Free Republic

SIERRA VISTA — They have served their nation. Some in heated battles. Others during times of cool tensions. As individuals, they may have been drafted — a concept foreign to today’s generation — or enlisted. For many, their service may have been for a few years. Yet for others, it was a decades-long career. Be they soldiers, Marines, sailors, airmen or Coast Guardsmen they have special benefits, although many do not know what they are and how to apply for them But on an upcoming important day — Veterans Day — celebrated most years in Sierra Vista on Nov. 11,...

Lt Samuel Nicholas was recruiting his first recruit for the Marine Corps in Tun's Tavern, Philadelphia, November 10, 1775. His first recruit came up to him. "Here , sign your name or make your mark. Here's $10 pay for your first month. Did you bring your rifle?" The first Marine Recruit signed his name, took the money and said, "Yes, Sir, I have my rifle." "Lt Nicholas said, "Outstanding! Go sit down in the room in the back!" The second Marine recruit shows up. Lt Nicholas says, "Here, sign your name or make your mark! Here's $10 for your first...

“There must have been 15 Chicago firemen and an equal number of Chicago police and they formed a corridor for the Marines when they got off the airplane,” he said.

Tricare leaves thousands of beneficiaries without medical providers No, that headline is not hyperbole. It is true. In Angeles City, Philippines the two hospitals that beneficiaries are required to use, and the affiliated specialist at these hospitals, have cancelled their participation in the Tricare Demonstration Project, yet the beneficiaries are still required to use only these same medical providers for their medical care or forfeit reimbursement for their out of pocket cost for that care. Here are the details. On 1 January, 2013 Tricare started a Demonstration Project for beneficiaries in the Philippines. Tricare’s contractor, International SOS, (ISOS), was tasked...

Arnold Fisher is angry. The real estate mogul and philanthropist wants know why the U.S. government isn’t doing more to help the country’s veterans in their recovery from post-traumatic stress (PTS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). “If we can't do this, we are not a decent people,” Fisher said. “We lose that decency if we can't help those who help us.” […] he and his family have made it their mission to fill the void in assisting the country’s veterans through their two foundations: The Fisher House Foundation and the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. “All the money comes from the...

WWII Marines Accounted For The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that two U.S. Marines missing in action from World War II, have been accounted for and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors. U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Henry S. White, 23, of Kansas City, Mo., and Staff Sgt. Thomas L. Meek, 19, of Lisbon, La., will be buried as a group in a single casketrepresenting the two servicemen, on Oct. 18, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On July 21, 1943, White and Meek were crew members of an SBD-4...

World War 2 aviator identified and to be laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013 BY MARTIN BARILLAS The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced on October 11, despite the current partial federal government shutdown, that the remains of an American aviator are being returned to his family for burial. 1st Lieutenant Robert G. Fenstermacher, who was shot down during the Second World War, will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on October 18. Lieutenant Fenstermacher, a native of Scranton PA, was just 23 years old when he paid the greatest...

The government shutdown the World War II memorial, now truckers are shutting down America. On October 1, the Obama administration closed the WWII memorial in DC, which was paid for with private funds to honor the country's most beloved veterans. One week later, the Administration allowed for an immigration reform rally to take place on the National Mall with hundreds of illegal immigrations in participation, just a few hundred feet away. The outrage caught national headlines and the National Park Service has since changed the wording on the signs around the memorial. Ride for the Constitution has sent their drivers...

MAY ALMIGHTY GOD UPHOLD AND DEFEND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! THIS NATION IS dearer to me than my own life. I fought for it willingly and proudly, as my ancestors have done since the American Revolution, and as members of my family continue to do to this very day. MY FOUR-GREATS Grandfather, Samuel Brison, was born in Scotland around 1760. He emigrated to the Colonies and served in the Revolutionary War, retiring afterward to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, where he passed on to his reward in May 1935. Memorial to Battery "C", 5th U.S. Artillery at Gettysburg,...

SIERRA VISTA — The drive to find military veterans who have died and fell through society’s cracks, leaving them without final military honors, continues. At 1 p.m. on Saturday the cremated remains of 35 veterans, and the wife of one of them, will be placed in columbaria niches at the Southern Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery off of Buffalo Soldier Trail in Serra Vista. Cemetery Administrator Joe Larson said honoring the 35, who served in War World II, the Korean War and Vietnam War, as well as during the Vietnam era and peacetime, will mean they bring the total of Missing...

April 2010 MiG Alley By John T. Correll The American F-86 Sabres stopped the MiG-15s—and their Russian pilots—at the Yalu. In August 1950, a Soviet air division with 122 MiG-15 jet fighters arrived in northeastern China and set up headquarters at Antung on the Yalu River, the dividing line between Chinese Manchuria and North Korea. On Oct. 18, an American RB-29 reconnaissance aircraft spotted 75 fighters on the ramp at Antung, but that did not raise much alarm for Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s United Nations Command or the US Far East Air Forces. Nor was there any great concern on Nov....

FLIGHT LIEUTENANT JOHN KING, RAF by Charles Keil Shortly before the end of World War II, in February, 1945, at the age of eleven, I was a pupil at St Bartholomew's Grammar School, an all-boys school in the county of Berkshire, England. Only a few weeks into my first term, having broken the rules by talking to a fellow pupil during morning assembly, I was sent to the prefect for summary punishment. In those days, the prefects (senior boys appointed by the staff to discipline the younger brethren) in English grammar schools had enormous power over other pupils. I stood...

On 9/11/2001 I did not wake up to this when terrorists flew jet liners into the twin towers. My day had already begun at 0500 hour while serving in the USAF undergoing advanced SRT training at Ft. Leonardwood. By 0615 hour, we were prepped ready to rehearse in taking down a building. This morning exercise was the result of the previous evening lessons on terrorism. My class was filled with Army, Marines, Navy and Air Force. Read the rest here My Memory of 9/11What was your 9/11 experiences?

This is a brief story on Ken Snyder experiences with the SOG unit that he had served while in Vietnam. Special Operation Group - code name Studies and Operations Group to make it seem like a liaison to academia. SOG conducted reconnaissance missions in North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Operating unofficially in the no play area, so to speak. Ken also talks about working with the "Montagnards", the mountain people of Vietnam that hated the South Vietnamese as much as they hated the North Vietnamese. westernshootingjournal.com/stories/deep-in-enemy-territory/

The Grunt Padre ISBN: 9781891280085 Author: Fr. Daniel L. Mode Binding: Softcover Pages: 223 Price: $15.95 This is the definitive biography of Fr. Vincent Robert Capodanno, a chaplain for the Marine Corps during the Vietnam war. Greatly beloved by so many who served under his spiritual care, Fr. Capodanno died on the field of battle giving the last rites to the US soldiers he served so well. He was just declared a “Servant of God” by the Vatican, which is is the first major step toward the canonization of a saint. Fr. Mode recounts the story of Capodanno’s life growing...

A Concert Celebrating America’s Heroes: Past – Present – Future Event: Join us for a “Concert Celebrating America’s Heroes – Past – Present – Future” at the Pennsylvania Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield. Featuring The “President’s Own” United States Marine Band and the West Point Cadet Glee Club, the evening will serve as a touching tribute to members of our Armed Forces over the past 150 years. Date: Friday, September 20, 2013 Time: 7:00pm-9:30pm (check-in and parking assistance starts at 5:15pm) Location: Pennsylvania Monument What to Know Before You Register How do I get tickets? Although this event is free,...

My mother's brother recently passed away. I know he saw a lot of combat in Europe and liberated several camps. Unfortunately, that's about all I know, as Uncle Stanley never talked about the war, and we weren't allowed to ask him about it.Whenever I see a movie about the war in Europe, I always wonder if that was his unit, if he was in that battle, etc... Is there any way to find any of this out?

The Silver Star Families of America, SSFOA, has one mission: to remember, honor and assist the wounded, ill, injured and dying of our Armed Forces from all wars.

This is a tune called "Bridges", about the things we think about when deployed: home, and peaceful places. This one was written about Spring Canyon, the OCF retreat center in Colorado, but I think everybody has a place like this where they go in their heads.

Newcastle World War II hero mystery solved 20 Aug 2010 12:10 MISSING details about the life and times of a Second World War hero can finally be told. MISSING details about the life and times of a Second World War hero can finally be told. Nearly 70 years after RAF rear gunner Sgt Frederick ‘Leonard’ Molteni paid the ultimate sacrifice over occupied Belgium, his life story can be revealed. Sgt Molteni was killed with his five Wellington bomber crewmates on a doomed mission in 1941 when they were shot down over the Belgian coast. His grave now lies in Belgium...