Free Republic

U.S. Army Private First Class Lawrence S. Gordon—killed in Normandy in 1944, then mistakenly buried as a German soldier—will soon be going home to his family. But don’t thank the American military for this belated return. The Pentagon declined to act on his case, despite exhaustive research by civilian investigators that pointed to the location of his remains.

Jerome Murdough was just looking for a warm place to sleep on a chilly night last month when he curled up in an enclosed stairwell on the roof of a Harlem public housing project where he was arrested for trespassing. A week later, the mentally ill homeless man was found dead in a Rikers Island jail cell that four city officials say had overheated to at least 100 degrees, apparently because of malfunctioning equipment. The officials told The Associated Press that the 56-year-old former Marine was on anti-psychotic and anti-seizure medication, which may have made him more vulnerable to heat....

I am asking for prayers for my oldest brother, and the patriarch of our family since the death of our father many years ago. I just returned home from two days visiting my brother, RMC(SS) Douglas A. Wright, USN (Retired), in the hospital where he is dying from COPD. Growing up, he was always my mentor. He is the one who took me to see the Navy Recruiter in 1969, when I quit HS at 17. During the 10 years of my service, we served in the same location several times, and I had a standing invitation to join him...

Glenn Edward McDuffie, the young sailor from Houston who can be seen in one of the most iconic photos from the end of World War II, has died, according to family members. The Navy veteran was 86. McDuffie was 18 when he said he was captured in the famous kiss photo with nurse Edith Shain. “I heard someone running and stopping right in front of us. I raised my head up, and it was a photographer,” McDuffie told the Houston Chronicle in 2007. “I tried to get my hand out of the way so I wouldn’t block her face, and...

William "Wild Bill" Guarnere, one of the World War II veterans whose exploits were dramatized in the TV miniseries "Band of Brothers," has died. He was 90. His son, William Guarnere Jr., confirmed Sunday that his father died at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. Guarnere was rushed to the hospital early Saturday and died of a ruptured aneurysm early Saturday night. "He had a good, long life," his son said. The HBO miniseries, based on a book by Stephen Ambrose, followed the members of Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne Division from training in Georgia in 1942 through some of...

Now that tens of thousands of gun owners in Connecticut are in direct violation of a hastily-passed gun control law, a video of a fed-up Navy veteran warning lawmakers that he “will not comply” with the law is just going viral. As previously reported by TheBlaze, as many as 100,000 gun owners technically became felons overnight because they chose not to register their semi-automatic rifles and/or high-capacity magazines. A man, identified as John S. Cinque, reportedly appeared at a public meeting in North Haven, Conn., on April 22, 2013, to confront lawmakers over the gun control law. Cinque started by...

Like most 8-year-olds, Myles Eckert was already dreaming up ways he could spend a $20 bill he had just discovered laying in a Cracker Barrel parking lot earlier this month. “I kind of wanted to get a video game, but then I decided not to,” the child recounted to CBS News. That’s because Eckert saw Lt. Col. Frank Dailey enter the restaurant. The man in uniform changed his mind. Why? “Because he was a soldier, and soldiers remind me of my dad,” Eckert explained to CBS. So, instead of purchasing something for himself, Eckert did something very different on Feb....

I AM with you, my angels surround you, go behind enemy lines and take back my land ! My army is rising up to take back land now that my testimony is sure in my front line(Chosen Ones)assaults( words of declaration) removing the lies of the enemy, and all distractions now shall be dealt with in their time and season of correction or removal for My Testimony is paramount as my spirit moves across the waters of my voice for you are the many waters of my Testimony and I AM sure and true to my word that I will...

West, who spent 22 years in the U.S. Army and one term in Congress before losing his bid for reelection in 2012, says he will always be ready to serve his country. “You have to have yourself in a position to be available for your country and to be obedient to God’s will,” he says.

EXCLUSIVE: Mob of teens attack man in downtown Cleveland Updated: Feb 11, 2014 By Ed Gallek Ed Gallek talks to Matthew Robinson, the latest victim in a downtown attack There's evidence of more violent teens running around the heart of downtown Cleveland. A disabled Army vet spoke out about the latest attack that happened Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. Matthew Robinson told our Ed Gallek he was riding RTA's Healthline when six to eight teenagers surrounded him on the bus, and then started following him. Then, he said they attacked, took his stuff, and videotaped what they were doing. The incident...

Still adjusting to his life as an amputee, doctors discovered Mr Baer had bone cancer after a non-combat related injury in Iraq in 2009. His left leg had to be amputated from the knee down and was given a physical service dog, Beanz, through a national organization called Canine Companions for Independence. However, as soon as he walked through the door of the coffee chain, the trouble started. A Starbucks employee approached him as he entered with Beanz, his service dog. 'You can't have dogs in here,' the worker yelled at him. It was in your face, loud and bold....

World War II veteran Frank Whitney is fighting taxpayer-funded attempts by a New York village to seize his private property. Officials in the village of Saltaire on Fire Island, N.Y., are trying to take Whitney’s Saltaire Market grocery using eminent domain so they can build a municipality-owned market, the New York Post reported. And in an attempt to get their hands on the 88-year-old’s property, which was damaged in 2012 by Superstorm Sandy, village officials may try to raise the $2.5 million needed to buy and refurbish his grocery store by increasing the area’s property taxes. Whitney said he has means and...

Senate Democrats have thumbed their noses at veterans of America's military. They have sided with illegal aliens. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) proposed yesterday (9 Jan 14) a bill which would have replaced recent cuts to veteran's pensions. The bill would also have closed a tax loophole that allows illegal aliens to access the Refundable Child Tax Credit. The bill was offered as an amendment to the unemployment benefits extension bill (S1845). The vote failed 54-42, with all Republicans - but Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) - voting for the amendment and against Senate Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV). Sen. Joe...

What advice would you give to a retired Air Force Colonel that has three graduate degrees and that cannot even find work as a janitor? 59-year-old Robert Freniere once served as a special assistant to General Stanley McChrystal, and he has spent extensive time in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But now this man who once had an office in the heart of the Pentagon cannot find anyone who will hire him. In addition to his story, in this article you will also hear about several other middle-aged professionals that cannot find work in this economy either. Despite what the...

Quentin De Nio, a 94 year old WW II veteran, still carries his white U.S. Army flag to honor soldiers buried at the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, according to a news report.

<p>Republican senators were making a last-ditch bid to undo cuts to military retiree benefits in the House-passed budget deal ahead of a crucial vote Tuesday morning in the Senate.</p> <p>Alabama GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions filed an amendment late Monday to restore money that was cut from veteran and military retiree pension benefits by closing a loophole that allows illegal immigrants to qualify for child tax credits.</p>

In Phoenix, more than 200 veteran inmates have been told they will be moving to a segregated wing of the Maricopa County Jail. During a press conference today, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio formally announced his plan to house approximately 250 veteran inmates together, in a housing unit that dons “patriotic décor” and features special behavioral programming aimed at dealing with symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD continues to plague military veterans returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan – and for incarcerated veterans, coping with the disorder without the help of friends or family can be even...

He may be 85 years old, but when Army sniper veteran (Battle of the Bulge) Ted Gundy was given the chance to show off the skills he used in World War Two, he proved he still could....(video 5min.)

Spc. Paul Pickett, 22, of Minden La., right, of the U.S. Army's Apache Company, 2nd Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, covers an injured U.S. soldier as a helicopter lands to evacuate the wounded after their armored vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in the Tangi Valley of Afghanistan's Wardak Province. Apr 2009.AP photo by David Goldman

GREENVILLE, SC — The last surviving member of the crew that rescued John F. Kennedy from an island in the Pacific Ocean during World War II died Wednesday. Greenville native Jack Gardo was 87. He died in his sleep at his home on Farrs Bridge Road, his daughter-in-law Brenda Gardo said. Gardo enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 16, two years younger than the legal age, because he wanted to serve his country. In 1943, Gardo’s PT 157 was sent to rescue the survivors of PT 109, which was cut in half by a Japanese ship. The crew...