Vote for this AMW All Star Finalist

Flag Gazer passes on the story
Face of Freedom:Officer Susan Portello

Officer Susan Porcello was responding to a 9-1-1 call regarding an elderly man sick at his home. After assisting him she befriended retired USMC PFC Gasper Musso and for the next six months, she along with her patrol partner provided what he needed to care for himself. He had no other family members alive and so Officer Susan Porcello and her partner took it upon themselves to have the resident honored and receive full military burial privileges upon his passing away in November 2008.In addition, she provided for his wake, the mass and final burial at her own expense. ..........

You can vote HERE until May 4th........Thanks! for voting, and feel free to pass it on!

Wednesday Hero

This Week's Post Was Suggested & Written By Mary Ann


Sgt. Kenneth G. Ross
24 years old from Tucson, Arizona
7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment
September 25, 2005


"He believed in serving his country," said Ross' father, David C. Ross. Gary Anderson, Ross' best friend and an Army infantry veteran who served nine months in Afghanistan and 11 months in Iraq during his active duty stint, was a classmate of Ross at Marana's Mountain View High School. "You know, I heard this news of Ken and I broke down and cried hysterically," said Anderson, now a firefighter for the Ak-Chin Indian Community in Maricopa. "He loved everyone; everyone who came in contact with him loved him. He'd always help everyone out that he could."

A 1999 graduate of Mountain View, Ross played drums in the marching band and orchestra, his father said. Ross enlisted in the Army right after graduation. "He just wanted to take part in history," Anderson said.

At the time of his death, he was a helicopter mechanic — acting as a door gunner on his last mission, his father said. SSgt. Ross was killed when his helicopter went down southwest of Deh Chopan, Afghanistan. Also killed in the crash were Sgt. Shawn A. Graham, Warrent Officer Adrian B. Stump, Sgt. Tane T. Baum, Chief Warrent Officer 2 John M. Flynn and Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.

Along with his father, SSgt. Ross is survived by his mother, Mary Ross, 57, and his sister, Stephanie Ross, 30. "I know his last thoughts were for everybody else and not for himself," Anderson said. "I know he wanted to make sure everybody was safe and would go home."

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.

Volunteering at the 2009 Face of America Bike Ride

My daughter and I went up to Northern Va. on Friday night and Early on Sat morning we went with a fellow Angel and good friend to hang banners at the start of the bike ride in Bethesda.MD.
Here's the link to a short video I took at the start:

Start of the 2009 FOA Bike Ride



My daughter went on to spend the day volunteering while my friend and I left to attend the Milblog conference,
and then the 3 of us plus Greta headed up to volunteer for the 2nd day of the ride on Sunday morning. This was the third year my daughter and I had volunteered, but the first time we were able to volunteer on the second day and be there at the end of the ride.

I have lots of pics, which I'll have to get around to posting later.....but, my daughter took a video of the end of the ride with all the riders coming in that I wanted to share

End of the 2009 FOA Bike Ride



This is just an amazing, amazing event to be a part of as a volunteer.......the wonderful folks who are riding that you get to meet, and the other wonderful volunteers that you also get to meet.
The gentleman who played the bagpipes (whose name I unfortunately failed to ask for) just showed up and said he wished to 'pipe the riders in'.

I'll post links to the pictures later, but wanted to share this now. Fantastic job again this year, by World Team Sports, and Soldiers Angels was one of the many sponsors, by all the volunteers......

but most of all, by all the Riders......all of y'all are Great!!!

The 2009 Milblog Conference Rocked:)

I only made it to Saturday of the 2009 Milblog Conference
and it's only the 2nd conference I've been to.....but I must say, I thought it was great. Really good panels this year, particularly the one about the Veteran's issues.

And, once again proving my 'dorkiness',lol, when I got home I discovered I'd only taken about 7 pictures, and only some of those turned out ("digital immigrant",lol...if you were there, you know what I'm talkin' about:)

I envy the people who can 'tweet','live blog' And listen at the conference all at the same time, but multi-tasking is apparently not in my personal skill set.

When I went to my first conference in 2007 (back when AOL Journals still existed) I hadn't been blogging that long, so I really didn't expect anyone to recognize either me or my little blog.

Nice to know that 2 years later,lol, I Still get someone saying to me "And where would I know You from???".....ah well, I blog for the joy of it,LOL.....darn good thing I Don't blog for massive public recognition, ain't it? :)

Anyway, that at least reminds me to thank once again all 11 of my 'followers' on blogspot, plus anyone else who happens to drop by!

I also got to spend the weekend with my great friend from View From the 8th Floor
who,like me, figured out how to be 2 places at once so that we could both attend the conference And volunteer at the Face of America bike ride (blog post about That coming later!) My weekend wouldn't have been possible without her!!! Thanks again!!


Besides the very thought-provoking panels, the other great part of the conference is getting to see folks you've talked to online and never met in person....I finally met Greta, yay!!


(and, as with almost everyone else I ran into, the tagline is ..."gee, you looked taller online!":)
seriously, it was So cool to meet Greta after cross-posting for so long on Hooah Wife and Friends

and, of course, Greta also blogs at Kiss My Gumbo (and about 3,000 other places listed here ....ok, maybe not 3,000, but I think she's doing nicely with her apparent plan to take over the blogosphere:) and does a gazillion things for Soldiers Angels , one of which is being the blog coordinator for blogging Angels.

I also got to meet my fellow JP-harasser,lol, from
Little Drops...into the Pool of Life

and give a big hug to another JP-harasser,SK.......we didn't get to spend enough time together!:(

(and of course, I also gave a big hug to JP , although it occurred to me later that possibly the reason he was running across the lobby was to get Away from me before I did? just kidding, he usually suspends the restrainining order for the conference,lol)

I also got to meet Shelle in person, and a bunch of other folks from Soldiers Angels, and managed Not to get any pictures, as usual.

I could go on and on, it was a great day, but I have laundry to do,etc, as I'll get back to the 'real world' tomorrow.

Much thanks to Andi, for putting together another great conference, and to the sponsors!! All the panels were excellent, and it was well worth the time to attend. Whether you're a 'rock star' milblogger, or just one of the 'little folks' like me? consider going to next year's conference, you won't regret it.
-------------------------------
Update: since I've now heard from both KY Woman and Lisa-in-DC, here's the pic of us together after dinner on Saturday



(That's Lisa, myself, and KY Woman L to R :)

Wednesday Hero

Operations Specialist 3rd Class Leonel Yanez


Operations Specialist 3rd Class Leonel Yanez (Right), from Huntington Park, Calif., monitors a radar screen in the Combat Direction Center aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). John C. Stennis is on a scheduled six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean.

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.

2009 Milblog Conference and Face of America Bike Ride!

Looking forward this coming weekend to attending the
2009 Milblog Conference

AND
also volunteering again at the
2009 Face of America Bike Ride

It's gonna be a GREAT weekend:)

Soldiers Angels Web Surfing

A 'surf' of the web for news by, and about,
Soldiers Angels

I'm by no means the only one 'surfing' the web for all things Soldiers Angels:) Shelle over at Wingtip 2 Wingtip has something cool posted
Soldiers Angels Daily Internet Flight


and both she and Greta post a lot of great links at Soldiers Angels Network , like this one
Detained Minors Make Cards for Soldiers Angels

and, of course, if you're looking for more Soldiers Angels news? there's always the
Soldiers Angels Blogwire at blognetnews.com/soldiersangels


But, I still like doing my little 'surf' (mostly weekly,sometimes the work schedule and life in general interfere with posting) because I come across blogs like this Angel's blog
~From The Heart~

and I can pass on the news that Soldiers Angels Washington
and Soldiers Angels Oregon are now on Facebook and Twitter:)

and while I confess that I don't 'tweet'(I know, I'm a dinosaur:) those of you who Do? may want to get in on This

That's the surf!

Wednesday Hero

Pfc. Alan R. Blohm
21 years old from Kenai, Alaska
425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
December 31, 2006


Alan R. Blohm enlisted in the Army in 2004 because "He wanted to serve the country," his brother Jeremy said. "His grandfather had been in the Army, and it's just something he wanted to do."

Blohm graduated in 2004 from Bay City Western High School, where he was a 250-pound defensive player for the football team. Blohm's size prompted coach Jim Eurick to nickname him "Biggins Blohm," his brother recalled. "I know he paid the ultimate sacrifice with his life," Mark Boileau, Blohm's former school Principal, said. "We know Alan will be in a better place because of the sacrifice he made, because of his love for our country."

PFC. Blohm died of wounds suffered when an IED detonated near his unit while on combat patrol in Baghdad Besides his brother, he leaves behind his parents and a younger sister.

Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com & The Iraq Page

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 short 'surf' of the web for news by,and about
Soldiers Angels


Soldiers Angels Louisiana posts Easter Baskets for Military Kids


Soldiers Angels-Medical Support had Soldiers Angels flag for Camp Bucca medics


May no soldier go unloved is a great post by Nostalgic Nana

(and here is the previous post she references in May no soldier go unloved, referring to "a small group of friends"...and the seven "blankets of belief" they had made.)


From Hometownlife.com comes Thurston Grad earns Eagle Scout Rank This young man, as part of his project, donated $730.00 to help fill the
Soldiers Angels First Response Backpacks

Gotta love the Boy Scouts:)


That's the surf!

Wednesday Hero

Cpl. Aaron L. Seal
23 years old from Elkhart, Indiana
6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve
October 1, 2006


With sleet gushing from gunmetal gray clouds, some 30 Marines standing in three trim lines saluted the U.S. flag that four of their brethren used to christen a new pole.

A large engraved stone set at the base of the 38-foot pole explained the occasion: "In memory of Corporal Aaron L. Seal. Who gave his life for our country. 1982-2006."

The Marines from Engineer Company B joined several dozen community residents and well-wishers at a ceremony Wednesday honoring Seal, the 23-year-old Elkhart reservist who died last fall in Iraq. Seal's family also attended the 20-minute tribute at Elkhart Community Schools' administration building adjacent to Memorial High School -- the fallen Marine's alma mater.

Read the rest of the story 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.

Visiting "The Wall That Heals"

We visited The Wall That Heals yesterday, and it was still a moving experience, although we've seen the Wall in DC several times before.

As I was walking past the smaller scale replica, I passed a Veteran who was touching a name on the Wall......and then he began speaking to his wife about the death of the fellow soldier whose name he was touching, and began to cry. Tears in my own eyes, I moved on past quietly, this was a private moment that I didn't want to intrude upon.....I looked back later to see his wife gently touching his shoulder, as he tried to pull himself together, and I said to my husband "I hope this helps him begin to heal....."

When we got home, I noticed in our local paper that one veteran had taken exception to where the Wall was placed, in this letter to the Editor
Viet Vets Forgotten Again


but we didn't get that feeling, from visiting, that it had been set up in an 'out of the way place'.....we live near where the Wall was set up, and all day long until late into the evening, we could hear traffic and motorcycles from the visitors to the Wall.

While we were there, we also saw a custom made motorcycle, which my husband took Many pictures of, as you'll see in the slideshow......someone took an enormous amount of time, getting this done, and it's breathtaking

I'm grateful to the Veterans group that worked to have this Wall brought to our town. Thank you.

March 31,2009 The Wall That Heals

Here's aslideshow of the pictures my husband took when the Wall was escorted into Harrisonburg

and here's a link to the video he took of bikers escorting the Wall to Ralph Sampson Park

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u088nmARzaY

sadly, I had injured my back at work on Tuesday morning, so couldn't go to see the Wall come in, but I'm feeling better every day, and we hope to make it over to see the Wall this weekend.

Godspeed,to a fellow nurse.

Godspeed to Jerry Avant,Jr, who died last Sunday in the nursing home shooting in NC.
From WRAL.com Nursing home 'hero' laid to rest

We who are nurses in long term care have dealt with irate family members and visitors in the course of our career, but I doubt that many of us have ever given thought to how we would react to someone coming into our facility shooting.

From what I've read? Jerry Avant, Jr. didn't hesitate, but tried to protect his patients, and lost his life in doing so.

John 15:13 "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (NIV)

Godspeed, sir, and may you rest in peace. Keeping your family and friends in my prayers,
and also the families and friends of those who were lost with you

from the Kansascitystar.com A look at the 8 nursing home shooting victims


and God bless Officer Justin Garner
Officer who ended N.C. rampage hailed as hero (from USAToday.com)

All of us last Sunday who were working when the news about the shooting first came out, went home that day asking ourselves "what would we do, if such a thing happened where we work?"

I would hope we would have the courage of a Jerry Avant,Jr. or a Justin Garner.

Wednesday Hero

Spc. Jeffrey Scantlin, Sgt. 1st Class Erich Phillips, Sgt. John Hayes, 1st Lt. Aaron Thurman, Sgt. Hector Chavez and Spc. Tyler Hanson
2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment


In the early morning hours of July 13, 2008, Soldiers from Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment were not thinking about medals as they fought off roughly 200 insurgents attacking their vehicle patrol base in Afghanistan.

No Soldier in combat does.

The Army, however, takes pause afterward to honor those who distinguish themselves in battle and recognizes them before their peers.

Read the rest of the story.

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

'Surfing' the web for news by, and about,
Soldiers Angels


Soldiers Angels Washington reports Phoenix Chili Cook Off a Great Success!
(great pics)

and there's another Cook Off coming up, Dick's Chili World reports the
1st Soldiers Angels District Cook Off coming up May 9 in Webster,MA (scroll down in the post to find the info about it)

Soldiers Angels Washington Also posts April is the Month of the Military Child


Soldiers Angels of IL is looking ahead to July, and the Save a Pet Poker Run


Soldiers Angels New York shows us some Every Day Heroes


Soldiers Angels Network posts about A very 'sweet' Angel in the news


On the California Repertory blog Cal Rep was this post Up Next: "And the War Came"
which says "Cal Rep at The Armory has partnered with Soldiers' Angels to bring donated items to the families of our troops.
Help us make a difference in their lives.
Bring a donated item to the show and enter for a chance to win a dinner for two at The Starling Diner!"

The Show runs April 24th - May 9th, 2009 and I found this, about the play
According to Lauren Morris, director of marketing for Cal Rep, the production is based on interviews with men and women serving in the Iraq war. CSULB students with Master of Fine Arts degrees and in the theatre and dramatic writing program wrote the script.
"The focus of the stories in the play is not on the Iraq war itself, but on the effects of the war on family members here at home," Morris said.
Joanne Gordon, chair of the theater department, is the play's creator and director. She was inspired to make this production due to Cal Rep's connection with the National Guard at the Armory, she said.

I'm sure you've seen that Soldiers’ Angels is partnering with the acclaimed new documentary
Brothers at War

Miss Ladybug has a very good review of it HERE

and in this story from the California Chronicle Rademacher Gets Hero's Welcome From Native Decatur for Film 'Brothers at War' Angel Gloria Spinner gets a mention:)


That's the 'surf'!
and, if you want More Soldiers Angels news anytime?
check out Soldiers Angels Blogwire at BlogNetNews!

Read a difficult, gut-wrenching, inspiring book on my day off

When Johnny Doesn't Come Marching Home
A Mother’s Story of the Price for Freedom

by Rhonda Winfield


The wife of a Marine told me about this book, and told me she could never read it...she was never able to get past the first few pages.

Rhonda Winfield is the mother of Lance Cpl. Jason C. Redifer, 19, of Stuarts Draft, Va., who was killed Jan. 31,2005, as a result of hostile action in Babil Province, Iraq. The book is his mother's account of the lives of she and her family after Jason's death, and also his life growing up right here in the Shenandoah Valley, not too far from where I live.

It's a short book, 188 pages......but it took me the entire day into the evening to read it. I could only read about a chapter at a time, and then I'd have to put the book down because I couldn't read through my tears any longer......go do some housework, or take a break, and then come back to it.

It was a book that I could NEVER have read while my stepson was deployed. I actually heard about it before Dustin came home, but couldn't bring myself to even look for the book until after he had made it home safely.

Even knowing 'our soldier' was home safe and sound, it was a tough, tough book for me to read. This woman chronicled her family actually Living the nightmare that is always in the back of your mind when you have a loved one deployed.....the thing you never let yourself think about,but it lurks just over your shoulder.


(there were also those who told me it was a book I Shouldn't read, given the fact that Dustin is still serving and could possibly be deployed again during his career......but, if this Mother had the strength and courage to lay bare she and her family's journey of pain and grief? I could at least have the courage to read her words, couldn't I?)


I read it, and it was an amazing book. yes, there's pain, and grief....but there's also hope and inspiration in it. You can't read Jason's story, and not be touched by the depth of the life he lived in only 19 years. You can't read his family's story, and not walk away with awe, at the family's strength and faith and love.

"TheWall That Heals" coming to my town

The Wall That Heals is coming to my city from April 2-5

March 25th: National Medal of Honor Day

My thanks to One Marine's View for reminding me that today is the
National Medal of Honor Day



Stars & Stripes has a Guest Column:
National Medal of Honor Day 2009 By Col. Robert Howard (U.S. Army, Retired)


Robert Howard is a Medal of Honor recipient, and you can see more about him on the Congressional Medal of Honor Society website HERE

The main page for the website is http://www.cmohs.org/


Do you know who the recent Medal of Honor recipients are for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars? If you don't, you can read a bit more about each of them on the CMOHS website:

SFC Paul R. Smith


CPL Jason L. Dunham


Lt. Michael P. Murphy


Master-at-Arms Michael A. Monsoor


PFC Ross A. McGinnis


When we went to the Pearl Harbor Memorial while we were in Hawaii in January, the ticket that I was handed for the tour had the name and picture of a Medal of Honor recipient
Frank C. Flaherty
and I found the post on the CMOHS website about him HERE

While researching a bit more about Ensign Flaherty, I discovered on the Find A Grave Memorial website that "Ensign Flaherty was among the 429 members who were entombed inside the hull(of the USS Oklahoma) until the ship was raised for salvage in 1943. The remains were recovered and buried in mass graves marked "Unknowns" at the National Memorial Center of the Pacific in Honolulu. His name is inscribed in the Courts of the Missing in that cemetery" and "a memorial headstone was placed at the Maple Hill Cemetery in his hometown of Charlotte, Michigan."

When reading about Maple Hill Cemetery while looking for the memorial headstone for Ensign Flaherty? I found yet Another Medal of Honor recipient from that very same cemetery, a Civil War Marine SGT Michael Hudson

Lastly, here's two videos I found over at Great Americans (which is another website you might find worth checking out)

Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients Part 1

Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients Part 2


There have been 3,448 Medal of Honor Recipients. Please remember and honor them, not only today, but every day.

"Freedom is not free."

Wednesday Hero

This Weeks Post Was Suggested By Elena


Chief Master Sergeant Paul Wesley Airey


"Chief Airey was an Airman’s Airman and one of the true pioneers for our service," said Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff. "He was a warrior, an innovator… and a leader with vision well ahead of his time. His legacy lives today in the truly professional enlisted force we have serving our nation… and for that we owe him a debt of gratitude."

Chief Airey was born in Quincy, Mass., on December 13, 1923. At age eighteen, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December, 7, 1941, Airey quit high school to enlist in the Army Air Forces on November 16, 1942. He later earned his high school equivalency certificate through off-duty study. During World War II he flew as a B-24 radio operator and additional duty aerial gunner. On his 28th mission, then-Technical Sergeant Airey and his fellow crewmen were shot down over Vienna, Austria, captured, and held prisoner by the German air force from July 1944 to May 1945. During his time as a prisoner of war he worked tirelessly to meet the basic needs of fellow prisoners, even through a 90-day forced march.

Chief Airey held the top enlisted from April 3, 1967 to July 31, 1969. During his tenure he worked to change loan establishments charging exorbitant rates outside the air base gates and to improve low retention during the Vietnam Conflict. Chief Airey also led a team that laid the foundation for the Weighted Airman Promotion System, a system that has stood the test of time and which is still in use today. He also advocated for an Air Force-level Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy. His vision became reality when the academy opened in 1973, becoming the capstone in the development of Air Force Senior NCOs. Chief Airey retired August 1, 1970. He continued advocating for Airmen’s rights by serving on the boards of numerous Air Force and enlisted professional military organizations throughout the years. He was a member of the Board of Trustees for the Airmen Memorial Museum, a member of the Air Force Memorial Foundation and the Air University Foundation.

On the north wall of the Air Force Memorial in Washington D.C., Chief Airey’s thoughts on Airmen are immortalized, "When I think of the enlisted force, I see dedication, determination, loyalty and valor." The Air Force Association honored Airey with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Chief Airey passed away on March 11, 2009 at his home in Panama City, Florida

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.

Godspeed, Sgt. Christopher Abeyta

JP has the story here, on Milblogging.com

Honoring a Fallen Soldier, Avid Writer and Military Blogger, Sgt. Christopher P. Abeyta

Please go read.

-----------------------
Update: A blogger from the Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team posts about the loss of Sgt. Christopher Abeyta, and also SSgt Timothy Bowles, , SPC Robert Weinger and SPC Norman Cain. A Year in the Sandbox: IED

and Blackfive posts also, with the address for sending donations in Sgt. Abeyta's memory, for the son and step-daughter of Spc. Cain. Milblogger Down