Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Walter Reed Army Medical Center, the Army's flagship hospital where privates to presidents have gone for care, is closing its doors after more than a century. Hundreds of thousands of the nation's war wounded from World War I to today have received treatment at Walter Reed, including 18,000 troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Dwight Eisenhower died there. So did Gens. John J. Pershing and Douglas MacArthur ... Through the use of medical diplomacy, the center also has tended to foreign leaders. The storied hospital, which opened in 1909, was scarred by a 2007 scandal...

DON’T FORGET NEXT WEEK, JULY 29TH. WE ARE HAVING THE LAST BIG GET TOGETHER TO CHEER OUR WOUNDED WARRIORS THRU THE GATE. This will be the last chance to see everyone together. A special invite goes out to the past regulars who stood at the gate in our early years. List of 11 Patriots at Walter Reed this ‘warm’ night: Lurkers Bill, Jim, Terri and Brian, and FReepers 3DJoy, BufordP, Fraxinus, RongKirby, Tammy Cat, [Mrs] T and myself. Pics by [Mrs] T [Mrs} T gives this report: Friday night was awesome. We had two things that made it that way....

All day long the weather gurus had been predicting severe thunder storms for Friday afternoon and into the evening. At times, rainfall might be 2 inches per hour, they said. At three pm, it started and would you believe by 6pm, the sun came out and we had a great evening. A lot of traffic again tonight with cars honking and passengers waving. Soldiers and staff were coming and going all night long. Three small buses carried the wounded warriors and their families back to Walter Reed shortly after 9pm. Thirteen of us greeted those three buses with flags, signs...

The long July 4th weekend at Walter Reed and in Washington, DC usually means a low volume of traffic in and out of WRAMC and up and down Georgia Ave. Not tonight. Two big ambulances arrived early with wounded soldiers reminding us why we are at the front gates. Bill Salutes Arriving Ambulance Early In The Evening, As It Turns Into Walter Reed We were all busy talking with wounded warriors who came out to be with us, and we were dealing with a significant volume of drivers honking and waving. Tonight, a DC motorcycle officer spent almost the entire...

On Friday, July 29, 2011, the Wounded Warrior Dinner Bus is scheduled to make its last run at Walter Reed. After this date, dinner buses will operate from Bethesda National Medical Center. The Aleethia Foundation has been running these Friday night dinner buses for seven years and will continue to do so. As we get closer to Walter Reed’s closing date, we will keep all of you informed of changes. July / August Calendar July 1st No Dinner Bus (This is the 4th of July weekend) July 8, July 15, July 22, and July 29 Dinner Buses will operate....

BETHESDA, Md., June 27, 2011 – Just two months remain before about 150 inpatients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., many of them wounded warriors, make the five-mile move here to the National Naval Medical Center. The relocation will mark a historic moment in both iconic institutions’ histories and one of the final milestones before they officially merge to become the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Twenty FReepers and visitors handled the four corners tonight. Finally, it was a perfect weather-wise evening. The energy on the four corners and from the passing cars made the 323rd consecutive Friday night to support the wounded warriors, a night to remember. VictoryNY and TammyCat really turn up the tempo. It’s hard to believe that there are only four more Friday evenings that dinner buses from Walter Reed will take the troops to Friday night dinners. July 22 is the last Friday night scheduled. After that, the Aleethia Foundation will coordinate these dinners from Bethesda Medical Center. The DC Chapter...

The DC Chapter of Free Republic held its 322st consecutive Friday night rally to support the wounded warriors and their families at Walter Reed. A little cloudy with light showers. No ponchos were needed. The evening started early with two big ambulances roaring down Georgia Ave into Walter Reed just as we were setting up. Eleven FReepers and visitors handled the four corners tonight. It was a busy evening with soldiers passing and talking with us. Two wounded warriors who stopped by early on were Grant and Marvin. Grant is in the Navy and Marvin is in the Army. Both...

ALEETHIA FOUNDATION WON! Hal Koster and Margaret Thomas of the Aleethia Foundation just sent this grand announcement: Dear Friends of Aleethia, We just got the official word that the Aleethia Foundation is "Day 38 Winner" and will receive the Toyota Sienna Mobility Van within the next 150 days! The troops rule and they deserve this special recognition by so many wonderful people that stepped up and voted. Thank you so much for voting and for all your efforts in spreading the word to vote ... but, more importantly, thank you for supporting the service members! Hal Koster - Executive Director...

Use this Facebook link to cast your vote between 6am and midnight EST, Today, June 15: Facebook Cars For Good The DC Chapter of Free Republic asks that you vote for the Aleethia Foundation on Wednesday, June 15. Your vote will help Aleethia to be awarded a new Toyota vehicle which will provide wheelchair accessible transportation for service members. It is a helpful, cost- effective way for Aleethia to further assist newly wounded, injured and ill service members. The Aleethia Foundation is proud to announce that it has been selected as a finalist in the “TOYOTA 100 CARS FOR...

The DC Chapter of Free Republic asks that you vote for the Aleethia Foundation on Wednesday, June 15. Your vote will help Aleethia to be awarded a new Toyota vehicle which will provide wheelchair accessible transportation for service members. It is a helpful, cost- effective way for Aleethia to further assist newly wounded, injured and ill service members. The Aleethia Foundation is proud to announce that it has been selected as a finalist in the “TOYOTA 100 CARS FOR GOOD” program. Now Aleethia needs your help for one day -- WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2011! See Aleethia's summer 2011 newsletter...

The DC Chapter of Free Republic held its 321st consecutive Friday night to support the wounded warriors and their families at Walter Reed. The heat and humidity made for a sweltering night. However, 16 FReepers and visitors were more than up to waving, holding flags and signs, and vocally supporting our troops. A noisy and assertive crowd tonight. Possibly because our time at Walter Reed is getting short. The last Friday night Aleethia Foundation dinner bus from Walter Reed is tentatively scheduled to be July 22. So we have a lot to do in a short time. Visitor Ali was...

Tonight’s summary is based on comments by Mrs Trooprally. Tonight, VictoryNY and TammyCat led the cheers and waves with high enthusiasm. Lurker Bill got vocal and soon all four corners were impacting passing cars. All night long, cars were loudly honking and passengers waved or shouted their support back. We are beginning to notice more and more soldiers in uniform driving or walking off the post. Almost all return our waves or yell their support. TacoMomma and Danang68 came from Virginia and spent the evening with us. Our last night at Walter Reed is tentatively July 22. (This will be...

The recent tiff between Rep. Paul Ryan and Newt Gingrich is discouraging. Gingrich described Ryan’s plan to offer more choices for certain Medicare benefits as “right-wing social engineering” and “too big a jump.” Realizing he needs to win the primaries before revealing his statist leanings, Gingrich quickly retracted his comments. Like most career politicians, he’s for or against whatever policies and programs boost his election chances. But Newt blew it. And now you see why President Barack Obama rarely risks speaking without his traveling teleprompter. Last year the Tea Party propelled Republicans espousing limited government to victory. While many Republican...

SNIP "The first lady is visiting privately with wounded warriors and their families at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This is her third visit to Walter Reed and part of her ongoing private meetings and visits with wounded warriors and their families around the country," an administration official said. SNIP The president spent his afternoon playing golf in Ft. Belvoir, Va.

Although there is no bus tonight due to the Memorial Day weekend there were more uniformed soldiers leaving on foot than we usually see. Most of the evening passing cars gave us loud honks and waves. Our flags and signs were in good hands. Meanwhile TammyCat and VictoryNY loudly express Support for our Troops. We were joined by Diane, mother of a wounded warrior, Allen. She is proudly holding the 82nd Airborne DN flag. We hope to see her again and wish Allen the best in his recovery. We had a good group this evening and filled the four...

For the fourth straight year, the DC Chapter of Free Republic showed its appreciation of the military by recognizing the Recruiters at the Silver Spring( Maryland) Armed Forces Recruiting Station. This Recruiting Station is a mile up Georgia Ave from the front gates of Walter Reed. Mr and Mrs Trooprally, CindyTrueSupporter, RonGKirby and Kburi, presented Certificates of Appreciation to the U.S. Marines and the U.S. Army recruiters. In addition, each service received a Manny and Olga’s gift card for pizzas, plus a M & O special pizza, sodas and cookies for their lunch break. The Army, Marines and the...

After almost three months, the MOAB (Mother Of All Banners) returned to the front gates of Walter Reed! Rain and high winds had kept the MOAB down. But not today. Sunny and mid 70’s, perfect weather to be in front of Walter Reed showing support to our wounded warriors and their families. Military Appreciation Month continues through Memorial Day. Today was a busy day as M/M Trooprally,CindyTrueSupporter, RonGKirby and Kburi were at the Silver Spring Armed Forces Recruiting Station to thank military recruiters for their service Recruiters from the US Army and the US Marines received a Certificate of...

A very good Friday evening with lots of activity on the corners and from the passing cars. Americans continuously show their support through waves and honks. 14 of us took over the corners and actually had Trooprally searching for a spot to smoke a cigar. Although it was overcast, we had mild weather for the 317th consecutive Friday night at Walter Reed. One small bus tonight. It was filled with waving soldiers and family members. As the bus turned into Walter Reed, it was met with waving flags and chants of USA, USA. It is always good to see their...

On Mother’s Day, the DC Chapter of Free Republic wants to take a moment to recognize and thank all the active duty Mothers, and all mothers with sons or daughters serving in the military. This country owes a lot to your service and caring. Reporting on the 316th consecutive Friday night at Walter Reed, Mr and Mrs Trooprally sent the following summary for May 6, 2011. We arrived a little early and promptly started to unload our gear. As we were unloading we heard the blast of an ambulance siren. We paused to see if it was the Wounded Warrior...