Then what's that above Admiral Byrd's name?
Posted on 06/26/2004 4:22:37 AM PDT by BluegrassScholar
KNOXVILLE - Since 1995, Bob Parker has sent nearly 2,000 honorary medallions to survivors of soldiers, police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty.
Parker and his nonprofit organization Fallen Friend has 17 more medallions to give, including one for Pat Tillman, the football player who quit the NFL to become an Army Ranger and was killed in April in Afghanistan.
But Tillman's family and others won't receive their medallions.
The Army has stopped helping Parker and Fallen Friend distribute the medals because there is a reference to a Bible verse on the back, according to two letters Parker received from the Army.
The Marines, Navy and Air Force have continued to provide Parker with names, but those branches ask the families first if they want to receive the medallions.
"The denial is based upon the religious content on the medallion. There are some next of kin that may find the inscription offensive to their personal religious beliefs," wrote Lt. Col. Kevin Logan, chief of the casualty operations division.
The 70-year-old Parker, an Army veteran who lives near the Kentucky border in Clairfield, hasn't been able to change the decision and plans to keep fighting.
He believes the families should have a choice to accept the medals or refuse them.
The gold-colored medallion is about the size of an Olympic medal and is inscribed with words "A Fallen Friend," the soldier's name and John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
One side of the medallion has a picture of a bell with hands cupped around it with the words "Liberty Rings for All Nations" and "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" around it.
The medal design has been the same since Fallen Friend sent out its first medal to a family of an Army soldier killed in the Bosnian peace-keeping mission. Parker has never received any complaints about the medallions before or had any family return one.
"These people die for a choice. That's what really broke me up," Parker said. "The families that would like to have the medallions don't have the choice to say yes or no. They are denying them the very thing that these people are dying for - freedom of choice."
The military branches provide Parker the names of the soldiers, and he sends the medals to the military to be distributed to the survivors.
In April, the Army returned 16 medals Parker had already engraved. Parker received a letter dated April 27 from the Army, notifying him that each group that wishes to send gifts or letters to the next of kin has to fill out a questionnaire to be approved.
Parker returned the questionnaire, which prompted the Army to write another letter dated May 4 denying Parker's request.
The Army reviewed its practice this spring of helping people send items to survivors and found some of the items were inappropriate.
Very honored to meet you. I'm sure JFK's was one of the more moving. I did visit his site in '64, and visited the cemetery many times. I just wish a few of the Michael Moore ilk could walk through there. Take care
___________________________________
I agree with B4Ranch that what you are now seeing is the manifestation of at least 18 years of planned "deprogramming" Christianity out of our Armed Forces.
It's a known fact that George Herbert Walker Bush is (and was when he was President) an avowed "One Worlder" and he even stated such on numerous occasions and with great pride to the fact.
Clinton followed suit, and the present Commander-In-Chief is not about to take the United Nations precedent out of the designed evolution of our armed forces that does not include any one single "religion" at it's core.
Instead, you can hear such phrases from the president as "Christians and Muslims all pray to the same God." and such similar direct statements by the president that he has bought into the concept of a "One World Religion" in which no religion is singled out above any other one, but all are equal in the sight of God.
Don't shoot the messengers here folks, this is just a fact of life - Christianity is no longer accepted as the only religion in our armed forces. And for that reason, anyone advocating any endorsement of Christianity is considered to be officially "off limits" - all thanks to our buying into a "One God For All" world religion.
Here is an example of how this doctrine of no longer recognizing Christianity or the God of Isaac, Jacob and David as the "only religion":
and how it is quickly being transformed into a Unted States Armed forces of the "New World Order" force recognizing one G-d - the same one, for each religion:
(Read this and weep . .) _____________________________________
Recent hearings by Senator John Kyl’s subcommittee on terrorism have exposed the growing dominance of a radical sect of Islam in the United States.
This sect, commonly referred to as Wahhabism, preaches jihad against Christian, Jews, and Muslims who don't toe the Wahhabi line. All 19 of the September 11 hijackers were followers of Wahhabism, as is Osama bin Laden. This violent perversion of Islamic faith has been responsible for terrorist attacks against innocent civilians — both Muslim and non-Muslim — all over the world.
As a movement, Wahhabism has established publishing operations, schools, and charities in many countries. The self-labeled "educational outreach" of this movement — financed largely by the wealth of Saudi Arabia, where Wahhabism is the official, and only state, religion — foments jihad and a fundamentalist theology to young people internationally, including in the United States.
And there have been a increasing number of instances in which Wahhabists have successfully penetrated key U.S. institutions, such as the military and our prison system. As several recent media reports have noted, the two groups that accredit and recommend Muslim chaplains to the military — the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences and an organization under the umbrella of the American Muslim Foundation — have long been suspected of links to terrorist organizations by the federal government. The Graduate School and another group accused of ties to Islamic extremists — the Islamic Society of North America — also refer Muslim clerics to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.
Just this week, one of the key architects of the U.S. military's chaplain program, Abdurahman Alamoudi, was arrested and charged with an illegal relationship with Libya, long a state sponsor of terror. Federal investigators also have detained a Muslim clergymen who was once stationed at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — Captain James Yee — and is being investigated for potential ties to al Qaeda.
The New York State prison system promoted a Muslim cleric to a position that allowed him to supervise the hiring and firing of all prison chaplains. He was later removed from his job when officials discovered he was an al Qaeda sympathizer who incited prisoners against America. Jose Padilla, a terrorist accused of trying to build a "dirty bomb" to unleash in the United States, was exposed to radical Islam in the U.S. prison system. Richard Reid, the so-called "shoe bomber," was converted to fundamentalist Islam while serving time in a British prison.
On Tuesday, I chaired a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that analyzed the procedures used by the military and prison system to recruit Muslims, particularly focusing on the cleric program. We also examined whether the instances of Wahhabi infiltration at key U.S. institutions may be part of a larger pattern. We heard from government witnesses on steps they are taking to confront these challenges and outside experts attesting to terrorists' efforts to exploit a free society to conduct the wide range of activities necessary for effective terror operations.
In response to our Senate inquiry, groups whose terror-related activities are being scrutinized by my subcommittee as well as the federal government have been quick to accuse investigators of Muslim bias. Falsely charging "bigotry," however, is simply not an acceptable response to serious allegations of criminal activity. Terrorists should not be allowed to disguise their hateful, violent activities under the banner of religious freedom. The fear of being falsely accused of prejudice, coupled with political correctness, may be part of the reason we got into the situation we're in right now.
America is a welcoming nation, and Americans are respectful of all faiths. It's time we confront the evil that has distorted and victimized the peace-loving, mainstream Muslim community. In the Senate, we intend to do just that.
— Senator Jon Kyl is a Republican senator from Arizona.
"Just as President Bush is making his Dads wishes come true by funding $600 million to build a UN standing army."
Of course John Kerry wouldn't be any better. So that leaves only one option open.
Of course John Kerry wouldn't be any better. So that leaves only one option open.
....and what might that be?
Reelect Bush. I see no other alternative. That is unless you'd rather have another liberal in power for four years. But that's entirely up to you.
If the following quote from you doesnt suggest a third alternative I don't know what does:
"Just as President Bush is making his Dads wishes come true by funding $600 million to build a UN standing army."
Of course John Kerry wouldn't be any better. So that leaves only one option open.
"Just as President Bush is making his Dads wishes come true by funding $600 million to build a UN standing army."
This is not my quote. It is B4Ranch's quote. I was responding to his animosity towards President Bush by saying that Kerry would be an even worse President. Somewhere you've crossed wires. I didn't say that.
I was "pinged to post #42 and having made more comments already on this thread I just read from #42 onward this time.
I saw what I thought was a statement that you made not realizing that you were quoting someone else because I didn't see Italics. They aren't neccessary as you DID use quotation marks.
I have been voting for Republican and conservative candidates since I was a baby (Seems like it anyway) My adult children tell me I am to the right of Rush Limbaugh and I was about to get my dander up at someone implying that I might be a lib.
Again - My apologies to you.
"I have been voting for Republican and conservative candidates since I was a baby (Seems like it anyway) My adult children tell me I am to the right of Rush Limbaugh and I was about to get my dander up at someone implying that I might be a lib.
Again - My apologies to you."
No need to apologize. That's what this forum is for. It's for debating these issues. Now. If we could only get President Bush to apologize for Iraq, we'd be home free. :) HA!
I thought you'd find that amusing.
Chris
P.S. I'm glad that at least a few people read it. It was intended in full support of President Bush. And thank you for the compliments. I appreciate 'em. I really do.
>>I have been voting for Republican and conservative candidates since I was a baby<<
Just how happy are you with our Republican and conservative candidates?
I am disgusted with every one of them. They look and act more like Dims than I could have ever imagined!
I am disgusted with every one of them. They look and act more like Dims than I could have ever imagined!
Come November I'll be voting for G.W.B.
You haven't served in the militay in the last 10 years have you? Unit Christmas parties are now "Holiday Parties." They even sell "Holiday Cookies" to raise funds for the party.
Then what's that above Admiral Byrd's name?
Read the rest of my posts on this thread, especially the relevant ones.
What is that above Pappy Boyington's name?
Try to keep up.
Ok I did and I still find that most of the 20th century markers HAVE a cross on them.
Are we going to have to chisel them off?
What part of the above quote of mine do you continue not to get?
What are you smoking anyway that you can't seem to get it? (A rhetorical question)
So you were originally right, but someone said you were wrong, so now what's wrong is right and what's right is wrong. Is that right? Or am I wrong?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.