Wednesday Heroes 26 Sept 2007

The following is brought to you by the Wednesday Hero Blogroll.

Lance Cpl. Cory Jamieson
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
Personal Security Detachment, Headquarters and Support Company, Task Force 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, attached to Regimental Combat Team 2


Hippocrates once said, "Art is long, life is short".

Cpl. Jeremy David Allbaugh lived a short life. But, he was immortalized recently in acrylics by a Lance Cpl. Jamieson who painted a mural in his honor.
"I feel sad because it is for him, but it makes me happy because I can still do something for him," said Lance Cpl. Jamieson. "I thought about it during the ceremony in the chapel. I looked up at the stained glass windows and I thought 'I should do something like that'".

Along with help from family, a fellow Marine and a Morale, Wefare and Recreation manager, Jamieson had the paint and tools needed.

"I would paint eight or nine hours in the gym and time would fly by," Jamieson said.


Cpl. Jeremy David Allbaugh, 21 years old from Luther, Oklahoma, was killed by a roadside bomb on July 5, 2007 while conducting combat operations in Qaim, Iraq.

"He believed very strongly in what our country's doing," said his mother, Jenifer Allbaugh. "They were doing good things over there, and we don't see that in the news or media. There's a lot of progress being made. I wish more people would talk to our boys who are in it and not our politicians because they see it firsthand".

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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Cabaniss Family Needs Help

Please meet the Cabaniss Family:


CPL Jeremy Cabaniss was injured in two separate IED explosions. In July 2006, an improvised explosive device knocked Cpl. Cabaniss unconscious for 15 to 20 minutes in Baghdad. In February 2007, a second blast knocked him out for nearly an hour. He has TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and will be 80 or 90 percent disabled when he is discharged from the Army.

While Cpl Cabaniss was deployed, the roof of his home in Panama City Beach, Florida, was damaged in a hurricane and has been leaking since. Part of the house has started to collapse. The water intrusion has caused black mold and has made the home unlivable.



Soldiers Angels and the Patriot Guard Riders have partnered together to replace this house, since the cost of repairs would exceed the cost to tear down the house and build a new home. However, we need your help to do so. Our goal for this project is to raise the $100,000 needed to replace the house.

Please consider a tax deductible donation.

Online Via PAYPAL
or
Checks payable to Soldiers' Angels
c/o John Adkins
7626 Kingman Street
Panama City Beach, FL 32408

Bloggers, please help spread the word!

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• Soldiers' Angels
• Patriot Guard Riders

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Wednesday Hero 19 Sept 2007

The following is brought to you by the Wednesday Hero Blogroll:

1st Lt. Forrest P. Ewens
26 years old from Tonasket, Washington
1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
June 16, 2006


The love of Megan Ewens's life arrived at Arlington National Cemetery on July 7, 2006. His ashes inside a small wooden box, the box inside a coffin, the coffin draped with an American flag and carried on a caisson pulled by six black horses.

Lt. Forrest P. Ewens had shipped out for Afghanistan in March of that same year. His wife, being the same rank in the Army, understood the risks, telling a colonel at Fort Drum, N.Y., that if anything happened to her husband, she didn't want to hear about it from a stranger.

On June 6, 2006 Lt. Ewens and Sgt. Ian T. Sanchez were killed when ATV struck an IED while on combat operation in Pech River Valley, Afghanistan.

A few weeks before his death, Lt. Ewens called his wife from an Afghan mountain to inform her that his unit had been subsisting on melted snow and rations and that he had been writing his impressions down in a notebook he carried.

"This was the love of her life," Megan Ewens's mother said. "They were so well-matched and made such a good team. We couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."

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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Wednesday Hero 12 Sept 2007

The following is brought to you by the Wednesday Hero Blogroll:

Staff Sgt. Richard P. Ramey
27 years old from Canton, Ohio
703rd Ordinance Compan, supporting the 82nd Airborne Division
February 8, 2004


Richard Ramey always knew what he was going to be. Once, while in the third grade, his teacher asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. His response? "I’ll go to war and fight" Concerned by his answer, his teacher called his mother, Julie Ramey. She told her "No, that's my son".

SSgt. Ramey was killed when insurgents attacked his and other convoys in Mahmudiyah, Iraq.

"Richard loved to do his job. No matter where it would take him," said his mother. "He really felt deeply that he wanted to protect people that couldn’t protect themselves"

In a statement released through Fort Knox, the Ramey family said, "He was adventurous and smart, combining both qualities in what he did for the Army. We knew his work was dangerous but also knew he wouldn’t have wanted to do anything else".

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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Still Remembering Zack

Today my heart is with all those who lost loved ones on 9-11, and I thought it would be fitting to repost my tribute from last year which was part of the 2,996 project, the bloggers tribute to the victims of 9/11.

Zhe “Zack” Zeng

Zhe "Zack" Zeng was born in Canton, China. He emigrated to the United States with his parents in the late 1980's. They settled in Brooklyn, New York. On that beautiful early fall morning of September 11, 2001, Zack was on his way to work at the Bank of New York on Barclay Street, not far from the World Trade Center, when he saw the first plane strike the towers from a nearby subway stop.

Zack had attended the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, graduating in 1995. While in Rochester, Zack also held a job at the University and was trained as an Emergency Medical Technician. He worked with the Brighton Volunteer Ambulance. He went on to earn his masters degree in 1998 before returning to Brooklyn. On September 11th, the Bank of New York building was safely evacuated but knowing there would be injured victims waiting for medical care, he gathered all the first aid kits he could carry and responded. The last known images of Zack were aired on FOX TV in New York, shown helping an injured woman on a stretcher before the South Tower collapsed.

Zack's friends and co-workers were not surprised to learn he ran toward the scene, that is just the kind of person he was. They remember him as humble, intelligent, committed, kind, giving and selfless. A young man who was dedicated and took care of his family. Zack has been memorialized in the following ways:

-A space dedicated in James S. Gleason Hall at William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at University of Rochester in memory of Zack and Jeffrey R. Smith, another graduate of the school who was lost at the World Trade Center.

-The EMS Memorial, Empire State Plaza at Albany, New York



-"Tree of Life" Permanent Memorial at the "To the Rescue" Museum in Roanoke, Virginia



-Zhe Zack Zeng Way in Chinatown, New York City, adjacent to a park where he used to meet his friends.


Zack was 28 years old. I never had the opportunity to meet Zack, but by all accounts I am sure he was the sort of person I would have liked and trusted. He died doing what he had trained to do, and what he loved doing... helping people.

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• Journal

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Freedom Walk, Canandaigua NY

Where will you be on 9-11-2007?

CANANDAIGUA FREEDOM WALK

CANANDAIGUA VA MEDICAL CENTER
400 FORT HILL AVE
Canandaigua, NY 14424

4:30-5:30 REGISTRATION- James Carter Parking Lot (across from Building 5) or Pre-Register HERE.

5:30-6:30 REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY (west entrance of Building 5)

Planting of tree and presentation of memorial plaque

6:30 Walk around the VA Circle or choose to continue west on Fort Hill Avenue to Main Street, where we will join the Canandaigua Patriot Procession and proceed to the American Legion for a Candlelight Vigil Ceremony

Please join Soldiers’ Angels, veteran motorcycle groups, and families of the fallen soldiers as we take time to reflect on the lives lost on September 11, renew our commitment to freedom, and honor our veterans past and present.

This is not a pro or anti war event. It is to support our troops and remember our fallen heroes.

(Post bumped up to stay at top)

Update: The Freedom Walk was a great success. Will post more as I get time.

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• New York
• Soldiers' Angels

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Photography for Military Families

Operation: Love ReUnited is an organization that brings together photographers who are willing to put together special photography sessions for deploying, deployed and returning military families. These sessions capture special moments that the family may be too caught up in to be thinking about taking pictures. Operation: Love ReUnited will provide this service free.

Military families in the NY/NJ Metro Region interested in this service can have this done with Amanda Becker Photography.

Military families across the U.S. can look for photographers in their area at www.oplove.org. Photographers interested in providing this service may also find more information there.

Categories:

• Supporting-Troops/Veterans

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Wednesday Hero 5 Sept 2007

The following is brought to you by the Wednesday Hero Blogroll.

Sgt. Willard T. Partridge
35 years old from Ferriday, Louisiana
170th Military Police Company, 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade
August 20, 2005


Sgt. Partridge was killed by an IED that exploded near his vehicle in Baghdad, Iraq.

There isn't that much information about Sgt. Partridge so I though I would share some of the memories that his friends and family have of him.

"I remember Partridge from basic training and AIT. He was a very quiet guy who had a good sense of humor. I remember asking him why he joined, and he told me it was so he could take care of his family and give them a better life. I would have deployed with him any day, he was one of the good guys I graduated with. He will not be forgotten. God Bless."

"Todd was one of the best men I have ever met and I will always have great memories and admiration for him! My thoughts and prayers go out to his family!"

"I will never forget you and those awful eighteen weeks at Fort Leonard Wood. You are in every sense of the term, 'A HERO'"

"Todd was such a quite, solid person. He never demanded the attention of those around him. I remember him always just smiling while everyone else at our LARGE FAMILY get togethers made noise. I could get a hug from him, but I had to ask for it. He never assumed anything. I loved making him hug me.

Todd was a solid, faithful husband, father and man in every respect. He did what had to be done in all areas of his life. He died doing what he knew to be his job in this life. Not that he wanted to die but he wanted to serve whatever the cost might be. He knew that freedom is not free and wanted to pay his part for that freedom for himself, his wife and girls.

I have nothing but love and respect for Todd's memory and will always proudly and thankfully count him among my nephews that adore. His memory will always be honored. I thank God that He brought Todd into our family. He left his mark on it just as he did everywhere he went."

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. To find out more about Wednesday Hero, you can go here.

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Bob Calvert in Iraq

One of the best ways to find out how are troops are doing is from certain embedded independent journalists. Bob Calvert of Talking With Heroes has once again traveled to Iraq to bring us many untold stories of our men and women in uniform.

Please check out the Talking With Heroes blog, and the Radio Show.

H/T: FbL

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• Blogging/Bloggers
• Military

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