Free Republic

IRONTON, Ohio (WSAZ) – Even the COVID-19 pandemic couldn’t but the brakes on the nation’s oldest continuously running Memorial Day parade. The 152nd Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade went on Monday morning in southeastern Ohio – without spectators. Typically, the event draws more than 30,000 people to the streets of Ironton. It’s recognized by Congress as the longest running Memorial Day parade in the United States. In the midst of the pandemic, organizers say their only way to carry on the tradition was by asking spectators to stay home and watch a livestream of the event. Organizers also shortened the...

"Only the dead have seen the end of war." -PlatoThis is not a political post.  This is an American post.  About an American soldier.  An outstanding milblogger who some of you may have followed.   Respected and mourned from both sides of the political aisle. A Babylon 5 fan. Patriot. Son. Father. Husband. For this Memorial Day, I'd like to bring attention back to a friend of BlackFive's, Major Andrew Olmsted.  He was the first U.S. soldier killed during the Troop Surge, Jan 3, 2008.  Shot by a sniper in As-Sadiyah, Iraq, while pleading with 3 insurgents to surrender so...

On Peace Officers Memorial Day and during Police Week, we commend the brave men and women of our law enforcement community for continually summoning the courage to fulfill their solemn oath to protect and serve. We also pause to remember all those who have lost their lives and who have suffered permanent disabilities defending their communities and the rule of law, including the heroes we have lost this year to the coronavirus. Throughout our Nation’s history, law enforcement officials have never wavered in the face of crisis or tragedy. During uncertain times, law enforcement officers bravely face challenges and continue...

WASHINGTON - Anxious for an economic recovery, President Donald Trump prepared to field Americans' questions about decisions by some states to allow nonessential businesses to reopen while other states are on virtual lockdown due to the coronavirus. After more than a month of being cooped up at the White House, Trump was returning from a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland and planned to participate in a “virtual” town hall, hosted Sunday night by Fox News Channel, from inside the Lincoln Memorial. “Hopefully our Country will soon mend,” Trump tweeted. Federal guidelines that encouraged people to stay...

The Wall That Heals, a three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial along with a mobile Education Center, is coming to Garland Thursday, Feb. 27, through Sunday, March 1. The exhibit will be on display at Audubon Park, 342 W. Oates Road, and will be open 24 hours a day and free to the public. The City of Garland is leading the effort that will bring the exhibit to the metroplex. The Wall That Heals honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed forces in the Vietnam War and it bears the names of...

Two students are dead and four are seriously injured after a driver reportedly hopped a curb outside of Moore High School in Moore, Oklahoma, and struck members of the cross-country and track team as they were starting their practice run after school. Moore Police stated that they responded to the scene around 3:30 p.m. on Monday. There, students and staff were administering life-saving care, including CPR. The driver of the truck, Max Townsend, allegedly fled the scene and was taken into custody by Moore Police three blocks away. All six students were rushed to the hospital. One of the students,...

Even though retired NBA legend Kobe Bryant was born and raised a Catholic, he made a few bad turns. But thankfully, the basketball star was able to turn his life around, and it was all thanks to a kind-hearted priest.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial located in Washington D.C. in Judiciary Square was dedicated in 1991 with the names of 12,561 officers who died in the line of duty through the end of 1990. The original design accounted for enough space to add names annually through 2100, assuming that an average of 153 law enforcement line of duty deaths occurred each year.But the country did not stay in 1990 and with the violence and hatred being poured out against law enforcement combined with events such as 9/11, the average number of names added since then has been more than...

The Knights of Columbus in Belleville, Ontario, recently had a tombstone placed in St. James Roman Catholic Cemetery in memory of babies who have been killed by abortion. After posting photos of the memorial on Facebook, the group experienced angry backlash from Facebook users and a women’s group that may have caused the Knights to remove their original post. The tombstone reads: “Life is sacred” along with Jeremiah 1-5: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I consecrated you.” It also states: “In memory of all victims of abortion.” The Knights of Columbus...

New Zealand firefighters performed a powerful haka in Auckland on Wednesday to honor the 9/11 first responders. The group were filmed in their service uniforms in two rows as they performed the Maori tradition. A crowd of dignitaries and other firefighters dressed in their operational gear and were seen watching on. Hakas are generally performed as a sign of great respect and are often presented at funerals, celebrations or sporting events. Over 200 firefighters climbed Auckland's Sky Tower as a tribute to those who died in the attacks on the World Trade Centre. Three chiefs from the New York Fire...

Obituary for Col. Ben H. Swett, U.S. Air Force, Retired Col. Ben H. Swett, Ret., passed away on July 20, 2019 in MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital. He had been a resident of Temple Hills, Maryland since 1971. He was born on September 3, 1934 at Saint Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, son of Herbert Elbridge and Marcia Harriet (Fadner) Swett. Though originally named “Herbert Benjamin,” he always used “Ben H.” as his first and middle names. Ben H. Swett attended grade schools in Wisconsin and Colorado, and graduated from Pasadena, Texas, High School in 1951. In 1955, he graduated...

NORFOLK A Circuit Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit by activists that attempted to force the city to move its 112-year-old Confederate monument. In an 11-page order entered Tuesday, Chief Judge Mary Jane Hall said the plaintiffs failed to prove that their constitutional rights were being violated by the continued placement of the Confederate monument. The suit was filed in late March by Roy Perry-Bey, from Newport News, and Ronald Green, who lives in Norfolk. The men represented themselves. They argued that the display of the monument endorsed ideas such as secession, slavery, racial segregation, white supremacy and violence and...

I hope everyone has a meaningful, reflective Memorial Day. The following is a repost, originally published May 30, 2016.... Christian Jacobs hugs the headstone of his father U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Christopher Jacobs as mother Brittany, wipes away a tear in Arlington National Cemetery A friend recently posted this iconic 2007 photo of Christian Golczynski: His father, Marine Staff Sgt. Marc Golczynski, was shot and killed while on patrol during his second tour in Iraq. This photo is all over the internet and is heartbreaking because of the 8 year old's strength in holding back tears during a formal...

Don at Middleton Sportsmen Club, 2004 Donald G. Cowling, Jr., was born on 25 April, 1934, on a small farm in the Town of Vinland near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. He was the only child of Donald G. Cowling, Sr. and Doris Small Cowling.  I was told the farm was small, 40 acres, with railroad tracks running through it. Donald Senior worked for the Railroad for 37 years. Don grew up on the farm and took to shooting early. His father was not a hunter or a shooter, but Don's uncle was. He vividly remembered being worried about having BB's during...

Urge SCOTUS: Keep the Bladensburg Peace Cross (WWI Memorial) Return to Order http://www.returntoorder.org/petition/keep-the-peace-cross/?PKG=RTOE0590

The Supreme Court will decide the constitutionality of a towering cross-shaped memorial to Maryland men who died in the First World War. The Supreme Court agreed in early November to hear the case in which the American Legion is asking the high court to reverse a 2017 appeals court ruling that the memorial violates the First Amendment’s prohibition on governments establishing religion. Overturning a lower court’s decision, the Fourth Circuit panel said the memorial, which stands on public land, is unconstitutional because it “excessively entangles the government in religion.” The case may be a gauge for the conservatism of the...

Memorial, the country oldest rights group, has held a 12-hour ceremony every year on 29 October for the past 11 years. Hundreds of people read out names of those killed during Stalin-era repressions at a memorial in Lubyanka Square, outside the headquarters of the current security service and its Stalin-era predecessors. Historians estimate about a million people perished in Stalin’s Terror, also known as the Great Purge, in the 1930s. The group said Moscow city authorities had refused permission this year for “The Return of Names” ceremony. “Today, 19 October, that is 10 days before the ceremony was due to...

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals want to build a 5-foot tombstone where lobsters may have died after a crash on Route 1 in Brunswick, Maine, last week. According to the Brunswick Police Department several of the crustaceans that a Cozy Harbor Seafood truck was carrying got crushed as a result of the rollover. [Snip] The organization sent a letter to the Maine Department of Transportation asking if it could create the roadside memorial where the lobsters lost their lives.

What started out as a single flag in tribute to his friend has taken on a life of its own for a Lewes businessman. On July 10, Dave Repass put up a blue, black and white flag, known as a Thin Blue Line flag, on the northbound side of Route 1 over the Nassau Bridge following the sudden death of his friend, Delaware State Police Master Cpl. William Matt.

On this day, 14 years ago, Ronald Reagan passed away from pneumonia complications exacerbating his end stage Alzheimer's Disease. This is a memorial post for a truly great conservative, who won the Cold War, and changed the landscape majorly.