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A massive painting of Jesus on display in the US Merchant Marine Academy in New York has been covered by a curtain after objections that the religious image should not hang in a room used for mandatory activities. The painting, featuring Jesus with his arms outstretched over a lifeboat packed with sailors lost at sea, turned into a point of tension for non-Christian students and staff. Eighteen people, including five Jews, asked the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to appeal on their behalf to the Kings Point academy, which reports to the US Department of Transportation, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported....

Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, and the Media. "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2) Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Set things in order. Be encouraged. Agree with one another. Be at peace. And the God of love...

Today, Congressman John Garamendi's (D-CA) "Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2020" (H.R.5671) passed Congress and is heading to the President's desk to be signed into law. Representatives Don Young (R-AK) and Susan W. Brooks (R-IN) joined the legislation as original cosponsors, and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) sponsored the companion legislation in the Senate. This bipartisan legislation will award a Congressional Gold Medal, one of the highest honors in the United States, to American Merchant Mariners who supplied our armed forces during World War II.

Clint Walker, the hulking star of TV’s Cheyenne who also appeared in such classic films as The Ten Commandment and The Dirty Dozen, died Monday. He was 90. Walker’s daughter Valerie told TMZ that the family believes he died from a heart problem. Walker was best known for playing Cheyenne Bodie, the strapping, brooding, mean title drifter in the 1955-63 ABC Western Cheyenne. Roaming from town to town and job to job in the post-Civil War West. The series did a slow build, breaking into the year-end Primetime Top 25 at No. 12 in its third season, where it peaked...

They also served, those men of the Merchant Marines. Much is written and said about the service of the Army, Navy, Air Corps and Marines during World War II. Less is known about the service of those who wore the uniform of the Merchant Marines. Grady Motes served in the Merchant Marines and he is proud of his service to his country and of those who served with him. Motes was a Shellhorn farm boy who registered for the draft in 1943. He was deferred for a year to work on the farm but then was classified 1-A. “I knew...

Patriots Guild No one knows what the outcome of World War II would have been if more than 18 million women hadn't worked in home-front defense industries to free men for overseas battlefields and to keep the nation running, and no one can say what would happen in this war on terror, if it were not for the countless Contractors, who put their lives on the line to re-build Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the millions of civilians who support the war effort from home. *** I would like to introduce you to the Patriots Guild- a place...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

A Westport family is mourning their son after he fell victim to a rare illness aboard an international container ship. NewsCenter 5's Rhondella Richardson reported that Chris Haley, 36, was a merchant mariner aboard the container ship Overseas Marilyn. The ship left port in Western Africa in mid-August and Haley fell ill with a sore throat. He died Aug. 31. Officials believe Haley contracted Lassa fever, a rare but deadly illness usually found in Africa. "We don't have the body. We can't mourn. We don't know when he's coming home. We don't know if he suffered -- that's the thing...

American Merchant Marine Veterans During World War II, mariners suffered the highest rate of casualties of any service. After the war, they received no benefits. HR 3729 would provide $1,000 per month to WWII mariners or their widows to help make up for that. See http://www.usmm.org/cd.html

Butler County resident Nathan DeSantis tried to enlist in the Marines the day after Pearl Harbor but flunked his physical because he lacked opposing molars. Sixty-five years later, he thinks he's being overlooked again. DeSantis is one of 243,000 Americans who served during World War II in the Merchant Marine, a group that suffered proportionally heavier losses than any other military branch. The sacrifice, DeSantis said, makes Merchant Marines worthy of equal billing with the Army, Navy, Marines, Army Air Corps and the Coast Guard on a new World War II memorial planned in Butler. Not everyone agrees.

On May 27, 1945, Lt. j.g. Arthur Strohbehn with the Merchant Marines had his own day that lives in infamy. "I'll never forget that day," Strohbehn said. "I'll always remember." From the time he entered the Merchant Marines in March 1943 until he was released in December of 1945, Strohbehn spent the majority of his time aboard a cargo ship, usually laden with ammunition, in the Pacific Theatre. Most of the time, his ship was well-protected in a convoy. "Convoys are actually a pretty safe place to be," he said. "We always had plenty of protection from minesweepers and destroyers."...