The Ballad of Captain Z

For those of you who might not know how Project Valour IT got started?


Project Valour-IT began when Captain Charles "Chuck" Ziegenfuss was wounded by an IED while serving as commander of a tank company in Iraq in June 2005
.
During his deployment he kept a blog From My Position...On the Way
Captivating writing, insightful stories of his experiences, and his self-deprecating humor won him many loyal readers. After he was wounded, his wife continued his blog, keeping his readers informed of his condition.

As he began to recover, CPT Ziegenfuss wanted to return to writing his blog, but serious hand injuries hampered his typing. When a loyal and generous reader gave him a copy of the Dragon Naturally Speaking Preferred software, other readers began to realize how important such software could be to CPT Ziegenfuss' fellow wounded soldiers and started cast about for a way to get it to them.

A fellow blogger (blog author) who writes under the pseudonym FbL contacted Captain Ziegenfuss and the two realized they shared a vision of providing laptops with voice-controlled software to wounded soldiers whose injuries prevented them from operating a standard computer. FbL contacted Soldiers Angels, who offered to help develop the project, and Project Valour-IT was born.

In sharing their thoughts, CPT Ziegenfuss (now a Major) and FbL found that memories of their respective fathers were a motivating factor in their work with the project. Both continue their association with this project in memory of the great men in their lives whose fine examples taught them lasting lessons of courage and generosity.

In the years since its founding in 2005, the project has acted to meet emerging needs and its mission of supporting the the severely wounded has expanded. In addition to voice-controlled laptops, Valour-IT now helps provide active and whole-body video games such as Wii Sports, which is used to great effect in physical therapy, and personal GPS systems that help compensate for short-term memory loss and organizational/spacial challenges common in those with brain injuries.
------------------------------
Check out the video "Ballad of Captain Z"





(or the URL is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwh2bVL0ibc )

Project Valour-IT Teams

Christmas Quilt Raffle to help Valour IT

From Flag Still Stands for Freedom comes a Valour IT raffle of a handmade Christmas quilt.
Beautiful quilt!
Go check it out, each $1 counts as one entry in the raffle.

Valour IT Video Contest

I'll leave it to Greta to give all the details:)




(or you can check the link at YouTube HERE )

or you can check out the details on the Official Valour IT blog


While I do have dear friends who have (possibly mistakenly,lol:)
signed up for Other Teams

the link to donate for Team Army is Here

Veteran's Day and Applebee's

If you haven't seen this yet, Veteran's and Active Duty Military are invited to eat
FREE at Applebee's on November 11th

as their way of saying THANK YOU! to those who have served, and are serving.

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Justin Slagle


Spc. Justin Slagle returns to Forward Operating Base Lane in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after an air assault mission in the Zabul province of Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009. Even as leaders in Washington struggle with the next steps in Afghanistan, troops there are moving to better protect the Afghan people by separating them from Taliban influence and intimidation.

Photo Courtesy of U.S. 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.

Project Valour IT: Go! Team Army!

Today is the kick-off for the fundraiser for Soldiers Angels Project Valour IT

The Valour-IT Veterans Day Fundraising "Competition" was a developed as a fun way to raise money for a very serious project. Teams are purely for the sake of friendly competition, building on the natural inter-service rivalries of the U.S. Military.

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:

Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

-------------
This blog (of course:) is registered for the competition with 'Team Army', which is headed by Blackfive


To donate via Team Army, you can click on the Valour IT widget on the right of this blog, or you can go here

The Valour IT fundraiser runs from today (Oct.26) through Nov.11.......please, give what you can, and also help spread the word......and Go! Team Army!

Soldiers Angels 'Day of the Deployed'

Today is the 4th Anuual

Soldiers Angels Day of the Deployed


As always, but especially today....our heartfelt Thank You, to those who are currently deployed!

Wednesday Hero

Sailors & Marines Playing Volleyball With Local School Children


Sailors and Marines assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) play volleyball with students from Sangley Point National High School during a lunch break at a community service project. Tortuga, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) are participating in Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) 2009. PHIBLEX is designed to improve interoperability, increase readiness and develop professional relationships between the U.S. military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Photo Courtesy Navy.mil Taken By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Geronimo Aquino

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.

Holiday Card Drive for the Troops over at Operation Love From Home

Friend Kat at Operation Love From Home has started her holiday card drive for this year,
you can read all about it HERE

Catching up on Wednesday Hero posts

Missed posting Wednesday Hero twice while we were gone, so wanted to link back to those posts on Chris' blog.......

the Wednesday Hero post for Oct. 7 was Sgt. Michael Egan

and the Wednesday Hero post for Oct. 14 was Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp

Had a good experience at the V.A. Hospital...

as much as it's possible to Have a good experience when your loved one suddenly has major, unexpected surgery.





The cardiothoracic team that operated on my husband were all wonderful.


All of his nurses, in both ICU and the unit he moved to afterwards, were excellent.





and, the hospital's Voluntary Service's department also provided me with a room to stay in there at the hospital, for the 9 days we were there.which helped out a great deal.





Because we spent so many days up there, I spoke with some of the folks in Voluntary Services several times. and I'd like to pass on that they do accept donations.......so, if you were interested in what they might need? here is some of the 'Wishlist' that Voluntary services gave me when I asked :





For Families


Personal care kits (including toothbrush,toothpaste, shampoo(small bottle),conditioner(small bottle),shave cream, razors, soap, deodorant, hand lotion





Phone cards





Gift certificates to area retail stores, grocery stores and restaurants





(that last would have helped out a Great deal.....as the cafeteria for families was closed on the weekend and also the Monday holiday. Fortunately, I knew an 'Angel' [as in 'Soldiers Angel'] who very nicely spent part of her Saturday afternoon not only taking me to lunch, but also taking me by a grocery store to buy items I could keep and eat in my room. buying both my husband and I some other clothing to wear [since we hadn't packed for a 9 day stay,lol], and bringing me some 'SA' T-shirts to wear......thank you, "L' :)





so, anyway, if you get the urge to donate any of the above from the Wishlist ?

the address is:





Voluntary Services 135

Veterans Affairs Medical Center

50 Irving St. NW

Washington,DC 20422


---------------

for the 'lighter side' of our recent 'adventure', you can read a bit on my family blog
here and here

Where have I been?

It's been quiet on the blog because on October 8th, my husband unexpectedly had to have triple bypass surgery......and we just got home from the hospital today,yay:)

Many,many thanks to all those who sent so much love, support and prayers!

more later....just wanted to update.

Don't forget the Soldiers Angels "SALE-ABRATION" Oct.3!

PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Across the country this weekend, Americans are uniting in support of the troops through the First Annual Soldiers’ Angels Sale-abration.

In metropolitan areas, small towns and on military bases, from Alaska to Florida and Southern California to Vermont, patriots are raising money for troop support activities through community-based yard sales.

Angel volunteers organizing each Sale will be donating a percentage of their profits to Soldiers’ Angels, helping to support deployed or wounded soldiers.

The grassroots Sales are sponsored by military support nonprofit Soldiers’ Angels, whose motto is “May No Soldier Go Unloved.” An award-winning organization with nearly 200,000 hands-on volunteers around the world, Soldiers’ Angels assists active duty, wounded, veterans, military families through over 30 separate teams and projects.

Angels participating in Sale-abration are working on two missions: raising money for the Soldiers’ Angels Holidays for Heroes and Project Valour-IT, and introducing their neighbors to the variety of hands-on ways they can demonstrate their support for America’s military men and women. At each Sale, customers will find blankets and 300 holiday cards on which to write greetings for the troops, and Soldiers’ Angels bracelets will go to the first 25 customers at each site.

------------------

Want to know if there will be a sale going on near you?

Click HERE to check your state .

And hey, if you Don't find one listed near you? there is going to be a 25% OFF sale at the

Soldiers Angels Store

(go HERE on the main Soldiers Angels website, to get the coupon code before ordering. The sale will run through midnight,Oct. 4th at the online Soldiers Angels store)

With over 1700 soldiers waiting for 'adoption' right now? this would be a nice time to click on the option when you're ordering to send to 'ANY Hero'.....and you can either remain anonymous, or send a note along with your order, and 'send some love' to one of our Heroes serving our country!

Wednesday Hero

This Week's Post Was Suggested By Cindy


1st Sgt. Jose San Nicolas Crisostomo
59 years old from Spanaway, Washington
August 18, 2009


Sorry for the presentation of this post, but haven't been feeling well and don't feel much like typing. You can read Sgt. Crisostomo's story 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.

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

A (very) brief 'surf' of the web for news by, and about,

Soldiers Angels


With Twitter, and so many social network sites like Facebook out there now,
and of course the Soldiers Angels Blogwire

there are so many ways for you to get news and keep up-to-date about what's going on with
Soldiers Angels

that I'm not really sure there's a need for me to keep posting "Soldiers Angels Web Surfing" any longer?

I've been posting a review of news by and about Soldiers Angels since
May 7, 2007 (on the original incarnation of this blog)

It started out as a (usually) weekly post, and over the years has dwindled due to time constraints and the emergence of sites like Twitter, to basically just a monthly round-up of posts by or about Soldiers Angels that I don't see elsewhere, or just want to highlight.

Kind of hate to give up on it totally,though, since it is kind of 'my baby':)

So I'll keep mulling it over:) and move on to passing on the links I wanted to share with you in today's 'web surf'.........

What do your letters and packages mean to the deployed?

From SororitySoldier back in early September Gratitude

and on Soldiers Angels Network wow!(UNCLASSIFIED)


what were Angels doing in September?

Among other things, they were traveling
Soldiers Angels Texas California Here We Come

and volunteering with wounded warriors and their families

Soldiers Angels-Wounded Warrior Support What a Weekend!
(UPDATE: Soldiers Angels Germany's story HERE led me to the rest of the story on
SA:Wounded Warrior Support HERE )




Soldiers Angels Washington Angels & Warriors-A Great Day!


What's coming up in October?

Oct.3, the Sale-abration-National Yard Sale

Oct. 10, the "largest military baby shower" in Las Vegas

Oct. 26, the Soldiers Angels Day of the Deployed (from Soldiers Angels Kansas)

and I believe Oct. 26th will also be the kick-off for the Project Valour-IT fundraising competition


That's the 'surf'!

Go,MP's! 2009 Warfighter Competition

Let's just say I know someone who participated in this:)

An article in the Ft. Leonard Wood newspaper that describes the competition

MPs gear up for regimental week: Warfighter competition continues by Kerstin Mitchell


JP over at Milblogging.com posted about a civilian blogger who is blogging about her experience at Ft. Leonard Wood...........on her blog called Civilian Standpoint Tessa Long also had a post about the Warfighter Challenge..... Warfighter which was pretty cool to come across, considering we were quite interested in hearing about this!


The Guidon at Ft. Leonard Wood had this article up today as a wrap- up
2009 Warfighter Challenges Military Police by Kerstin Mitchell

and the Ft. Leonard Wood Facebook page had a photo album with pics from the event
2009 Warfighter Challenge

(those of you who know him will recognize one of the MP's in one of the pics! pretty cool,huh?)

This sounds like a pretty grueling and challenging event......congratulations, both to the winners, and to ALL who participated in this!
Go, Army MP's!

Sunday,September 27th-Gold Star Mother's Day

September 27, 2009, is Gold Star Mother's Day.

Every year the fourth Sunday of September is for honoring mothers whose sons or daughters died in the line of duty. The name references the single gold star on service flags displayed in the windows of homes that have lost a son or daughter to war.

Mothers of fallen servicemembers began calling themselves “Gold Star Mothers” during the First World War, but the sorrowful bond they share reaches back to every woman who has lost a son or daughter in uniform since our nation’s revolution. The United States began observing Gold Star Mothers Day on the last Sunday of September in 1936.

The Presidential Proclamation for this year's Gold Star Mother's Day is HERE

From the Army.mil website Gold Star Mothers

From the American Gold Star Mother's,Inc. website Gold Star Mothers Sunday

Please keep the Gold Star Mothers, and Families, of our nation in your hearts and prayers, not only on this day......but every day.

Wednesday Hero

Lt. John Madea


Lt. John Madea holds his daughter as she is baptized with holy water from the ship's bell of the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46). This is the fourth person baptized aboard Tortuga since the ship's christening in 1988, and her name will be inscribed inside the bell as a tradition of the U.S. Navy.

Photo Courtesy U.S. Navy
Taken By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Geronimo Aquino

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.

Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti-Medal of Honor Recipient

You can read more about this here

http://downloads.army.mil/medalofhonor/monti/