Wreaths Across America: Holiday Tradition Honors Veterans

2012 Christmas ideas: For the Veteran on Your Christmas List

This video montage honoring our troops features Country music star Trace Adkins and the West Point Glee Club add their vocals and the respective military branches,' provided photo services as did other talented photographers who captured so much emotion in a single frame.   If you are moved by this video, PLEASE SUPPORT the Wounded Warrior Project with a Christmas contribution in the name of the veteran on your Christmas list.

With Eternal Gratitude on Veterans Day

Veterans Day is the day that all Americans to honor our veterans, but for those veterans reading this we want you, too, to know that we truly appreciate your service and sacrifice and admire your courage every day of the year.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, an armistice ( temporary cessation of hostilities), was declared between the Allied nations and Germany in the First World War, then known as "the Great War."  Commemorated as Armistice Day beginning the following year, November 11th became a legal federal holiday in the United States in 1938. In the aftermath of World War II and the Korean War, Armistice Day became Veterans Day, a holiday dedicated to American veterans of all wars.

On this Veterans Day, we want to share this outstanding video featuring clips from inspiring speeches from FDR, JFK and Ronald Reagan, as well as several iconic war photos.

Today especially, would be a perfect time to make a donation to Wounded Warrioror Project or Fischer House

Video of the Day: Honor Flight - Official Trailer 2

KLEENEX ALERT!

Freethink Media presents "Honor Flight" 

Freethink Media presents "Honor Flight"—a  film about four living World War II veterans and a Midwest community coming together to give them the trip of a lifetime.  Volunteers race against the clock to fly thousands of WWII veterans to Washington, DC to see the memorial constructed for them in 2005, nearly 60 years after the War.   My wife and I were privileged to attend the premier of this film at Miller Park this past summer summer and it It was an experience of a lifetime.  The attendace set a Guiness World Record.  

Shameless bragging: My nephew Matt and I had the honor to meet an shake hands with Congressional Medal Of Honor Recipient Gary Wetzel of South Milwaukee.

met snd shook hands with South Milwaukee's  My wife and I were priviledged to attend the premere at Miller Park. 

>>Read more about “Honor Flight”

RELATED READING

• The Greatest Generation  by Tom Brokaw

Field of Honor: A Salute to the Greatest Generation

A Salute to the Greatest Generation is this Saturday at Miller Park. Here is  what we wrote about this great event in last April.

In cooperation with the stockholders of We Energies, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Presents

Please mark your calendar to attend this extraordinary event at Miller Park on August 11, 2012.

>>Here is a list of the outstanding sponsors of this once-in-a-generation event.

One Every 90 Seconds...

Please consider a donation to Honor Flight

The Old Guard, a day in the Life: Drill Team Rehearsal

This is part two of our six part Memorial Day week series entitled: “The Old Guard, a day in the life.”   From practicing rifle maneuvers to guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier, to working burial details at Arlington National Cemetery the 3rd US infantry is the oldest active Infantry Regiment in United States Army and was created in 1784. This is a must watch especially this week for anyone who wants to see what professionalism and dedication and honor really mean.

We hope you’ll join us for the entire series and come away with a greater respect for the men and women in the United Stated Military today and those who we remember honor and celebrate every Memorial Day.  Please watch.

Closer to Home: Remembering the US Marines of the Battle of Tarawa

As Memorial Day approaches FIJ wishes to honor the Fathers of two long-time readers for their service to our Country in WWII.  One Father fought in the horrendous Pacific Battle of Tarawa.

We also wish to honor another long-time reader's Father who served aboard the USS Pope and participated in the capture of German U-505.

 From the video’s description:

On June 4, 1944, an American anti-submarine squadron accomplished an incredible feat, capturing the German U-boat U-505 and all hands. This film celebrates the achievement and explains how it happened. It certainly wasn't a fluke. Commander Daniel Gallery, of the USS Guadalcanal, was convinced he could surface and capture an enemy submarine, and he drilled his crews in the art of boarding. When the aircraft carrier USS Guadalcanal (CVE-60) and its destroyer escorts, USS Pillsbury (DE-133), USS Pope (DE-134), USS Flaherty (DE-135), USS Chatelain (DE-149) and USS Jenks (DE-665), got a contact, they worked in close concert to achieve the capture. German submarine commander Herald Lange and his crew were neatly captured, and their boat towed to Bermuda. Today this Type IXC U-boat rests in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, a nice war prize delivered in style by the U.S. Navy.

Now it Can Be Told: U-505 Capture - Part 2

The Old Guard, a day in the Life: Never Falter

“…It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

—President Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, November 19, 1863.  

Today we begin a six part Memorial Day week series entitled: “The Old Guard, a day in the life.”   From practicing rifle maneuvers to guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier, to working burial details at Arlington National Cemetery the 3rd US infantry is the oldest active Infantry Regiment in United States Army and was created in 1784. This is a must watch especially this week for anyone who wants to see what professionalism and dedication and honor really mean.

We hope you’ll join us for the entire series and come away with a greater respect for the men and women in the United Stated Military today and those who we remember, honor and celebrate every Memorial Day.  Please watch.

Speaking of "Victory Laps"

Before Conservatives and Republicans get too"outraged” over the president’s so-called victory lap on the first anniversary of SEAL Team 6 killing Osama bin Laden, and Obama’s secret visit to Afghanistan the other day.  Let’s all try to keep this in perspective.   

Of course this visit had political overtones--Obama is a politician.  This is what politicians do.  Besides,  visiting troops in a war zone is what the Commander-in-Chief should do as often as possible.  It's called boosting troop moral.  We have a strong suspicion based on the faces of most of the looks on the soldiers' faces,  that the majority of our troops really appreciated the president’s visit, well, maybe not so much for the soldier with the president's elbow and armpit in his face.

Click to read more ...

"The PROTESTER”: Time Magazine’s Person of the Year

"I wanted to die right then. I hear a voice yelling, 'Lieutenant ... Lieutenant ... oh my God ... I think the lieutenant is dead. ...' I remember being drug and put into a vehicle. ... I was screaming the whole time ... but with most of my face blown off and my mouth destroyed ... it came out as this ghostlike hollow sound ... not even human. The next thing I remember was waking up weeks later at Walter Reed Army Hospital in D.C."

--Lieutenant D.J. Skelton

You likely know by now that the last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday.

The un-declared war cost nearly 4,500 American lives and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives and almost $1 trillion ($800 billion) from the U.S. Treasury.

With this in mind, from our point of view Time Magazine has its priorities all wrong with its choice of “The Protestor,” for its 2011 Person of the year. 

Our Person of the Year is the American soldier—especially as the last U.S. soldiers left Iraq—who through their service and sacrifice to this country for 236 years have defended and protected the rights of “The Protestor" to protest.

Roy Exum a so-called “grassroots contributor" to THE PATRIOT POST has a similar point of view in his commentary piece entitled: My 2011 Man of the Year (MUST READ). And although our troops have left the battlefields of Iraq, many will face another, potentially lifelong, battle here at home .  ABC’s Christiane Amanpour interviewed Army General Peter Chiarelli about the devastating “invisible wounds and scars” of war facing our returning troops and their families.

RELATED STORIES

• Capt. D.J. Skelton, the Army's Most Seriously Wounded Commander, Returns to Combat
• NC Soldier, 23, Was Last US Troop Killed in Iraq
• VA claims backlog approaches 1 million mark
• VA hopes to eliminate backlog in benefits claims by end of 2015
• Legion: 'Treat the root' of VA claims backlog
• Support Our Wounded Warriors This Christmas

"... with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service..."

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

 —November 1919, President Wilson proclaiming November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. Read more…

 

 

On this very important holiday we are presenting interviews with three veterans of WWII. WWII veterans are passing away at a rate of nearly 1000 everyday.

 

To honor the Greatest Generation we are presenting the stories of three WWII veterans including the experiences of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient (CMOH) Walter Ehlers’ at Normandy, France on D-Day, June 6, 1944, where Ehlers led his unit through the beach at Normandy and eight miles inland, where they destroyed several machine-gun nests and severely weakened the German defenses...

 

Follows is Walter Ehlers’ CMOH Citation:

 

 EHLERS, WALTER D.

 

 Rank and organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, 18th Infantry, 1st Infantry Division. Place and dare: Near Goville, France, 9-10 June 1944. Entered service at: Manhattan, Kans. Birth: Junction City, Kans. G.O. No.: 91, 19 December 1944. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty on 9-10 June 1944, near Goville, France. S/Sgt. Ehlers, always acting as the spearhead of the attack, repeatedly led his men against heavily defended enemy strong points exposing himself to deadly hostile fire whenever the situation required heroic and courageous leadership. Without waiting for an order, S/Sgt. Ehlers, far ahead of his men, led his squad against a strongly defended enemy strong point, personally killing 4 of an enemy patrol who attacked him en route. Then crawling forward under withering machinegun fire, he pounced upon the gun crew and put it out of action. Turning his attention to 2 mortars protected by the crossfire of 2 machineguns, S/Sgt. Ehlers led his men through this hail of bullets to kill or put to flight the enemy of the mortar section, killing 3 men himself. After mopping up the mortar positions, he again advanced on a machinegun, his progress effectively covered by his squad. When he was almost on top of the gun he leaped to his feet and, although greatly outnumbered, he knocked out the position single-handed. The next day, having advanced deep into enemy territory, the platoon of which S/Sgt. Ehlers was a member, finding itself in an untenable position as the enemy brought increased mortar, machinegun, and small arms fire to bear on it, was ordered to withdraw. S/Sgt. Ehlers, after his squad had covered the withdrawal of the remainder of the platoon, stood up and by continuous fire at the semicircle of enemy placements, diverted the bulk of the heavy hostile fire on himself, thus permitting the members of his own squad to withdraw. At this point, though wounded himself, he carried his wounded automatic rifleman to safety and then returned fearlessly over the shell-swept field to retrieve the automatic rifle which he was unable to carry previously. After having his wound treated, he refused to be evacuated, and returned to lead his squad. The intrepid leadership, indomitable courage, and fearless aggressiveness displayed by S/Sgt. Ehlers in the face of overwhelming enemy forces serve as an inspiration to others.

To view this entire interview click here.

Click to read more ...

Looking for Something to do with your Family this Saturday?

The National WWII Museum notes that according to statistics released by the Veteran’s Administration, our World War II vets are dying at a rate of 740 per day. This means there are approximately only 1.7 million veterans remaining of the 16 million who served our nation in World War II.

Milwaukee’s 48th Annual Veterans Day Parade and Day of Honor steps off at 11:00 AM in downtown Milwaukee on Saturday, November 5. Click here for the parade route map. As in years past, The Veteran's Day Parade of Milwaukee, Inc. and Wisconsin We Care have been long term partners in supporting our troops and honoring our veterans. We have now merged into one organization under the name Honor Our Military, Inc. we will continue to provide the same services we have in the past and hope to improve those services in the future.

RELATED

• SUPPORT STARS AND STRIPES HONOR FLIGHT: TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE
• Friday, November 11, Veterans Day Program, Veterans Memorial near the Franklin Public Library, 11:00 AM followed by refreshments.  In the event of inclement weather the program will move indoors.

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