Every Day Hero

Surrounded and severely outnumbered in combat, you can either give up or fight to the death. Petty Officer Luttrell and three other SEALs faced that decision in the hills of Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. A SEAL never gives up.

The team, which included Lt. Michael Murphy and Petty Officers Matt Axelson and Danny Dietz, had been sent on a covert mission to find and kill a Taliban leader. As the SEALs scoured the area, they encountered three civilians who Luttrell believes alerted Taliban fighters. About an hour later, approximately 80-100 Taliban fighters appeared and began a ferocious assault. As the small team fought back, a Chinook helicopter arrived in support – but was shot down by the enemy, killing all 16 men on board.

The SEALs realized that their odds of survival were slim – but their training and sense of honor told them to take out as many enemies as they could. By the end of a two-hour gunfight that careened through the hills and over cliffs, Murphy, Axelson, and Dietz had fallen. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead. Luttrell managed to escape the carnage – badly injured – and slowly crawl away down the side of a cliff.

Dehydrated, with a bullet wound to one leg, shrapnel embedded in both legs, three vertebrae cracked; the situation for Luttrell was grim. Rescue helicopters were sent in, but he was too weak and injured to make contact. Traveling seven miles on foot, he eventually reached a village where he was put under “lokhay warkawal,” Afghan for the protection of the villagers, who fed him and cleaned his wounds. In short order, one of the villagers made his way to a Marine outpost with a note from Luttrell, and U.S. forces launched a massive rescue operation that pulled him from enemy territory. To this day, Luttrell remains indebted to the villagers who risked their lives in his defense. As he told The Washington Post, “In the middle of everything evil, in an evil place, you can find goodness. Goodness. I’d even call it godliness.”

Luttrell was the “Lone Survivor” of the events of June 28, 2005. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions. (Go here for links to more of this amazing story.)

I know he has heard it before - many times - but: Thank YOU for your service, Sir!

Matthew G. Axelson; Daniel R. Healy, James Suh, Marcus Luttrell, Shane E. Patton, and Lt. Michael P. Murphy prior to the battle. (H/T Haole on FB..)

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Wednesday Hero

Band Of Brothers


Something a little different this week. Instead of profiling a service member, Wednesday Hero will be profiling a movie. Band Of Brothers. It was a miniseries tha aired on HBO in 2001. It follows Maj. Richard Winters, Cpt. Lewis Nixon and the men of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, aka E-Company or Easy Company on their march to Germany. From their training to their battles at Normandy and Bastogne, their liberation of the Kaufering IV concentration camp to their taking of Hitler's Eagle Nest. A great cast and great writing make this one of the best war movies ever made. But it is graphic in visuals and language. And parts of it may be hard to watch, but it is worth it.

What the men of E-Company did will never be forgotten. They are the heroes that helped the cause of freedom.

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.

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Wednesday Hero

Pvt. William Long
23 years old from Conway, Arkansas
D Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry
June 1, 2009


"My brother taught me valuable lessons and made me the man I am today," said Pfc. Triston Long, brother of Pvt. William Long. "My commander said, 'Make your brother one of us.' I will miss my brother with all that I am, and I serve in honor of him."

Pvt. William Long had just completed basic training and was set to ship out on June 8 to his first duty station in Korea when he and Private Second Class Quinton Ezeagwula were shot outside a Little Rock, Arkansas Army-Navy Recruiting Center by Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad. They were in Little Rock to speak to with potential recruits about their experiences.

Pvt. Long's father, Daris Long, a former Marine, wrote a letter to give to him when he shipped out for South Korea. In that letter he wrote, "Your day only ends when you’ve done your duty. You and your brother … are both heroes for having the moral courage to stand up when your country needs you most. You are in my hopes and my thoughts and my prayers. You are my son, you are my hero. I love you. Semper fidelis."

Along with his father and brother, Pvt. William Long is survived by his mother, Janet, who had served in the Navy herself.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From RedState, Sipsey Street Irregulars & Army Times with help from Kathi

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.

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Flag Day 2009

For a history of Flag Day go here. And to read a piece I did on the Star Spangled Banner back in August 2007 (with the help of my friend Sylvia,) go to Tanker Bros here.

Fly your flag, America!

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Every Day Hero

Army Sgt. 1st Class Luis R. Laluz, far right, of Staten Island, N.Y., offers soldiers weight-lifting tips in a gym at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, May 4, 2009. An amateur bodybuilder and former bodybuilding champion, Laluz started a physical fitness program for soldiers in his unit, the 321st Sustainment Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Kiyoshi C. Freeman

Face of Defense: NYPD Officer’s Service Spans from Vietnam to Iraq American Forces Press Service

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, June 2, 2009 – From the jungles of Vietnam to the streets of New York City to the deserts of Iraq, one Army noncommissioned officer has proved his dedication to the country through decades of service.

A 58-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War, Sgt. 1st Class Luis R. Laluz, 321st Sustainment Brigade, said he remembers spending 1969 and 1970 face down in a rice paddy with an NCO by his side. Now, 40 years later, he's the veteran NCO all young soldiers look up to for inspiration and advice.


Laluz, who started his service as a member of the Army Reserve in New York City, admitted he thought he was done with overseas deployments; he did his time in a combat zone and that was enough.


"But how can you put a limit to it?" said the Staten Island, N.Y., native. "You can do five years, 20 years, 30 years -- is it really enough when your country needs you?"


The war on terrorism hit close to home for the New York City police officer, who lost two relatives on 9/11.


With a harsh, rapid-fire New York City accent and a stocky, muscular build, Laluz stands out from most soldiers in the 321st, a Reserve unit from Louisiana. The amateur bodybuilder, who started lifting weights when he was 12 years old, won the Mr. New Jersey Shore and Mr. America titles in 1983 and 1989, respectively. ...

There is more about this Every Day Hero here.


Thank YOU for your service, Sir!

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B*N*S*N1

Wounded Recruiting Office Shooting Victim Praises Army for Support
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service


WASHINGTON, June 9, 2009 – A soldier wounded last week during an attack at a recruiting office in Little Rock, Ark., that claimed a fellow soldier’s life expressed no bitterness today at his attacker, and said the incident has done nothing to dampen his desire to serve in the Army.


Army Pvt. Quinton Ezeagwula, 18, spoke publicly about the incident for the first time since he was gunned down outside an Army recruiting office June 1. He is recovering from gunshot wounds to his neck, back and buttocks.


Army Pvt. William Long, 23, was killed in the attack. He was buried yesterday at the Arkansas State Veteran's Cemetery in North Little Rock, Ark.


Abdulhakim Muhammad, the alleged shooter, was arrested shortly after the attack. He faces charges of capital murder and committing a terroristic act.

...


Asked by a reporter today about his recovery, the understated Ezeagwula stated simply, “I’m doing fine, sir.”


Ezeaguwula said he joined the military because he “wanted to be able to help my family out,” and thought the Army sounded like a good way to do so.


“I actually learned to love the Army,” he told reporters today.


Ezeaguwula expressed thanks about the Army’s support since the incident. “I really appreciate what they have done for my family and for Private Long’s family,” he said.


His mother, who joined him at the news conference, echoed her son’s thanks and said the experience reaffirmed her confidence that the Army will look out for him.


“I really would like to commend the Army for everything they have done for us,” said his mother, who was not identified by name. She said the support Army caregivers have provided her son makes her feel “very secure about my son being in their care.”


“I couldn’t ask for a better person than God himself,” she said. The soldier’s mother added that she’s happy her son wants to continue his Army service.


“I feel very good about him staying in the Army and wanting to represent the United States,” she said. “I think that’s a wonderful thing.”


She said she hopes the incident sends a message that the United States “is going to step up to the plate and take whatever necessary steps need to be taken to protect Americans.”


“You just can’t [launch an attack] like that and think it’s OK,” she said.


Still, she said, she harbors “no ill feelings” toward her son’s attacker.


“I just pray that justice be served,” she said, adding that she hopes the outcome will “be fair.”


Ezeagwula and Long recently completed basic training and infantry training and were serving a temporary recruiting assignment before moving on to their first assignments. Once he recovers, Ezeagwula will continue to his assignment at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.(source)

Pvt. Ezeagwula, YOU are a hero!

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B*N*S*N2

Cyclists pose with actor Gary Sinise at the National Memorial Parade in Washington, D.C., May 25, 2009, before Virginia's "Ride 2 Recovery" Memorial Challenge bicycle ride. Fifty cyclists, including 35 wounded warriors, participated in the six-day, 350-mile bicycle ride across Virginia. Courtesy photo





Wounded Warriors Participate in Virginia’s ‘Ride 2 Recovery’
By Sharon Foster
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2009 – Many cheering and excited Virginians lined the route of the “Ride 2 Recovery” Memorial Challenge bicycle ride, in which 35 wounded warriors took part last month.


This is the second year the ride was held in Virginia.


“The event was very successful,” said John Wordin, executive director of Ride 2 Recovery. “Participating in this ride changed the lives of the wounded warriors in a very positive way. To see their transformation over the course of six days was truly inspiring.”


After leaving the National Memorial Parade here May 25, cyclists traveled through Manassas, Fredericksburg, Ashland, Williamsburg, Jamestown and Hampton on their 350-mile bicycle journey before reaching Virginia Beach on May 30. The cyclists were greeted with a concert featuring 2008 American Idol winner David Cook.


Other notable supporters of this year’s Virginia Ride 2 Recovery Memorial Challenge included Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, actor Gary Sinise and country music artist Lee Greenwood.


In each Virginia town the cyclists passed through, the American Legion Auxiliary provided support, including community fundraising dinners. The USO used its traveling canteen to provide rest stops.


“We were delighted to participate in this bicycle ride for our wounded warriors,” said Jeff Hill, U.S. regional vice president for the USO. “One of our programs is Operation Enduring Care. We sponsor many outings with wounded warriors to boost their morale. They have always been our highest priority. To see these servicemembers start this bicycle journey, some full of doubt, then to see them finish with a great sense of accomplishment and achievement was incredible.”


Fifty cyclists, including the general public, participated in the ride. One wounded warrior who had turned to cycling as a way to boost his physical and mental rehabilitation was exhilarated.


“My experience was awesome,” said Army Sgt. Juan Alcivar, who was shot in the leg by a sniper in Bagdad and lost his right femur. “I didn’t think I was going to make it. All the new friends I made helped me. Now, I love to ride my bike. It was just awesome.”


The Ride 2 Recovery organization hosts bicycle rides for wounded warriors across the country every year. The Ride 2 Recovery California Challenge will take place Oct. 4 through Oct. 10, starting in San Francisco and ending in Los Angeles. The group plans a Ride 2 Recovery Florida Challenge in December.


The troop-support group raises funds for “spinning recovery labs” and outdoor cycling programs at warrior transition units across the country.


“Our mission has always been to improve the health and wellness of wounded warriors by providing life-changing experiences for them,” Wordin said. (source)

Front page story in ANY msm? Not so much - but it surely is a B*N*S*N!

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B*N*S*N3

On the site of a new school, Navy Cmdr. Murray J. Tynch, commander of the provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan’s Kunar province, quizzes children of Tornaou village on their spoken English lessons, June 3, 2009. U.S. Navy photo by Lt j.g. James Dietle

Team Begins Construction on First Area School in Afghan Province

By Navy Lt j.g. James Dietle
Special to American Forces Press Service

KUNAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, June 9, 2009 – Education has become a key focus for the provincial reconstruction team here, which has mapped out a construction plan estimated at $15.9 million to build 58 schools along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

"The PRT believes education plays a vital role in rebuilding Afghanistan," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Rob Ross, engineering officer in charge of the team.

The team inspected the groundwork June 2 for the first school in the village of Tornaou in Kunar’s Chowkay district.

Though Kunar province is one of the most volatile areas in eastern Afghanistan, the team plans to start construction of the 58 schools before the end of the year.

The Tornaou Village School holds a special significance to the members of the Kunar team for several reasons.

"The Dewaygal Valley road was just completed in February, and it has given us the chance to bring development further up the valley," Ross said. "We are continuing to build on our previous successes."

The Kunar team has worked closely with the Kunar Department of Education and local district governors to prioritize the 58 locations where schools should be built to provide education for as many children as possible.

With each school housing about 300 students, the 58 schools to be built during the school surge are expected to bring education to almost 18,000 students in Kunar. The school at Tornaou is the first school in the effort.

"Right now, Kunar's education infrastructure is in need of some help,” Ross said. “Many villages do not have school buildings within walking distances. It is not uncommon to see children studying under the village tree. Extremes in weather can easily prevent classes from being held in these unsheltered areas. With the construction of these new buildings, children will have a place to learn every day, rain or shine."

As with all coalition reconstruction projects in Kunar, a local Afghan construction company is contracted to build the Tornaou Village School. The company uses labor from the village, which creates better job opportunities and allows villagers to show pride in their work, Ross said.

Since rich farmland is scarce throughout the Dewagal Valley, the school will have a unique two-story design. This design minimizes the footprint of the school to save valuable land that is better suited for farming. When complete, it will be the tallest building in the small village. More than 300 boys and girls will be able to receive primary education at the facility.

"By increasing education, we can raise the quality of lives for these children and families,” Navy Cmdr. Murray J. Tynch, Kunar team commander, said. “We look forward to the time when the children of Kunar will all have the chance to be engineers, teachers and doctors."

(Navy Lt j.g James Dietle serves with the Kunar Provincial Reconstruction Team in the 1st Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team public affairs office.) ( source)

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B*N*S*N4

06/04/2009 - U.S. Army soldiers from Bravo Battery, 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery Regiment cross a creek during a dismounted patrol in the Nerkh Valley of the Wardak province of Afghanistan on June 4, 2009. DoD photo by the U.S. Army. (Released)

06/07/2009 - U.S. military freefall instructors from Special Boat Team 20 demonstrate body positions during freefall training in the Sgt. Maj. Santos Alfredo Matos Jr. Military Free Fall Simulator on Fort Bragg, N.C., June 7, 2009. The simulator is the largest, and only vertical, wind tunnel of its kind, allowing personnel qualified in high altitude, low opening parachuting and students the ability to practice their free-fall techniques in a controlled environment. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gary L. Johnson III, U.S. Navy/Released)

06/07/2009 - Iraqi soldiers provide security during the turnover ceremony for Multi-National Force–Iraq’s Combat Outpost Power in the Aden district of Mosul, Iraq, June 7, 2009. The Iraqi Army is assuming authority for the outpost from U.S. Soldiers from Alpha Battery, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Carmichael Yepez, U.S. Navy/Released)

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Wednesday Hero

Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marc A. Lee
28 years old from Hood River, Oregon
Navy SEAL
August 2, 2006


"Marc was amazing. He was my best friend, my love," his widow, Maya, said.

Petty Officer Marc A. Lee joined the Navy in 2001 and became an AO after completing Naval Air Technical Training. Later that year he attempted to complete the grueling BUD/S program but caught pneumonia and had to drop out. He tried again in 2004 and completed the course.

On August 2, 2006, Marc A. Lee became the first SEAL to be killed in combat in Iraq when he was fatally wounded in a firefight in Ramadi, Iraq. The following is from the award citation:

"During the operation, one element member was wounded by enemy fire. The element completed the casualty evacuation, regrouped and returned onto the battlefield to continue the fight. Petty Officer Lee and his SEAL element maneuvered to assault an unidentified enemy position. He, his teammates, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Abrams tanks engaged enemy positions with suppressive fire from an adjacent building to the north.

"To protect the lives of his teammates, he fearlessly exposed himself to direct enemy fire by engaging the enemy with his machine gun and was mortally wounded in the engagement. His brave actions in the line of fire saved the lives of many of his teammates"

"It was so like Marc to give up his life to save his friends," his mother, Debbie Lee, told the Hood River News. "I am so proud of him. He is my hero."

Petty Officer Lee was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star with combat "V" for his actions in Iraq during his team’s combat tour and the Purple Heart medal.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com

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.

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Every Day Heroes

Army Lt. Col. Marc Hoffmeister is among four wounded warriors attempting to summit Alaska's Mount McKinley, or Denali, the highest point in North America, June 1, 2009. Courtesy photo

West Point Grad Leads Charge on Denali Despite Combat Injuries By Samantha L. Quigley American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2009 - Summiting the highest peak in North America, will make Marc Hoffmeister's other challenges, like earning his commission as an Army officer by graduating from West Point, seem like a mole hill, by comparison.

Mount McKinley, known simply as 'Denali,' in Alaska's Denali National Park, challenges even the most expert climbers. Hoffmeister and three other veterans will face those difficulties, as well as others resulting from their combat injuries, but he's not letting anything deter him from attaining his goal.

"I started planning this [climb] very early in my recovery and it's been both all-consuming and rehabilitative," said the team leader for 'Operation Denali.' "The drive to complete this 'mission' set the conditions for me to develop the skills I've always yearned to possess."

Nearly 15 years after graduating from West Point, the now-Lt. Col. Hoffmeister found himself in Iraq conducting a combined patrol with the Iraq army as an embedded trainer.

It was April 22, 2007, when the patrol was hit by a roadside bomb just north of Hillah, along alternate supply route Jackson. The blast severely damaged Hoffmeister's left arm, causing broken bones and nerve damage. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury and, as he puts it, "The pleasure of accompanying shrapnel popping out on odd occasions."

"I have more titanium than bone in my left arm now, and my elbow is more a collection of plates and screws than an elbow," Hoffmeister said.

He said he considers his rehabilitation ongoing because of slow nerve growth and recovery. He had a nerve transplant from his left leg and was initially hospitalized for two months. He then received home health care for an additional two months, during which his brigade commander in Iraq called and asked him to take over the brigade's rear detachment.

"He stated to me very simply that he figured, 'Anyone with two arms is still only half as good as Hoffmeister with one arm, so would [you] mind taking command of the brigade rear detachment?'" Hoffmeister said. "How do you say no to a question like that?

"So after a brief pity party, I got back to work and assumed command of the brigade rear detachment [with] the catheter line still in my arm [and] oxycodone and Lyrica tempering the pain," he added. "It was a godsend."

The duties gave him a purpose and a focus, and he could relate to the large population of wounded in the brigade's rear detachment, he said. It kept him looking beyond his personal obstacles and moving forward.

Hoffmeister's injury has forced him to figure out how to modify equipment so he can return to activities he enjoyed before his injury. For instance, all the gears that once resided on the left side of his bike have found a new home on the right. He also uses a padded glove and a wrist strap on his left hand to compensate for hypersensitivity and reduced grip strength.

His injuries also affected his climbing techniques. "It's forcing me to learn how to become a much more technically adept climber, as I can't rely on the strength or dexterity of my left arm or hand," he said. "So my lower body technique and positioning must change to reduce the strain and extend my endurance."

The injury, which causes constant pain, has provided Hoffmeister with a new perspective on life, as well.

"I embrace life's experiences far more than in the past because I am far more aware of the blessings that each new day brings," he said. "I've also realized that the combined virtue of my experiences being severely wounded and my rank and position have enabled me to assist other wounded warriors experiencing similar challenges.

"I feel a personal responsibility to assist, motivate or support my fellow wounded warriors in any way that I can," he added.

When asked what has been his greatest triumph since being injured, he's hesitant to provide a concrete answer, mainly because he's hoping that answer will change in a few weeks.

"I'll tell you after the climb!" he said.

Hoffmeister has served on active duty since graduating from West Point 17 years ago. He's the chief engineer for Alaskan Command/Joint Task Force Alaska at Elmendorf Air Force Base and lives in Eagle River, Alaska, with his wife, Gayle, and two Jack Russell terriers, Max and Bailey.

Gayle also will make the climb with the Operation Denali team as a peer mentor. The group set out for base camp on June 1 and expects to complete their trek by June 22.
Related Sites:
Operation Denali
Denali
U.S. Army
Related Articles:
Wounded Warriors Set Out to Conquer North America's Highest Peak
Special Report: Operation Denali

And then there is this:

Army Lt. Col. Marc Hoffmeister, top left; Army Spc. Dave Shebib, top right; retired Marine Capt. Jon Kuniholm, bottom left; and retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Nyman -- all wounded veterans -- are attempting to summit North America's highest peak, June 1, 2009. Courtesy photo

Wounded Veteran Hopes to Inspire Others in Mountain Quest By Samantha L. Quigley American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2009 – The loss of his right arm while serving in Iraq made something as simple as eating a challenge for retired Marine Capt. Jonathan F. Kuniholm, who recently set out with three other wounded veterans to conquer Mount McKinley, also known as “Denali” because it’s located in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Reserve.

“Following the loss of my right arm in Iraq on New Year’s Day 2005, the most basic of things became a challenge -- writing my name, putting on a pair of pants in the morning, tying my shoes, cutting a steak,” he said. “After putting up a ceiling fan that spring with my 5-year-old son, I realized that as long as I was patient enough, I could do whatever I wanted.”

By the end of that year, Kuniholm had resumed many of the things he’d done before his injury, though he finds some activities difficult enough that he doesn’t pursue them much, including playing the guitar or sports with his son.

In fact, it’s affected just about every other area of his life as well.

“All of it is impacted in some way, from the moment I get up in the morning,” he said. “I can do many things, … and many take much longer or I do inexpertly.”

Kuniholm was dismounted from a riverine craft on the shore of the Euphrates River south of Haditha, Iraq, when insurgents used a homemade bomb to initiate what he described as a sophisticated ambush on the platoon. The platoon, which was not his assigned unit, handled the ambush effectively, but three servicemembers suffered serious injuries and one was killed. One sailor, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Juan Rubio, earned a Silver Star during the engagement.

Kuniholm had played his guitar the night before in a talent show. He described himself as pretty rusty, since he hadn’t played in months. In retrospect, he said, it was interesting, considering what would happen the next day.

“It took about a year before I was done with surgeries, fitted with prostheses, and ready to get back to my life,” Kuniholm said. “Prosthetic arms are, as I discovered, still very much a work in progress, and if you want to call that part of my rehabilitation, my work to improve prosthetic arms continues.”

This, he said, has become his new calling in life. Realizing the deficiencies in prosthetic arms, he began working as an engineer on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics 2009 program. He also started Open Prosthetics Project, a nonprofit group, to further innovations in arm prosthetics.

“While my professional goal is to improve the technology amputees all over the world use to replace their arms, I have a new personal goal as well,” Kuniholm said.

Human beings are incredibly resilient and capable of nearly anything they set their minds to, he said.

“People with disabilities have a greater set of challenges, and while the road may be longer and harder, [we] have just as few limits to what we can achieve,” he said. “Climbing Denali is a task that many able-bodied folks would never undertake. By being part of a team tackling that task while sharing the additional challenges of disability, I hope to inspire others with similar challenges.

“I hope as well to remove the limits placed on their expectations of what they can achieve,” he added. “This won’t make getting dressed, eating, or anything else any easier, but it’s my hope that it will make any challenge seem possible and less of a chore to undertake.”

Kuniholm already has started to set an example for others who have disabilities and big dreams.

With the help of his flight instructor, he recently renewed his pilot’s license and has returned to flying as a private pilot. Earning a private pilot’s license is possible for those with disabilities who have never flown before, he said.

The successes occasionally are tempered by the public’s reaction, which he said his cousin likened to being out and about with a pregnant woman.

“It’s undeniable [that I’m missing an arm], and many people assume that this fact means you want to talk about it,” Kuniholm said. “As you might imagine, being involved in prosthetic arm research, I’ll always talk about prosthetic arms, but I have had that conversation before, and sometimes it’s nice to talk about something else.”

Kuniholm lives in Durham, N.C., with his wife, Michele, and son, Sam, 7. He served as the engineer officer and platoon commander of the 2nd Platoon, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, attached to the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marines, in Iraq’s Anbar province from Aug. 17, 2004, until his injury.

He is part of a seven-member team -- four wounded veterans, two mentors and one guide – whose attempt to reach North America’s highest peak began this week.

Related Sites:
Veterans Coalition Operation Denali Web Site

Related Articles:
Special Report: Operation Denali

[source]

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Every Day Heroes

Paying respects: from left, Dennis Boardman, Jack Watson, Fred Harman, George Butler, Jock Hutton and, front, Douglas Baines

Paratroopers salute D-Day heroes

Commemoration of the 65th anniversary of D-Day began today with more than a hundred British paratroopers descending from the Normandy skies.

For the veteran paratroopers watching, it was a chance to catch up on old times. There were hugs, tears and tales of extraordinary bravery to be told while soldiers from 3 Para landed in the fields around them.

Dennis Boardman, 84, pointed to the spot about 300 yards away where he had landed, close to Ranville, the first village liberated on D-Day.

"We dropped about 12.30am and we had taken the whole village by 2.30 in the morning," he recalled, "I always say to myself that for the last 65 years I have been living on borrowed time. I should be with my buddies in the graveyard down there but for the grace of God I am still here."

...

This really IS a must read, right to the end, where the typical, warped British sense of humour is still evident in these amazing heroes. Go here and meet them.

These EVERY DAY heroes make this English woman SO proud. Thank you all for your incredible courage and service. With heroes like you, there will always be an England.

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Operation Overlord

June 6, 1944 is a date in history heard before.
More than sixty years have passed long since.
It has become a day almost mythical in lore.
Crosses dot Europe’s landscapes in time’s mist.
Allied forces united closely in that World War.
Now seamed faces float back as they reminisce.

One hundred sixty thousand troops sailed away.
One hundred ninety thousand delivered them.
Leaving the safety of ships and planes that day,
They hit the beaches, promising to do their best.
The day was the last sunrise of life for too many.
More than ten thousand fell, many to eternal rest.

Try to picture it all through those frightened eyes.
Five beaches were the very Gates of Hell that day.
Sword Beach, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah Beach,
Pointe du Hoc loomed ahead in the gloom of dawn.
Warriors knew blood would flow; many would die.
Imagine how silence fell as soldiers quietly prayed.

Some faced towering cliffs and mines on sticks.
The enemy was protected by bunkers of cement,
Barbed wire, mines, walls of mortar and bricks.
Obstacles lay beneath waves of raging violence.
Months of planning were held in limbo, at bay,
As Mother Nature’s desires defined all that day.

Airborne troops had to sail in the winds that blew.
Soldiers descended rope ladders into bobbing boats,
Knowing that fickle waters controlled their moves.
Artillery suppport prayed guns landed on that coast.
Soldiers and sailors had no control, only a job to do.
Not one thing that day dispelled thoughts of gloom.

Brits, Yanks, Swedes, and Canadians had to attack.
Freedom Fighters were inland, reclaiming native soil.
The largest assault ever must break Germany’s back.
The Germans had to have the westward surge foiled.
Historians tell the stories; it is not merely myth at all.
Lives and blood lost that day saved the known world.

Personal tragedy is not always in official print.
A day of remembering shows in creased brows.
A real story is beneath sterile historical reports.
Look into the faces of that generation and know
That the terror of the day lives in their trembles.
If they will speak, listen well, then pass it along.


The stories are there, the real history, dramatic.
One survivor is burdened by six decades of guilt.
He waded from Hell unhurt, still it is traumatic.
Another felt a friend explode; he was scratched.
A few steps further and then another was killed.
Later he learned his shrapnel was bone fragments.

A soldier saw his brothers exit the landing craft.
Still too far out, they stepped down twenty feet.
They drowned struggling to be free of battle gear.
Twenty nine amphibious tanks were to hit a beach.
Two made it; the others became an armored reef.
Belgian gates and Teller mines defied the assault.

Rangers scaling cliffs hung in enemy bullets’ way.
Airborne soldiers drifted with the whim of winds.
Miles from landing zones they marched to the fray.
Gliders soared but winds often blocked the descent.
Troops fought on, giving all, marching for us today.
The beginning of that War’s end started on D-Day.



Mike Mullins, 6/4/09

Michael D. "Moon" Mullins, author of "Vietnam in Verse, poetry for beer drinkers." "ViV" won the Gold Medal for poetry, 2007, from the Military Writers Society of America. The book is available on line from amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, books-a-million.com and iUniverse.com.
It is available as an audio-book from the author. Please contact me at this e-mail address; mullins.m.1@comcast.net or via land mail at POB 456 Windfall, In. 46076.
Vietnam Veteran, Delta 3/7, 199th Light Infantry, '68-'69.
Vice President of the Military Writers Society of America

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D Day: "We will NEVER surrender"

(courtesy CBC)
(Courtesy BBC)




There is much more - pictures - videos, maps, first person accounts - over at Assoluta Tranquillita here.

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Wednesday Hero

Sgt. Pablo A. Calderon
26 years old from Brooklyn, New York
1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division
November 30, 2004


"He wanted to fight for his country," said his heartbroken younger sister, Lilliana Calderone. "He always wanted to be there."

Pablo Calderon joined the Army in 1997, right out of High School. "He went straight to the army from high school," said his sister. "He wanted to improve himself. He was proud. He loved his country."

Sgt. Calderon was killed when an IED was detonated near his vehicle in Fallujah, Iraq. Also killed in the attack was Sgt. Jose Guereca of Missouri City, Texas.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com & NYDailyNews.com

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.

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