First Sergeant CJ Grisham is a 14 year career Soldier stationed in Alabama.
On this blog he highlights the heroes and success stories of our military, while
providing a unique perspective to political issues affecting the armed services and its members.
The VAMC and You Served recently donated a generous amount of money Project Valour-IT during the recent Veterans Day Virtual Parade. Now it’s your turn to help.
Seven noted authors have stepped up to support Project Valour-IT by donating autographed books for auction, and more are anticipated to join them. The books are being auctioned on eBay to help raise money to help Soldier’s Angels provide adaptive laptops to wounded or disabled service members.
David Weber, David Drake, John Ringo, David J. Williams, Dean Ing, Mark L. Van Name, and Travis “Doc” Taylor have all agreed to provide works for auction as part of the annual fundraiser, which kicked off on Veterans Day and ends Thanksgiving Day. The works are being auctioned on the eBay Giving Works listings (seller spliffslips) with the money raised going directly and fully to the Project Valour-IT fund.
Currently, there are seven items up for bid on eBay:
Works by David Weber, Dave Williams, and Dean Ing will be posted for auction soon. The end time for each auction is different, so please check each listing to determine its end date.
John Ringo is a New York Times best-selling author with more than a million copies of his works in print. A veteran (Airborne!), he is known for his solo “Posleen” and “Ghost” series, as well as his “Empire of Man” series co-authored with David Weber.
Travis S. “Doc” Taylor is a rising light in the science fiction sky. He’s earned not only a Ph.D. in optical science and engineering, but Master’s degrees in physics, aerospace engineering, and astronomy and a Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering as well. The author of several books, he may be best known for the “Looking Glass” series co-authored with John Ringo. The start of a series of video interviews with Taylor can be found here.
David Drake is the New York Times best-selling author of the “Hammer’s Slammers” series. Having written on a variety of subjects, his Hammer’s Slammers work is based on his service in Vietnam and he is known to describe the series as the 11th Armored Cavalry with ray guns. The start of a series of video interviews with Drake can be found at here.
Mark L. Van Name is an author who also runs a technology assessment company in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. A former Executive Vice President for Ziff Davis Media and national technology columnist, he’s published over a thousand computer-related articles in addition to his “Slanted Jack” series and numerous short stories. The start of a series of video interviews with Van Name can be found here.
David Weber is the New York Times best-selling author of the acclaimed “Honor Harrington” series. The author of multiple best-selling books and series, he has seen his works develop a world-wide reach and following. The start of a series of video interviews with him can be found here.
David J. Williams is another rising star in the science fiction universe. Born in Hertfordshire, England, he now resides in Washington, DC. Mirrored Heavens is his first novel.
Dean Ing is the author of multiple science fiction and techno-thriller novels. After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he earned a doctorate in communications and worked in aerospace engineering. He served on the Citizen’s Advisory Council on National Space Policy.
Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:
Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.
Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions.
Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to TBI and severe PTSD.
The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, illustrates how important these laptops and other technologies can be to a wounded service member’s recovery.
Established in 2003, Soldiers’ Angels is a volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families. For more information, see www.soldiersangels.org or call 626-529-5114. Tax ID# 20-0583415
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then you're one click away from the folks that make all this possible - VAMC.
Read more about VA Loans and VA Benefits programs on our main site. Thanks for reading!
Are they really? The media and anti-war idjits in this country would have you believe two things: the services can’t meet recruiting goals and recruiters are sharks who will sign up anyone. The simple fact is that those cries are coming from people who have never served, much less even know where the local recruiting office probably is. The fact is that people are joining the military in growing numbers and choosing to stay in past their first terms. And some are going through great pains to get in.
Army and Navy recruiters took one look at 330-pound Ulysses Milana and told him to forget about joining. “‘You’ve got to lose weight,’” Milana remembers them saying. But Marine recruiters were willing to work with him as he began his weight-loss journey in December 2007.
Now, 11 months later, Milana is 140 pounds lighter as he leaves Monday for Parris Island, S.C., to begin boot camp.
Notice in there that no one forced Ulysses to lose the weight. No one forced him into the Marine Corps. He knows that as a Marine he will most likely be required to serve in a combat zone and defend our nations interests and his fellow Marines. Instead of taking the easy route and using his weight as an excuse as to why he couldn’t join, he did what he had to so that he could lose weight.
I say good luck to Ulysses and a big THANK YOU for signing up to serve the greatest nation on the face of the earth, regardless of what those people have to say.
A former culinary student, Milana said it was a challenge to give up favorites like pizza and hot wings, but cracking open a cold beer after work was perhaps the toughest guilty pleasure to abandon.
“It was really hard. You see all your friends drinking beer, and you’re like, ‘Oh, man, I want one,’” he said. But his determination kept him on track, and he would head for the gym or don a head lamp and go out for a run.
“I saw him on June 19th at a police station in Kandahar where both our teams stopped to do a battle handoff,” Malave said. “We stood there for 45 minutes talking and laughing about good times.”
Two days later, Seabrooks, 36, was killed by a roadside bomb along with two other New York National Guard soldiers, Spc. Anthony Mangano, 36, of Greenlawn, Long Island, and Sgt. Nelson Rodriguez-Ramirez, 22, of Revere, Mass.
Three months later, Malave got promoted while home on leave.
“That night quietly in my bathroom, I thanked Seabrooks for his recommendation and shed tears again for my friend - who even in death helped me out,” Malave said.
I saw this during the Cowboys vs. Redskins game tonight and was uber impressed. I want to share it with you. At Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, The Line of Scrimmage filmed the E.E. Smith Golden Bulls. In this video, the coach talks about getting the players game footage so that if their parents are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, they can still see their sons play.
I really do love telling these stories. It sure would be nice if these things were as widely publicized as Jamie Lynn Spears’ latest pregnancy woes! One would think that our nation’s heroes deserve more front page and prime time news coverage than Hollywood idiots. Thank goodness the local media like Montana’s News Station, is paying attention.
The high school that SGT Atkins attended recently held an assembly to honor him.
The late Sgt. Travis Atkins, who attended Bozeman High School, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award given in the military.
Atkins saved the lives of three other soldiers when he tackled a suicide bomber.
This award was presented to the school Friday by the Southwest Montana Vietnam Veterans.
Though attendance was voluntary for the students, so many turned out that the presentation had to be moved to the bigger south gym.
“You know, that’s the sweet thing about it. You know, you look at the audience, it’s a voluntary assembly. It gets bigger and bigger every time we do it, we used to have it in the north gym, which is small, then this one, now we have to go to the south gym. So that’s the neat thing about it. Kids are interested, they’re concerned and they come and that’s a neat thing to see,” Principal Godfrey Saunders said.
During the presentation, students were asked to stand up if they had anyone in their families serve in the military, showing everyone in the room first-hand how close to home the impacts are felt.
Staff Sgt. Joel Pitsch was impressed the the number of students who stood.
“It gives me a lot of pride to see a lot of the kids stand up when they were asked if somebody in their family is in the service. Because, you know, about 90 percent of them stood up, and it just tells me that the military is right here in our home town. You know, people that serve in our communities serve our country, like right next door to us,” Pitsch said.
A great deal of the successes in Iraq and Afghanistan are the direct result of the bravery and professionalism of our Special Forces units. 5th SFG is one of those units. Jake Lowery, of the Leaf Chronicle, recently wrote about the unit receiving the Valorous Unit Award.
It took four years, but the soldiers of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group on Friday received the “overdue honors” they deserved.
The Green Berets, about 80 in total, were presented the Valorous Unit Award — the second-highest award for a military unit — for their efforts from July 20 to Dec. 1, 2004.
The award is considered the equivalent of an individual receiving the Silver Star.
Maj. Paul Pfeiffer, commander of A/1/5, as it is more commonly known, said it is “exceptionally rare for an element this small to be awarded this honor.”
“Today we break from the routine,” he said to the small crowd. “As Special Forces soldiers, we often pride ourselves at being the quiet professionals. We do our job — most of the time exceptionally well — and continue on with little fanfare.”
Snagfilms has done it again. It is quickly becoming THE place to find great military-oriented films and documentaries (no, I don’t get paid for saying that, but it would be nice!). In honor of Veterans Day, the company has released two great films: East L.A. Marine and Arlington Field of Honor. Here is the Arlington film (you can catch the East L.A. Marine film at A Soldier’s Perspective). I know you’ll like them both!
Yes, the videos from BlogWorldExpo and the Milblog Conference are still coming. This was one of my favorite interviews (we’re still looking into the legality of using others!). Enjoy!
Back on July 2nd I wrote this post, http://bouhammer.com/wordpress/?p=840 about buildaisgn.com who donated 20,000 banners for free to families of servicemembers who wanted a sign or banner in order to welcome their loved one home from war.
Well this great company is doing it again with another promotion. The patriots at this company are again giving away 20,000 banners plus jumbo cards to support our troops at home or abroad. All you have to do it go to www.buildasign.com/troops to order one of the free banners in order to thank and support a service-member you know and love.
With age and experience each Veteran’s Day seems more important, more solemn, and also more joyful for me. We always observed Veteran’s Day when I was growing up. Several generations of men in my family have served in the armed forces. Most of them served in the Navy until the recent trend of young men in this generation serving in the Army. Needless to say there are always plenty of people around our home to say “thank you” to on this day.
Last Veteran’s Day I was waiting for my son’s plane to come in. He was on his way home for a small break during his 15-month deployment. The day after he landed we learned that a very good friend of his was killed Baqubah. Our Thanksgiving Day that year was spent passing the turkey and facing the harsh reality of war and the devastating loss that combat brings.
The importance of Veteran’s Day has grown for me in the past few years. My own understanding of how my freedom as an American is linked to the lives we celebrate on this day has made me more aware of exactly what we are celebrating. The lives of soldiers, past and present, those who have fallen and those still standing are the reason why I am free to live according to my convictions. I worship at the church of my choice thanks to these soldiers. I walk out of my home with my face uncovered, and go about my business as a law abiding citizen, thanks to these soldiers. I write my blog, speak my mind and speak of dreams I have for my daughter with confidence, because of our soldiers! God made me free, but our soldiers protect that most precious and most coveted of human traits.
My solemnity grows with the realization of the depth of the sacrifice it has taken to both achieve and then maintain our freedom. Freedom is the most costly of commodities. It can not be bought or paid for with anything but courage and valor. Its costliness is wrapped up in the very origins of human freedom. Tyrannism would seek to rob man of his freedom, and therefore it takes a warrior to preserve freedom and allow us to live without the bondage of wicked rulers. “Evil rules when good men do nothing.” That quote attributed to statesman Edmund Burke is one that always reminds of what our soldiers accomplish for us. My husband would add that “good men” would never sit and do nothing in the face of evil; a man who would ignore evil is not a good man. I guess that explains his own military service.
Joy is my response when I look around me, not just in my own family, but all around me I see young men and women who embody the values, strength and moxie it takes to fight for our Country. We have in our midst, in this very day, some of the finest, bravest, most selfless men and women. I am joyful because even as we lose our beloved World War II generation to age and as our brave Vietnam Veterans are moving forward in time, I have to say that their very large boots are being filled with very capable feet!
The only thing I have yet to reconcile about this day in my own heart is, how can I ever say “thank you” enough? It’s uttered with sincere thanks and gratitude. The words still feel flat to me in comparison to the sacrifice.
All I know to do is to say it, mean it, and live my life in the way it is intended to be lived; cherishing my freedom without taking it for granted. I think saying “thank you” is best justified by living a grateful life.
