Marguerite Gene Arenesen (left) a member of the Coast Guard in World War II, George Warren (standing), a Canadian-born immigrant who became a naturalized American citizen at age 17 and joined the Army Air Corps shortly after the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and Thomas M. Sugg, a Navy veteran, share a moment in front of a Christmas tree at the Veterans Home in Barstow, California.
Photo Courtesy http://www.usmc.mil">United States Marine Corps Taken By Keith Hayes
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
This Weeks Post Was Suggested By href="http://captaindramaticsmom.blogspot.com">Mrs Xoke
border="1" alt="Sgt. 1st Class Bryan E. Hall">
Sgt. 1st Class Bryan E. Hall 32 years old from Elk Grove, California 1st Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division April 10, 2009 alt="U.S. Army">
Bryan Hall received three Army commendation medals, as well as good Army achievement, good conduct and war on terrorism medals. But his family didn't learn about them until after his death. "He was such a humble man," said his mother, Betty. "He was a special person, he never boasted about his accomplishments or was arrogant and pompous, he did his job," his sister, Kristi, said. "When he was done with his job, he came home and he was a father, a husband, a son and a brother. He embodied what I think every soldier would want to be."
Sgt. 1st Class Hall was a junior in High School when he signed up for an Army early entry program. After he graduated he attended one year of college before enlisting.
Bryan Hall, and five other soldiers, was killed on April 10, 2009 when a suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives at a police station in Mosul, Iraq. Betty Hall said an Army commander told her that by ordering his soldiers to fire on the suicide bomber's truck, her son probably saved many lives by preventing the attacker from entering the police compound.
You can read more about Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Hall href="http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-hall17-2009may17,0,2024749.story">here.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To LookSIZE>
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 href="http://rightwingrightminded.blogspot.com/2006/08/wednesday-hero-blogroll.html">here.
Cindy has written up a post to mark the 70th anniversay of the attack on Pearl Harbor. If you don't already have one you were planning to post, and would like to use it, here it is.
Pearl Harbor was originally a shallow embankment called Wai Momi (Pearl Water) or Pu'rloa (long Hill). It was considered the home of the shark goddess, Ka'ahupahua, and her brother, Kahiuka. Tradition says that Keaunui, the legendary chief of the Ewa chiefs is the one w ho created a navigable channel near the present day Pu'uloa saltworks. The estuary known as "Pearl River" was then accessible to shipping. It was never used for large shipping because of the shallow entrance. As whaling and trading began to use the islands as a half-way point in the Pacific, by 1820 the US was looking for a major harbor. It was not until the turn of the century that Pearl Harbor began to be refitted for larger naval vessels. The naval base we know today was formally opened when the dry dock was open to flooding on August 21, 1919.
As early as February 1, 1933, the Navy staged a mock attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. The exercise was a disaster. Even in 1933 it was known that Pearl Harbor's defenses were considered, after the mock attack by Japan, a failure. It makes the events of December 7, 1941 even more heart-wrenching. The War Department knew the attack was coming. They did not know when. They did not realize that Pearl Harbor, which was basically a sitting duck, was to be the location of the attack. It was assumed the attack would come in the Philippines.
Click For Full Size Photo taken by a Japanese plane shows Battleship Row at the beginning of the attack, along with the strike on the USS Oklahoma
"...Under the command of Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, the attack was devastating in loss of life and damage to the U.S. fleet. At 06:05 on December 7, the six Japanese carriers launched a first wave of 183 aircraft composed mainly of dive bombers, horizontal bombers and fighters. The Japanese hit American ships and military installations at 07:51. The first wave attacked military airfields of Ford Island. At 08:30, a second wave of 170 Japanese aircraft, mostly torpedo bombers, attacked the fleet anchored in Pearl Harbor. The battleship Arizona was hit with an armor-piercing bomb which penetrated the forward ammunition compartment, blowing the ship apart and sinking it within seconds. Overall, nine ships of the U.S. fleet were sunk and 21 ships were severely damaged. Three of the 21 would be irreparable. The overall death toll reached 2,403, including 68 civilians, and 1,178 injured. Of the military personnel lost at Pearl Harbor, 1,177 were from the Arizona. The first shots fired were from the destroyer Ward on a midget submarine that surfaced outside of Pearl Harbor; Ward sank the midget sub at approximately 06:55, about an hour before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan would lose 29 out of the 350 aircraft they attacked with...."
Click For Full Size USS Arizona
The attack on Pearl Harbor, called Hawaii Operation or Operation Al by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters was designed to prevent the US Pacific Fleet from interfering with their military actions in Southeast Asia, against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, Netherlands, and the US. The Japanese attack was so thorough that only 29 aircraft and five midget submarines were lost. The US death toll was 2,403. Only 65 Japanese servicemen were killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor was captured.
Spc. Joseph A. Graves 21 years old from Discovery Bay, California 110th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade July 26, 2006
Spc. Joseph Graves's dream was to work for the FBI and he saw that joining the Military was a way to help me do that. Joseph Graves enlisted in the Army at 17 and surprised his family when he went to jump school soon afterwards. "This was a kid I could hardly get to ski down a ski slope, because it was too intimidating," said his father, Kevin. "And now he's jumping out of airplanes." Spc. Graves was the lone casualty when his convoy was attacked by insurgents near Baghdad on July 26, 2006.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Wreaths Across America was profiled last year and it will probably be profiled again next year because they are a great organization. For 20 years they have have laid Christmas wreaths on the headstones of our fallen heroes at Arlington National Cemetery. And this year, for their 20th year, their goal is to lay a wreath on every headstone, all 220,000, and they need our help. Head over to Help Wreaths Across America Cover Arlington and there you can find information on how you can do that. Whether it's via a donation or just getting the word out, anything we can do helps.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Sgt. Kevin Stewart(Left) & Spc. David Duque(Right)
Sgt. Kevin Stewart, left, congratulates Spc. David Duque on his becoming a U.S. citizen in a ceremony at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Nov. 9. Duque is a native of Cuba. Both soldiers are members of Company E, Forward Support Element, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.
Photo Courtesy U.S. Army Taken By Capt. Christopher Larsen
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz (Far Left) and Amber Boyd (Right)
Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz and Amber Boyd from the 633rd Security Forces Squadron, which is at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., are greeted at the Newport News, Va., airport by family and coworkers Nov. 2, 2011 . The two were part of a group of Airmen that deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, in June, but returned a couple of months early after President Obama announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
1st Lt. Ashley White, Sgt. First Class Kristoffer B. Domeij & Pfc. Christopher Horns October 22, 2011
On Saturday, October 22, 2011, three United States Soldiers were killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. They were 1st Lt. Ashley White, 24, 230th Brigade Support Battalion, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, North Carolina National Guard; Sgt. First Class Kristoffer B. Domeij, 29; and Pfc. Christopher Horns, 20, both with 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Sgt. James Hinson, Marine Barracks Washington motor transportation operator, prepares a dish for a homeless person during a So Others Might Eat volunteer event in northwest Washington, D.C., Oct. 20, 2011. Fifteen Barracks Marines volunteered to assist the SOME staff in feeding homeless men and women from the nation's capitol region.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Lt.Richard Biedermann (Ret.) 89 years old from Tulsa, Oklahoma May 28, 1922 - October 3, 2011
When Dick Biedermann asked the organizing committee of the Oklahoma Honor Flights how much more was needed to be raised he was told $10,000. His response was "Piece of cake. I can raise that". And in only four weeks he did just that. In fact, he raised $16,000 and in doing so was able to help send 105 of his fellow WWII veterans to D.C. to see the national WWII Memorial back in February of this year. He was scheduled to go with them but he had taken a fall the week before and was unable to go. But this was nothing new for the retired Naval Lieutenant. He was always helping others. The Ronald McDonald House, the United Way, the Tulsa Chapter of Alzheimer’s Association and so on. He saw it as his mission.
Sadly, Richard (Dick) Biedermann passed away on October 3 after a long battle with heart disease. He was buried on October 6 with full military honors by the VFW and Patriot Guard Riders.
You can read more about Dick Biedermann here and view his obituary here.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Capt. Theodore "Ted" Williams (Center) 83 years old from Inverness, Florida VMF-311, Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33) August 30, 1918 - July 5, 2002
Everyone knows Ted Williams as one of the greatest Baseball players of all time, but many may not know that he also served his country during W.W.II and Korea. Williams joined the V-5 program to became a Naval aviator after enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1942. He received his pilots wings two years later in 1944. He never saw action as Japan surrendered as he was in Pearl Harbor awaiting orders. He did, however, in the Marine Forces Reserves and was later recalled in to active duty during the Korean War. He flew 39 combat missions before being hospitalized with pneumonia which resulted in the discovery of an inner ear infection that ultimately disqualified him from flight status.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
F/O Leland H. Pennington 24 years old from Alma Place, New York 332nd Fighter Group 1921 - April 21, 1945
Sadly, little is know about Flight Officer Leland Pennington's military career. He joined the Military sometime in 1941 or 1942. He became one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. Then in 1945, after a bombing run on the Attnang-Puchheim marshalling yard in Austria, F/O Pennington was lost after completing a successful escort mission.
You can read more about F/O Pennington here and here
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Second Lt. Perla Kimes has her bars of gold pinned on during a commissioning ceremony this summer at the Leader Development and Assessment Course on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Sgt. Dakota Meyer 23 years old from Greensburg, Kentucky Embedded Training Team 2-8
On September 15, Sgt. Dakota Meyer was awarded the Medal Of Honor by President Obama for his actions on Sept. 8, 2009 in the Ganjgal Valley of Afghanistan when he and Staff Sgt. Juan Rodriguez-Chavez saved 36 fellow Marines when they, and the Afghan military members they were helping to train, came under attack by Taliban insurgents.
His citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the repeated risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a member of Marine Embedded Training Team 2-8, Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-7, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on 8 September 2009. When the forward element of his combat team began to be hit by intense fire from roughly 50 Taliban insurgents dug-in and concealed on the slopes above Ganjgal village, Corporal Meyer mounted a gun-truck, enlisted a fellow Marine to drive, and raced to attack the ambushers and aid the trapped Marines and Afghan soldiers. During a six hour fire fight, Corporal Meyer single-handedly turned the tide of the battle, saved 36 Marines and soldiers and recovered the bodies of his fallen brothers. Four separate times he fought the kilometer up into the heart of a deadly U-shaped ambush. During the fight he killed at least eight Taliban, personally evacuated 12 friendly wounded, and provided cover for another 24 Marines and soldiers to escape likely death at the hands of a numerically superior and determined foe. On his first foray his lone vehicle drew machine gun, mortar, rocket grenade and small arms fire while he rescued five wounded soldiers. His second attack disrupted the enemy’s ambush and he evacuated four more wounded Marines. Switching to another gun-truck because his was too damaged they again sped in for a third time, and as turret gunner killed several Taliban attackers at point blank range and suppressed enemy fire so 24 Marines and soldiers could break-out. Despite being wounded, he made a fourth attack with three others to search for missing team members. Nearly surrounded and under heavy fire he dismounted the vehicle and searched house to house to recover the bodies of his fallen team members. By his extraordinary heroism, presence of mind amidst chaos and death, and unselfish devotion to his comrades in the face of great danger, Corporal Meyer reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service."
In addition to the Medal Of Honor, Sgt. Meyer has also been awarded the Expert Marksmanship Badge for Rifle and Pistol, Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ Valor Device and Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal.
You can read more about Sgt. Dakota Meyer and his actions here.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Religious Programs Specialist Seaman Sha'Quanda Jacobs rings the bell during commemoration ceremony of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States at Naval Air Station Oceana.
Photo Courtesy U.S. Navy Taken by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Terah L. Mollise
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
Maj. Albert Brown105 years old from Pinckneyville, Illinois
Oct. 26, 1905 - Aug. 14, 2011
At 105 years old, Albert Brown was the oldest living living survivor of the Bataan Death March.In April of 1942, then Capt. Brown and 70,000+ American and Filipinos were marched 66 miles to POW camps on the Bataan peninsula in the Philippines with little food or water. Many were beaten and killed along the way and left where they fell. “One 18-year-old I knew, he fell down,” Mr. Brown said. “A guard came along and put a gun to his head, pulled the trigger and walked away.”Capt. Brown spent 3 years as a POW where he was beaten; thrown down stairs, seriously injuring his back; and struck in the neck by a rifle butt, causing a fracture. When he was finally freed he weighed just 90 pounds. “We were listed in groups of 10. If one escaped out of the 10, they eliminated the rest of them, killed them. So, at night, just before roll call, you tried to find out if your 10 were still there.”
You can read more about Maj. Albert Brown hereThese brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero. Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look. 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.
Russell E. Tucker Sr.
72 years old from Buffalo, New York
1899? - 1971
Seven years shy of a century later, Russell E. Tucker Sr. got his due Friday at a ceremony where he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal for wounds he suffered as a Marine in World War I.
In June of 1918 Russel Tucker and his fellow Marines marched into German machine gun fire in Belleau, France and drove the enemy back. Russel, then only 19-years-old, was shot in the temple and in the right hand losing part of his knuckle on his index finger. But because there was no such award as the Purple Hart at the time it's taken almost a century for it to finally be awarded.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look
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.
border="1" alt="Sgt. 1st Class Bryan E.
alt="U.S. Army">
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