To honor U.S. military personnel and increase community morale, Xerox Corporation has created Let’s Say Thanks, a national program designed to deliver millions of cards to servicemen and women overseas with messages of support from home.

On June 26, 2006, Xerox launched the Web site www.LetsSayThanks.com to allow the public to send personal messages to support the men and women stationed overseas. The messages are sent on postcards designed by children from across the country.

The postcards, depicting patriotic scenes and hometown images, were selected from a pool of entries from children across the country.

Local Veterans of Foreign Wars Junior Vice Commander Gene Tucker recounted how he felt when receiving word from home while serving overseas.

“During the Viet Nam War I remember receiving books and care packages from children all across the United State. It was an amazing and heartfelt experience,” Tucker said. “The books meant a lot to me because I’m a veracious reader but what really struck home with me was homemade sweets. To think people would spend their time and money to make and send me and my compatriots something good to eat was wonderful.”

Tucker served as Post 8874 commander from 1998 until he stepped down in 2008.

“I suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and had to remove myself. You can only serve so long and ask others to do so much unless you can do it yourself and I reached a point where I could not any longer,” Tucker said. “So I’m doing what I can now and I’m working with young soldiers returning from war.”

Read the full story in Friday’s Los Alamos Monitor.

By Wendy Osher

Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares issued a proclamation at a Veteran’s Day Commemorative Event at the Queen Kaahumanu Center in Kahului today.  The 2009 Maui Veterans Day event was hosted by the Maui Sons & Daughters of Nisei Veterans and included historic displays, memorabilia, and recognition of veterans who served Maui County.

Tavares proclaimed November 11, 2009 as VFW Buddy Poppy Month throughout the County of Maui.  The program is run on Maui by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary.

The VFW Buddy Poppies distribution campaign began in 1922 and has since raised millions of dollars in support of veteran’s welfare.

The program gets its name from the red poppy, which became associated with war after the publication of the poem “In Flander’s Field” written by Col. John McCrae who described blowing red fields among the battleground of the fallen.

VFW Buddy Poppies programs are assembled for disabled, needy and aging veterans in VA hospitals and state veterans homes across the country.  Proceeds of the donation campaign are retained locally to provide for disabled veterans and the widows and orphans of deceased veterans.  The admiral intent of the Buddy Donation Drive is reflected in the desire to “Honor the Dead by Helping the Living.”

Lady Grace (left), a lifetime member of the Ladies Auxiliary VFW is joined by a fellow member in honoring Maui’s Veterans in a Commemorative event at the Queen Kaahumanu Center in Kahului. Photo by Wendy Osher.

Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares presents a proclamation to the VFW Buddy Poppies program for their work in "Honoring the Dead by Helping the Living." Photo by Wendy Osher.

(Video1:  Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares delivers her proclamation in recognition of the VFW Buddy Poppies Program.  Video2:  Maui Dignitaries share their thoughts on Veterans Day 2009.  Videos and Photos by Wendy Osher)

My maternal grandpa was an American ”Commando” during WWII (the Green Berets weren’t in existence yet, so he got British-style special forces training.). In honor of him, here is a story I wrote, based on truth.

He was a good and a brave man, and deserves to be honored.

Many of the incidents in the story are true, and the others, could be.

The following is a prayer for our armed forces from the 2nd edition of the “Service Prayer Book”,  printed in 1941.

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O Eternal Lord God, Whose eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, be pleased to receive into Thine almighty and most gracious protection those who serve in the armed forces of our country.

We commend them to thy fatherly goodness and pray Thee to take into Thine own hands both them and the cause which they uphold.

Prosper them in the maintenance of our country’s honor and keep them safe from enemies spiritual and temporal.

Grant that all they do may tend to peace on earth: that the inhabitants of our land may in peace and quiet serve Thee, our God; that war being done away, they may fight only in their Christian conflict against sin, the world and the devil, until they are called to rest in the triumphs of Thy glory; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen

——————————————————————————————————–

A most sincere thank you to the men and women of our armed forces, both past and present from Mountain Republic.

"Citizen Soldier", Bronze.

Jim Brothers
Citizen Soldier

24 hours

Veterans of Foreign Wars Centennial Plaza
406 West 34th Street
Kansas City, MO
816.756.3390

Permanent installation.

VFW site: http://www.vfw.org

On Memorial Day, we honor the fallen. This is the day, whatever one thinks about war, to honor those who came back from it alive — and are doing so even today.

Jim Brothers has done both; he created six bronzes for the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va., and is the sculptor of today’s featured piece, Citizen Soldier. The life-size bronze stands at 34th and Broadway, forming the centerpiece of the Centennial Plaza outside the national headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The statue depicts the same man, once as a Vietnam-era  soldier and once as a boldly striding businessman wearing a VFW hat. The positioning makes it appear as though the soldier is laying down covering fire for his future self, both pairs of eyes locked on the same goal.

It was dedicated in 2001, along with the rest of the Centennial Plaza, to mark the 100th anniversary of the organization’s founding. Eight years later, we’re still making veterans.

Funny, they called World War I  ”The War to End All Wars.”

Speaking of that conflict, though, a visit to the National World War I Museum at the Liberty Memorial would also be more than appropriate today. It’s only a short drive — or a decent walk, for those who don’t mind stretching their legs — from VFW headuarters. And on the way, or afterward, you can check out Brothers’ iconic The Scout statue in nearby Penn Valley Park.

And, while this might sound like a cliché … if you run into a vet today, don’t hesitate to say, “Thanks.”

It was something on the news channel.  I’m not exactly sure which story it was – something about serving in the military.  SP asked if everyone had to serve in the army and go to war.  Grandpa and I explained to him that when he turned 18 he would be required to register with the department that was in charge of protecting our country.   That is one of the rules of being a US citizen.  And the registration meant that if the US needed you to fight for the country, they might have to draw names from those who had registered, and then if your name was drawn, you would be drafted into service.    For a kid, sometimes concepts are hard to understand, and sometimes too much information is given.

But it got me thinking.  I was sitting in a little restaurant in Anchorage one morning several weeks ago,  having breakfast with Dad and Mom.  Dad had finished pulling out his chair, found a place to hang his cane, took off his coat and hat.  We all sat down to enjoy a meal.  At some point during our meal, a gentleman stopped by the table, with his family hoovering in the background.  He told Dad that he just wanted to thank him for all he had done.  My Dad looked at the man with a little half smile and a question in his eyes.  The man told Dad that he had noticed Dad’s hat.  It happened to be one that Dad rarely leaves home without – his WWII, Korea, and Vietnam Wars Veteran cap.  The gentleman, who himself was no spring chicken, told Dad that he had also served in Vietnam, and he just wanted to thank Dad for serving his country during 3 wars.  It made me feel good, so I am sure it made Dad’s day.

Sam Svarny, US Army, retired, placing the WWII memorial wreath.Photo courtesy Wendy Hawthorne.

I wasn’t born during WWII or the Korean War.  I was in 7th grade when Dad was sent to Vietnam.  I can remember it as being a very hard year without Dad, both in terms of the terror us four girls had of losing Dad, but also just living without his presence.   Mom or us girls mowed the lawn.  Mom learned how to drive.  Mom will tell you to this day that she only had two quarters to rub together at the end of each month. 

It was awesome to get a letter from Dad.  He would write to Mom, of course, but he also wrote to each of us girls.  I can remember giving a report at school about Vietnam and using the Vietnamese money that Dad had sent me in one of those letters.  I can remember watching the Bob Hope Show  in the hopes of seeing my Dad in the crowd of soldiers.  Of course I didn’t see him, but just the thought of maybe seeing him was a good hope.  Mom flew to California to meet Dad when he returned to the states, and I can remember all four of us girls lined up in the living room window, waiting for them to pull into the driveway.

Happy to be together again.

In varying degrees, we are all aware of the sacrifices that our soldiers make for this country.  But I think many of us may not realize all of  the sacrifices made by families all over these United States; like the concept of the draft for 8 year old SP, it is hard to conceptualize how many lives can be impacted by a soldier’s service.

I’ve heard that our senior citizens at the Father Ishmail Gromoff Senior Center are planning to send holiday packages to our soldiers fighting for our country.  Let’s all help them out by donating either money or goodies for the packages.

VALLEY FALLS, NEW YORK — The young man was given three choices: get turned over to the police, go one-on-one in a fight with a seasoned war veteran, or be duct-taped to a flagpole for six hours with a sign around his neck identifying his alleged crime: flag burning.

It was the third option that would still have the small town buzzing a week after a 21-year-old was hunted down and forced to endure a public humiliation with its roots dating to the Middle Ages.

Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1938 were incensed enough to tie up the man last Sunday after they accused him of setting the flag in front of their building on fire.

Post Commander Nick Normile, a Vietnam War veteran, said the man came into the post’s bar Sept. 18 on Poplar Avenue and was eventually turned away for not having a proper ID.

Apparently angered, the young man, who Normile did not want to name, cut the rope of the American flag flying overhead and used a cigarette lighter to set it on fire, Normile and others said.

The man sat pilloried as the village had its fall youth soccer picnic with a long parade of children passing in front of him.

“He’ll never disrespect the flag again, I can tell you that,” Normile said.

Normile said the flag had at one point flown over U.S. troops in Iraq had special significance.

via: One Marine’s View. Visit his site for the full story.

Suspected flag burner pilloried
Alleged offender hunted down, ridiculed after incident at VFW post
By BOB GARDINIER AND HUMBERTO MARTÍNEZ, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, September 26, 2009

VALLEY FALLS — The young man was given three choices: get turned over to the police, go one-on-one in a fight with a seasoned war veteran, or be duct-taped to a flagpole for six hours with a sign around his neck identifying his alleged crime: flag burning.

It was the third option that would still have the small town buzzing a week after a 21-year-old was hunted down and forced to endure a public humiliation with its roots dating to the Middle Ages. Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1938 were incensed enough to tie up the man last Sunday after they accused him of setting the flag in front of their building on fire.

Post Commander Nick Normile, a Vietnam War veteran, said the man came into the post’s bar Sept. 18 on Poplar Avenue and was eventually turned away for not having a proper ID.

Full Article

Good. About time. Burning someone else’s flag is a crime. It is called vandalism. First Amendment does not apply right there. The First Amendment does not give one the right to commit a crime, like vandalism. How stupid is this guy. Some people do deserve to be publicly pilloried, like Fred Phelps, Lori Drew, Bernard Madoff, and Michael Crook. They should of heavy objects thrown at them. That will teach anyone a lesson, including that flag burner.

Here is the photo of the man being pilloried.

All I can say is HA! HA!

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” -  Second Amendment to The United State’s Constitution.

I am growing increasingly concerned with the mindset of certain Americans.  I can laugh off the “Birthers” that think President Obama was born outside of the United States making him ineligible to hold the office.  I can outright dismiss the “Deathers” who believe that healthcare reform will create death panels and euthanize grandma.  But what I can’t dismiss is the danger posed to both the President of the United States and the general public by these gun toting and wielding whack jobs.

For the record, I absolutely abhor guns.  There is only one purpose for a gun and that is to kill.  So know you can understand my uneasiness when I see angry people carrying loaded firearms and assault rifles on city streets.  In particular, anywhere President Obama happens to be at a town hall meeting or delivering a speech.  Just because you have the right to do something, doing it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are right in exercising said right.

Take the guy in the video for example, he’s marching (in other videos) up and down the street like he’s Glenn Ford in “High Noon.”  Yet, he refused to give his name to anyone trying to interview him.  In the interview he seems happy to just be able to parade his arsenal around while espousing right wing talking points.  It was also estimated that at least a dozen people attended the protest with loaded weapons.  Angry people carrying loaded weapons at healthcare protests are a recipe for a disaster.  We should all be thankful that violence did not break out.

Now my take on all this is that these Second Amendment pussies who feel that they have to walk around with guns are sexually inadequate.  The gun is their metaphor that projects manliness and power that they fail to achieve with their penises.  I am not a psychologist but I firmly believe that it is hard to be a man with a gun in your hand.

There is nothing wrong with owning a gun if you need to hunt to put food on your table.  There is nothing wrong with owning a gun in your home for self defense.  There is also nothing wrong in owning a gun if you want to go to the range and shoot at targets.  But when you bring a gun to a public rally or protest I believe you violate the intent of the Second Amendment.  Which in and of itself is the subject for another blog.

Sooner or later, we as a nation will have to address the Second Amendment.  I firmly believe that the Founding Fathers truly intended that this pertained solely to the militia or future armies, not so, that a few whack jobs could walk the streets projecting their false sense of power!

Life changed radically for my parents and grandparents when stock marketers margined America’s economy into the Great Depression. Stocks were purchased with 10% down, creating an over-extended credit culture, the very beginnings of what our economy suffers from today. After the market crash of 1929, unemployment rose to 25%.

In the spring and summer of 1932, 43,000 marchers, including 17,000 unemployed WWI veterans and their families, converged on Washington, D.C. in efforts to collect their war-time bonuses.  A practice since 1776, those who enlisted and served in the military were promised the difference in compensation between what they earned as soldiers and what they would have earned had they not enlisted. The Bonus March, as it became known, proved to be one of the most shameful and visible examples of post-war treatment of American military veterans in our history.

The bill to compensate the veterans immediately and offer some relief from the unemployment of the Great Depression passed the House of Representatives on June 15, but was blocked by the Senate. On July 28, 1932, Attorney General Mitchell ordered the city’s police force to evacuate the Bonus Army from Washington, D.C.  When the marchers resisted, many were injured and two were killed.  Hearing of the violence, President Hoover ordered military intervention. Thinking Maj. George S. Patton was assembling his soldiers along Pennsylvania Avenue in their honor, the veterans cheered until he gave the command for the cavalry to charge.  The marchers fled in terror, incredulous that they were under attack from their own.

The rhythm of America’s boom or bust economy, so clearly in sync with war, had become well established by then.  America’s culture, like the rest of the world suffering the same economic implosion that had started on our Wall Street, was ripe for revolt. She was vulnerable to communism and fascism.

It was within this environment in 1933, in both America and Europe, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler rose to power. Both leaders implemented massive and costly public works projects. One leader was driven by hate and racism. The other was passionate to restore America’s equilibrium.

My parents and grandparents read about the emergency session of Congress, called during FDR’s first one hundred days. They listened to his radio Fireside Chats. The implementation of the New Deal legislation in its programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps, Works Progress Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority, among a dozen or so others, soon followed.

Highly controversial, the programs of The New Deal proved to be good debt. Investing in Americans employed millions. Crime among young men was reduced by 50%.

Investing in America resulted in the construction of much of our infrastructure still in use. Public buildings, both government and recreational, were built and then adorned with murals depicting Americans building America. Roads, bridges, and dams were built. Telephone lines were raised where there had been none.

Workers in the New Deal programs used a wide variety of skills and crafts. Their tools included the hammer, the paintbrush, and the pen. Millions of Americans still enjoy the lodges built by New Dealers and the extensive hiking trails they blazed in our national parks. We have admired their murals, read their books, and seen their plays. Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath are among my favorites.

Far from perfect and sometimes redundant in their missions, the programs of the New Deal replaced the humiliation of Americans standing in line at the soup kitchen with the dignity of productive work and pride of accomplishment. Paid $30.00 a week, workers were allowed to retain $5.00. They were contracted to send the remaining $25.00 home to their families.

Men, women, and people of color were employed. Women were not eligible for the higher paying construction jobs. There was segregation between races. Work was tough and living conditions were difficult.

The New Deal lost momentum and funding upon America’s entrance into World War II. The programs had proven to be very productive, yet very costly. War was far more lucrative.

It was while my family and I lived in Cabin #5 on Lake Tholocco, in Alabama, that I learned to appreciate the contributions of the Civilian Conservation Corps, the first of the New Deal’s programs. The young men and women of my grandparents’ struggling Great Depression generation built the recreation area my family and I so enjoyed those many years ago. I have never taken their accomplishments for granted.

The military reservation was known as Camp Rucker then. It’s now known as the massive Army Aviation Center, Ft. Rucker. The on-post recreation area at Lake Tholocco remains open and is very popular with the public.

In today’s video wrapup:
* Today’s Sunday’s message: “DEALING WITH REJECTION: Part 1” (Mark 6:1-6)
* Memorial Service for Ron Ricker – click here for pictures on Flickr
* Bishop Sandy’s episcopal visit to CTKAC DeWitt (Fri., July 10th at 7pm)
* Colleen Dewey’s ordination as Deacon & Steve Steitz’s installation as Lay Pastor at St. Matthew’s Lapeer MI (Sat., July 11th at 11am)
* Baptism of Ellie Gardner at CTKAC DeWitt (Sun., July 12th at 10am)
* CTKAC DeWitt hosts “Benefit Crop” for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (Sat., Aug. 1st at 10am w/ lunch provided)

For Christ and His Kingdom,
Father Jack

This past Wednesday, July 1st, we had a memorial service for Ronald Charles Ricker, USMC.  Ron was a member of Christ the King as well as a Marine veteran of the Korean War. We were blessed to be able to minister to his family and friends by providing an Anglican memorial service for him as well as full military honors led by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #671 in DeWitt.

Click here for a photo album of the service.