Dawn Patrol Memorial Day Special

Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and other sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.

IRAQ

Don't Let The Memory Of Them Drift Away -- [IraqWarHeroes.org / AfghanistanWarheroes.org]
Last Update May 26, 2008. 4653 USA Names
Dedicated to our deceased Heroes that have served in Iraq & Afghanistan
If you have photos, statements, tribute pages for any of these heroes that will help others remember them, Please Email me.
I prefer Large photos. Many of the small photos on this website are links to larger photos. Thanks.
I'm a 1 person operation. Due to the amount of missions I've been on lately, I'm far behind on emails

MAJ GEN Hertling: Support the Troops with More than Just Your Words this Memorial Day

Everyone says they support the troops, but America is at war; Americans are at the mall. MAJ GEN Mark Hertling, commander of Multi-National Divison North in Iraq, described it on CNN’s Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer saying soldiers often feel like we are an Army at war, not a nation at war.

"Mike" -- [Greyhawk]
Life is hard when you lose a child; you have children and you think of them burying you and not the other way around. But war brings a nw perspective to the parent child relationship, for the parent is put in a position that they are unable to fulfill a basic parental

Mike Stokely Slide Show

Medal of Honor Citations: Vietnam War and Iraqi Conflict -- [Medal of Honor Recipients]
A complete and official catalog of the 242 United States Medal of Honor Citations issued during the Vietnam War.

Bush Confers Highest Military Decoration on Fallen Navy SEAL -- [Navy News]
President Bush posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor April 8 to Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor, a Navy SEAL whose mortal sacrifice in Iraq saved the lives of two fellow SEALs and several Iraqi soldiers.
...Monsoor, a 25 year-old machine gunner with SEAL Team 3, was providing security at a sniper lookout post on Sept. 29, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq, when a fragmentation grenade hit his chest and bounced to the floor. Positioned next to the single exit, only Monsoor could have escaped harm.
Instead, he threw himself onto the grenade. Monsoor used his body to absorb the blast and shield two nearby SEALs. The SEALs and eight Iraqi soldiers survived, some with wounds, others unscathed. Monsoor died a half hour later.

Michael Monsoor awarded the Medal of Honor

Parents dedicate Marine's Medal of Honor to all service members
he Medal of Honor awarded Jan. 11 at a recent White House ceremony belongs to all service members, according to the parents of the man who earned the honor.
Cpl. Jason L. Dunham of Scio, N.Y., posthumously received America's highest military decoration two years and nine months after succumbing to a mortal brain injury while fighting in Iraq. He served with K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, based in Twentynine Palms, Calif.
"We're accepting this honor for Jason, but we're also accepting this in all the servicemen and women's names," said mother Debra Dunham.
On April 14, 2004, in Iraq near the Syrian border, the corporal used his helmet and his body to smother an exploding Mills Bomb let loose by a raging insurgent whom Dunham and two other Marines tried to subdue.
The explosion dazed and wounded Lance Cpl. William Hampton and Pfc. Kelly Miller. The insurgent stood up after the blast and was immediately killed by Marine small-arms fire.
After the grenade exploded under Dunham's helmet, he lay face down with a few tiny pieces of shrapnel lodged in his head. The hard, molded mesh that was his Kevlar helmet was now scattered yards around into clods and shredded fabric. Dunham never regained consciousness and died eight days later at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., with his mother and father at his bedside. He was 22.

Cpl. Jason L. Dunham

Andrew Olmstead's Final Post
"I am leaving this message for you because it appears I must leave sooner than I intended. I would have preferred to say this in person, but since I cannot, let me say it here."
G'Kar, Babylon 5
This is an entry I would have preferred not to have published, but there are limits to what we can control in life, and apparently I have passed one of those limits. And so, like G'Kar, I must say here what I would much prefer to say in person. I want to thank hilzoy for putting it up for me. It's not easy asking anyone to do something for you in the event of your death, and it is a testament to her quality that she didn't hesitate to accept the charge. As with many bloggers, I have a disgustingly large ego, and so I just couldn't bear the thought of not being able to have the last word if the need arose.

Rafael Peralta - Home of the Brave -- [Greyhawk]
Rafael Peralta was not born in America, but he died defending her.
It’s the stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa Marines who won the Medal of Honor,” said Corporal Rob Rogers, one of Peralta’s platoon mates.i
A Mexican immigrant, Peralta joined the Marines the day he received his green card. His love for America was no secret; it showed in everything he did. Even the walls of his bedroom were a testament to his patriotism. On them he had hung a picture of his boot camp graduation and replicas of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.ii
...The very day he became a legal resident, Rafael Peralta enlisted to become a United States Marine. In so doing, he joined the long, proud history of the United States Marine Corps. In all he did, it was that lineage, that long line of all the heroic Marines who had come before him, that Peralta strived to honor—especially that fateful day in Fallujah, Iraq.
...When Sergeant Peralta’s body was returned home to the States, he would receive a hero’s funeral. The event would be emotional. Indeed, the explosion from the blast had been so violent that his family members had to rely on the tattoo on his shoulder in order to properly identify him.xv On Nov. 23, 2004, Peralta, 25, was buried at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, California, following a moving funeral Mass at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
For his marine brothers, it was a time for grateful reflection and remembrance. “He saved half my fire team,” said Corporal Brannon Dyer, 27, of Blairsville, Georgia. Platoon mate Corporal Rob Rogers, 22, of Tallahassee, Florida agreed: “He’d stand up for his Marines to an insane point.”xvi

Memorial Day 2007 - [Outside the Wire]

that time -- [Learning to Live - Gold Star Wife]
It is that time of year again . . . I sort of want to just escape but don't. It really irritates me that so many businesses use this 'holiday' to promote sales. Of course I will probably take advantage since Texas is offering tax free on many energy star products (even light bulbs) this weekend. I mean what is so happy about this upcoming day. I did get an email from a store in McKinney that I am on their mass email list and at least they had a sentence it there to remind people to take a moment to remember the sacrifices our military members have made . . . first one and think I will shoot them an email back thanking them for remembering. Not sure if I will post much but I will be remembering Sean and the thousands like him especially those who I have met or our lives have crossed.

In Memory of SPC David Lee Leimbach -- [Michael Yon]
CSM Jeff Mellinger is out there still "Walking the Line." He did the longest continuous tour in Iraq that I have ever seen: about 2.5 years without a break except for normal leave. And he was seriously out in the red zone. I drove about 4,000 miles with him within Iraq checking on our servicemen and women, Walking the Line, and that was a tiny fraction of the work he did. And so he came back to the United States and is stationed in Washington D.C., but CSM Mellinger's duties have taken him back to Iraq and Afghanistan. I got an email from CSM Mellinger this morning from Afghanistan. He was remembering SPC David Lee Leimbach, the latest Great American to give his life in Afghanistan fighting dark forces that wish to do us great harm. CSM Mellinger had written a private tribute to SPC Leimbach, and I immediately asked if I may publish it so others may see. Just a few minutes ago, I spoke with CSM Mellinger on the phone. He's in Afghanistan Walking the Line right now, and says we are taking the fight to the enemy.

Sergeant Merlin German, USMC -- [NewsDay]
Sgt. Merlin German, Marine burned in Iraq, dies
More than a year after Sgt. Merlin German nearly died in a roadside bombing in Iraq, his hands burned into nubs and his body in a wheelchair, he resolved to walk into his San Antonio church on his own two feet.
His mother, Lourdes German, who had been "his hands and feet" since that day in February 2005, worried but knew it would be so. "Everything he did, he did himself," Lourdes German, 54, said. "That parish was just overjoyed. The pastor even stopped preaching to welcome Merlin."
Her vigil over her son ended April 11, when German, 22, died unexpectedly in San Antonio after a surgery to graft skin onto his lip. "Even with pain in my heart, I have to keep putting one foot in front of the other," she said.
German, a Marine who grew up in Washington Heights, had become a guiding light to the rest of the service members in the burn unit at the Brooke Army Medical Center, where he spent 17 months as an inpatient and underwent more than 100 surgeries, his family said.

Body of U.S. Marine returned to Liberty -- [Beaumont Enterprise]
Burris died Oct. 8 in the Al Anbar province in Iraq near the Syrian border.
A roadside bomb detonated under a patrol vehicle he was driving. He survived the blast and pulled two other Marines out. He had gone back to the vehicle to get their equipment when a second bomb went off, killing him.
He was 22.
Burris is the 10th area service member to die in the war in Iraq.

Update] Memorial Day 2008 -- [A Soldier's Perspective]
Update: I wanted to add a few things to this post since it has to do with something LTG Caldwell wrote on his blog. Please check out his tribute to CPL Jeremy Allbaugh and also this video tribute to him.
I was going to write an awesome Memorial Day post when I received the following from LTG William B. Caldwell, Commanding General of the Combined Arms Center, Ft. Leavenworth. (of which, I'm not a member by the way):

Jeremy Burris' Blog
MySpace.com - Jeremy - 23 - Male - LIBERTY, US - www.myspace.com ...
his name Jeremy Burris he died a week ago in iraq he was a marine that was not only ... Jeremy Wade Burris, you're my best friend, you're my brother.

Moment of Valor - Spc. Ross McGinnis

December 4, 2006, Spc. Ross A. McGinnis' vehicle was attacked by an insurgent who threw a grenade in the hatch. Spc. McGinnis jumped on the grenade in the cockpit to save his comrades. For his selfless act, he was awarded the Silver Star, and was nominated for the Medal of Honor.

Operation Puppy Love - Bringing DJ Home -- [BlackFive]
First up is Staff Sergeant Christopher Moore who was born 14 June 1978 and raised in Bakersfield, California...Next is Sergeant Jean Medlin was born 26 July 1979 in Alabama...Third is SPC David Behrle who was born 06 March 1987 and raised in Tipton, Iowa...This is Specialist Joseph Gilmore who was born 8th of August 1980 in Plant City, Florida...Say hello to PFC Travis Haslip who was born on 21 March 1987 in Pontiac Michigan, and raised in Tennessee...PFC Alexander Varela was born 29 January 1988 and raised in California.
To know more about the character of the men in the squad, you should know about one of their patrols in Ameriyah, Iraq. From an official report:
An Iraqi man, Mohammed, was running towards the American patrol holding a small bloody child in his arms. A 7.62 round had fallen out of the sky and struck her right temple. The round had passed along the side of her face and buried itself in her neck. She was blue and her eyes were cloudy.
Without any hesitation the soldiers of First Platoon rushed Mohammed, his wife, and the toddler’s grandmother into the back of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle.
While on the base, the soldiers had trained a dog to help with protection of the base. The dog had puppies and the combat soldiers couldn't help but take care of them, as well. ...A few weeks later, on May 19th, 2007, all six men were killed in Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle while on patrol.
Thousands Take Part In Matt Maupin's Funeral (Video) -- [WLWT5]
CINCINNATI -- It may not have been the largest crowd to fill Great American Ball Park, but it was likely the most heartfelt gathering in the stadium's history.

Spc. Chad Highland Memorial Day Greeting from Iraq

Major Mathew Schram's Memorial Day -- [Blackfive]
On Memorial Day, May 26th, 2003 at approximately 7:00AM, Major Mathew E. Schram was leading a resupply convoy in Western Iraq near the Syrian border. Major Schram was the Support Operations Officer for the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (out of Ft. Carson, Colorado). He had responsibility for organizing the logistical arm of the regiment - ensuring that the Cavalrymen never ran out of food, fuel or ammo.
...I was at my desk at work on Tuesday, June 3rd. The phone rang. I looked at the caller ID to see that it was a call from Ft. Leavenworth. I picked it up.
It was John, a friend of mine and Mat Schram's. We had all served together years ago and had stayed in touch. He told me to sit down. I did. He told me that Mat had been killed in Iraq.

Salute to a Memorable Marine -- [WaPo]
The turnout seemed entirely fitting for a Marine who was described -- with little apparent hyperbole -- as the toughest guy in the house. More than 1,000 mourners, from generals to civilians, packed the Naval Academy Chapel in Annapolis yesterday to honor Maj. Douglas A. Zembiec, who was killed last week outside Baghdad.
About 40 enlisted men gathered under a tree, telling stories about their former commander. Some had flown in from as far away as California, prompting one officer to observe: Your men have to follow your orders; they don't have to go to your funeral.

Major Zembiec's Funeral -- [OPFOR - Lt Col P]
Folks, you may have read about Major Doug Zembiec in the pages of Blackfive recently, with heartfelt and glowing praise from his Marines, especially his First Sergeant, now Sergeant Major Skiles, and the sniper's sniper, Sergeant Ethan Place. One of my fellow Marine field historians, Major Joe Winslow, had the chance to sit down with (then) Captain Zembiec and (then) First Sergeant Skiles in late summer 2004, when their battalion was headed out of Iraq. Today Joe attended Doug Zembiec's funeral and asked me to post this for him.

Why we fight: Because "all of humanity is our tribe" -- [Soldier's Angel Germany]
The following is a response to this post showing footage of a medevac mission carried out after members of Chosen Company, 2-503rd PIR, 173rd ABCT were ambushed in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan.
1LT Matthew C. Ferrara, SGT Jeffery S. Mersman, SPC Sean K.A. Langevin, SPC Lester G. Roque and PFC Joseph M. Lancour of Chosen Company and Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks were killed in the attack which occurred while returning to their outpost from a meeting with elders in a nearby village.
...I understand from one of Matthew's brothers that Matthew is under consideration to be awarded the Silver Star.

Woburn native killed on patrol in Iraq -- [Daily Times Chronicle]
WOBURN - Word circulating around the city last Thursday that a soldier with ties to Woburn was killed in Iraq was confirmed Friday morning by the U.S. Department of Defense.
...Word that Callahan had been killed this week while in Iraq began circulating Thursday, but a representative of U.S. Rep. Edward Markey's office said the protocol is to first inform the family and then allow a 24-hour period before making the information public.
Callahan's family is from the South End of Woburn where he leaves his mother, three brothers and two sisters.
Officials from the city's Veteran's Services office said a sister is also serving in Iraq.
Sgt. First Class Keith A. Callahan, 31, died Wednesday, Jan. 24 "of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was conducting a combat patrol south of Baghdad, Iraq," the Department of Defense release stated.

Guest Book for Sgt. 1st Class Keith A. Callahan
I spent close to 3 months with SFC Callahan in Ranger School. It had to have been one of the most difficult times in our lives, but I can tell you that SFC Callahan always kept us smiling and motivated. He was a tremendous leader and good friend. I still think we were the coldest two Rangers in the class even if we were the "Boys from Boston".

Army Specialist Casey Sheehan - Someone You Should -- [BlackFive]
...He enlisted in the Army when he was twenty years old. He decided to be a mechanic. He would undergo Combat Lifesaver training - a class on how to give IVs and treat trauma only second in intense learning to combat medic training. He was also certified to assist with giving communion to soldiers while in the field.
Specialist Sheehan re-enlisted in the Army in 2004 knowing full well that he could be sent into a combat zone.
...Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment were ambushed with RPGs and pinned down and dying.
Casey Sheehan's Sergeant asked for volunteers. Sheehan had just returned from Mass. After Sheehan volunteered once, the Sergeant asked Sheehan again if he wanted to go on the mission. According to many reports (and according to his own mother), Casey responded, "Where my Chief goes, I go."

AFGHANISTAN

Sergeant First Class Paul Ray Smith
Sgt. 1st Class Paul Ray Smith will receive the Medal of Honor posthumously during a White House ceremony April 4, 2005.
...In January 2003, Sgt. 1st Class Smith returned from leave to prepare his men for rapid deployment to Kuwait as part of the 3rd Infantry's Divisions buildup for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Smith took a strict approach to training his men, ensuring that his platoon was proficient in handling weapons and prepared for urban combat.
Bravo Company crossed the border on March 19th and traveled more than 300 kilometers in the first 48 hours of the war as part of the lead company in support of Task Force 2-7 Infantry. Passing through
the Karbala Gap, Smith and his men pushed through the night of of April 3, 2003, towards Baghdad Airport where Bravo Company, 11th Engineer Battalion of Task Force 2-7 were involved in a firefight with Iraqi forces. Sgt. 1st Class Smith's heroic actions and tragic death are described in more detail in the battlescape section of this website and in his Medal of Honor Citation.

Sgt. Smith Medal of Honor

This is the true story of Sgt. Paul Smith, and his actions that earned him the Medal of Honor in Iraq.

Female medic, 19, earns Silver Star in Afghan war -- [USAToday]
Army Spc. Monica Lin Brown saved the lives of fellow soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of Humvees in the eastern Paktia province in April 2007, the military said.
After the explosion, which wounded five soldiers in her unit, Brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to shield wounded comrades as mortars fell less than 100 yards away, the military said.

Travis Wayne Nixon - Silver Star
A son of Pine City died Saturday while serving in Afghanistan. Those who
knew him say he died because he gave more than was asked of him — the ideal that defined his life. Staff sergeant Travis Wayne Nixon, 24, was nearing the end of his third overseas deployment with the United States Army when an enemy ambush surprised his squad while on patrol near Lwara on the Pakistani border. “My understanding is that he was squad leader; he died making sure his squad got to safety in an ambush,” said Frank Watson, Nixon’s high school football coach and teacher. “I was not surprised Travis would do that. If his job was to lead his men, he would lead his men the best way he knew how.” He said he believed that when she got the call telling her that her son was the 23rd, or whatever number, American fatality in Afghanistan this year, she responded, “He’s not going to be a number.” Watson said, “That wasn’t (a number) that was killed. That was Travis
Nixon, and he was one of ours. “He was more than a number.” n A memorial service is scheduled to remember Travis Nixon on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Kenova Grange in Pine City. Also on Sunday, there will be a military service in Raleigh, N.C., where Nixon will receive the Bronze Star and Purple Heart medals posthumously.

Photo presentation honoring the first fifty Oregonians to die while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan accompanied by Jeff Buckley's magnificent rendition of Hallelujah.

Lt. Michael P. Murphy Awarded The Medal Of Honor -- [Flopping Aces]
I’ve written multiple posts on the heroism of these Navy Seal’s (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and Part 8) and now one of these brave men is being honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor:

Lt. Michael P. Murphy

Navy Cross Citation for Danny P. Dietz -- [Home of Heroes]
Danny P. Dietz Gunner's Mate Second Class, United States Navy. For Services as Set Forth in the Following. Citation: For extraordinary heroism in actions ...

Navy Cross Citation for Matthew G. Axelson -- [Home of Heroes]
Matthew G. Axelson Sonar Technician Second Class, United States Navy ... Petty Officer Axelson demonstrated extraordinary heroism in the face of grave danger in the vicinity of Asadabad, Konar Province, Afghanistan

Green Berets Recount Deadly Taliban Ambush -- [CBS News]
It took an hour and a half for O'Connor to reach Fuerst and Binney. From a rooftop, Master Sergeant Thom Maholic was single-handedly holding down a group of advancing Taliban who were threatening the rescue operation.
"They were coming to take that compound that Thom was holding. And he would stop them by killing them or wounding them. And eventually they gave up their assault," Ford explains.
"Did Thom make it possible for you to get out?" Logan asks O'Connor.
"Absolutely," he replies.

To Live with Honor - [NRO - Joseph Morrison Skelly]
Mike Spann and the meaning of Memorial Day.
My son died with honor.”
These words struck this writer like a bolt from the blue. Captured by a television news crew, they were spoken with quiet dignity by Johnny Spann to reporters at the front gate of his home in Winfield, Alabama, upon learning of the death of his son, Johnny Mike Spann, the first American to die on a foreign field of battle in the War on Islamic Terror. Mike, as he was known to his friends and family, was killed on November 25, 2001, during a combined al-Qaeda–Taliban uprising at a temporary prison in Qala-i Jangi, not far from the town of Mazar-e Sharif in Northern Afghanistan. He was 32 years old. He is survived by his wife, Shannon, and three young children.

Jason Cunningham awarded the Air Force Cross
13 September 2002 at Kirtland AFB, NM
Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, a pararescueman who lost his life in Afghanistan while saving 10 lives and making it possible for seven others who were killed to come home, was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross here Sept. 13.
The Air Force Cross is awarded for extraordinary heroism while engaged in action against an enemy of our nation. It is second only to the Medal of Honor.
"We gather to salute his bravery and to reward his heroism," said Secretary of the Air Force Dr. James Roche. "We gather to pay tribute to an airman who, on the field of battle, not only gave his life serving his nation, but also gave his life serving his fellow Americans."

Army Staff Sgt. Robert James Miller -- [North Shore Journal]
iller found himself willingly leading a team of Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition soldiers Jan. 25 during a combat reconnaissance patrol in Kunar Province near the Pakistan border. Insurgents hiding in a structure attacked Miller’s team. A fellow teammate called for close-air support to drop ordnance on the insurgent position, disrupting their attack. When the combined patrol moved toward the structure to check for any remaining enemy threats, insurgents again fired using heavy weapons.
Miller’s team captain was seriously wounded within the first minutes of the attack. While his commander was moved to safety, Miller returned fire. At great personal risk to himself, Miller remained at the front of the patrol and continued to lay down suppressive fire on multiple insurgent positions, allowing his wounded commander to be pulled out of the line of fire, ultimately saving his life. Miller’s personal courage under intense enemy fire enabled the entire patrol to gain cover and return fire. Even while injured by direct enemy small-arms and machine gun fire, Miller continued to employ his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon and grenades to suppress enemy fire and protect his teammates.

‘We pledge allegiance’: 44 service members earn U.S. citizenship on Memorial Day -- [Castle Argghhh!]
Welcome, Americans!
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan (May 26, 2008) – The poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty beckons “Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free,” but on this Memorial Day, quite the opposite was true as 44 members of the U.S. military marched forward to become America’s newest citizens.

WAR ON TERROR /TERRORISM

USS Cole Remembrance Ceremony
Sailors from the USS Cole (DDG 67) pay their respects to recently buried Cole crew members at
Arlington National Cemetery on Nov. 11, 2000. Cole sailors were invited to take part in Veterans
Day receptions and ceremonies at the White House and Arlington Cemetery. The Arleigh Burke
class destroyer was the target of a suspected terrorist attack in the port of Aden, Yemen, on October
12, 2000, during a scheduled refueling. The attack killed 17 crew members and injured 39 others.

SUPPORTING THE TROOPS...OR NOT

Soldiers' Angels Needs You to Adopt a Hero -- [Soldiers' Angels]
Soldiers' Angels is reaching out to America to let them know that their volunteer services are much needed to provide comfort, support and hope to the American service members that rely on the reputation that Soldiers' Angels has built regarding the mission of the organization. "May no soldier go unloved. May no soldier walk alone. May no soldier be forgotten. Until they all come home."
"As more troops deploy, some on their 3rd and 4th tour in the Global War on Terror, Soldiers' Angels mission becomes even more critical. Soldiers' Angels has never let our troops down, but now, more than ever, we need help from Americans like you.", says founder Patti Patton-Bader.

What Soldiers' Angels means to me -- [Soldiers Angels Network]
You know, you hear it all the time from various inspirational stories printed online or emailed around via chain letters and such — "one person can make a difference." I can honestly say that I never FULLY believed that until I joined Soldiers' Angels. I can honestly say that this is the most rewarding and humbling experience. I'm constantly wow'ed by the awesome men and women in our military that I've spoken to and corresponded with over the past year.

This Memorial Day honor a loved one with a gift in support of our troops and get a Free 3'x5' American Flag -- [USO]
On patrol at the Front: it’s lonely... desolate... and still far too dangerous for our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. They continue to risk their lives in defending all that we stand for. So, at the USO, we have a mission...
To deliver a welcome “touch of home” to these courageous men and women and show them they have not been forgotten.
Without your support, our mission may fail, so please be as generous as you can. And as a special thank you, we'll send you a free 3'x5' American Flag to hang proudly this Memorial Day.

Memorial Day Video: Baseball Hero Saves American Flag -- [NewsBusters]
One of the greatest plays in Major League Baseball history occurred on April 25, 1976, when Chicago Cubs centerfielder Rick Monday stole the flag from a couple of anti-American wackos looking to set fire to her in front of a huge crowd at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles:

NOT!
The Sunburn Song (WARNING for Memorial Day)

I went to the beach for memorial day
cause memorial day is the time for beach play (yah-uh-ya).
got a towel, got a bucket, got a spot in the sand.
don't ...
Editor's Note: This a perfect example of what Memorial day is NOT about.

MILITARY PAST

The Medal of Honor -- [americal.org]
The Medal of Honor is the highest medal awarded by the United States. It has only been awarded 3428 times in the nation's history.

Local Pearl Harbor veterans recall day of infamy -- [Army News]
Sixty-five years ago today, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, creating a defining moment that would go down in history as the event that caused America to ..

Memorial Complete Casualty List - Pearl Harbor

Memorial Day Parade Wantagh NY 2008

Capt. Ryan Beaupre
The letter read in this song is an excerpt from the actual letter written by Capt. Ryan Beaupre to his family before he was killed in action on March 21, 2003 in Kuwait.

PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS! THANK YOU! For all the family members of Fallen Heroes, BASEFORCE wants you to know we are eternally grateful for your soldier's sacrifice. May God bless the troops and their families.

Interview: Woody Keeble, a hero of two wars -- [indianz.com]
Dorreen Yellow Bird of The Grand Forks Herald interviews Russell Hawkins about his late stepfather, Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Keeble, the most decorated soldier in North Dakota history.
Keeble, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, served in World War II and the Korean War. He received the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross award.

VIEWPOINT: Are we worthy of these warriors? -- [Grand Forks Herald] HT: Shelle
...What struck me most as I visited with these heroes was not what was missing on their bodies, but what was missing in their attitude.
There was no talk of anger, regret, fear or pity. No one was overly concerned with his or her personal situation; they knew instinctively that they would be OK somehow.
What concerned them the most were buddies and units left behind. They worried that they could no longer help, or that their units were now short another crucial team member. Over and over I heard the same question: “How soon can I go back?”
I often had to ask myself, “Where/how do we build these heroes?” I also asked myself many times, “Am I worthy?”
I wore a uniform proudly for 30 years. As a woman, I could never fight on the front lines. No one in my family or even a close friend ever died as a result of war. Was I really worthy to count myself as one of them?
I finally understand the answer to that question.

Missing -- [Jules Crittenden]
GQ with a haunting tale of searching, finding and the pain that lasts decades in the story of Jimmy Doyle and his B-24 crewmen, missing for more than 60 years. Also, about the strange things the pain makes people do.
Jimmy Doyle left a son, who was told his father had abandoned him and only as an old man learned the truth, that he gave everything. The absent of our time, lost in service, include hundreds of thousands upon hundreds of thousands of missing fathers, uncles, brothers, sons, and now wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and a nod today to my own absent uncle, lost in flying battle over Belgium, night of Oct. 20-21, 1941, with the crew of Wellington IV Z1218.

Why Didn't We Listen to Their War Stories? -- [WaPo]
The last known surviving U.S. veteran of what was once called the Great War, Cpl. Frank Buckles of Charles Town, W.Va., recently toured the World War I memorial in Washington. Accompanied by his daughter and an aide, the wheelchair-bound 107-year-old rolled around the small, temple-like structure, stopping occasionally to acknowledge the applause of the small crowd that had gathered to watch. He did not comment upon the memorial's unkempt appearance -- it has been neglected for three decades -- but noticed that it honored only veterans from the city. "I can read here," he said in a soft, barely audible mumble, "that it was started to include the names of those who were local."
No one, apparently, had told him that the United States has no national World War I memorial. Buckles later modestly accepted tributes from President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates at ceremonies at the White House and the Pentagon, asking only that all of the recently deceased U.S. veterans of World War I be honored alongside him.

A Tribute to The Fallen.

in Memory of the Men who lost their lives in Mogadishu, Somalia. 14 years ago today in Operation Gothic Serpent.

"I am going to die well" -- [Greyhawk]
Note: This salute to those who fell in Vietnam was originally published in November, 2005, and is re-posted today in honor of Memorial Day weekend.

Memorial 2008 - In Rembrence - [The World according to Carl]
On this Memorial Day, I’d like to quote the third stanza of “America, The Beautiful” written by Katharine Lee Bates

WELCOME HOME

Welcome Home Matt
Maupin disappeared more than four years ago, on April 9, 2004, west of Baghdad, when insurgents attacked his convoy using rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. His remains and part of his uniform were found March 20, buried in an isolated agricultural region about 25 miles northwest of Baghdad.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment found Matt Maupin’s remains.
“I believed a long time ago that the surge was going to help find Matt, and as it turns out, it did,” Keith Maupin said. “[The soldiers] were able to go into an area and they were able to keep the peace and over time [the locals] talked to them.
“We’re so grateful that they didn’t give up on Matt and they were able to find him, because they put themselves in harm’s way to find him,” he said.
The Maupin family was told that the battalion planned to display their son’s photo on its memorial wall.
“Matt will forever be a part of the unit,” Keith Maupin said. “That was important to me, that people never forget Matt.”

The Final Mission Of The Vietnam War. ...The Welcome Home
Long Overdue National Event to Honor Vietnam Veterans
The mission of the Welcome Home Day Foundation is to acknowledge our Vietnam Veterans by finally welcoming them home in a one-time national event designed to bring our Nation together in reconciliation over this controversial conflict. This National Event will also attribute collateral recognition to the Veteran�s families for their silent, albeit, very real sacrifices.

POW MIA News - The Final Chapter
63 Years to Find His Way Home
RUMFORD, Maine -- An Army airman, killed more than 60 years ago during World War II, finally has been laid to rest in his hometown of Rumford.
Second Lt. Al Bujolds B-17 bomber was shot down over New Guinea in 1943, but it wasnt until five years ago that DNA technology allowed the Army to identify his remains, which were part of a mass grave in St. Louis.

Missing WWII Sailor is Identified
20 July, 2007 - The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

POLITICS

Bush pays tribute to troops on Memorial Day -- [AP]
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — President Bush has paid tribute to America's fighting men and women, thanking them for "countless acts of courage."
Bush traveled from the White House on a clear and sunny Memorial Day to carry out what has become an annual spring rite — a talk to military people and their families at Arlington National Cemetery, the country's foremost burial ground for war heroes.
Bush's outing came a day after he welcomed to the White House members of the Rolling Thunder motorcycling group, who gave him a cowhide vest jacket and made him an honorary member of their organization.
The president said, "It is a solemn reminder of the cost of freedom that the number of headstones in a place like this grows with every Memorial Day."

Bush Honors Fallen at Tomb of the Unknowns

Remarks By John McCain On Memorial Day -- [johnmccain.com]
RLINGTON, VA -- U.S. Senator John McCain will deliver the following remarks as prepared for delivery at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial in Albuquerque, New Mexico, today at 10:30 a.m. MDT (12:30 p.m. EDT):
Thank you. I'm always grateful for the opportunity, and pleased to be in the company of Americans who have had the burden of serving our country in distant lands, and the honor of having proved your patriotism in difficult circumstances.
I was blessed to have been born into a family who made their living at sea in defense of our security and ideals. My grandfather was a naval aviator; my father a submariner. And it was nearly pre-ordained that I would find a place in my family's profession, and that occupation would one day take me to war. Such was not the case for many of you. Your ambitions might not have led you to war; the honors you sought were not kept hidden on battlefields. Many of you were citizen-soldiers. You answered the call when it came; took up arms for your country's sake; and fought to the limit of your ability because you believed America's security was as much your responsibility as it was the professional soldier's. And when you came home, you built a better a country than the one you inherited. It's a privilege to be in your company. ...

Statement from Hillary on Memorial Day -- [hillaryclinton.com]
Memorial Day is a solemn day for every American; a day to express our profound gratitude to the men and women who have given their lives in military service. A day to join in our thoughts and prayers with the families mourning loved ones. A day to cherish the freedoms and opportunities that so many have served, sacrificed, and died to defend.
On this Memorial Day, I’m reminded of the words of a poet and a veteran named Archibald MacLeish. He served in World War I and witnessed incredible service and sacrifice. Before the close of World War II, to commemorate those who had died, he wrote of the responsibility of all of us who survive them.
In his poem entitled “The Young Dead Soldiers Do Not Speak,” he reminds us that those we have lost: “have a silence that speaks for them at night…They say: We have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done…They say: our deaths are not ours; they are yours; they will mean what you make them…They say: we leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning.”
How do we give these lives their meaning? I believe we must honor our service members by doing our best to serve the men and women who have served us. And I believe we must honor the lives we’ve lost by honoring the values for which they fought. That is our duty. And on this Memorial Day, let us recommit ourselves to fulfilling this sacred responsibility every single day. ...

Senator Obama's Statement on Memorial Day -- [obama.senate.gov]
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today issued the following statement as the nation pauses to honor the fallen and pays tribute to our service members and veterans in observance of Memorial Day:
"Today we pause as a nation to honor the fallen who gave their lives defending our security, our rights, and our liberties. We must recognize the extraordinary sacrifices of our most courageous sons and daughters not only on Memorial Day, but throughout the year."
"When I meet with soldiers, veterans, and their families, I am reminded of the deeply engrained spirit of Americans to serve others and to stand up for our values. They didn't hesitate when they were called to serve. And we must always meet our commitment to them, not just with words of praise, but with actions that support our heroes and their families."
"From Arlington National Cemetery in Washington to Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois, we recall the sacrifices of generations of our nation's heroes. As we mourn their loss and pay tribute to their bravery, I know they will always be in our memory."

Obama Excludes Military Service as Way to Serve Country in Memorial Day Weekend Commencement Speech

CNN correspondents thought it “strange” that Barack Obama’s Memorial Day commencement speech at Wesleyan University didn’t mention the military. Obama, who replaced the ailing Ted Kennedy as commencement speaker, encouraged graduates to serve, but not in the military. CNN correspondent Bill Schnider took notice:

THE MEDIA

The Ed Morrissey Show: Michael Yon replayposted at 2:00 pm on May 26, 2008 by Ed Morrissey -- [Hot Air]
Send to a Friend | printer-friendly In our third Memorial Day interview, Michael Yon talks about his experiences as an embedded independent journalist in Iraq. This is one of the best shows I think we did on Hot Air, and the hour just flew as Michael and I discussed his new book, Moment of Truth in Iraq

Twice In One Week: The White House Goes After The Media
Once again, the New York Times Editorial Board doesn't let the facts get in the way of expressing its vitriolic opinions - no matter how misleading they may be.

In today's editorial, "Mr. Bush and the GI Bill", the New York Times irresponsibly distorts President Bush's strong commitment to strengthening and expanding support for America's service members and their families.
This editorial could not be farther from the truth about the President's record of leadership on this issue. In his January 2008 State of the Union Address, while proposing a series of initiatives to support our military families, President Bush specifically called upon Congress to answer service members' request that they be able to transfer their GI Bill benefits to their spouses and children. In April, he sent a legislative package to the Hill that would expand access to childcare, create new authorities to appoint qualified spouses into civil service jobs, provide education opportunities and job training for military spouses, and allow our troops to transfer their unused education benefits to their spouses or children.

It's Memorial Day Weekend so how do the two top search engines honor this day? -- [Thunder Run]
First up - Google [pic]
Next - Yahoo! [pic]
Enough said...

My Hometown Paper's Lead Memorial Day Article Focuses on Depression, Suicide in the Military -- [NewsBusters]
Ah, Memorial Day in Ithaca, NY, a town that looks upon Berkeley, CA as suspiciously conservative. OK, perhaps not quite, but Ithaca is so liberal than in her 2006 Senate primary [bet you didn't know there even was one], Hillary lost the City of Ithaca to a [very] little-known far-lefty named Jonathan Tasini. So liberal that a certain NewsBuster lost a 1990s mayoral bid to the then incumbent, a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

HUMOR / SATIRE

Day By Day

HT: Shelle

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