detonated near his vehicle. Also killed with him were; Corporal David M. Unger, 21, of Leavenworth, Kansas ;Corporal Russell G. Culbertson III, 22, of Amity, Pennsylvania and Specialist Joseph C. Dumas Jr., 25, of New Orleans, Louisiana.

He leaves behind his parents, Randy and Susan Loudon ; his wife, Jacey Loudon ; a daughter, Isabel Loudon ; two brothers, First Lieutenant Nicholas Loudon ,and Jonathan Loudon ; his paternal grandmother, Florence Loudon and his maternal grandfather, Everett William Campbell.

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.

Merry Christmas from the Wednesday Hero Blogroll

To the Men and Women of the United States military, and all the armed forces around the world, thank you for everything that you do. And to those who are laying their heads down tonight in a foreign land, away from your loved ones, thank you so very much. Stay safe, you're in our thoughts and our hearts. Merry Christmas.

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.

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing~Holiday Edition



My (mostly:) weekly surf of the web for news by, and about,
Soldiers Angels

Sorry I missed posting last week,but here's this week's posting of Soldiers Angels Holiday News

Remembering SPC Ross A. McGinnis

After the wreath laying was done on Dec. 13th, Tony and I went to Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery because there was one gravesite there where I particularly wanted to pay my respects.......the grave of Specialist Ross Andrew McGinnis

Spc. McGinnis died on Dec.4, 2006, and his story touched my heart at the time because we were preparing then to see Tony's son off to Army Basic training in Jan. 2007, and Dustin was the same age as Spc. McGinnis. Long before I learned Ross McGinnis was to be a Medal of Honor recipient, I carried his name and his story in my heart, and it meant a great deal to me to finally be able to pause a moment where he is laid to rest and to quietly pay my respects.

May God rest and keep you, Ross McGinnis, and we hold your memory in our thoughts, and your family in our prayers.

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Melinda


Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christian P. Humphreys
28 years old from Fallon, Nevada
6th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, Task Force 49
November 15, 2008


A funny, nice guy who loved to fly. That's how Christian P. Humphreys is remembered by his friends. "He was a great guy, always happy and had a joke," said Sean Whitney, a flight medic. "We used to play with our paintball guns in the cornfields behind his house."

Humphreys flew with the Fallon Naval Air Station Search and Rescue Longhorns from June 6, 2004, to May 5, 2006. He left the Navy and joined the Army as part of the "Blue to Green" program to become a helicopter pilot.

Humphreys, along with Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald V. Clark, 37 years old from Tennessee, was killed when their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed while on a mission over Mosul, Iraq. As a rescue crew chief, Humphreys was in charge of the operation behind the pilots. He made the decisions when to deploy rescue crews out of the helicopter to assist injured people, and he also took care of the equipment.

"He was a funny guy, a nice guy, a lot of character," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Schmidt. "The guy was always entertaining, always had something to say, but like everyone here, he displayed the professionalism in saving lives."

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christian P. Humphreys leaves behind a wife and parents.

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.

Those graves where we were privileged to lay wreaths

These are the 6 graves that we were privileged to lay wreaths on yesterday.























Thank you, Mr. Worcester and the Worcester Wreath Company, for making it possible for us to honor these Fallen Heroes.

The Pentagon Memorial

After the Wreath laying at Arlington yesterday, we stopped at the Pentagon Memorial on the way home

partly because there were several benches at the Memorial that I particularly wanted to visit.

I had 'remembered' several people who were lost at the Pentagon that day, as part of the

2996 Project

on my original blog, and it meant a great deal to me yesterday to finally be able to visit the Memorial, and to pause and reflect at the benches for

Gerard P. Moran 2,996 I Remember....Gerard(Jerry) P. Moran

Yuguang Zheng and Shuyin Yang 2,996 I Remember...Yuguang Zheng and Shuyin Yang

We Must Never Forget.

Arlington Wreath Project 2008-The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Tony took a short video of the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Arlington Wreath Project 2008-Part Two

The second slide show of the pictures we took is here, and it only dimly captures how absolutely beautiful everything looked after all the wreaths were laid on the graves.

Arlington Wreath Project 2008-Part One

We got up at 4:30 am to head up to Arlington National Cemetery, for the Arlington part of Wreaths Across America,
and were flabbergasted when we got there that there was so Much traffic that it took us a half hour just to get In to Arlington Cemetery. We had No idea that so Many people would show up.I kept saying over and over "This is just....Amazing."

It was a sunny but Cold day, and the wind was blowing. I haven't seen any numbers of crowd estimates, would be interested to know how many folks were there.

We took a great many pictures, so I've broken the pictures up into two slide shows, the first one is here

and I hope it gives you some idea of both the crowd, and also how the gravesites looked before people started laying their wreaths.

When we laid the wreaths, they asked that you read the name, and years of service and date of death, and also paused a moment to honor the person whose grave you were laying the wreath on.

This was such a moving project to be a part of.

Wreaths Across America (what are you doing Saturday?)

"What started over 17 years ago, as one's man's dream to honor Veterans with Maine wreaths for the holidays, has become an annual event cherished by many. "

This Saturday, Dec. 13, at noon
at Arlington National Cemetery,
and at National Cemeteries across the country,
there will be wreath -laying ceremonies to place wreaths on the headstones of our Nation's fallen heroes.


Merrill Worcester, president of Worcester Wreath Company in Maine, started donating and laying wreaths at Arlington 17 years ago, and two years ago, he and the Worcester Wreath Company expanded the program to other National Cemeteries across the country.

If you've never heard about this, the website for Wreaths Across America is here
http://www.wreaths-across-america.org/


My husband and I got involved in this two years ago, when as members of the Patriot Guard Riders we participated in the first wreath-laying ceremony at Staunton National Cemetery
(and Lt. Greg Sykes of the Augusta Composite Group of the Civil Air Patrol has done a wonderful job these last few years of making the ceremony happen.)

This is a slide-show I did of pictures from the 2007 Wreaths Across America ceremony in Staunton,VA.

This year (weather permitting,there's possible flooding or alternatively,snow, in our current forecast) it looks like Tony and I will be going to Arlington
to help in the wreath-laying.

If you'd like to see whether there is a ceremony on Saturday near your area? the list of participating locations is Here

This is a very meaningful and moving way to remember and honor our fallen heroes for the Holidays, and to honor and remember their families. If you have a chance, please get involved in a ceremony near you.

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Jonnie L Stiles
38 years old from Highlands Ranch, Colorado
769th Engineer Battalion, Louisiana Army National Guard
November 13, 2008


Louisiana National Guard spokesman Maj. Michael Kazmierzak said Spc. Jonnie L. Stiles had been serving as a gunner on a Humvee doing route clearance when and IED detonated near his vehicle in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He said the job typically involves checking roads for bombs and insurgents.

Stiles' wife, Launa, said that he was nearly killed last month when a suicide bomber blew up a military vehicle in front of his. She said he was still able to rescue three other soldiers and returned to duty before his 30-day recovery period was finished.

"He was strong and really cared for his men," she said.

Stiles was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and graduated from Littleton High School in Colorado. He served in the military for 17 years, first joining the Marines and then switching to the Army in 1999. He served three years at Fort Carson, left the Army and then returned as a member of the Colorado Air National Guard in the Summer of 2007.

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.

Now I've got pictures:)

Since Tony just finished another round of baking, now I've got pictures of some of the things we sent in the box to our soldier:) and his buddies.
potato candy


fudge



peanut butter balls



and cookies galore:)
peanut butter cookies


chocolate chip

M & M chip



peanut butter with chocolate drops



and, of course, Christmas sugar cookies:)



(are you hungry yet? lol. I Love being married to someone who loves to bake!)

Remembering

"DECEMBER 7, 1941- a date which will live in infamy- the UnitedStates of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval andair forces of the Empire of Japan."

Thus spoke President Franklin D. Roosevelt following the attack onPearl Harbor by over 350 Japanese aircraft.
Five American battleships and three destroyers were sunk, 400 planeswere destroyed and over 4000 were killed or wounded.

President Roosevelt concluded: "No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditatedinvasion, the American people in their righteous might, will winthrough to absolute victory...We will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make itvery certain that this form of treachery shall never again endangerus."

FDR continued: "Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people,our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces- with the unboundingdetermination of our people- we will gain the inevitable triumph- so help us God."

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

Welcome once again to my weekly surf of the web for news by, and about
Soldiers Angels


Missed passing this on for Thanksgiving, from MS Soldier’s Angels/MS Soldier’s Angels VA Team Mississippi family hosts soldiers for Thanksgiving

A big Thank You, to the Chester,NJ Lions Club
Chester, NJ Lion’s Club makes generous donation
(and if the name Roger Godskesen looks familiar? that’s because he blogs over at Soldiers Angels-Medical Support )


The Valour-IT fundraising competition is over, but as NewsBlaze reminds us
Valour-IT: It isn’t Over

Speaking of Valour_IT?
If you Need to buy Christmas Cards? Soldiers Angels Louisiana suggests Prudent Publishing,go check out Why….and a big Thank You to them,also!

SALA also posts the latest Founder’s Notes

And here’s an interview with the Founder (and SFC Toby Nunn) on
Pundit Review Radio

Found this great post from a real estate blog
Please remember our troops this holiday season…how to send them a flat rate package

From Soldiers Angels Texas
Garland Texas Girl Scout troop makes “Blankets of Belief”

On a less happy note, Soldiers Angels Germany has news about donations,also
Linda’s donations for Landstuhl patients stolen

and Assoluta Tranquillita has more on the story, and more links
“This wasn’t just stuff…”

(From what succeeding stories and links in the posts above are saying, many people are rallying together to try and replace the stolen items….if you would like to help out in this effort, email Linda at one of the links in the stories above.)

Soldiers Angels New York posts TAPS:For the Children

which seems particularly poignant when one thinks of two young girls who recently lost their father Godspeed:Cpt Rob Yllescas
——————————————————-


That’s all I have for this week, but with mailing deadlines fast approaching, from the Soldiers Angels website:

It’s not too late to give the troops
a Happy Holiday!

Send a care package, make a blanket,
donate in honor of someone, or just do your gift shopping!

"I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" :)

Put up one of my fave Christmas songs over on my family blog
Enjoy:)

Nurses and War

Via this blog , came across an interview with a WWII Army nurse

The Imojean Ketter Interview

Well worth the read.

I've been an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) for 15 years now. Most of my nursing has been done in long-term care facilities or in assisted living (where I currently work now) so I can only dimly imagine what nursing must be like for those serving in war.

I've blogged before about my aunt's wartime service in Vietnam
For my Aunt....A Thank You to an Army Nurse Corps Vietnam Veteran

and last year, I blogged about the first active duty Army nurse to be killed in combat since the Vietnam War
Cpt. Maria I. Ortiz-April 24,1967-July 10,2007

The tradition of war-time nursing goes all the way back to Florence Nightingale
whose " lasting contribution has been her role in founding the modern nursing profession."

I have been privileged in my nursing career to care for a few women who were nurses during WW II, one of whom was Dora Cline Fechtmann.

She had written a book (which sadly is now out of print)
My scrapbook: An album of memories from the Shenandoah Valley to the South Pacific

which I was able to see a copy of during the time that she was one of the resident's that I cared for.

I did come across this pdf link
A Glimpse into the Dora Cline Fechtmann collection:Navy Nursing in the South Seas

She died in August of 2004, and I am grateful that I had a chance to be one of the nurse's caring for her during the last years of her life.

She was a graduate of the Rockingham Memorial hospital nurse's school. That school of nursing has been closed for many years....but I have worked under a number of graduates from that program, and let me tell you.....they are all sticklers for doing things correctly, and you had better 'toe the line' in your nursing, when you're working with them! :) Truly "old school" nursing!

Seeing Imojean Ketter's interview reminded me of Mrs. Fechtmann, and reminded me that there is a very rich history that we nurses today should be mindful of, of those who served our country in nursing in previous wars ,
and that we should especially remember today, those who are on the frontlines of nursing in the current wars that our country is fighting.

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Matthew T. Morris
23 years old from Cedar Park, Texas
2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment
April 06, 2008


"He was a very creative kid, and when he wasn't in a challenging environment, he tried to make life interesting," Glenn Morris, father of Spc. Morris, said. "He excelled in a military school structure and in a team environment."

Before enlisting in the Army in 2005, Morris attended the Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia where he met a history teacher who inspired him to want to become an educator. "After his service, he wanted to go back to school and get a four-year degree to become a teacher," said his mother, Lisa. "He wanted to make a difference and give back to the community."

Spc. Morris was killed when his vehicle encountered an IED in Balad, Iraq. Also killed in the attack was Cpt. Ulises Burgos-Cruz.

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.

Our Care Package is ready to go out:)

Tony finished the last of his Christmas baking to put in Dustin's care package last night, and we're packing it up to send out tomorrow.

Tony is the 'baker' in our family....it's not that I Can't bake,lol....it's just that after all those years as a single father? this was His Christmas tradition, ever since Dustin was little, to bake the Christmas cookies and candy every year.

And he did it last year, and again this year, to send to Dustin, and those serving with him....I call it 'sending love' (which, like usual in this family with far too many boys,lol, made every male roll their eyes and go 'oh,geez', which means I've been too 'girly' :)

After seeing my friend Laini's post Hanukkah in Iraq

I said to Tony "aw,man! I should've taken pictures of the cookies, and peanut butter balls and potato candy while you were baking!"

And Tony gave me 'that look', and said "Once again......you thought of something just a Little too Late!" (as everything is already all packed up, and in the box,lol:)

So,no pictures.....but, our 'box of love' is ready to be mailed! :)