The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Navajo CodeTalkers - Dec 21st, 2002

http://bingaman.senate.gov/code_talkers/ ^

[alisasny]

PING : ))

[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning SAM

[Ligeia]

Ships of the GW battle group arrive for Yuletide
By DENNIS O'BRIEN, The Virginian-Pilot
© December 21, 2002
Last updated: 12:57 AM

Chief Petty Officer Carl Moore meets his daughter, 3-month-old Gracie Elizabeth, for the first time Friday as the carrier George Washington came home. At right is his wife, Angela. Photo by Genevieve Ross / The Virginian-Pilot.

Slide show: Photos from the pierside reunions
Video: Sailors return / GW at pier / Families wait
Guestbook: Post welcome home messages / More

NORFOLK -- Gracie Elizabeth was as wonderful as Carl Moore had imagined.

``She's beautiful,'' Moore said of the 3-month-old daughter he met for the first time Friday.

Moore, 30, missed wife Angela's third trimester. He missed labor. He missed the delivery. He missed the sleepless nights, the falling away of the umbilical cord, the feedings, the countless diaper changes, the gentle finger squeezes and the first looks of recognition as his newborn began to understand those around her.

Chief Petty Officer Moore, and 137 other ``new dads'' on the carrier George Washington, missed all that because they were on a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East.

Friday morning, many of those fathers met their children for the first time on a rain- and wind-swept pier at Norfolk Naval Station. Angela Moore welcomed her husband with a long hug and no complaints, although she did say she was so looking forward to having help with the grocery shopping.

Squeezed between the reunited Moores was son Mason, 5, apologizing to his daddy for dropping the welcome home flowers into a puddle.

``You know I'd rather have you than flowers any day,'' Moore said to Mason. Continue

[Sparta]

Navajo Codetalkers ping!!!

If you want on or off the Western Civilization Military History ping list, let me know.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!

[Sparta]

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The members of the WCMH ping list. 97 members.

[Oldeconomybuyer]

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 21, 2002

Radio Address by the President to the Nation

     Audio

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. As families across the nation gather to celebrate Christmas, Laura and I want to extend our best wishes for the holidays. We hope that this Christmas will be a time of happiness in your home, and a time of peace in the world.

In this season, we celebrate with our families and deeply miss love ones who are no longer with us. Thousands of families in our nation are still grieving over the terrible losses that came to them last year on September the 11th. We have not forgotten their loss and we continue to pray for their comfort.

The Christmas season brings a deeper concern for fellow citizens in need. Our country is prosperous, yet we must also remember there are pockets of despair in America. Some men and women are facing the struggles of illness and old age with no one to help them or pray with them. Other Americans fight against terrible addictions. Some young men have no family but a gang. Some teenage moms are abandoned and alone. And some children wonder if anybody loves them.

We all share a responsibility to help, both through our government and through individual acts of compassion. In this season of giving, I hope all Americans will look for opportunities to donate and volunteer where the need is greatest. By reaching out to a neighbor in need, we make our country a more just and generous place.

Our entire nation is also thinking at this time of year of the men and women in the military, many of whom will spend Christmas at posts and bases far from home. They stand between Americans and grave danger. They serve in the cause of peace and freedom. They wear the uniform proudly, and we are so proud of them.

I have met with these idealistic young men and women across America and around the world. I know the sacrifices they make. And in every place they serve, they can know that they have the love of their families and the gratitude of their nation.

At this time of year, we appreciate all the blessings that fill our lives, especially the great blessing that came on a holy night in Bethlehem. The Christmas story speaks to every generation. It is the story of a quiet birth in a little town on the margins of an indifferent empire. Yet that single event set the direction of history and still changes millions of lives.

For over two millennia, Christmas has carried the message that God is with us, and because he is with us we can always live in hope. The world we live in is very different from the world of ancient Bethlehem. Our need for that hope is still unchanged. In all the challenges and dangers of our day, we still seek the promise of peace on Earth.

Thank you for listening and merry Christmas.

END

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Thank you SO MUCH for honoring these men today - those who know me well know this is one of my areas of interest.

It has been said that the Marines would not have taken Iwo Jima without the Code Talkers, which is part of the reason it's one of my personal dreams and goals to meet one of these heroes one day - to thank him and shake his hand. Extraordinary skill, unwavering dedication to this country - coupled with the things they endured - this is one of the most amazing stories in our nation's history, in my opinion.

Great topic, guys. Thanks again.

[bray]

Pray for GW and our Troops

[gatex]

It is heroic, patriotic and innovative people like these who have secured the freedoms for us all -- Hillary fails to appreciate what they have done.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

I know this is a subject near and dear to your heart, so I figured I'd ping ya...

It is. Very much so. Thank you for thinking of me; I must have been composing when you pinged me.

xone.

[dennisw]

Did you see the movie? I plan to get/rent the DVD.

[SAMWolf]

1946 Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" premieres

Both Frank Capra and the sudio considered the movie to be a flop.
Now you can see it a least a dozen times between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Bentfeather.

[Sparta]

No I haven't. A lot of people who did see the movie hated it.

[Soaring Feather]

Happy Holidays

[SwatTeam]

Thank you for these great history lessons. I remember reading about these brave men when I was in school and even as a very young girl I was so impressed.It takes me a long time to read these threads because I get so teary eyed I can't see.

And thank you AntiJen for pinging me. I read the thread where people were bitching about being pinged. I appreciate being pinged for this.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the link to the George Washington story.

Current Military News

An airman kisses his wife upon his return to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., Thursday, Dec. 19,2002. The airman, part of the Rampagers Squadron, returned home after a six-month deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Jason M. Hirschfeld)



Members of Fighter Squadron VFA-83 return in formation to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002.



Katie DeLong squints towards the sky as she looks for her Father's plane along with her grandmother, Della, and brother Trey at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., Thursday, Dec. 19, 2002. Her father, Lt. Larry DeLong is aa member of the (VFA-83) Rampagers Squadron which returned after a six-month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (AP Photo/Jason M. Hirschfeld)

[SAMWolf]

Our entire nation is also thinking at this time of year of the men and women in the military, many of whom will spend Christmas at posts and bases far from home. They stand between Americans and grave danger. They serve in the cause of peace and freedom. They wear the uniform proudly, and we are so proud of them.

I have met with these idealistic young men and women across America and around the world. I know the sacrifices they make. And in every place they serve, they can know that they have the love of their families and the gratitude of their nation.

Worth repeating, thanks!

[SAMWolf]

You're welcome,DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet.

There will be a thread on Iwo Jima coming. You're also welcome to write about your dad's experiences and we'd be honored to post it.