I appreciate all Veterans Day celebrations, but this year it was a bit more personal than usual.
This year I went to the University of Washington to witness the dedication of the brand new UW Medal of Honor Memorial.
Let’s take a flashback. When my blog was in its infancy (in fact it was still at Blogspot) in early 2006, some harsh words were spoken at a meeting of the UW student senate. The issue was a motion to honor famed UW graduate Greg ‘Pappy’ Boyington, of Baa Baa Black Sheep fame.
Here is a quick summary of what set me off:
One standout speaker against the resolution was Ashley Miller, who noted that “many monuments at UW already commemorate rich white men.”
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Another person who actively opposed it was Jill Edwards, who tried to table the motion and failed, then questioned “whether it was appropriate to honor a person who killed other people”.
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Karl Smith proposed an amendment to strike any mention of how many aircraft he had shot down.
On June 25th, Move America Forward will be holding our 2nd annual “Troop-a-thon” titled “Honor their Service.”
This cutting edge live webcast event brings together talk radio hosts, megastars of film and television, musical guests, journalists, military and Gold-star families, pro-troop groups and many more.
The goal of this charity fundraiser is to send the largest ever shipment of care packages to our brave men and women of the armed forces serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.
Viewers are encouraged to sponsor care packages (donations are tax deductible) for the troops and each one includes a personalized message and items that our troops have requested that make their life a little easier while they are far from home, such as sun-screen, Gatorade, deodorant, coffee, cookies and much more.
I wrote about this movie a few months ago1 and finally decided to order HBO and view it for myself.
The professional reviews are out there, but here is my take on it.
The movie is the true life account of US Marine Corps Lt Col Michael Strobl, who is escorting the remains of a young Marine, PFC Chance Phelps, who was killed in Iraq. He is a former combat veteran now fighting his desk instead of the enemy. His number crunching tasks are surely important and necessary, but he is also harboring guilt at his safe suburban life with his wife and children. He has also faced some questions as to his decisions due to his lack of recent combat experience.
With his desire to do more at war with his love of his family, he begins seeking an outlet for how he can contribute more. During an unusually grueling period of high casualties, he sees that one of them was from his home town, and volunteers to escort him home. His rank makes this a surprise, as a Lt Col is normally much higher than a lowly junior enlisted rates.
Memorial day is never a ‘happy’ holiday for me. I served in a Military Honor Guard, and while I only participated in honoring those who were long since retired, I still understand the sobriety and respect necessary to interning our fallen heroes, even if those I honored were retired.
I once was asked during one of our Honor Guard details to ride in the hearse holding the urn of the fallen in my hands to the cemetery site. I was not prepared for the emotions that short ride gave me. Was he a hero from WW2? A vietnam soldier who faced a hostile world when his service was done?
It didn’t matter in the end. He had served, and he was worthy of respect.
The only funeral to affect me more was my grandmother’s when I was given the chance to honor her as pall bearer.
Also sobering was visiting two special places in Hawaii: The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl and the USS Arizona memorial. Both should be a mandatory visit for all American’s.
Back to the point, the honoring of our troops particularly those who have fallen, is something I feel strongly about.
Spread the word. Drop the ideology and support the troops.
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We are pleased to peel back the curtain and offer you an exclusive preview of our next exciting event. On Thursday June 25th, MAF will host its second annual “Troopathon” titled “Honor Their Service.
Last year, our “From the Frontlines” Troopathon was a huge success! In just 8-hours, our webcast styled “Jerry Lewis” telethon raised over $1.5 million to send over 80 tons of edible treats and other useful items like sun block and lip balm to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan! In addition, we were fortunate to feature such esteemed guests from the pro-troop community like Rush Limbaugh, Oliver North, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter and Mark Levin. We even had Michelle Malkin in studio co-hosting the broadcast with our very own Melanie Morgan! But the true stars were our troops—who delivered the real story about the Iraq War’s successes straight from the “Front Lines.”
In 2008 “From the Front Lines” was a breakthrough success thanks to your efforts and help from our friends in the pro-troop community!
The US Homeland Security Department, under fire for saying US forces returning from the Iraq and Afghan wars were potential right-wing extremist recruits, said Wednesday it honors US veterans.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to douse anger among conservatives and veterans groups like the American Legion over a report from her department warning of a rising threat of right-wing extremism.
“We are on the lookout for criminal and terrorist activity but we do not — nor will we ever — monitor ideology or political beliefs,” Napolitano said in a statement amid charges that the department had done just that.
Which, in fact, they have.
American Legion chief David Rehbein on Tuesday blasted the report as “incomplete, and, I fear, politically-biased” and took special aim at its warning that returning veterans having difficulties reintegrating society could be recruited by right-wing groups for possible terrorist attacks.
The Obama administration dropped a proposal to require some disabled veterans to pay for medical treatments through their private insurance companies, heeding a chorus of outrage from veterans groups and Capitol Hill lawmakers who said the idea was immoral, unconscionable and un-American.
The White House decided to scrap the plan after meeting with a contingent of veterans and military advocacy groups on Wednesday for the second time this week.
“In considering the third-party billing issue, the administration was seeking to maximize the resources available for veterans,” said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
Translation: They were seeking to be cheap skates and penny pinch a half billion dollars.
“However, the president listened to concerns raised by the [veterans groups] that this might, under certain circumstances, affect veterans and their families’ ability to access health care.”
Thanks to Lars Larson for carrying this on his show tonight. And wecome folks from Sister Toldjah.
I reported this last week as a plan presented by the Sec of Veterans Affairs, but at the time it did not seem to have Obama’s approval. Today, the Commander of The American Legion suggests that it is, and that it seems to be moving forward:
The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization says he is “deeply disappointed and concerned” after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.
“It became apparent during our discussion today that the President intends to move forward with this unreasonable plan,” said Commander David K. Rehbein of The American Legion. “He says he is looking to generate $540-million by this method, but refused to hear arguments about the moral and government-avowed obligations that would be compromised by it.”
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki confirmed Tuesday that the Obama administration is considering a controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance.
But the proposal would be “dead on arrival” if it’s sent to Congress, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said.
Murray used that blunt terminology when she told Shinseki that the idea would not be acceptable and would be rejected if formally proposed. Her remarks came during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs about the 2010 budget.
No official proposal to create such a program has been announced publicly, but veterans groups wrote a pre-emptive letter last week to President Obama voicing their opposition to the idea after hearing the plan was under consideration.
The groups also cited an increase in “third-party collections” estimated in the 2010 budget proposal — something they said could be achieved only if the Veterans Administration started billing for service-related injuries.
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New blog recommendation: ST reader Karl’s blog Leaning Straight Up
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