FReeper Canteen ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ 12 November 2015

Serving The Bestest Troops & Veterans In The World !! | The Canteen Crew

[Kathy in Alaska]

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~

~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~

PLACING WREATH

Army Staff Sgt. Robbie Petry places a rose at each of the four crypts at the Tomb of the Unknowns during his last walk ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, Dec. 19, 2014. Petry is a tomb sentinel assigned to the Army Honor Guard, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.

Canteen Mission Statement

Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies' military
and family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

AIR RECONNAISSANCE

A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker crew refuels a U.S. Air Force RC-135W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft near Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 24, 2014. The KC-135 is assigned to the 909th Air Refueling Squadron. The RC-135W is assigned to the 82nd Intelligence Squadron.

GIBRALTAR LIGHTS

U.S. sailors aboard the USS Fort McHenry prepare the ship's forecastle for a transit through the Strait of Gibraltar, Dec. 26, 2014.

HELICOPTER FLYOVER

Coast Guard H-65 helicopters fly over Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the start of the Military Bowl 2014 in Annapolis, MD, Dec. 27, 2014.

LOADING SUPPLIES

U.S. Marines load supplies onto the USS Iwo Jima on Naval Station Rota, Spain, Dec. 26, 2014. The Marines are assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

IRON STRIKE

Army Spc. Macmillan Ekedede fires a round downrange during Exercise Iron Strike on Fort Bliss, TX, Dec. 8, 2014. Ekedede, an assistant gunner, is assigned to Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division Artillery

HEAVY HOSE

U.S. Army Spc. Dustin Atkins brings a set of fuel hose back to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter after fueling a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Tapita, Liberia, Dec. 19, 2014. Atkins is a crew chief assigned to the 1st Armor Division's Company B, 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, from Fort Bliss, TX.

NIGHT SKY

The guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher lights up its mast during night-delayed landing qualifications with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 26 in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility, Dec 15, 2014.

WINTER MANEUVERS

An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter practices maneuvers above Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK, Dec. 17, 2014. The service member and helicopter are assigned to the Alaska Air National Guard's 210th Rescue Squadron.

AIRLIFT OPERATIONS

U.S. soldiers attach cargo to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter on Roberts International Airport in Harbel, Liberia, Dec. 12, 2014. The mission was to airlift incinerators to a new ebola treatment unit built in support of Operation United Assistance.

Please remember that The Canteen is here to support
and entertain our troops and veterans and their families,
and is family friendly.

[ConorMacNessa]

REQUEST PERMISSION TO COME ABOARD



CHARLESTOWN, Mass. (Jan. 14, 2008) The first major snowfall of the New Year blankets the USS Constitution. Despite the weather "Old Ironsides" remained open for free public tours. At 210 years-old, USS Constitution is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, manned by 67 active-duty United States Sailors and visited by nearly half a million visitors annually. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Eric Brown (Released)

GOD BLESS AND PROTECT OUR TROOPS AND OUR BELOVED NATION!!!





Boston, Oct. 21, 2009 - Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Philip Gagnon pipes as USS Constitution performs an underway demonstration in honor of the three-masted wooden frigate's 212th birthday. (U.S. Navy photo by Airman Mark Alexander/Released).
(Click for Bosun's Whistle)



USS Constitution's 1812 Marine Guard fire vintage Springfield flintlock muskets during the ship's underway. "Old Ironsides" was underway for the "Constitution Day Cruise," which is conducted to thank the family and supporters of Constitution. U.S. Navy photo by Airman Nick Lyman (Released)

OUR TROOPS ROCK!!!!!!!

[Publius]

Sergei Rachmaninov plays "The Star Spangled Banner"

[Kathy in Alaska]

Permission Granted!

[SandRat]

[ConorMacNessa]

Thanks very much, Kathy!
***HUGS***



Striding up the gangplank as we speak,
rendering Hand Salutes to our National Colors
and to the Officer of the Deck!
Thank you very much for this evening's
"Remembering Our Troops" thread!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Hello Veterans, wherever you are!!

[ConorMacNessa]

Welcome To All Who Enter This Canteen, To Our Serving Military, To Our Veterans, To All Military Families, To Our FRiends and To Our Allies!



Missing Man Setting

"The Empty Chair"

By Captain Carroll "Lex" Lefon, USN (RET), on December 21st, 2004

"In the wardroom onboard the aircraft carrier from which I recently debarked was a small, round table, with single chair. No one ever sat there, and the reasons, both for the table being there, and for the fact that the chair was always empty, will tell the reader a little bit about who we are as a culture. The wardroom, of course, is where the officers will dine; morning, noon and evening. It is not only a place to eat ~ it is also a kind of oasis from the sometimes dreary, often difficult exigencies of the service. A place of social discourse, of momentary relief from the burdens of the day. The only things explicitly forbidden by inviolable tradition in the wardroom are the wearing of a cover or sword by an officer not actually on watch, or conversation which touches upon politics or religion. But aboard ships which observe the custom, another implicit taboo concerns the empty chair: No matter how crowded the room, no matter who is waiting to be seated, that chair is never moved, never taken.

The table is by the main entrance to the wardroom. You will see it when you enter, and you will see it when you leave. It draws your eyes because it is meant to. And because it draws your eyes it draws your thoughts. And though it will be there every day for as long as you are at sea, you will look at it every time and your eyes will momentarily grow distant as you think for a moment. As you quietly give thanks.

AS YOU REMEMBER.

The small, round table is covered with a gold linen tablecloth. A single place setting rests there, of fine bone china. A wineglass stands upon the table, inverted, empty. On the dinner plate is a pinch of salt. On the bread plate is a slice of lemon. Besides the plate lies a bible. There is a small vase with a single red rose upon the table. Around the vase is wound a yellow ribbon. There is the empty chair.

We will remember because over the course of our careers, we will have had the opportunity to enjoy many a formal evening of dinner and dancing in the fine company of those with whom we have the honor to serve, and their lovely ladies. And as the night wears on, our faces will in time become flushed with pleasure of each other’s company, with the exertions on the dance floor, with the effects of our libations. But while the feast is still at its best, order will be called to the room – we will be asked to raise our glasses to the empty table, and we will be asked to remember:

The table is round to show our everlasting concern for those who are missing. The single setting reminds us that every one of them went to their fates alone, that every life was unique.

The tablecloth is gold symbolizing the purity of their motives when they answered the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones who kept the faith.

The yellow ribbon around the vase symbolizes our continued determination to remember them.

The slice of lemon reminds us of the bitterness of their fate.
The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those who loved them.
The bible represents the faith that sustained them.
The glass is inverted ~ they cannot share in the toast.
The chair is empty ~ they are not here. They are missing.

And we will remember, and we will raise our glasses to those who went before us, and who gave all that they had for us. And a part of the flush in our faces will pale as we remember that nothing worth having ever came without a cost. We will remember that many of our brothers and sisters have paid that cost in blood. We will remember that the reckoning is not over.

We many of us will settle with our families into our holiday season, our Christmas season for those who celebrate it, content in our fortune and prosperity. We will meet old friends with smiles and laughter. We will meet our members of our family with hugs. We will eat well, and exchange gifts and raise our glasses to the year passed in gratitude, and to the year to come with hope. We will sleep the sleep of the protected, secure in our homes, secure in our homeland.

But for many families, there will be an empty chair at the table this year. A place that is not filled.

WE SHOULD REMEMBER."

Many Thanks To Alfa6 For Finding Capt. Lefon's Chronicle Of "The Empty Chair."

"Traumerei"
Robert Schumann
(Click)

Never Forget The Brave Men And Women Who
Gave Their Lives To Secure Our Freedom!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Mac...*HUGS*...how has the commute been to the new base of operations?

Trains running on time?

[ConorMacNessa]

AMERICA
LAND OF THE FREE . . .



. . . BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE!!!!
SEMPER FI AND OORAH!!!

[soycd]

Donald & Lydia ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_k9mslBS0A

[SkyDancer]

~

~ Good Evening! ~

~ Welcome To My World ~

~

~

We're Going To Watch "Italian Job" movie tonight. One of my fav's.

[ConorMacNessa]

The commutes have been smooth. In light of Veterans' Day, my usual morning train did not run - I took the train after - 6:40 vice 6:00. There was a nice display at Union Station in honor of Veterans' Day - a canopy, flags, and a book with names of those wounded in action since 9-11. Ridership was very light today.

"I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces guarding our country and our way of life.
I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

[ConorMacNessa]

br> ENJOY YOUR FREEDOM?



THANK YOUR VETS AND RETIRED MILITARY. . .



. . . AND YOUR SERVING TROOPS!!!

THEY HAVE OUR SIX!!!!

[Kathy in Alaska]

Good evening, Publius, and thank you for Rachmaninov’s “The Star Spangled Banner”. ((HUGS))

[Publius]

Well, gosh and shucks.

(HUGGING WHILE BLUSHING)

I mostly missed last night's thread, so I didn't get a chance to post the national anthem for Veterans Day. I have a small window tonight (classic movie TCM again), so I thought I'd post it for our troops.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Sending out prayers for Arrowhead1952 as he recovers from his horrible fall.

~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~

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Showing support and boosting the morale of
our military and our allies’ military
and the family members of the above.
Honoring those who have served before.

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We are indebted to you for your sacrifices for our Freedom.

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[ConorMacNessa]

BAND OF BROTHERS

WORLD WAR II

Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division "Screaming Eagles"
June 7, 1944 at Ste. Marie du Mont, France

"THIS DAY IS CALL'D the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."

KOREA

Marines of the "Chosin Few", 1st Marine Division
Chosin Reservoir, Korea, December 1950

"OLD MEN FORGET; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words,
Harry the King, Bedford, and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered."

VIETNAM

FMF Corpsman D. R. Howe treats the wounds of Pfc. D. A. Crum, USMC
"H" Company, 2nd Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, during Operation Hue City.


"WE FEW, WE HAPPY FEW, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."
(Henry V, Act IV, Scene iii)


AFGHANISTAN

Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division in action, Afghanistan, 2011

OUR NATIONAL MEMORIALS
October 2013


"ONCE MORE unto the breach, dear friends, once more,
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility;
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let it pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as does a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean."(Henry V, Act III, Scene i)


THE STRUGGLE AGAINST TYRANNY GOES ON,
AS IT HAS FROM TIMES IMMEMORIAL.
THE BAND OF BROTHERS
STILL STANDS FAST IN THE BREACH!

THEY HAVE OUR SIX!

Honor Them For Their Service And Sacrifice!

[Kathy in Alaska]

I wrote inquiring about the Austin area flooding...they aren’t IN Austin, but on a lake not too far away.

*****************************************************

Thank you so much for writing with your concern - I have been meaning to send an update about Dad for quite some time, but wanted to make sure I had all of the most current and correct information.

With all the rain in the Central Texas area, neither Mom nor the CORE facility were hit very hard. They welcomed the rain upstream and I understand that the lake came up a bit, but I believe it was the downtown area that was hit the hardest. Thank you very much for your concern, and I am happy to report that all is well with the nasty weather they encountered.

Dad is still at the CORE Healthcare facility in Dripping Springs, and will be there through the month of December. He still has therapy sessions with PT, OT, and Speech, and during my mom’s October monthly meeting every therapist said he had the best month yet. (And yes, he still loves being out in the hallways and rolling around the facility in his wheelchair.) They all said he was more talkative, his voice was stronger, and he was eating 25 or so bites of soft foods every few days....peaches, pears, applesauce, etc. These very small bites he chews in his mouth and swallows without much coughing. Below are a few brief notes from his different therapists:

Occupational Therapy: “Mr. Schwausch is participating OT tasks with much greater efficiency as motor planning deficits have reduced from severe to moderate. With the findings from MRI’s, Occupational Therapy goals have transitioned to building strength with available range which may then provide additional range. Significant improvement has been noted.”

Physical Therapy: “Mr. Schwausch can transfer pivoting bed to and from the wheelchair with assistance depending upon his ability to concentrate (ie. eliminate distractions) and his level of fatigue. He can also transfer sit to stand using a walker with assistance. He counts 1, 2, 3 prior to the transfer and pushes from the armrest with one hand while holding onto his knee with the other hand. This helps him to lean forward, put his weight through his legs and improves his balance during the transfer. He has been very consistent with his improvements this month.”

Speech Therapy: “Mr. Schwausch names basic items with definition or phrase completion cues with 30 percent accuracy. He has inconsistently consumed 20 trials of thin fruit puree and 18-22 sips of water with independent or minimum cues for throat clearing. Named basic level associations with 90 percent accuracy. Named basic opposites with 90 percent accuracy. When seen with family members, initiated conversational questions with moderate-maximum cues.”

Unfortunately, the newest concern has been the sudden appearance of seizures, which started a couple of weeks ago. Since then he has gone from having one every few days, to one every day or so, and last night he had three. In each case he is taken to the local hospital and seen by the doctors there, and after the all-clear he is sent back to CORE. He is on a low-dosage anti-seizure medication, which will hopefully become a higher dosage soon. I will continue to update on the seizures if they get worse (or - hopefully - better!) and about his progress from his therapists. I will be able to go down to Austin for the week of Christmas, so I will go to CORE numerous times and I’m sure will have great stories.

Thank you all very much for the continued support and your concerns. Please pass on to The Canteen FReepers my most sincere thanks for your dedication, sacrifice, and service to our great country on this Veterans Day. Like many, I am forever grateful for our men and women who have served in the armed forces, both now and in the past.

Have a blessed week.

***************************************************

Cards and letters would be nice.

John Schwausch
CORE Healthcare at Hilltop
400 Old Hwy 290
Dripping Springs, TX 78620

[Kathy in Alaska]

And a Happy Veteran's Day to you.