Sunday, May 30, 2010

In Memory of.....

My Dad's brother, John William Daley, who died on January 6, 1945 at the age of 23 while serving in the US Army during the Battle of the Bulge.
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and the three young Marine's from our area who gave their lives in service to our country during Operation Iraqi Freedom:

LCPL Daniel Bubb


LCPL Jourdan Grez


LCPL Jason Redifer


Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, now and always.

Soldiers Angels New York: Book Review: Surviving the Folded Flag: Parents of war share stories of coping, courage and faith

Soldiers Angels New York: Book Review: Surviving the Folded Flag: Parents of war share stories of coping, courage and faith

Friday, May 28, 2010

For Memorial Day 2010

Freedom is Not Free by Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.

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A young Marine saluted it,
and then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
He'd stand out in any crowd.


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I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?

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How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.

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I heard the sound of TAPS one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
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I wondered just how many times
That TAPS had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
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Of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,
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Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
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Of unmarked graves in Arlington.

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No, freedom isn't free.


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Please remember this Memorial Day that the day is
a day of Remembrance for those who have died in our Nation's service.

Please also consider observing the National Moment of Remembrance
at 3:00 pm on Memorial Day.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested And Written By Beth


Capt. Kyle Comfort
Capt. Kyle Comfort
27 years old from Jacksonville, Alabama
Fire Support Officer Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
May 8, 2010
U.S. Army

Kyle Comfort had just recently been promoted to Captain and been assigned to a Ranger Regiment in the Army. His accomplishments as a Soldier, in such a short time, were a testament to the fact that he was an excellent Soldier. Unfortunately, in this war, it doesn’t make a lot of difference how good you are at your job. The difference seems to be left to chance. Where you are sitting in your vehicle or which vehicle you are sitting in when you hit an IED or where you are standing on your FOB when the mortars come in. All chance and circumstance.

It has to be that way. The enemy that is fighting us now could never win a legitimate war with our Soldiers. So they fight as insurgents and use tactics that they know make our Soldiers vulnerable.

That is how they got CAPT Kyle Comfort. With an IED just a month into his tour of duty in Afghanistan. If they had fought him face-to-face, they never would have gotten him.


You Can Read The Rest Here



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.

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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

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A brief 'surf' of the web for news by, or about,

Soldiers Angels



Great story from Northshore Life:

A little girl, a soldier and a special coin





Soldiers Angels~Wounded Warrior Support

posts about the Wounded TLC Team





From WLOX TV Soldiers Angels give heroes a free day of fishing


Soldiers Angels Texas posts Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack...


From Journal and Courier online Marine helping wounded troops

and, lastly, don't know if I've featured them before?
check out Soldiers Angels Florida


That's the surf!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Wednesday Hero

L/Cpl. Joshua M. Davis
L/Cpl. Joshua M. Davis
19 years old from Perry, Iowa
1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force
May 7, 2010
U.S. Marines

Lance Cpl. Joshua M. Davis of Perry, Iowa, was a 2009 Perry High School graduate. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in March 2009. Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, from Camp Lejeune, N.C., he deployed to Afghanistan in March 2010 and was promoted to Lance Cpl. on May 1, 2010. He was killed in action on May 7, 2010 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. His awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Afghanistan Campaign Medal. Also killed alongside L/Cpl. Davis were Cpl. Kurt S. Shea, 21, of Frederick, Maryland and Lance Cpl. Christopher Rangel, 22, of San Antonio, Texas.



All Information Was Found On And Copied From Here and Here



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.

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Saturday, May 15, 2010

Armed Forces Day 2010





Today is Armed Forces Day a day to "thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country"




There are presently a little over 1,000 servicemembers on the Soldiers Angels website awaiting 'adoption'.........one way you might want to consider celebrating Armed Forces Day would be to adopt one of them:)
'Adoption' is a commitment to send at least a letter each week and a care package each month throughout a servicemember's deployment.
You can find out more about how to adopt, or other options to support our Armed Forces through Soldiers Angels, HERE
THANK YOU! to all those Armed Forces members currently serving, those who have served.....and to the servicemembers in my family! Tony, Lynn, and Dustin!


Kudos to the North Surry High School JROTC

From the Mt. Airy,NC news comes this story
NSHS Starts Work on Memorial

an idea that was originally to replace a flagpole, evolved into creating a memorial for alumni of the school who died in the line of duty while serving.

There is (of course) a Facebook profile HERE

If you'd like to make a donation to this effort? the information is:

Please mail your donations to:

NSHS JROTC Memorial Fund
2440 W. Pine St.
Mount Airy, NC 27030

Or, contact John Bowes at bowesj@surry.k12.nc.us or call 336-789-5055

Kudos, to North Surry High School, and all those involved in this very worthy project!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Where to go for help........

One of the DOD releases I receive in my inbox each month is the Army Suicide Data for the previous month.

April's Suicide Data release can be found HERE

In the release, it states:

" Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year."

The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental U.S. is

1-800-342-9647

their Web site address is http://www.militaryonesource.com

Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.

The DCoE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020

and the website is www.dcoe.health.mil


Check out "Boston and Back"

Meet John, who is bicycling from San Antonio,Tx to Boston,MA and back.

He is also using his ride to raise awareness, and funds, for the Fisher House Foundation , an organization that donates "comfort homes," built on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes enable family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful times - during the hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease, or injury

John's blog is Boston and Back Check it out!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Wednesday Hero

Sgt. Kristopher J. Battles
Sgt. Kristopher J. Battles
U.S.M.C

Sgt. Kristopher J. Battles, the combat artist with the National Museum of the Marine Corps, stands in front of his paintings, May 5, 2010, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government for Harvard University. Battles showed several paintings, sketches and portraits for residents and tourists to see the artwork of a combat artist, in Cambridge, Mass., to help tell the Marine Corps story during Marine Week.



Photo Courtesy United States Marine Corps.

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.

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Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Wednesday Hero

U.S. Army

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Sergeant Keith Dewayne Andrews, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action during the ground assault of Operation DESERT STORM. Sergeant Andrews showed extraordinary courage once he observed that air support had by-passed two Iraqi machine gun positions, leaving a Humvee with five soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division pinned down by enemy cross fire. Sergeant Andrews negotiated a minefield while fighting his way to the top of the enemy bunker, destroying it with a fragmentation hand grenade. Being out of ammo, Sergeant Andrews resourcefully obtained the enemy machine gun using it to fight his way up the second Iraqi fighting position. Over all, Sergeant Andrews single-handedly killed some twenty-five enemy combatants to secure two enemy bunkers. This allowed for the quick evacuation of the five wounded soldiers thus saving their lives. These brave and selfless actions of Sergeant Andrews bring great credit to himself, his unit and the United States Army.



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.

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Sunday, May 02, 2010

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

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A 'surf' of the web for news or blog posts by, or about,
Soldiers Angels


From Soldiers Angels~Wounded Warrior Support Anything is Possible Part I
and Part II


Loved this Soldiers Angels Block from Quilting Reader's Garden

A 'new-to-me' Aussie Angel blogger at Marion's Meepings

Big news! via United Conservatives of Virginia , Cooking with the Wounded has changed
Cooking With The Troops is Official

from Soldiers Angels -Medical Support
A very special young person who is helping our wounded soldiers

and lastly, from Soldiers Angels Louisiana
Packages are morale boosters


That's the surf!




Where Volunteering Takes You.....

Well, it's taken me a week to find time to give the 'after report' on my daughter and I volunteering at the 2010 Face of America Bike Ride, sorry 'bout that!



a link to our pics from the ride is HERE



and Angel friend/bike rider Greta's blog round-up of the ride is HERE



My daughter and I had the Most amazing time volunteering through Soldiers Angels at this event again (and check out Angelic Faces of America on the Soldiers Angels website :)



Because volunteering at this event has become a 'mother-daughter' tradition for my daughter,April, and I for the past 4 years, and because with my daughter heading off to college next year, this might have been the last year we have gone to volunteer together? (she may have scheduling conflicts next year, with college and exams)....I gave a lot of thought this year to how far volunteering has taken us.



From that first time we went to volunteer in 2007 for just a few hours on the first day of the bike ride, to making it an all day volunteer effort in 2008 , and then my daughter volunteering the first day by herself last year and then both of us for the first time also volunteering on the 2nd day of the ride last year?



We have been privileged to meet so many wonderful people each year, both volunteers and riders......and have looked forward each year to seeing the same volunteers we only see once a year, sharing laughter and work with them, and cheering on the amazing and wonderful folks who ride in the bike ride.



I had no idea in 2007 when I first answered the call in an 'Angel' email for volunteers, what a big part of our lives this would become each year, and what a wealth of shared memories my daughter and I would carry away from this volunteering opportunity. That, I think, is the wonderful effect of volunteering.......you have no idea when you start out, where the journey will take you, or what a profound and lasting effect it can have on your life :) and I'm so grateful to Soldiers Angels and World T.E.A.M. Sports, for giving us the opportunity this past four years, to together be a part of something so worthwhile to volunteer for, and to have this shared memory in our lives.

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some of the memories I'll carry away from last weekend?



the sunrise over the Capitol building at the beginning of the ride, and standing with the other volunteers holding up the banners as the riders started out.....



as always, seeing the awesome banners that folks send in from all over the country for those of us on the 'Banner Team' to hang up to encourage and cheer on the riders.....



the great firefighters at so many of the rest stops, who were always so welcoming:)



pitching in at the second rest stop to help the 'food volunteers' get everything ready for the riders, and them discovering they had no knives to cut up the oranges! and the very nice lady at the little country store up the road who told us 'you can borrow this knife' because they didn't have any plastic knives on sale there......and watching my daughter become 'orange slicing queen',lol :)



the fabulous Boy Scout volunteers at the Sportsplex who did such a wonderful job! (only why did Three of them come by to tell me 'the food is ready inside'?? did I look That hungry,lol? or was it just I looked 'plump'???:)




having the chance this year at dinner the first night to hang out with 'Angels' and getting to speak further with some of the Riders.

the as always fantastic cookout at the end of the Ride at Seamus' place :)
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that's my round-up of how our weekend of volunteering went last weekend!!