From Rogue Gunner comes a great link to a UK Telegraph article about Iraqi's posting to the Internet
Click here: Iraqis use YouTube to send up life in war zone - Telegraph
Check out the videos on the Telegraph article :)
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday Hero
Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.
Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of Chicago Ray )
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, PFC Duncan Crookston
Sadly, here is where my blogging life and my part as a member of the
Soldiers Angels Living Legends Team unexpectedly intersected today.
I had learned of this soldier's death through the Living Legends team, and then SK sent me the link to this blog, without having any idea that I was already aware of this soldier's passing.
Please go read the tributes, but take some tissues.
Rest in peace, PFC Duncan Crookston. And there are many folks keeping his family and friends, and his fellow soldiers, in their prayers after learning this news.
JP makes The Sandbox! and Various Other things of Note
Well, my 'friend that I have never yet met in person",lol, JP of Milblogging.com fame. is still trying to spread those "Golden Rules of Care Packages" that he first came up with while he was deployed in 2004.
He's got a post up on The Sandbox
Click here: The Sandbox: THE GOLDEN RULES OF CARE PACKAGES
(as his disclaimer says, these 'rules' were written 'tongue-in-cheek', and they're just meant to bring a laugh, not be a true guide of what to send, or not send,LOL:)
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Some other sites I wanted to pass on, in no particular order.
The previously mentioned This Just In ,led me to this site
Click here: Toys For Troops - World Peace, One Plush Toy at a Time.
and this blog
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This site has the expanded version of the awesome Marine Corps. commercial, plus a ton of other stuff.....go check it out :)
and,trust my friend SK to find a good Marine blog! Check out this post she forwarded to me from a former Marine's blog:
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Monday, January 28, 2008
Just a Reminder..."OpSec"
"OpSec"....short for "Operational Security". You can read more about it here:
Click here: DefendAmerica - An Operational Security (OPSEC) Primer
I'm no expert on OpSec, but I think most of it is just 'common sense' stuff, if you stop and think.
OpSec is the reason that organizations like Soldiers Angels or Anysoldier.com don't just post the addresses of deployed soldiers for everyone in the blogosphere to see. You have to join those organizations and be approved by them, to receive addresses.
OpSec is the reason that I did Not post the address of my fiancee's son on this blog, when he deployed. The people who wish to support him (and our unending Thanks! to all those great folks who have been sending him letters and care packages! :) are people I know, and feel comfortable giving his address.
OpSec is the reason that Soldiers Angels says "Please do not post the name,etc. of your soldier,without his permission." and it's the reason that I usually redact the identifying information from any part of a note I receive that I do repost on here.
There was recently a bulletin circulating around MySpace, that asked for very Specific information about soldiers, it had questions like:
what unit is your soldier in?
where is he currently deployed?
what is his rank?
(etc.etc.)
I don't know how may military girlfriend's/wives actually responded to the bulletin? as most of them are pretty protective of their loved ones....but finally someone on MySpace issued a bulletin themselves, reminding everyone that it is Not in the best interests of your deployed soldier, to answer very specific questions like those and circulate them around the Internet,whether it be on MySpace or elsewhere.
For a little more info about "OpSec", you can check out these links, on what other bloggers have had to say about it:
Click here: OPSEC is everyone’s responsibility
and I like what The Watchcat had to say here, to be thinking about what the children of fallen soldiers might see, if they Googled their parent's name?
Click here: The WatchCat: OPSEC and FAMSEC: The Promise
There's a very interesting discussion here on The Danger Room at Wired.com (sort of side-tracked in the comments with discussion about 'trolls',also, but you can wade thru the pertinent stuff)
Click here: Marines May Drop Armor; Security Bunnies Get Silly | Danger Room from Wired.com
Again, I'm no expert, but I think it all boils down to common sense, and thinking before you post.
Just a reminder:) Hope everyone has a good week!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Soldiers Angels Web Surfing
My weekly 'surf' for news by, and about, Soldiers Angels in the blogosphere.
Hat Trick!
This first bit of news is just Way too cool :) I came across an article that incorporates news about a Guard company from My State! (and I actually have corresponded with a soldier from that Guard company:) AND, the article is talking about what Jeff Bader, the husband of Soldiers Angels founder Patti, did to help these guys out!
That, my friends, in my book is a "hat trick"....."Three goals scored by one player in one game, as in ice hockey." (hey, I grew up in Michigan, I Love hockey!:) Three things I'm interested in, All in One article!
Via GX Online, go check out
Virginia Guard Soldiers Sing Praise and Worship at Camp Patriot
In other news,
Soldiers Angels Florida VA Team tells about Soldiers Angels New Employment Help for Veterans
Lubbock Marine Parents helps put out the call, for the Houston Soldiers VA Team, for Lap Blankets .
A "new-to-me" blogging member of Soldiers Angels re-posts something from the forums, written by a currently serving soldier,about what his days are like.....go check out One Soldier's View at Peyton's Water.
Sadly, Soldiers Angels Louisiana asks us to send up Thoughts and Prayers for a hero. Rest in Peace, Spc. Lawrence Lee Holloway. We Are holding your family and friends in our thoughts and prayers.
And, I somehow missed this, when Soldiers Angels Germany first posted it
Briefly, it is...."Dramatic and moving images of US Army Paratroopers and Afghan Army soldiers being evacuated after a November 2007 ambush near Forward Operating Base Bella, home of Chosen Company, 2-503rd PIR, 173rd ABCT in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. "
Please go read the post, and watch the video.
I must admit, I was in tears watching this. As a part of the
Soldiers Angels Living Legends Team
I helped research the information about a number of those soldiers killed in that ambush, to send out the emails for the Team to send condolence cards to the families. To actually see a video of Fallen Heroes ,that I read so much about in my research, being recovered to be brought home to their families? I really have no words, to describe the feelings.
The post goes on to say...."The troops were on their way back from a meeting in a nearby village just two miles from OP Bella when they were attacked on 9 November. Five Soldiers from the 173rd ABCT and one Marine were killed. Eight more Sky Soldiers and 11 ANA were wounded."
and at the end of the post, there is a listing of the Fallen Heroes.
One of the things that the Living Legends Team does is post a small biography of every Living Legends Hero at http://livinglegendteam.blogspot.com/
(Terri Rager does these posts, and does a wonderful job)
If you would like to know a bit more? about the Fallen Heroes remembered at the end of the post on Soldiers Angels Germany? I have posted the links to their biographies on the Living Legends Team blog.
In Memoriam:
1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, 24, of Torrance, Calif.
Sgt. Jeffery S. Mersman, 23, of Parker, Kan
Spc. Sean K.A. Langevin, 23, of Walnut Creek, Calif.
Spc. Lester G. Roque, 23, of Torrance, Calif.
Pfc. Joseph M. Lancour, 21, of Swartz Creek, Mich.
Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks, 28, of Troy, Mich.
May we never forget!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Lagging Behind on the Blogging, From my Inbox(es), and Facebook
Well, I've been sadly lagging on blogging lately, other than posting the Wednesday Hero and my weekly Soldiers Angels Web Surfing, and 'family stuff' like my daughter's birthday.
It's not like I wouldn't have plenty to blog about, as I've received some emails from various folks alerting or updating me about things that are going on around the blogosphere....I just seem to end up choosing lately between 'reading' or 'writing',lol, but never enough time to do Both! (and 'have a life'<smile> plus work full-time,etc,etc:)
So, very quickly before I yet Again have to go to work, I wanted to pass on a few things of interest that folks have emailed me about or that I've seen around the web.
Also(ROFL) like I wasn't already Enough places on the Web? I've decided to go ahead and get on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/people/Kathi_See/600689532
I vacillated for quite awhile over doing so, since I already feel like with two gmail accounts (one that I use as part of the Soldiers Angels Living Legends team ), a blogging presence on AOL, Yahoo 360, MySpace AND Blogger.....that sheesh, this could be the reason I don't have time to blog anymore,LOL....I'm spread too thin?
(even though the blog on AOL is my 'main blog', and the rest is mostly copying and pasting :)
But, I took the plunge today, and joined Facebook....and am clueless thus far on all the ins and outs of yet another 'social networking' site :)
And now, without more ado? here's just a sampling of a few things I thought others might want to check out:
A very good blog I just stumbled across, by the mother of a deployed soldier
A Blue Star Mother who's helped to produce a 17 page 'Guide to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder'
and you can find out more about the guide at the Blue Star Mothers website
Online Military Candle sites (passed on by my friend, AF Mom Deb)
http://www.gratefulness.org/candles/candles.cfm?l=eng&gi=ptsd
A friend on Yahoo 360 had this posted.
That's all I had time to pass on right now, and now I Must get ready for work. Hope everyone has a good day, and my Thanks, to all the folks who email me:) (and also my apologies, that it's taken me awhile to have the time to pass these things along.)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Wednesday Hero
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.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Another Slide Show :)
Hey, this one my sister made :) more Christmas!
I think she did a Great job! Thanks,Tracy:)
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By the way, I've gotten a CD of JPEG's of Christmas photo's taken while we were up visiting the family. For some reason? I Can't upload them onto my computer. It must just be a glitch with My computer, because my uncle was able to load them onto His computer from the CD. So,anyways, I mention this because if anyone has any suggestions for me to try?....I'd Really like to get those photos off the CD and onto my computer!
Thanks,
Kathi
Soldiers Angels Web Surfing
For the past week, ending 1/19/08, because Yikes! I am abysmally behind on blogging...that pesky 'real life' thing has intruded on my computer time,LOL.
There is Exciting News! via the Soldiers Angels Newsletter received this weekend....In response to the calls going out for Angels, (see my Could You Be An Angel? post)....Last week saw a Record-Breaking week of Angel Adoptions, by both old and new Angels.....Yay!!
For other news by and about Soldiers Angels last week........
Soldiers Angels Texas had a video retrospective of 2007 Meet and Greet
welcoming home troops at DFW.
Soldiers Angels Louisiana had a Garden Flag Challenge for Louisiana Angels.
And Soldiers Angels New York posted about A New York National Guard unit that is deploying, and then posted about their Send-Off Dinner
Lastly, if you want to meet one of those previously mentioned "Brand New Angels"? check out life with Aiden Kai
That's it,folks! hope you enjoy the 'surf' and sorry it took me so long to get it posted!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Could You Be An Angel?
The call is going out from Soldiers Angels
(and you can see more posts about this here , here , and here , to show just a very few of the many folks trying to help spread the word )
This email went out earlier this week, from the Founder of Soldiers Angels:
WE HAVE MANY MORE HEROES BEING SUBMITTED THAN ANGELS JOINING
We really did good at Christmas. Heroes Love to be adopted!
We got this quote,
\"Your organization is highly coveted and recommended by all. Is it possible if we can be added to the Soldier\'s Angels program. We\'ve got a lot of young soldiers who are experiencing difficult times for their first deployment, and external support from our nation\'s greatest supporters would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.\"
It is wonderful we are able to help with morale.
Will you adopt another hero?
Or will you please cantact your local churches,
schools, hospitals, Scouts? Many of our sons and daughters are in harms way and could use some support from home!
If you are an approved angel financially able to adopt another hero please login to
http://approvedangels.com
and click the link \"Request an additional soldier\", or tell all you can to go to
http://soldiersangels.org and click adopt a soldier.
Thank you for helping!!
Love
Patti Patton-Bader
soldiersangels@gmail.com
626 398 4224
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If you think you'd like to be an Angel? Please go Here , and click on 'Adopt A Soldier', to get started 
And don't forget to also check out the Angels Store , where you can order things like Phone Cards , Care Packages ,or Food ,to send to your 'Adopted Soldier' :)
And hey,Valentine's Day is coming up quickly!
The Angels Store has a Valentine Care Package !
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And most of all....please help Spread the Word! Email your friends :)
Check out folks like Aunt Nancy , who started Troop Support on her own, and now finds that she's in need of Soldiers to Adopt Out, and Soldiers Angels is in need of Angels to Adopt...so she is doing some coordination with Soldiers Angels...Yay! Aunt Nancy :)
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If you are not in a position where you can Adopt? Don't Despair! There are still many other ways to Be An Angel, check out the Teams and Programs on the Soldiers Angels website.
Thanks! And hopefully......"Happy Angeling! " to You!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Wednesday Hero
Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus 28 years old from Wolf Creek, Montana
3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force July 29, 2006
Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.
Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of Chicago Ray )
Marine Cpl. Phillip E. Baucus was the nephew of Montana Senator Max Baucus.
He joined the corps in 2002 and was sent to Iraq in March of 2005.
Cpl. Baucus was killed alongside fellow Marines Sgt. Christian Williams, 27 yrs old from Winter Haven, Fla. and Lance Cpl. Anthony E. Butterfield, 19 yrs old from Clovis, Calif. during combat operations in Al Anbar province.
"Phillip was an incredible person, a dedicated Marine, a loving son and husband, and a proud Montanan and American," Sen. Baucus said. "He heroically served the country he loved and he gave it his all."
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.
Monday, January 14, 2008
A Short Monday Meander on the Web
Via Milblogging.com , a link to Obsidian Wings with information about a suggestion from the family of Maj. Andrew Olmsted:
(Obsidian Wings) A member of Andy Olmsted's family has just written me to say that if people want to do something in honor of him, they can send donations to a fund that has been set up for the four children of CPT Thomas Casey, who served under Andy and was killed while trying to help him. The address is here:
Capt. Thomas Casey Children’s fund
P.O. Box 1306
Chester, CA 96020
Thanks so much.
and Brat at Tanker Brothers has a post up about Capt. Casey
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Doc in the Box is both Bout to Turn 4
(his blog,that is) AND also about to make his 4th Trip overseas.
-----------
Northern Disclosure had a post up about a pretty big Faux Pas, IMHO.
You're Gonna Laugh, You're Gonna DIE
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and, how many people remember that there are Soldiers Still MIA in Iraq
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Soldiers Angels Web Surfing
My weekly post of news by and about Soldiers Angels in the blogosphere.
I was hanging tight on posting this, hoping to get a link, but I still haven't seen one. This was the big Soldiers Angels news this past week,via Soldiers Angels Network :)
Glenn Beck Honors Patti Patton-Bader
and Other big news, just released today via Holly Aho
Listen on the Internet to Key Soldiers Angels Leadership
Soldiers Angels Texas asks Have you shopped the Angel Store?
and also reminds us of Other Ways to Help Soldiers Angels
This Angel celebrates A Red-Letter Read Letter Day , which, as any member of Soldiers Angels will tell you, means "Free Mail!" (mail received from someone who is deployed:)
That post reminded me to tell y'all that I also got some 'Free Mail' this past week,(Woo Hoo!:) from a female Sgt. that I've corresponded with sporadically. And I wanted to quote part of what she wrote here:
" Mail is so fun. Makes you forget you are here for a minute."
( a glaringly obvious nudge from me,LOL, to urge you to Please Consider being a Member of Soldiers Angels , and sending some of that 'Fun Mail' yourself,to those who are serving our country!:)
That's the 'surf' for this past week, short but sweet...and this coming week's featured blog will be Soldiers's Angels VA Team
Wishing everyone a great weekend! and "Happy Angeling"
(crossposted here , and here , and here , and there ...because I'm just tryin' to keep up with Greta , who's coming along nicely in her plan for world domination by posting even More places than I do :)
Tags: Soldiers Angels
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Wednesday Hero
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 blog, you can go here.
Milblog News Roundup
The biggest news in the world of Milblogging is, of course, the death of Maj. Andrew Olmsted.
JP at Milblogging.com has one of the many posts up about it
Tragic News: Top Military Blogger Dies In Iraq; Read His Final Post
but I also wanted to include a link to a post about it by a friend on AOL, which I found interesting because she included the poll that AOL had with the news story....and it says that 81% of the people responding to the polls Never read milblogs.
Death of a Hero
For those of us who spend so much time reading, and writing, milblogs? I thought it was interesting to note that so Few people even know about them yet.
Please go read the post that Major Olmsted left, to be posted in the event of his death. It's powerfully moving.
And please, if you pray? remember his family and friends in your prayers.
---------------
Soldiers Angels Texas had a story that I thought was worth passing on, about one young man's view of the Patriot Guard Riders.
A Special Story
And this I found very intriguing..... Red Stick Rant posts about a blog where someone is posting the letters of a British soldier from World War I.
WW1: Experiences of an English Soldier
(and one of the best books I read last year, which taught me a lot about World War I that I never knew, was A World Undone by G.J. Meyer )
A Soldier's Mind tells about a film I'd like to see.
Filmaker Depicts the Good Works of Troops
Gazing at the Flag tells us how to vote for a National Guard Soldier to be in a fianlist position in the Miss America pageant.
Vote for Sgt. Jill Stevens-Miss Utah
Milblogging.com also announces their new Platoon website is up
New and Improved Bad Voodoo website launched!
and lastly, it's not news from a Milblog...but the El Paso times updates us on Spc. John Johnson and his wife,Lisa, who as you may recall, lost all 3 of their children in a tragic car accident.
Soldier,wife start anew after tragic crash.
Just a little bit of what's out there, in Milblogs.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Valentine's Day messages to the Troops in Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes newspaper will be publishing Valentine's messages to the troops(and they'll be available to view online)
Click here: Valentine's Day Messages | Stripes Messages
We did this at Christmas
Click here: Dustin McClenney | Stripes Messages
(and the nice thing about the online version is you can forward the message to others, and they can add their own messages.) You can also check a box for Stars and Stripes to email your soldier, to let them know when the message will be posted.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Soldiers Angels Web Surfing
First web 'surf' of 2008! and I have some Great posts by and about Soldiers Angels to pass on!
This post by Soldiers Angels Germany sent me to Blackfive, for a story that is ....just go read (and take some tissues)
Soldiers Angels VA Team gives us the Final Tally on the Hugs for Heroes Project
Wonderful!!
Here's a Contest you might want to enter!
Just...way cool!
Butterfly Wife is The Penultimate Card Sender!! Phew! Just made the Deadline
And, I always love to come across 'new-to-me' blogging Angels :)
and
Short 'surf' this Friday, since I got an End of Year surf in earlier this week.
Happy 2008!
Time to Think of Valentines!
Friend Kat has started her annual card drive for the troops for Valentine's Day.
Click here: YIKES!: OPERATON: VALENTINE 2008
OPERATION: VALENTINE
Valentine’s Day Card Drive for Troops
Let's show our troops we love and support them!! Let’s help them chase away those after-
Christmas blues!! We are now collecting Valentine's cards to send to our troops stationed in Iraq
and Afghanistan. If you wish to participate, please send light-hearted, silly, cheerful cards to this address:
Mrs. Kat Orr
Operation Valentine
P.O. Box 1660
Loganville, GA 30052
Please make sure to leave the envelopes unsealed – every card is read before it is shipped, to
ensure appropriate content.
ensure appropriate content.
I am also collecting “Hershey’s Kisses” and “Hershey’s Hugs” candy, and any other silly
Valentine’s candy you’d like to send – lollipops, candy hearts, etc.
Valentine’s candy you’d like to send – lollipops, candy hearts, etc.
The cards can be handmade or store-bought... for that matter, they don't even have to be cards; a hand -written letter is just as wonderful! Let's all band together and overwhelm our heroes with support! This is a great project for Scout troops, churches, or other organizations to get involved with!
ALL CARDS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN
JANUARY 30, 2008
Thank you so much for having a heart for our heroes!
If you have any questions about this campaign, please e-mail me at
LoveFromHome@gmail.com. Also, you might wish join my Yahoo Group,
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LoveFromHome in order to receive updates about the progress of this and other card drives.
**IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not a "dating service" of any type. Please do not send suggestive or otherwise inappropriate cards or pictures. Remember: This is strictly to let the troops know that we love them, we are proud of them and that we HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN them!
**IMPORTANT NOTE 2: This card drive is an individual effort and not done in conjunction with or on behalf of any organizations or groups
-------------------------------------------------
The most awesome Kat gathered and sent 25,400 Christmas cards to the troops
(our own soldier being one of the recipients, and he was Most grateful for them! Thank you,Kat!:)
Please, let's see what we can do to help her out with This card drive! Spread the word!
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While we're on the subject of cards? This is a Very late entry, but I missed seeing this post at
The Giving Tree
before Christmas, and wanted to pass it along now.
and if you haven't been by The Giving Tree, here's what it's about:
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Wednesday Hero
From Sparta, Georgia
Welcome to this week's installment where all the member bloggers of Wednesday Hero collectively honor many of the real hero's found in this country who's names and bio's have been provided to us for these humble tributes by blogroll creator Indian Chris @ Right Wing and Right Minded.
Many of them are those that have paid the ultimate price for our country protecting it both here and abroad from the many threats we face from our enemies wishing us and them harm, some are not. In either case they are the real American heroes of today and we now both salute and offer our prayers. To join us if you wish to please start by reading the post below.(Introduction courtesy of Chicago Ray )
Sgt. Eric Crayton, the first sergeant for the Extension Detachment, Company C, Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, serving Christmas dinner to Soldiers at the Pegasus Dining Facility at Camp Liberty, Iraq.
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 blog, you can go here.
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