Casualty of War

“In war, truth is the first casualty.”
― Aeschylus

 

Gary Knight, April 7, 2003
This photograph was taken moments after this position in the unfinished Baghdad suburb of Dyala came under artillery barrage. I had watched the shells ‘walk’ in and was lying in a depression in the ground on the other side of the wall on the right as the shells crashed in. It was like an earthquake – so loud and so terrifying waiting for them to hit. I have been shelled in many places over the years and it’s the most terrifying thing. I always imagine I can outwit a man who can see me and is trying to kill me with something as small as a bullet, but with artillery, it’s all a question of luck. I saw the turret of the APC fly into the air.

The Love Letter Campaign

I thought I’d stick this post up front here  for the remainder of the month for anyone interested in submitting a letter for Memorial Day. The inspiration came from a military wife when asked by her husband (after multiple deployments) why she still loved him. You can visit her blog here 

 

To those who love a hero –

Whether you are the spouse, parent, sibling, friend, caregiver, or other loved one of one
of our nation’s veterans, we invite you to join us in a very special project!

8 Things In The Back Of Every Veteran’s Closet

There are just certain things that veterans never get rid of.
When you serve in the military, you inevitably collect a lot of memorabilia. By the time you separate or retire, you’ve basically got a closet full of military stuff. Some of it you just don’t need anymore — like sock garters … hopefully. But other things you’ll want to keep forever. Occasionally, veterans will make an “I love me” wall. Others just devote space for a box in the attic.

Whatever you do choose to do with your military stuff, here are eight things that veterans never throw out.

Image of the Day: 17 February 2016

Downtime, Vietnam War

Image courtesy of reddit

#Stop22ADay

Banished US veterans lean on each other south of border

This is news to me…

TIJUANA, Mexico –  They served the United States on battlefields from Korea to Iraq, but now they live in the shadow of the nation they once served, deported to Mexico for offenses as minor as getting caught with marijuana.

VA undertakes depression, seasonal affective disorder amongst vets

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a three-part series of articles designed to generate awareness and provide resources for people suffering from Seasonal affective disorder and depression.

The Birds of Vietnam

Just when I thought I’d seen every picture that came out of Vietnam (war), I come across more! I can’t keep them to myself so here’s a few  of a very familiar “feature” in the Vietnam theatre.

 

24 Nov 1969, – Bu Prang, S. Vietnam: Seeking shelter, the crew of a helicopter dive under their chopper to evade rocket fire during Viet Cong attack on this besieged Special Forces camp

Hovering U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into tree line to cover the advance of Vietnamese ground troops in an attack on a Viet Cong camp 18 miles north of Tay Ninh on March 29, 1965, which is northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border. Combined assault routed Viet Cong guerrilla force

 

In this March 1965 file photo, hovering U.S. Army helicopters pour machine gun fire into a tree line to cover the advance of South Vietnamese ground troops in an attack on a Viet Cong camp 18 miles north of Tay Ninh, northwest of Saigon near the Cambodian border, in Vietnam. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)

 

Image found on Pinterest.com

Old habits die hard

And a die hard this veteran must have been. I can imagine the looks on the faces at the recruitment office.
Portrait of Captain Edward Camden: Volusia County, Florida, April 1917.

“He put on his Civil War veteran’s uniform and tried to register for the draft on the first day of World War I.”

These are the men who made our country great!

Student creates app for vets to prevent night terrors

Renee Tessman, KARE-TV, Minneapolis-St. Paul Tyler Skluzacek developed an app that helps vets battle PTSD. The app tracks heart rate and movement to ultimately predict night terrors.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — A college student, inspired by his Iraq War vet father’s struggles with night terrors, is being recognized for an invention to help those suffering from the condition.

Macalester College senior Tyler Skluzacek said he was in sixth grade when his dad, Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Skluzacek, spent a year in Iraq.

Maiden on the Midway welcomes Army veteran as a co-blogger

This painting is a perspective homage called “All quiet on the rooftops (what a view)” This work was done by “Rabbit” Jacobsen, US Army Veteran, Infantry

I’m pleased to announce that MOTM will be joined  by Army veteran Derek ‘Rabbit’ Jacobsen. His service between 2005-2008 took him to the front lines of Afghanistan…

A Curious Dog Unearths Korean War Veteran’s Purple Heart

MADE BY 
HIREPURPOSE

After Smuckers, the dog, dug up a Purple Heart in the yard, her owners found a way to return the medal.

When Smuckers, a Golden Labrador mix, was frantically digging in her owners’ backyard, she inadvertently turned one of the most irritating dog habits into something meaningful, by finding a Purple Heart in the dirt. Not knowing what to do with the award, Smuckers’ owners, Tom Unterwagner and Steve Jankousky, held on to it for a decade until they discovered the Vermont-based nonprofit, Purple Hearts Reunited.

When The Fury Of Battle Follows The Warrior Home

Rob Richards’ story demonstrates that more must be done to support service members returning from war.

The Washington Post article published in February by Greg Jaffe, details the Arlington Memorial Cemetery gathering of Marines mourning their scout sniper brother, Rob Richards, who died from accidental drug overdose. Richards was one of three Marines videotaped by comrades as they urinated on the corpses of dead Taliban. As Jaffe wrote, Richards went from war hero to pariah owing to that 38 seconds of video retrieved after he returned from deployment. It was the 38 seconds that Richards realized would be the larger world’s only memory of him.

Armored Angels

Warrior

Armored Angles crashing from the sky, wings narrowed, speed reached,  they close their eyes  as they impact the fields so dry. Called to earth with cries, and pleas. They rise, never having been sent in such a number, an army not of god but of man, What gold they are in a field of grey, come to protect, come to save. As they gather, they march with perfect grace, with shields of white and blades of blue, some with long bows, some with staffs split in two.  No longer so far away, but ever so close,  voices Pierce my heart telling me to listen, telling me to show no fear, that times of dread and destruction are gone, that its time to take a stand, a time to be strong. A call to all who wish to stand and fight alongside of the Armored Angles not of God but of man.
Mr. M

This was written by a veteran, he posted it yesterday on Google Plus. You can check out his profile here.

The Forgotten War: Korean War Timeline

The Foundation of Freedom is the Courage of Ordinary People

38th Parallel

 Beginning today and every Thursday forward I will be posting events, stories, and images of our (US) involvement in the Korean war. It truly is the forgotten war; my grandfather fought in Chosin for the Marines and brought home the Purple Heart. I should have done this a long time ago. At any rate, I’ll showcase our veternas of the Koren war on Thursdays.

Semper Fi, grandpa.

June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953

Over 53,000 ROK and UN troops, including over 8,000 Americans, are MIA. One assumes the great majority of them were murdered by North Korean soldiers after surrendering, or being found wounded, or in the (often death) camps for POWs.

Electricity, First Installation on a US Navy Ship, USS Trenton

The first installation of electric lights in a US Navy warship took place during the summer of 1883. Earlier that spring, seven electric power companies were asked by the Bureau of Navigation to submit bids for installing lights in USSTrenton, then currently berthed at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Only one, the Edison Company for Isolated Lighting, submitted a bid of $5,500 to install