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This video has the hymn, Nearer My God to Thee, by: Sarah Flower Adams (1805-1848). I play and sing, this old and wonderful song, with my mandolin. The picture are family, friends and scenic views. Ending pictures of Jesus are by; Greg Olson. Thanks for watching. A very Merry Christmas to all.

This two part 1965 film begins with the background of events on Hitler's Ardennes offensive December 1944, with focus on 19 December attack on St. Vith and marking the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge. The second part continues with the Battle of the Bulge along with highlights of the U.S. Army's 84th Infantry Division fighting the German Army in World War II, including the penetration of the Siegfried Line in November 1944 and the move into Belgium in December 1944. The film is narrated by actor, Robert Taylor. The Big Picture two episodes produced by the U.S. Army...

This step is a good idea and would impede illegal entry into the country.

The overweight leader of the state's National Guard has passed a fitness test, meeting a deadline to shape up that was imposed by the governor, who himself has faced questions about his weight. Air Force Brig. Gen. Michael Cunniff was given 90 days to slim down and meet his obligations in September after he was reprimanded by the Pentagon about his weight and for repeatedly dodging physical-fitness tests. He informed Republican Gov. Chris Christie that he was administered his fitness test Tuesday and passed, Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said Wednesday. It was unclear how much weight the general had to...

President Barack Obama, who is vacationing in Hawaii, released a pre-Christmas statement yesterday, celebrating the fifth anniversary of his having signed legislation that allows openly homosexual, lesbian and bisexual individuals to serve in the U.S. military. "Today, Americans can serve the country they love no matter who they love, and openly gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women in uniform make our military stronger and America safer," said the president. ...

Looks like Prince Harry was just as touched by this moment in September as we all were. Kensington Palace revealed the handsome royal's 2015 Christmas card on Tuesday, which is a black-and-white photo of Harry with 95-year-old Tom Neil, the last surviving Royal Air Force pilot from the Battle of Britain. On Harry's 31st birthday on Sept. 15, he gave up his seat on a spitfire plane for Tom, so that the veteran could take part in a special flypast to celebrate the Battle of Britain's 75th anniversary. "Merry Christmas from Prince Harry!" Kensington Palace tweeted alongside a photo of...

Reading the newspaper summary of the life of Joseph Lemm - who was killed with five other American troops in Afghanistan two days ago - makes for a devastating reminder that the people we lose on these battlefields and outposts thousands of miles from home are the very best of us. We have no right to expect such people to be given to us in the first place; we certainly have no right to believe they will always be there to lay down their lives for our safety. And so we also have a duty (in which we are failing)...

Church bells rang on Sunday morning, Aug. 23, 1914 in the Belgian city of Mons — an industrial town that stood in the way of the advancing German army’s plan to crush the British Expeditionary Force. The Tommies – 70,000 strong – were dug in along the Mons-Conde canal and had occupied the town. Bearing down on them was a German force of 160,000 soldiers and hundreds of artillery pieces. As the faithful made their way to mass, the German 1st Army launched an attack, concentrating on the northernmost point of a salient formed by a loop in the canal.

On December 22nd, 1964, the SR-71 Blackbird took to the air for the very first time, rising above Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale with F-104 chase planes in pursuit. The occasion would mark the birth of one of the most amazing and renowned aircraft of all time. Some numbers from the Blackbird family of planes: 35 miles per minute or 3,100 feet per second is how fast the SR-71 could fly 85,000 feet is the official Blackbird ceiling, although it supposedly could fly higher Snip Over 1,000 missiles were launched at the SR-71 without any losses Snip Zero was...

A female officer in the Air Force who was one of the first openly gay service members to marry was identified on Tuesday as among the six U.S. troops killed by a suicide bomber near Bagram air base in Afghanistan. Facebook postings on Tuesday by friends and family of Air Force Major Adrianna Vorderbruggen mourned her death on Monday and sent condolences to her wife Heather and son Jacob, who live near Washington, D.C. "We do find comfort in knowing that Heather and Jacob are no longer in the shadows and will be extended the rights and protections due any...

By December 23rd holding the line around Bastogne was less of an issue compared to the crisis of dwindling supplies. Not only were troops short on food and medical supplies but ammunition was frighteningly low. Rounds were rationed and soldiers were ordered not to fire unless attacked directly and even then to only fire two rounds. Colonel Thomas L. Sherburn, the artillery commander, was intentionally reporting overestimates of supply levels simply to maintain morale.

The Pentagon's office of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation, occasionally referred to as the Pentagon's bean counters, helps (or tries to help) the Department of Defense keep a lid on costs by vetting or challenging the cost estimates provided elsewhere in the department. If you think the Pentagon's programs are heinously expensive, you can only imagine what they'd be without anyone double-checking the numbers.

Admittedly, I'd rather not be shot with either, but if I had to choose, I'd take a round from the AK-47 over the M4 any day of the week. To add a caveat to that statement, I'm talking from relatively close range here — say up to 150 to 200 meters. To understand why, it's important to first take a very basic look at the physics behind terminal ballistics. In this case, consider the science of what happens when a penetrating missile enters a human body.

After Man Held This Gun, His Hands Were Trembling. Heres Why.It sounds like a clickbait title, but it's worth the click. Good Lord.

For almost 30 years the M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon has been the go-to light machine gun for U.S. Army infantry squads — and Marine Corps squads, too, until recently. And now you can walk into your local gun shop and purchase a semi-automatic M-249S SAW, a replica of the fully-automatic M-249. FNH USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Belgian weapons manufacturer FN Herstal, began selling the semi-automatic version of the weapon on the civilian market in November as part of their new Military Collector Series, which also includes replicas of their M-4 carbine and M-16 assault rifle. Fans of black guns...

A few days before Thanksgiving this year, James Beavers, a staff sergeant with the US Army during Vietnam, died at the age of 74. However, after searching for family members of Sgt. Beavers for three weeks, no one was able to locate any. However, it was what followed, in both the burial and those in attendance that was simply stunning. Following Beavers' death, D. O. McComb and Sons, a local funeral home in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, decided to step up and provide not only funeral services for Beavers, but also burial, with full military honors. Somehow, the news of Beavers'...

Guy Valentino, a 37-year-old CrossFit trainer and Marine Corps veteran, completed 5,862 pullups in 24 hours, setting a new world record on November 11. How the hell did he do it? Valentino followed a two-pronged approach that consisted of a physical plan and a mental plan: 1. He did 5 reps every minute. This pace kept his heart rate down so he could conserve his energy for the long haul. Related: How to Become a Pullup Powerhouse 2. He pretended he was on a mission in Iraq. Every 1,000 pullups got him to a “checkpoint,” where he was able to...

Men's basketball honors veterans in team ceremony

Bulletin No. 1 - 4 Minute Men - General Suggestions to SpeakersMay 22, 1917 The speech must not be longer than four minutes, which means there is no time for a single wasted word. Speakers should go over their speech time and time again until the ideas are firmly fixed in their mind and can not be forgotten. This does not mean that the speech needs to be written out and committed, although most speakers, especially when limited in time, do best to commit. Divide your speech carefully into certain divisions, say 15 seconds for final appeal; 45 seconds to...

According to authorities, all of the hijackers who committed the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were foreigners. All of them entered the country legally on a temporary visa, mostly tourist visas with entry permits for six months. Although four of them attended flight school in the United States, only one is known to have entered on an appropriate visa for such study, and one entered on an F-1 student visa. Besides the four pilots, all but one of the terrorists entered the United States only once and had been in the country for only three to five months before the...