To all my readers...wishing you the best in the coming year of 2012.
I like to post a New Year's poem the past few years, the one I found this year seems to be from
'Author Unknown', presented here for your enjoyment.
At the sound of the tolling midnight bell a brand new year will begin. Let’s raise our hopes in a confidant toast, to the promise it ushers in.
May your battles be few, your pleasure many, your wishes and dreams fulfilled. May your confidence stand in the face of loss and give you the strength to rebuild.
May peace of heart fill all your days may serenity grace your soul. May tranquil moments bless your life and keep your spirit whole.
Time for the last 'web surf' of 2011, wherein I pass on links I hope others might find of interest.
It's a short list to post here at year's end, but as we head out of a year that saw the ending of our presence in Iraq while our troops continue to fight on in Afghanistan...these seemed like important posts/stories to make you aware of, and for us all to reflect upon.
Looking forward to passing on more in the coming year. Thank you, for reading these links I pass along.
God bless our Troops!
and may His Comfort and Peace surround the loved ones of those whom we have lost,and those who continue to recover from injuries received in service to our country.
Off the Base passes on that the Wounded Warrior Project is asking that you send an email message to be used on a special WWP message board that is shared with America's wounded heroes...and the deadline is Dec. 18th to send your message...go Here for the story and link...and then spread the word, will you please?
Marguerite Gene Arenesen (left) a member of the Coast Guard in World War II, George Warren (standing), a Canadian-born immigrant who became a naturalized American citizen at age 17 and joined the Army Air Corps shortly after the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and Thomas M. Sugg, a Navy veteran, share a moment in front of a Christmas tree at the Veterans Home in Barstow, California.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Unfortunately, after a change in the schedule that we hadn't seen, we arrived after most of the wreaths had been laid. We managed to find just a few of the last wreaths, and place them, and then we proceeded to take some pictures ...which I still don't think do justice to how breathtaking it is to look out across the cemetery and see the wreaths laid in row upon row of headstones, as far as the eye can see.
And then I went to Section 60 and found a grave that I've been meaning to visit for a long time, to pay my respects...ever since I sent the widow of this fallen soldier a condolence card, she has always sent me a beautiful Christmas card every year, with a moving remembrance of her husband, and so I wished to take time to pause at his gravesite and say a small prayer.
While our participation this year didn't go quite as we had planned? it was still a privilege to be a part of this once again at Arlington..
.and Thank You, to Morrill Worcester and the Worcester Wreath Company for beginning this tradition!
Bryan Hall received three Army commendation medals, as well as good
Army achievement, good conduct and war on terrorism medals. But his
family didn't learn about them until after his death. "He was such a
humble man," said his mother, Betty. "He was a special person, he
never boasted about his accomplishments or was arrogant and pompous,
he did his job," his sister, Kristi, said. "When he was done with his
job, he came home and he was a father, a husband, a son and a brother.
He embodied what I think every soldier would want to be."
Sgt. 1st Class Hall was a junior in High School when he signed up for
an Army early entry program. After he graduated he attended one year
of college before enlisting.
Bryan Hall, and five other soldiers, was killed on April 10, 2009 when
a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives at a police
station in Mosul, Iraq. Betty Hall said an Army commander told her
that by ordering his soldiers to fire on the suicide bomber's truck,
her son probably saved many lives by preventing the attacker from
entering the police compound.
You can read more about Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Hall here.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so
others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them
Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When
There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
(This Post Was Written By Cindy Thank you, Cindy, for sharing this with others to post!)
Pearl Harbor was originally a shallow embankment called Wai Momi
(Pearl Water) or Pu'rloa (long Hill). It was considered the home of
the shark goddess, Ka'ahupahua, and her brother, Kahiuka. Tradition
says that Keaunui, the legendary chief of the Ewa chiefs is the one w
ho created a navigable channel near the present day Pu'uloa saltworks.
The estuary known as "Pearl River" was then accessible to shipping.
It was never used for large shipping because of the shallow entrance.
As whaling and trading began to use the islands as a half-way point in
the Pacific, by 1820 the US was looking for a major harbor. It was
not until the turn of the century that Pearl Harbor began to be
refitted for larger naval vessels.The naval base we know today was formally opened
when the dry dock was open to flooding on August 21, 1919.
As early as February 1, 1933, the Navy staged a mock attack on Pearl
Harbor by the Japanese. The exercise was a disaster. Even in 1933 it
was known that Pearl Harbor's defenses were considered, after the mock
attack by Japan, a failure. It makes the events of December 7, 1941
even more heart-wrenching. The War Department knew the attack was
coming. They did not know when. They did not realize that Pearl
Harbor, which was basically a sitting duck, was to be the location of
the attack. It was assumed the attack would come in the Philippines.
Photo taken by a Japanese plane shows Battleship Row at the beginning
of the attack, along with the strike on the USS Oklahoma
Under the command of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, the
attack was devastating in loss of life and damage to the U.S. fleet.
At 06:05 on December 7, the six Japanese carriers launched a first
wave of 183 aircraft composed mainly of dive bombers, horizontal
bombers and fighters. The Japanese hit American ships and military
installations at 07:51. The first wave attacked military airfields of
Ford Island. At 08:30, a second wave of 170 Japanese aircraft, mostly
torpedo bombers, attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The
battleship Arizona was hit with an armor-piercing bomb which
penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart
and sinking it within seconds. Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet
were sunk and 21 ships were severely damaged. Three of the 21 would be
irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,403, including 68
civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl
Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. The first shots fired were from
the destroyer Ward on a midget submarine that surfaced outside of
Pearl Harbor; Ward sank the midget sub at approximately 06:55, about
an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan would lose 29 out of
the 350 aircraft they attacked with...."
USS Arizona
The attack on Pearl Harbor, called Hawaii Operation or Operation Al by
the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters was designed to prevent the
US Pacific Fleet from interfering with their military actions in
Southeast Asia, against overseas territories of the United Kingdom,
Netherlands, and the US. The Japanese attack was so thorough that
only 29 aircraft and five midget submarines were lost. The US death
toll was 2,403. Only 65 Japanese servicemen were killed or wounded.
One Japanese sailor was captured.
Arizona Memorial
Joint
Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
WWII
In The Pacific
