A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....09-26-05....Military Monday

Billie, The Mayor

[The Mayor]

A Few of FR's Finest
....Every Day

FR is a Treasure Trove of talented, compassionate, patriotic, wonderful people who gather every day to discuss the latest news and issues; salute and support our military and our leaders;  tell a few jokes;  learn a new word;  write poetry;  pray for those in need;  and congratulate those who are deserving. Thank you, Jim Robinson, for giving us the vehicle in which we can express ourselves.

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest November 11, 2001

So many people have written me since my original Veteran's Day Tribute, asking how they, or a loved one, could be included in that tribute. Since I could no longer add the photos to the body of the thread, I had been including them in additional posts as I received enough to make another collage.

Still that didn't seem to be enough. I think there's never been a better nor more appropriate time to keep the faces of our own Veterans and Active Military in front of FReepers--every day! That's why I wanted to do yet another Daily Thread .....ABOUT FReepers .....and FOR FReepers. But not only about our Military FReepers; for all FReepers! Wouldn't it be nice to get to know a few of the other FReepers as well? That's why we've created a place for just that. This is a friendly room in JimRob's house where FReeper FRiends can gather every day and just say hello if that's all they want to do.

There's more of course. We sometimes feature different FReepers, with a little background information on who they are and what makes them who they are, along with a few photos you might not have seen on other threads; sometimes others write an essay for us to post as the feature for the day; sometimes our presentation is a human interest story found elsewhere that you might not have read; sometimes special holiday threads; but whatever the topic of the day, it is always with FR's Finest in mind and that is YOU!

If you would like to be featured, or would like to see someone else featured, please send me a private FR mail.

Every Monday we will post the photos of FR's Military Personnel that I have collected and put into groups; these will be available to view through a link the remainder of the week - every day just a click away. :)   If you would like to add a photo of yourself or a loved one in the military, past or present, please let me know; I will hold it until I have enough for a new group.

Thank you, and please have fun with us...every day! ~ Billie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank You For Serving Our Country!

TOP: Logos, SwedeGirl's hubby, Neil E Wright, FallGuy, 1John, Sneakypete
MIDDLE:  T'wit, COB1, LadyX, Dick Bachert, 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
BOTTOM:  YankeeinSC, Delta21, JoeSixPack1

TOP:  Bosniajmc, AFVetGal, Archy, A Navy Vet
MIDDLE:  4TheFlag, Aeronaut, 68Grunt, Xinga
BOTTOM:  Codger, AAABest, Clinton's A Liar, Duke809, dcwusmc

TOP:  mc5cents, Norb2569, LBGA's son, VanJenerette
MIDDLE:  Jim Robinson, KJenerette, davidosborne, KG9Kid
BOTTOM:  gwmoore, Equality7-2521, SAMWolf

TOP:  porgygirl, Phil V., MudPuppy, NorCoGOP
MIDDLE:  RaceBannon, OneidaM, rdb3, jwTexian
BOTTOM:  USMC Vet, TheMayor, Vineyard, rhododogma

TOP:  g'nad, AgThorn's son Justin, SLB, AgThorn's son Brett.
MIDDLE:  fish70, razorback-bert, CheneyChick,Leroy S Mort, Mark17.
BOTTOM:  Terry's Take, Taxman, DinkyDau.

TOP:  ValerieUSA's son Grant, SK1Thurman, kd5cts, RangerVetNam,
dansangel and .45man's son-in-law Tony
BOTTOM:  rangerX, Old China Hand, Trish, Howlin's dad, Mustang

TOP: ohioWfan's son, MamaBear's father-in-law, MamaBear's dad, ladtx
MIDDLE:  The Mayor's niece, M.Kehoe, Beach_Babe's son-in-law
BOTTOM:  deadhead's dad, HiJinx, Severa's hubby, viligantcitizen's granddad.

TOP:  spectr17, RightOnline, SERE_Doc, Tet68.
MIDDLE:  FutureSnakeEater, RightOnline's wife, CIApilot, Clamper1797
BOTTOM:  usmcobra, onedoug, DiverDave, Joe6-pack

TOP:  Q6-God, Scan59, Mama Bear and JKPhoto's son, ofMagog.
MIDDLE:  Big'ol_freeper, JustAmy's great uncle, Prodigal Son.
BOTTOM:  JustAmy's husband, JustAmy's brother-in-law, JustAmy's brother.

TOP:  dakine's wife, MeeknMing's dad, Auntbee's nephew, MilitiaMan7, AlasBabylon.
BOTTOM:  Joe Brower, Temple Owl, Temple Owl's wife, dutchess' dad, Aomagrat.

TOP:  ladtx #2 son; DiverDave's twin Don; petuniasevan and husband
poorman; Mustard; ladtx #1 son;
BOTTOM:  AlamoGirl's brother Floyd; AG's dad; AG's brother Jim (inset);
WVNan's husband; ladtx' Aunt Eva.

TOP: Mo1's dad; BuffyT's Uncle (right, w/ her dad & grandmother); Armymarinemom's 3 sons.
MIDDLE: ru4Liberty's dad; SheLion's husband, MaineRebel; wirestripper.
BOTTOM: fivetoes; bigghurtt; hurricane; ladtx' dad; Pippin's brother.

TOP: Repubmommy's brother, Rose in RoseBear's uncle, BoxerBlues' son Chris, BoxerBlues' son Brent.
BOTTOM: Rose in RoseBear's cousin's hubby, Deadhead's stepdad, Dansy's dad, Misty's brother.

LEFT: Little Pig; TOP: hattend, Old Sarge, Aquamarine's dad.
MIDDLE: HuntsvilleTxVeteran.
BOTTOM: Its_me_K.E.T.'s son, Veloxherc, SeeRushToldU_So.




                     

06-28-05 HALL OF FAME #12

THE WEEKEND THREAD 9-23 thru 9-25-05... T.G.I.F. at the Finest

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' Every Thursday at the Finest The guy's good, folks!

[luvie]

Sounds like you've been a busy girl this morning!

A progressive dinner sounds fun--remember I am in Mexican food heaven here in West Texas! :o)

[Pippin]

Hey Darks!

I was in DC at the rally yesterday

Got to meet Jim and Shiela Robinson!

I went with Nicknamedbob just in time to hear the Goldstar families speaking.

shoulda brought a box of kleenexs!

But they were so proud and so brave to come out and speak for thier fallen soldiers.

One that especially got to me was a gentleman who's son was killed on 9/11/01 in the Pentagon.

a lot of the GS families have had thier loved ones buried in Arlington.

[Darksheare]

Hi!

Heard tell it was a great rally.
NNB mentioned meeting Jim as well.
Wish I could have been there, but wasn't able to get there.


Good to hear of our honored dead being remembered with pride rather than screaming disgrace as the left slanders them.

[luvie]

Prayer for the Troops

Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
Protect them as they protect us.
Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they
perform for us in our time of need.
Honor them when their lives are
Bravely given for us and their country.
I ask this in the name of Jesus,
our Lord and Savior.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

[Pippin]

Of course some of the idiot from the other side tried to disrupt but the GS mom who was speaking just kept on talking and ignoring the ignorable.

she was great!

[luvie]

Well now you've done it! I gotta have a Hershey kiss!

Thank you!!!!

[mrstank]

I wish I could have been there!

I tried to watch it, but it was just too emotional for me. What I saw of it though looks like it would have been a good time had I been able to go.

Thanks for being out there for those of us that couldn't make it!

[Darksheare]

LOL!
Kept talking while the moonbats frothed.
That had to burn up the moonbats.

[Pippin]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

[Pippin]

I know you were there in spirit! :o)

[Mama_Bear]

[Darksheare]

Burned the moonbats up that good?
LOL!

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

I just googled "happy family" and found it.

We've had a lot of work here -- at work, so not much time for FReeping lately. : (

Vacation - best part was that I didn't have to go to work. I took off a Monday before I went back to take my mom for a surgury to have a stone removed from her bile duct, the 3rd surgury for this problem. We were there ALL DAY, not for the surgury itself, but for all the running around to wait. ; ) Thank you for asking.

How are you?

[Diver Dave]

Glad you were able to attend the rally, pipster, and you got to meet da Boss.

I watched the Gold Star Families portion with the Kleenex box close by.

[Diver Dave]

Prior to 9-11, the Hershey Plant in Oakdale offered visitor's tours. Fascinating to watch how those Kisses are made and wrapped. They no longer offer the tours.

Speaking of Kisses, the street lamps around the Hershey complex are in the shape of Hershey Kisses.

[luvie]

I've been there and fell in love with those lamps. Plus the fact that the whole town smells like chocolate! Yummmmmmy!

And on that note--I gotta go eat something or I am gonna eat MORE kisses! LOL!

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

HI

[OESY]

The Most Critical Battlefield


THE FOLLOWING COMMENT was left by a Marine serving in Iraq (IP address confirmed) in the "Operation FREE BALBOA" post:


Thanks for doing this. The battlefield this weekend will be on the homefront. The only thing that truly concerns me is that the seditionist groups will succeed in causing the American people to lose their will and the enemy will win politically the victory we have denied them militarily.

Let there be no mistake: we are winning here. Morale is outstanding and we are successfully taking the fight to the enemy. You will see a successful referendum in less than 3 weeks and a successful election in less than 3 months. I see the positive results of our actions everyday. The MSM ignores or denigrates almost every piece of positive news, exaggerates every negative and makes the enemy and his actions out to be more than they are.

They absolutely cannot defeat us militarily and have no strategic vision except the destruction of all who oppose them. A strategy based on such a negative is doomed to fail, unless we cut and run. That is the enemy's only chance to win. The biggest threat we face is a determined enemy who will not quit because, like the Vietnamese they see the possibility of victory because of a perceived willingness to quit at home.

You all are the ones who can help us out here by countering the enemy within. I've said it several times before: this war will be won or lost on the homefront, and the fact that there are so many of our so-called fellow citizens determined to defeat us scares me. You are the ones who can keep history from being repeated and you can help us by not allowing the anti-American crowd to help the enemy snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Some very poignant comments about how the same kind of seditionists helped the Communists succeed in Vietnam clearly proves the significance of what you are doing: " North Vietnamese Col. Bui Tin, who served under Gen. (Nguyen) Giap on the general staff of the North Vietnamese army, received South Vietnam's unconditional surrender on April 30, 1975.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal after his retirement, Col. Tin explicitly credited leaders of the U.S. anti-war movement, saying they were "essential to our strategy."

"Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9AM to follow the growth of the antiwar movement," Col. Tin told the Journal.

Visits to Hanoi by … anti-war allies Jane Fonda and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and others, he said, "gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses."

"We were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, said at a press conference that she was ashamed of American actions in the war," the North Vietnamese military man explained.

"Through dissent and protest [America] lost the ability to mobilize a will to win," Col. Tin concluded. "

Thanks for taking the time to help us out. You are the ones who clearly support the troops... because you support our mission. You may not appreciate the role you will play in helping to win this fight. But I do.

Thanks again.


Posted by Smash, http://www.indepundit.com/archive2/2005/09/the_most_critic.html#

[Diver Dave]

Getting back on track - Military Monday...

Our nephew's deployment to Iraq has been re-scheduled to a November departure.

Lifting up all of our Armed Forces - at home and abroad in prayer for Blessings and Protection.

[LadyX]

Thank you, Luvvy, for all the graphics you are creating, honoring the military.
As you know well, if you have been in the military or are a relative of one who has and love America, you usually *get it!*

Last night from 7 to 9 I viewed the ABC first new show of the season, building a new house for a veteran of the Iraq Campaign who lost a leg in combat. It was wonderful, highlighting this tough young man and his family.

They were originally from Puerto Rico, but AMERICAN TO THE MAX - she working with wives of other wounded military and their families, and working on her Master's Degree so she can do it full time.

While he has been dischsrged because of his disability, he nonetheless is working in overdrive to recover physically, always an active man, running and biking.

He had a real problem with pain from the prosthesis furnished by the military - basic rather than high tech - and no longer able to move from side to side, run, etc. The house, of course, was designed with his needs in mind - special furniture (not overly soft cushions, so he could rise with little effort), widely spaced - luxury everything, including a fully equipped gym for him with huge whirlpool tub.
The master bath had not only a big tub, but a special shower for him with portable hand grips he canuse anywhere inthe house to make it easy to maintain balance; and a seat the right height for him to comfortably sit, holding a hand held shower head.

The couple has two beautiful young daughters, well-behaved and articulate. ABC is paying all her costs to finish her Masters Degree so she can counsel others - and a local real estate company is paying the entire mortgage on the house!
By the way, the builder for this project is one who is devoted to building houses for disabled veterans.

It was two hours of alternate cheering and weeping, and marveling at the goodness of REAL Americans!!

The back yard was designed like one they would have had in Puerto Rico - a magical mostly paved over yard (hard for him to mow one) where they can entertain, complete with the wooden dance floor where he demonstrated his new ability to sway from side to side and turn around with the new leg, and truly dance with his wife.
We "whole" persons take so many of our abilities and comforts for granted.

The wife attributed hisand her attitude and that of her daughters to their rock solid faith.
It was apparent that in losing his leg, his whole family had been redirected by God the Father into a life of effectively helping others, from the aspect of truly *knowing* the uncertainies, pain and adjustments to a life-altering disability.