A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....07-22-03....A Few MORE of FR's Finest

Billie

[Billie]

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

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....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

Please join me as we salute Group 12 of a Few of FR's Finest Military. Some are serving now, some are veterans, some are no longer with us, but all are deserving of our thanks and appreciation.

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.

Mo1's dad never liked to talk about his time in the war, but she does know he served with the Army in the 69th Infantry Division in WW II.

BuffyT's uncle, Richard H. Thoos, is still MIA from WWII; his B-17 was shot down over France. The photo below is the crew in front of their flying fortress. Uncle Richard is in the second row, second from left. Another B-17 was nearby when his was shot down. They saw the crew parachuting to safety, but Richard was never found, either dead or alive.

Armymarinemom has much to be proud of, with three sons actively serving in the U.S. Army and U.S.M.C. The photo above with two of her sons is about six years old, and several ranks behind. She is hoping they will all be home for Christmas, so she can have a new formal photo of all three.

Ru4Liberty's father was in the U.S. Army in WWII. The photo was taken at Ft. Crockett in Galveston, Texas.

SheLion's husband, FReeper MaineRebel, passed away last year. He was Active Duty Military for a total of 26 years. He was in the U.S. Army from 1964 - 1968, serving in VietNam from June '66 until July '67 (6BN 27th Artillary). He received two Purple Hearts for injuries sustained while serving in Viet Nam. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1970 and retired in 1992.

Wirestripper enlisted in the Army in November, 1969, on a 3-year commitment. After extensive training in Ft. Belvoir Virginia regarding a new mobile assault bridge that the Army developed for armored units, he landed in West Germany in the fall of 1970. He remained there until his enlistment was up in the fall of 1972. Wirestripper was a proficient marksman, and spent about a year and a half on the 3rd Armored Division Marksmanship team, shooting in National Match Competitions throughout Europe.

Fivetoes joined the US Marine Corps a week after graduation from high school in 1970. He left active duty as a sargeant in 1973, In his words.."One thing that I do not remember is being debriefed when I left the active service of the United States Marine Corps. I took an oath upon entering the service to defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic. I believe that anyone who has taken that oath still has an obligation to live up to it."

Bigghurtt has been in the U.S. Army for the last 5 years, and will soon enter the special forces...he is currently stationed at Ft. Detrick, MD, and has served at Ft. Knox, Ft. Gordon, and in the Republic of Korea.

Hurricane enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1951. He advanced from E-1 to E-7 and then was commissioned in the Warrant Officer Program, where he rose through the ranks to CWO 4 in the Navy Civil Engineer Corps (Seabees). He stayed in the Reserve and retired in 1986. Hurricane's photo is circa 1982.

LadTX' father was in the U.S. Navy, WWII. A military family, Ladtx served in Vietnam, and two of his sons are currently Active Duty.

Pippin's brother served in the U.S.M.C. Pippin is one of our frequent guest writers, and we know how proud she is of her brother.

Today we salute you, one more group of FR's Finest! On Monday, your group will be added to our regular Military Monday tributes. Thank you for serving!

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 07-21-03 Military Monday

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[ladtx]

Thanks LadyX. Needless to say we are extremely proud of our family and our granddaughter, Leila Kay.

[LadyX]

Dere Sistah,

Am also bizzy packing and sorting Pichurs of Long Ago for our 'Reunion' Friday !!!

Whaddya mean "4 days and counting?!! - LOL - it is 3 days until Friday, Nan !!

FOCUS, SISTAH - write Friday Friday Friday Friday
50 times on your mental blackboard..:))

we are not excited - no, no - !!!

Maggie

[Billie]

Morning and thank YOU, Sistah Dutchess! I like having a little information to go with the photos the first time they're posted, too. Sure hope Uncle Ron's niece or nephew shows up - I'm so mad at myself for having a picture and no way to identify it.

[LadyX]

No, we will not share any photos until The Thread, Maggie Malone standing by for the assignment.

With Johnny Mac away (supposedly on vacation, but you never know when he might actually be tracking down a 'new clue'..:)), she is free to cover this for you.

Now may we haggle over the expense account? Don't want to have to hitchhike to South Carolina - - -

[Billie]

Not a red x - evidently IconBazaar doesn't allow posting of their pictures from their site.

[Billie]

Hi, Dave - can always count on you saluting the 'new' guys. :)

[LadyShallott]

Great thread today Billie! It's always a wonderful thing to learn about our men and women in the armed forces. Just wanted to stop in and say hello. I hope all of you have a great day. God Bless-

Chris

[LadyShallott]

Love the picture! I am partial to little girls in pigtails. She is a cutie!God Bless-
Chris

[ladtx]

Thanks LadyS. Our daughter-in-law is a stay at home Mom too. The extra time she is able to give Leila has resulted in a little girl progressing intellectually beyond her physical age.

[deadhead]

Excellent thread Billie, love seeing and reading about more of our finest and their loved ones. God Bless each and everyone of them. I thank them all for serving our great country.

Thank You for the Military Prayer Point, LadyX. Beautiful.

Your get together with Nan is coming soon, have a wonderful time. Can't wait to hear how it was. Pictures, pictures we want to see pictures :-)

I had an awesome vacation, 50 of us for the reunion, lots of laughs. Got to see cousin Brian for one night, and then he had to head back to Cherry Point. He is very quiet, not yet talking about his experiences in Iraq. He is very thankful and grateful for all the support he received. Spent a lot of time by the ocean and in the ocean :-) The 3rd night we were there, we went to see the Riverdogs baseball team, LOL...it was silent night, all of us get together to go to a game and it is silent night!

[The Thin Man]

Wonderful video, Lady!

[LadyShallott]

I love being a stay at home mom. The time spent with Hannah has been a true blessing. Tell your daughter-in-law to keep up the good work! :) God Bless-

Chris

[MeekOneGOP]

Hey ! That sounds great to me. Better for Minnesota (less Socialists there that way),
and they'll fit right in with Chretien et al).

[Billie]

Hi, f'stix, I'm a little late getting to the coffee and donuts, but hopefully the donuts are not too stale yet - sometimes they're just perfect for after lunch dessert. :)

[Billie]

Afternoon, Meekie - hope you didn't put away your heavy coat for that cold front coming through. :)

[LadyX]

I'm so delighted you had such an enjoyable Family Reunion, Colleen!

Many years ago, we used to travel to SC at Thanksgiving every year for a gathering of my two sisters and their families and some friends.

Held it at Anne's lake house on Lake Marion, and it was wonderful for all the children in particular.

In abut 71 hours, Nan and I should be meeting in Spartanburg..:))
There will be a Thread to Follow, with pictures, once they are developed and Maggie Malone does the write-up...:))

(Johnny Mac is out in the field on something else.)

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL ! Yep. Hope I don't catch a cold, hehe!

[deadhead]

"There will be a Thread to Follow, with pictures, once they are developed and Maggie Malone does the write-up...:)) "

I am looking forward to your thread, I know it will be a lot of fun! I have to go back to work tomorrow, grrrrrrrr. And in 2 weeks, will be having another family reunion here on Long Island, my Dad's side of the family. Relatives will be coming from Ohio. That too will be fun.

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning all (it is still morning here, but just barely, LOL).

Billie this is beautiful........lovely graphics, layout and tribute to our newest Finest veterans.

Every American enjoying freedom here in the United States owes a debt of gratitude to every military veteran who has taken this oath.....

[Mama_Bear]

There will be a Thread to Follow, with pictures, once they are developed and Maggie Malone does the write-up...:))

I am so looking forward to this! Guess I don't have to tell you to have a great time, I KNOW you will. Lots of your Finest FRiends will there in spirit. :-)