Free Republic

More than most nations, America has been, from its start, a hero-loving place. Maybe part of the reason is that at our founding we were a Protestant nation and not a Catholic one, and so we made "saints" of civil and political figures. George Washington was our first national hero, known everywhere, famous to children. When he died, we had our first true national mourning, with cities and states re-enacting his funeral. There was the genius cluster that surrounded him, and invented us—Jefferson, Adams, Madison, Hamilton. Through much of the 20th century our famous heroes were in sports (Jack Dempsey,...

Navy Decommissions USS Kitty Hawk Story Number: NNS090512-08 Release Date: 5/12/2009 5:37:00 PM From Kitty Hawk Public Affairs BREMERTON, Wash. (NNS) -- The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) was decommissioned May 12 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., after more than 48 years of service. Members of the final crew lowered the ship's commissioning pennant from the main mast and the U.S. Flag and First Navy Jack from their staffs after Kitty Hawk Commanding Officer Capt. Todd Zecchin closed out the ship's deck log. "It's hard to capture the feeling in words,"...

5/4/2009 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Air Force and Navy servicemembers teamed up in April to support and train the newly formed Iraqi navy with maritime mission along the northern area of the Arabian Gulf where a large percentage of Iraq's oil is exported. The first intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight took place April 12 as pilots from the Navy teamed up with ISR operators from the Air Force to provide Iraq's navy with a watchful eye over the waters of the Arabian Gulf. "We flew our first ISR mission in support of Combined Task Force-Iraqi Maritime, which we feel...

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) returned to its homeport of Norfolk, Va., April 18 after a successful seven-month deployment supporting Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and maritime security and coalition operations in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility (AOR). TR and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8 flew 3,105 sorties in support of OEF, with more than 61,000 pounds of ordnance dropped on target in support of coalition forces. "The dedication of the ship's crew and naval aviators enabled TR to successfully complete its mission supporting Sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines on the ground in Afghanistan,"...

A survivor and a rescuer in one of the deadliest episodes in U.S. Navy history — the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in World War II — will be reunited Thursday at Lakeland Regional High School. The cruiser, which carried parts for the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, was sunk by a Japanese submarine on July 30, 1945, four days after it delivered the parts to Tinian Island. After it was sunk, 900 crew members spent days in shark-infested waters; only 316 survived. One of the survivors, Don Blum of Scarsdale, N.Y., will attend the program Thursday, called...

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Two U.S. sailors have been charged with the murder of a prostitute and the attempted murder of another in this northern border city, Mexican state prosecutors said. Witnesses and a hotel camera place the two men at the same hotel where a 19-year-old prostitute was smothered to death on Jan. 17, the prosecutors said Tuesday. On Feb. 4, police found the men in a bloodstained hotel room with a prostitute and a hotel employee, both of whom had suffered stab wounds, prosecutors said. The sailors were taken into custody and charged with attempted murder. They later found...

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)

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.

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...

ROYAL Australian Navy petty officer Benjamin Sime showed no hesitation when he jumped from his helicopter into the sea to assist a group of US sailors wounded by suicide bombers targeting Iraqi oil installations in the Persian Gulf in April 2004. Petty Officer Sime, a sensor operator, remained in the water assisting four survivors until a rescue boat arrived - actions acknowledged yesterday with the award of a Medal for Gallantry. The rescue occurred in the Gulf's northern waters and followed the attempted boarding of a suspect dhow by seven sailors from the USS Firebolt. As the boarding party approached...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://baltimore.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/ba011209.htm MS-13 MEMBER SENTENCED TO 30 YEARS FOR RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY Participated in the Murders of Rival Gang Members Greenbelt, Maryland - U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Eris Marchante-Rivas, also known as Strayboy, age 24, of Hyattsville, Maryland, today to 30 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to conduct and participate in racketeering enterprise activities of MS-13, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Department of Justice Criminal Division. “We are working...

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- Sailors stationed aboard the Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) visited The Sullivans Elementary school Jan. 7, during a port visit to Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. Sailors from the school's namesake ship took part in classroom activities with students and helped clean up the school grounds. The crew spent most of the day reading, interacting and playing with the children. "I think its going to be a very positive experience for everyone," said Ens. Carl Comasco, of Harrisburg, Penn., The Sullivans community relations officer. "The cool thing about this project is that...

Newport News, Va. (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Sailors rescued and provided first aid to victims of an apartment complex fire in Hampton, Va., Dec. 4. Lt. Vidal Lozado; Lt. Justin Quinn; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (handler) 3rd Class (AW/SW) Andre Ford; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (equipment) 3rd Class (AW) David Ifill; Aviation Boatswain's Mate (handler) 2nd Class (AW/SW) Rory Love and Aviation Boatswain's Mate (equipment) 2nd Class (AW/SW) Christopher Gaston assisted several fire victims at the Colonial Village Apartments. Lozado says when he arrived home that evening he heard loud voices, figuring it was just the beginning of weekend festivities...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2008 – The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are fought in deserts and mountains far removed from the oceans’ blue waters. But U.S. Navy sailors are increasingly seeing desert and mountain combat as they augment the units of traditional foot soldiers and medics. Navy Senior Chief Jim Pitts, a non-clinical case manager for wounded warriors, talks with Veterans Affairs social work supervisor Scott Skiles and Army Sgt. 1st Class Lee Smith, a wounded warrior military liaison. All are stationed at the Palo Alto Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center in Palo Alto, Calif. DoD photo by Fred W. Baker...

A sailor who died Saturday after he was injured aboard the ballistic-missile submarine Nebraska had become “entangled and pinned” in the rudder ram during a cleaning evolution, according to the Naval Safety Center’s Web site. The Navy was notifying the sailor’s next-of-kin and, as of Tuesday afternoon, had not yet released the victim’s name. The safety center Web site identified him as a third-class machinist’s mate. Navy officials have not provided any details about the “apparent accident” as the boomer was operating off Oahu on Saturday. “There was no damage to the submarine,” Lt. Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for...

When Ralph McClintock boarded the USS Pueblo in January 1968, he was planning for a three-week mission. Instead, the 24-year-old communications technician became a prisoner of war, a pawn in the Cold War sideshow that began with North Korea's capture of the Navy spy ship and imprisonment of its 82 crew members. Forty years later, as McClintock and the other survivors of the Pueblo prepare for a reunion, he's proud of his service and the bonds he made with his crew mates during 11 months in captivity. But the pride is tinged with bitterness. "We were treated as heroes when...

40 Years After Capture, USS Pueblo Crew Reunites JERICHO, Vt. — Ralph McClintock expected only a three-week mission when he boarded the USS Pueblo in January 1968. Instead, he and his shipmates became pawns in a Cold War sideshow when North Korea captured the Navy spy ship and imprisoned its 82 crew members. Some still suffer the physical effects of torture or malnutrition they suffered in 11 months of captivity. McClintock is proud of his service as a 24-year-old communications technician and the bonds he made with his crew mates, but that pride is tinged with bitterness. "We were treated...

SIERRA VISTA — Fon B. Huffman, the last survivor from the international Panay Incident of 1937, died Thursday, his family announced. Huffman, born in 1913, celebrated his 95th birthday on Aug. 19. He died peacefully in his sleep at noon in Hacienda Rehabilitation and Care Center. His daughter, Nancy Ferguson, was by his side. The Iowa farm boy who joined the Navy at age 16 was a 24-year-old sailor aboard the USS Panay when it was attacked near Nanking, China, on Dec. 12, 1937, by Imperial Japanese warplanes. In those days, the American gunboat, part of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet,...

The Pentagon says the remains of a Portland man and two other sailors who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor have been identified and will be returned to their families.

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three U.S. servicemen, missing from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors. They are Ensign Irvin A.R. Thompson, of Hudson County, N.J.; Ensign Eldon P. Wyman, of Portland, Ore.; and Fireman 2nd Class Lawrence A. Boxrucker, of Dorchester, Wis.; all U.S. Navy. Boxrucker will be buried on Sept. 6 in Dorchester, and the funerals for Thompson and Wyman are being set by their families. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941, the...