Free Republic

79 years ago today, my grandfather jumped out of a plane. He was 17 years old when he joined the 101st Airborne Division, and at the ripe age of 18, he boarded a C-47 aircraft with the rest of his company destined for Normandy. On June 6, 1944, he jumped out of that plane onto Utah Beach, becoming a part of what would become the largest amphibious invasion in military history, Operation Overlord, or, as it's more commonly known, D-Day. Though only 18, my grandfather was one of the oldest soldiers in his company. He recounted how many, like himself,...

President Joe Biden spoke at a memorial for the lives lost on 9/11 on Sunday, urging Americans to look toward the future and act to defend Democracy. “Because on this day it is not about the past, it is about the future,” he said. “We have an obligation, a duty, a responsibility, to defend preserve and protect our democracy.”

If something big hit the fan right now, would Biden be up for it? I assume he's either back or on his way back from the Middle East and he's probably unconscious. I remember Trump doing random press conferences on the WH lawn on any given day at any given time, day or night, seven days a week. The press seems to just take the weekend off now and not cover any news on Biden, presumably because he's out of it. The question remains, is Biden up for it if something serious goes down after hours?

As we approach another anniversary of the pandemic’s onset, many of us are reflecting on the past two years and thinking about the ways the virus has altered our lives. More than 950,000 Americans have died. Many more have lost a loved one, and millions are still grappling with the lingering aftereffects of infection. As we begin to move toward a postpandemic future, it is vital that we remember the toll this virus has taken. The lessons of this pandemic should be carried with us so that — unlike what happened after the 1918 flu — it doesn’t fade from...

Harry Reid came from a town where you couldn’t afford to stay down. When he was just 11 years old, Harry followed his father hundreds of feet underground into the mines below Searchlight, Nev., where he would pan for gold and keep his dad company as the older man pounded through nearly impenetrable rock. He spent his childhood one cave-in or errant blasting cap away from becoming a fatality of those mines, as his father’s brother and a neighbor had become just a few years before. But Harry always came back up.

Since 2008, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial has been a solemn, quiet escape for mourners to pay their respects to those who died at the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m., Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists flew American Airlines Flight 77 into the west side of the building, killing 184 people onboard and employees inside the U.S. military headquarters. The physical damage to the Pentagon was rebuilt in less than a year. The memorial was closed Sept. 9, 2019, for renovations, and was scheduled to reopen in May 2020, but because of COVID-19 restrictions on the Pentagon Reservation and other factors, it...

I recently came across this clip from the Clinton Years of Rush calling out said President's crocodile tears during the Ron Brown memorial service which did bring a much needed smile to my face. Now that we're looking back on his life, I thought would be a good time to ask people here for their favourite Rush moments that hold dear to them. Whether he made you laugh or stoked passion in you

CLEVELAND — Sunday marks 44 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank near Whitefish Point in Michigan. Twenty-nine men died that day. (excerpt)

The USS Forrestal is scraped but the memory is forever of the sacrifices made.

The Jewish Elbow… A Jewish grandmother is giving directions to her grown grandson who is coming to visit with his wife. "You come to the front door of the apartments. I am in apartment 301. There is a big panel at the front door. With your elbow, push button 301. I will buzz you in. Come inside and the elevator is on the right. Get in, and with your elbow, push 3rd Floor. When you get out, I'm on the left. With your elbow, hit my doorbell. OK?" "Grandma, that sounds easy, but, why am I hitting all these buttons...

Music Memories for all us geezers and geezees out there who remember great melodies and lyrics. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sinatra+and+elvis&&view=detail&mid=9E204BDC3EF362F1F53A9E204BDC3EF362F1F53A&rvsmid=A15A82E5CEA104AD7891A15A82E5CEA104AD7891&fsscr=0&FORM=VDMCNR

That Saturday in June, 23 years ago, it was a clear, hot day. The Coliseum was packed with people who had come to see Nelson Mandela, recently released from prison in South Africa after serving 27 years as a political prisoner. When he stepped up to the podium, 60,000 people leapt to their feet and waved yellow, black and green ribbons -- the colors of the African National Congress flag.

A VETERANS DAY OATH We on FReeRepublic have not forgotten, nor will we ever Forget those that sacrifice their lives and safety so the rest of us can enjoy FREEDOM. We owe our military family still serving, and those that have served their country and it's grateful people, our lives and our unique way of life. Without our service men and women here and in harms way, all over this hostile world, there would be no AMERICA. YOU HAVE OUR DEEPEST LOVE AND RESPECT. On this, your day, we pray for you and your safety, and fall to our unworthy...

FORT HUACHUCA — Creating a legacy when there isn’t much of a past is difficult. Just ask retired Army Col. Jim Kelsey. But in the military, when an order — or at least the desire of a general is expressed — it’s “yes sir,” followed sometimes by a “now what?” Kelsey, formerly a lieutenant colonel, found himself in that quandary as did others in the Office of the Chief of Military Intelligence (OCMI), some time before the Military Intelligence Corps was established on July 1, 1987. There had to be symbolism when it came to the establishment of the Corps,...

Early this morning is when I am blogging this very special blog entry on this Memorial Day 2012. On this Memorial Day 2012, had the opportunity to both watch and listen to country and western singer Billy Ray Cyrus‘s song about this day, “Some Gave All.” This song sums up in full why the United States of America on this and each and every Memorial Day as one year passes to another it gives this holiday its full meaning. The man in the song, Sandy Kane, who became the teacher and teaches the lesson of not only being thankful for...

Last December I was asking y'all for help with my dying pc because I did not want to swith from Windows XP. Well, eventually I did have to get a new pc, it runs Windows 7 and, as many of you predicted, the transition was easier than I thought it would be. Actually I have only one problem with Windows 7. The computer does not "remember" account numbers, screen names...I would NEVER store passwords in my pc, but it is a pain to have to look account numbers every time I try to do on-line banking, pay a bill... I...

~ The FReeper Canteen Presents ~ ~ Remembering Our Troops!! ~ NISEI VETERANS Nisei World War II veterans from the 442nd Regimental Combat Team attend the World War II Nisei Veterans Program National Veterans Network tribute to the 100th Infantry Battalion, 442nd Regimental Combat Team and Military Intelligence Service in Washington, D.C., Nov. 1, 2011. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade Canteen Mission Statement Showing support and boosting the morale ofour military and our allies' militaryand family members of the above.Honoring those who have served before. WELCOME HOME Senior Airmen Kristian Robles Cruz , right, greets family...

An event is set for Nov. 12 in Scottsdale to honor slain Border Patrol agent Brian Terry and help defray his mother's costs. The "Remember Brian Terry" event will be from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. next Saturday at the Scottsdale International Auto Museum, 9119 E. Indian Bend Road in Scottsdale. It will include music, a buffet, cash bar, raffle and a silent/live auction. Tickets are $35 per person through Nov. 11, and $50 the day of the event. Money raised will go to Josephine Terry, the agent's mother, who has incurred many expenses since her son's murder, such as...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2011 – More than three decades after the war’s end, the Defense Department has begun a project to pay tribute to the nation’s Vietnam War veterans. The 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration was spawned from the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act. “It was a very important time period for veterans, because most Vietnam veterans as a whole never received the homecoming that our troops receive now,” said Army Lt. Col. Hunter Holliday, public affairs officer for the commemoration. At the center of the project is a website, “50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration,” at...

3/8/2010 - ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) -- More than 120 retirees, veterans and their families visited Andersen Air Force Base as part of their trip to Iwo Jima March 1 through 4 in remembrance of the 65th anniversary of the battle there. The visitors learned about the base's history and received briefings on the aircraft deployed here that are part of U.S. Pacific Command's continuous bomber presence and theatre security package. These veterans of Iwo Jima also visited Naval Base Guam and other historic sites on Guam prior to travelling to Iwo Jima March 3. On Feb. 19,...