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AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, June 18, 2009 – For five brothers from a small town in Kentucky, serving in the military is a family tradition. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Roberts holds a photo of him, his four brothers and his son, a Marine, while taking a break from his duties in the battalion's steel shop at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq, June 3, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Katesha Washington   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Chief Petty Officer Chad Roberts, Petty Officers 1st Class Jody and Dwayne Roberts, and Petty Officer...

NEW ORLEANS | It's "A Gathering of the Greatest Generation" - though this year only a small group of that era's aging heroes will commemorate the invasion of France at Normandy 65 years ago. On Saturday afternoon, veterans will attend a National World War II Museum ceremony in New Orleans recognizing soldiers, sailors and airmen who made that invasion a turning point for Allied forces. However, organizers acknowledge few members of an already dwindling population are hardy enough to make the trip. "We won't have a veteran from each state, unfortunately," said William Detweiler, who is in charge of the...

The boss digs it but I’m ambivalent, just like I was about that “Dear Mr. Obama” video last year that everyone else flipped for. It’s a hawk’s version of the left’s Absolute Moral Authority fallacy, where validity is ascribed to some sympathetic victim’s stance on policy simply because they’re a victim. (The ultimate example: Cindy Sheehan.) How many lefty military wives were relieved yesterday to have The One try to dial down tensions with Muslims, thinking it might spare their husbands an attack by jihadis that otherwise would have taken place? Also, in fairness, The One didn’t “apologize” for the...

youtube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouVJUeI7Msw&feature=player_embedded Father describes the events of the day.

Richard Hutchison didn't get to see his brother, Maj. Steven Hutchison, return home alive from Iraq. But Monday he got at least a tiny comfort: Laia, the dog the soldier rescued and loved in Iraq, landed in the United States after being saved by his former comrades and Operation Baghdad Pups, an offshoot of SPCA International.

"Only under the administration of a former 'community organizer,' a product of the corrupt Chicago political machine, who never served a day of his life in uniform, could a 20-year retired Marine Corps Officer be prohibited from visiting the Arlington National Cemetery resting place of his father, a 30-year retired Marine Corps Officer with distinguished combat service, on the most hallowed of days for our fallen and deceased military servicemen and women -- Memorial Day."

BASRA, Iraq, May 26, 2009 – Army Lt. Col. Harold Turner is a man of plans. As the logistics planner in the plans cell of the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division, he helps develop logistical support for operations across the nine southern provinces of Iraq. Army Lt. Col. Harold Turner, logistics planner in the plans cell of the 34th Infantry Division, prepares to swear his son, Brett, into the U.S. Army via a webcam connection on the Internet between Baghdad and Iowa. Courtesy photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. His son, Brett, planned to follow his father...

Heather Golczynski and her 8-year-old son Christian hold tightly to the memory of Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski. Choking back tears, Christian Golczynski accepted the flag from his father's casket. Photographer Aaron Thompson described this moment as "the most emotionally moving event I may have ever witnessed and may ever witness in my life." *snip* Just days before he left for his second tour, Marc sent a letter to his family that would be his epitaph. "Due to our deep desire to finish the job we started, we fight and sometimes die so that our families don't have to....

Knowing all too well the anguish that military families can endure, the "Second Family" of the United States evoked a personal passion in their greetings Thursday to the men and women of the USS Ronald Reagan. As the crew stood at attention, Jill Biden's voice echoed across the deck of the ship, "I am amazed at your courage, your dignity, and your sense of patriotism and commitment to our country. I am proud to be here today as the 'second lady'. And I am also proud to be here as a mother of a soldier serving in Iraq. Like your...

Mother's Day has a special poignancy for our women in uniform stationed overseas. The holiday is both a celebration of the joys and duties of parenthood, and a reminder of the sacrifices made by our military families.

Mother's Day has a special poignancy for our women in uniform stationed overseas. The holiday is both a celebration of the joys and duties of parenthood, and a reminder of the sacrifices made by our military families.

CAMP VIRGINIA, Kuwait, May 8, 2009 – If enemies fear one Marine, they now have twice the reason to be afraid. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Robert I. Johnson, right, and his twin bother, Marine Corps Sgt. Tracey R. Johnson, enjoy a brief reunion on Camp Virginia, Kuwait, April 23, 2009. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Michael T. Knight  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Robert I. Johnson and Sgt. Tracey R. Johnson, twin brothers, enjoyed a brief reunion here, far from their small hometown of Albany, La. Robert, currently deployed to Kuwait, met up...

WASHINGTON, May 8, 2009 – Surfs up! Military children of wounded or fallen servicemembers will be able to catch their first wave this summer, thanks to Freedom Is Not Free, a California-based troop-support group. Military chidren take time to pose after riding the waves during a 2007 "Little Warriors" Surf Camp. This year the camp will host 100 military children of wounded or fallen servicemembers Aug. 10-14 in La Jolla Shores, Calif. Photo courtesy of Freedom Is Not Free  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The “Little Warriors” Surf Camp will host 100 military children ages 8 to 15...

CLEVELAND (AP) — The sister of an Ohio soldier killed in Iraq was ticketed for speeding and missed a ceremony awarding him a posthumous Bronze Star and Purple Heart. The ticket was issued by a state trooper to 25-yearold Rebecca Davis of Cuyahoga Heights along Interstate 77 on Thursday despite her request for a warning and to call and confirm her situation. The ticket was withdrawn about three hours later when a State Highway Patrol lieutenant went to the funeral home and apologized. A relative of Davis, who is a police officer, had called to complain about the ticket. She...

Army spouse and mother of three, Randa Bronson, is a self-described "average, everyday person," and by all accounts you could take her word for it.

In the weeks since the Pentagon ended an 18-year ban on media coverage of fallen soldiers returning to the U.S., most families given the option have allowed reporters and photographers to witness the solemn ceremonies that mark the arrival of flag-draped transfer cases. Critics had warned that military families needed privacy and peace activists might exploit the images, but so far the coverage has not caused problems. Air Force Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers of Hopewell, Va., who died April 4 in Afghanistan, was the first combat casualty whose return to American soil was witnessed by the media. He was...

Biden and Obama both said they talk about the vice president's sometimes colorful gaffes. "If Joe was off message on a particular day, usually I don't have to bring it up," Obama said. "He's the first one to come to me and say: 'You know what? I'm not sure that's exactly how we want to position ourselves.' "The flip side is: If I'm off message, he's not going to be bashful about saying, "You know, Mr. President, I think ...,'" Obama added.

examiner.com — Almost nobody expected Governor Tim Kaine's veto of HB 1851 to be sustained by the Virginia General Assembly after Kaine insulted military members with his dishonest veto message. But "the biggest surprise of the day" was the flip flop votes of 6 Virginia Senate Democrats . . .

Vandals destroy memorial to LCpl Justin Ellsworth for 2nd time (before and after photos)Vandals Destroy Fallen Heroes’ Monument, Son of National Pro-Troop Advocate: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Wednesday, April 8, 2009, Contact: Meghan Tisinger, Meghan@FamiliesUnitedMission.com, (202) 510-5304 Mt. Pleasant, MI – April 8, 2009 – Last week, a monument honoring the life and death of Lance Corporal Justin Ellsworth was vandalized on Island Park near the Michigan Vietnam Memorial. Lance Corporal Ellsworth died on November 13, 2004 which serving in Iraq. His father, John Ellsworth, is the President of Military Families United, an advocacy organization that has recently been vocal in...

For the first time since media coverage was banned in 1991, the return of the body of a fallen member of the U.S. armed forces was opened to news outlets late Sunday. The U.S. Air Force informed media on Sunday that the family of Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers consented to allowing coverage of his casket being returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. Myers, 30, of Hopewell, Virginia, was a member of an engineering unit based in Britain. He died Saturday in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military reported.

Virginia Governor Kaine insults military with gun bill veto -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last week National Democratic Party Chairman and part-time Virginia Governor Tim Kaine was labeled by the Washington Times as "out of touch" for vetoing almost every pro-gun bill this year for "mindless" reasons. . . . But Kaine's veto of one gun bill takes the cake by insulting American military personnel with a clearly erroneous veto message. . . . See more at http://www.examiner.com/x-2782-DC-Gu...t-veto-message

WASHINGTON, March 26, 2009 – The National Military Family Association will host more than 9,000 military children at “Operation Purple” youth camps across America this year. These free, weeklong, overnight camps are meant to bring children of deployed servicemembers, ages 7 to 17, together for an exciting and memorable experience. Camps will be held in 62 locations and 37 states and territories across the United States. “We understand these are trying times for our youngest heroes,” Michelle Joyner, NMFA’s director of communications, said. “Operation Purple Camps bring together kids in similar situations and teach them coping skills to better...

IT has been a sad week for the Australian army. Two Diggers have fallen in Afghanistan and the public is once again reminded our soldiers are fighting in a volatile and highly dangerous combat zone. My son, a private in a commando unit, had also made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Gregory, 30, died on January 4 in Oruzgan province. He gave his life trying to make the world a better place for those in Afghanistan and throughout the world - wherever terrorism attacks democracy and freedom. Because what is being fought in the valleys and mountains of Afghanistan...

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2009 – The wishes of the families will be the overriding principle guiding any media coverage of fallen warriors’ remains arriving at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Gates directed a working group to come up with a plan to change a ban on such coverage imposed during the Gulf War in the early 1990s. “The working group I tasked to come up with an implementation plan has reported back, and we will put a number of its recommendations into action starting next month,” Gates said during a Pentagon news conference....

"It hurts. It hurts," the first lady said in regard to military families having to live off food stamps. "These are people who are willing to send their loved ones off to, perhaps, give their lives -- the ultimate sacrifice. But yet, they're living back at home on food stamps. It's not right, and it's not where we should be as a nation."

Military Families United and 9/11 Families Respond To 9/11 Terrorists ConfessionWashington, DC, March 10, 2009 – Today, Military Families United joined with 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America to release the following statement in response to the “9/11 Shura Council” letter announcing their responsibility and pride for their horrific actions on September 11, 2001. The document titled “The Islamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusations,” was authored by five current detainees at Guantánamo Bay charged with planning the Sept. 11th attacks. “The brazenness of this letter exemplifies the current threat that the terrorists at Guantanamo Bay present to...

The Silver Star Families of America Backs Gold Star Moms

Lisa Pagan, of Davidson, North Carolina, reported for duty Monday morning at Fort Benning, Georgia, with her two preschool children. She had been honorably discharged from active duty nearly four years ago but was recalled as part of the Individual Ready Reserve program. The former Army truck driver asked for a reprieve from deployment because her husband travels for business and they would have no one to care for their children if she was sent overseas. Until Monday, her request had been denied.

NC military mom heads for Fort Benning with kidsBy TOM FOREMAN Jr., Associated Press Writer 13 mins ago DAVIDSON, N.C. – A North Carolina woman who was recalled to the Army four years after being honorably discharged was driving nearly 400 miles and braving a Southeastern winter storm to report for duty Sunday, with her children by her side. **SNIP** Pagan is among thousands of former service members who have left active duty since the Sept. 11 attacks, only to be recalled to service. She filed several appeals, arguing that because her husband travels for business, no one else can...

Senior Airman Matthew Bray and Airman 1st Class Yesenia Bray will celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary deployed to Iraq this March. Photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Morris, 50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. BAGHDAD — “There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to volunteer for this,� said 21-year-old Airman 1st Class Yesenia Bray of her deployment to Baghdad.As one half of an Air Force couple currently serving in Iraq, her married life that began this past March had to be put on hold before it even had a chance to truly begin.But all that’s okay with Bray; she...

The screaming leftards have finally gotten their way. Defense Secretary Gates has given in to their manufactured anti-war outrage. He will now allow flag draped coffins to be used as anti-America propaganda by the foam-at-the-mouth leftists who are still angry about us winning the Iraq war. This has been a sore subject for me. Regardless of where you stand on the war, you know there are casualties; the government is not hiding anything. In fact, each death is announced, along with the person's name and a picture if available. Taking pictures of coffins and having ideological spats over them...

FORT HUACHUCA — Army soldiers are all volunteers. It is also said that when a soldier marries, the resulting family also volunteers to serve the country. Some soldiers and their families take volunteering a step further by being active in their local community. That can be said of the Dean family on Fort Huachuca. The family of four — Sgt. 1st Class Chad Dean, his wife Charity and their two teenage sons, Brandon, 15, and Bradley, 13 — spend hours in Scouting, youth football and other activities on and off the post. Like many parents who volunteer their services, Chad...

DAVIDSON, N.C. - When Lisa Pagan reports for duty Sunday, four long years after she was honorably discharged from the Army, she will arrive with more than her old uniform. She is bringing her kids, too. "I have to bring them with me," she said. "I don't have a choice."

WASHINGTON – News organizations will be allowed to photograph the homecomings of America's war dead under a new Pentagon policy, defense and congressional officials said Thursday. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has decided to allow photos of flag-draped caskets at Dover Air Force Base, Del., if the families of the fallen troops agree, the officials told The Associated Press. Gates planned to announce his decision later Thursday, they said. The current ban was put in place in 1991 by President George H.W. Bush. At least two Democratic senators have called on President Barack Obama to let news photographers attend ceremonies at...

LAKE JACKSON — Lilian Klaiber didn’t cry when Congressman Ron Paul walked into her kitchen with her late husband’s military medals, but she wanted to. “Oh, my Lord, have mercy,” the 82-year-old Lake Jackson resident said when Paul entered, smiling. “I brought you something,” said Paul, R-Lake Jackson. “Your husband was never properly thanked for his service.” Klaiber looked around the kitchen at her children and neighbors and smiled. “This must have been in the offing for several months,” said the woman friends know as “Lil.” “This is so nice.” Then she pulled out her copies of the cookbooks Paul...

Last evening’s Fox News Watch included an homage to Sam Donaldson on the occasion of his retirement. Asked if there were reporters currently on the scene like Donaldson, panelist Jane Hall responded: “we don’t see a lot of them. Some people think Jake Tapper has been pretty aggressive.” Tapper, ABC’s chief White House correspondent, has given recent evidence that he is among that rare breed of MSMer willing to report inconvenient facts about the Obama administration. As Jennifer Rubin at Commentary’s Contentions blog has observed, it looks like Tapper is the only MSM outlet to have reported this story: "Brian...

On Friday, Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission distributed an e-newsletter asking you to send in your opinion on President Obama’s announcement to review overturning the 18-year ban on publishing photos of flag-draped transfer cases at Dover Air Force base. Hundreds of you wrote in to inform us on your position and we want to thank you for taking the time to share your story. Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission represents over 60,000 military families, including Blue and Gold Star Families and veterans. According to the respondents: • 64% believe that the policy should not...

BY Richard Sisk DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU Tuesday, February 17th 2009, 11:38 PM Marine Lance Cpl. Julian Brennan was killed by a land mine on Jan. 24. Related News Articles Obama signs stimulus package into law Bronx boro prez bound for Washington Green is going to grow in wallets of New Yorkers Hillary warns North Korea on missile launch WASHINGTON - President Obama has adopted role model Abraham Lincoln's practice of writing deeply personal letters to the families of troops killed in battle. He signs them "Barack." Bill Brennan, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Julian Brennan, said at first...

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 Posted By:Catherine MoyPermalink9/11 Victims Families: Obama Must Visit Gitmo and Reverse Dangerous Order Debra Burlingame’s brother, Charles “Chick” Burlingame, died as he piloted the plane that was hijacked by terrorists on 9/11. She opposes the closure of Gitmo. Families of those killed on 9/11, a Gold Star mother, and Sen. James Inhofe, sent a strong message today at Move America Forward’s press conference at the National Press conference in Washington DC: Keep Gitmo open for the sake of Americans who will be endangered by President Obama’s order to close the facility for terrorists. MAF has the...

Criticizes Obama's Terrorism Policies http://www.thebulletin.us/articles/2009/02/10/top_stories/doc49913ba1e7c0e951117995.txt

Mother-Of-Killed Sailor Regrets Voting For Obama (video) http://www.exposeobama.com/2009/02/08/mother-of-killed-sailor-regrets-voting-for-obama/

In my “Another Innuendo Over a CBO Report: TRICARE For Life,” I pointed to a message from a “BG Bob Clements, USAF Ret (P38 Bob)” that is making the rounds through the internet, claiming: Seems as though our President has placed a priority on cutting [TRICARE For Life] out of the budget as a means to provide funding for those things he promised during the campaign…Just another move to slight those of us who dedicated much of our adult lives to the defense of our country. Tricare For Life (TFL) was instituted just a few years ago to correct the...

A USS Cole victim's mother declined the invitation to meet with the Commander in Chief. "I voted for him, now I think I made the wrong decision." Video at this link

Here is video of a mother of one of the sailors killed in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in 2000 speaking out today against President Obama for his decision to drop the charges against the mastermind of the attack. She refused to meet with Obama today at the White House, and says he is letting down America's guard against Terrorists. Very powerful statements. . . . (Watch Video)

Diane McDaniels lost her son James when terrorists bombed the U.S.S Cole On October 12. 2000. 17 American sailors died in that terrorist attack and refused an invitation to the White House to meet with President Obama. VIDEO

Glen Beck has taken Obama to task and slammed him for his behavior and stated Obama is going soft on terrorism. He is about to have the former Cole Commander on and the family of one of the murdered sailors about their meeting at the Whitehouse with Obama and his decision to drop all charges against the terrorist that murdered 17 U.S. Sailors.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, preparing Friday to meet with families of terror victims, is concerned that Guantanamo Bay detainees have been held for years without trial. Obama wants to close the detention center in Cuba, and has signed an executive order to do so within a year. He has invited relatives of Americans killed in the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000 and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks the next year to the White House for a meeting Friday afternoon. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Obama will discuss his plans for Guantanamo Bay with the terror victims'...

“Very disappointed” is how the former USS Cole commander put it–twice–that pursuant to Pres. Obama’s order, charges have been dropped against a presumed al Qaeda member suspected of plotting the attack on the Cole that killed 17 American sailors. “Very disappointed.” That’s one way to politely put it. Morning Joe scored an exclusive today with the poised but clearly frustrated Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold (ret.), who was the commander of the Cole when al Qaeda attacked it in 2000. Mika Brzezinski did her best to make the case for the administration’s actions, but the commander clearly wasn’t buying. Cmdr. Lippold,...

~ EXCERPT ~ >>> snip <<< Gary Swenchonis, a Texas resident whose son, Gary Jr., was killed in the Cole bombing, told FOX News he turned down an invitation from the White House to meet with Obama. Swenchonis said he received the invitation Thursday, and that he did not care to travel from Texas to Washington on such short notice to hear the "bad news" that charges were withdrawn in the al-Nashiri case. Swenchonis and his wife Deborah wrote a letter to Obama last week expressing their concerns about the halting of military trials at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility....

President Obama will gather tomorrow with victims and families of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and U.S.S. Cole bombing for a face-to-face meeting as his administration struggles to decide how to handle detainees at Guatanamo Bay, Cuba, several of those invited said. The previously undisclosed meeting at the White House tomorrow afternoon will give the new president a chance to explain his decision to close the controversial prison facility where the U.S. has placed many suspected terrorists since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Obama has been assailed by conservative critics who say the decision to close the facility within a year...