A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....10-13-03....Military Monday

Billie

[Billie]

[Billie]

[Support Free Republic]

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[The Mayor]

[ladtx]

Another Military Monday and another tribute to my fallen comrades. A special day today, I knew two of them.

In memory of my fellow Vietnam helicopter pilots who were killed in that war the following were lost on OCT 13th. God bless them all.

1966 WO1 Dennis R. Brown (USAR) -- 9 INF, Age 22, Single, Minneapolis, Minnesota
1967 MAJ Charles M. Houser (USA) -- 25 AVN 25 INF, Age 31, Married, Vale, North Carolina
1967 MAJ Boyd E. Morrow (USA) -- 188 AHC, Age 34, Married, Forty Fort, Pennsylvania
1969 CPT John M. Wheeler (USAR) -- 336 AHC, Age 28, Married, Comer, Georgia
1969 CW2 Ronald C. Rudolph (USAR) -- 336 AHC, Age 31, Married, Norfolk, Virginia
1971 CW2 Ronald K. Schulz (USAR) -- 57 MED DET, Age 20, Single, Pasco, Washington
1971 WO1 John S. Chrin (USAR) -- 57 MED DET, Age 22, Single, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania

As a personal note, CPT Wheeler and CW2 Rudolph were in my unit (336th Assault Helicopter Company) while I was there. I had only been in country less than a month and theirs were the second and third deaths of pilots that I actually knew. They were were two of our maintenance officers. They were returning from Saigon where they had just picked up a new Huey for our unit. They were flying trail in a formation of two. During the flight back they kept asking lead to slow down because of the turbulence. The lead aircraft said they were not experiencing any turbulence but slowed anyway. A few minutes later the aircraft with Wheeler, Rudolph and their crewchief, SP5 Willie F. Cato, nosed straight into the ground, killing all three. It was thought the horizontal stabilizer had failed causing them to lose control of the aircraft. It was quite a sobering experience, the point was driven home that we were all vulnerable.

Unit patch of my old unit, "336th Assault Helicopter Company Warriors"

SCOUTS OUT!

[Billie]

Thank you, Support. Monthly is the way to go. Thanks for your hard work and dedication.

[Calpernia]

GOOOOD Morning to the Finest!

[Calpernia]

Happy Columbus Day!

A sailor on board the Pinta sighted land early in the morning of October 12, 1492, and a new era of European exploration and expansion began. The next day, the 90 crew members of Christopher Columbus's three-ship fleet ventured onto the Bahamian island of Guanahaní, ending a voyage begun nearly ten weeks earlier in Palos, Spain.

As a reward for his valuable discovery, the Spanish crown granted Columbus the right to bear arms. His new Coat of Arms added the royal charges of Castile and Leon and an image of islands to his traditional family arms. Columbus further modified the design to include a continent beside the pictured islands.

Before his final voyage, the Spanish monarchs prepared a Book of Privileges, a collection of agreements showing how Columbus was remunerated for his explorations. In 1502, four copies of the book were known to exist. The Library of Congress's precious copy of this work is considered one of the "Top Treasures" included in the online exhibition American Treasures of the Library of Congress.

The first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the United States took place on October 12, 1792. Organized by The Society of St. Tammany, also known as the Columbian Order, it commemorated the 300th anniversary of Columbus's landing.

The 400th anniversary of the event, however, inspired the first official Columbus Day holiday in the United States. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation urging Americans to mark the day. The public responded enthusiastically, organizing school programs, plays, and community festivities across the country. Columbus and the Discovery of America, Imre Kiralfy's "grand dramatic, operatic, and ballet spectacle," is among the more elaborate tributes created for this commemoration. The World's Columbian Exposition, by far the most ambitious event planned for the celebration, opened in Chicago the summer of 1893.

Over the following decades, the Knights of Columbus, an international Roman Catholic fraternal benefit society, lobbied state legislatures to declare October 12 a legal holiday. Colorado was the first state to do so on April 1, 1907. New York declared Columbus Day a holiday in 1909 and on October 12, 1909, New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes led a parade that included the crews of two Italian ships, several Italian-American societies, and legions of the Knights of Columbus. Since 1971 Columbus Day, designated as the second Monday in October, has been celebrated as a federal holiday. In many locations across the country Americans parade in commemoration of the day.

[Aquamarine]

I had only been in country less than a month and theirs were the second and third deaths of pilots that I actually knew.

So sorry to hear about that and may we never forget the sacrifices that were made for our freedom including the sacrifice you made when going into harms way. Thank you Ladtx.

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Monday !

10-12-2003
Texas Redistricting - Senate [PASSES!] new redistricting !!!

[MeekOneGOP]

Have a cup while you FReep !

[jwfiv]

Good morning on Military Monday...

...to our Hostess, the lovely MIss Billie Blue...

...and to all the rest of you...

...the Finest.

May the Good Lord always bless America, our President and his team, our Armed Forces and the men and women who serve.

The sun is shining brightly out my window...a good start to a new week.

...))))))

[Libertina]

Happy Columbus Day!

I am glad to see that this is a respectable thread with no more snowball fights ;) I feel a closeness to Columbus, since I love adventure, oceans, and have a similar ability to find any new place once ;) Thank you LadTX for the moving military story you told. Our troops are all so vulnerable - though in their bravery they often forget. Have a joyous day FR's Finest :) Libby

From the Pacific Northwest

[Billie]

LOL! Yes, keep your snowballs away from our Finest Military. :) We only throw kisses at them. :)

[Billie]

Good morning, Rus, and thank you, both for the daily morning coffee, and for being in that wonderful group of FR's Finest, past and present, pictured above.

I love your tag line. :)

[Billie]

Good morning, ladtx. Thank you, too, for your service to our country, and your sons and other family members who served. Again, I'm so glad that you've resumed your Vietnam tributes each Monday. God Bless them all, their families, and God Bless you and yours. Praying that Ashley continues to grow stronger and gets to go home very soon.

[Billie]

Good morning to you, Cal, and thank you for your Columbus Day post. Am glad you 'found' us a few months ago when you posted a few of those happy elephants on your first visit here. :)

[Billie]

Good morning to you, Cal, and thank you for your Columbus Day post. Am glad you 'found' us a few months ago when you posted a few of those happy elephants on your first visit here. :)

[The Mayor]

Thankyou Billie, I really enjoy posting coffee everyday.
And I am Proud to be one of FR's Finest..

PS....i'm working on the other thingy

[ladtx]

Got an email from Mrs ladtx this morning she said Ashley is doing well enough that they are going to see if they can get Leila in to see her sister. Hope they take some pictures.