Free Republic

Dear (JJ): A few weeks ago, I asked you to urge your U.S. senators to amend their financial services reform legislation to eliminate the impact of the Volcker Rule on insurance company investment portfolios. Thanks to the more than 750,000 e-mails and phone calls generated by USAA members, employees and friends, there is now widespread and bipartisan understanding that an amendment to the Volcker Rule would be good for consumers. I am writing today to let you know that the Senate has approved its legislation and directed a committee crafting the final bill to specifically consider the concerns you raised....

I remember that day long ago when I decided to join the Military. I know you can’t remember that day, but I do. I hoped I might not have to travel half way around the world to fight in that war long ago. You looked proud of me then, but I could see the fear in your eyes. I could feel the apprehension inside of me, fear of the unknown, Basic Training, maybe fighting. But I went because it was the right thing to do. I remember feeling so proud to put on the uniform and have my photo taken...

This is Memorial Day weekend, a weekend that should be dedicated to the fallen heros of our nations wars but has evolved into picnics, backyard barbeques, parades, ballgames, and a myriad of other events but mostly a long weekend from work. My ancestors came to the colonies as military men given land grants in the colony of Georgia to raise militia to defend against the Spanish in Florida. They fought in all the ensuing wars up to the revolutionary war and the civil war. My grandfather rode with Teddy Roosevelt at sand Juan hill. My father was with Patton’s 2nd...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The plea was passionate, dramatic and effective: haunted to addiction by memories of a Bosnian mass grave and the shooting of a teen in Honduras, former U.S. Army Capt. Sargent Binkley robbed two Silicon Valley pharmacies for painkillers. A Santa Clara County jury came back in January 2009 with a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity for the first robbery. Because of that verdict, a San Mateo County judge in March approved a plea bargain between Binkley and prosecutors that called for mental health treatment rather than a lengthy prison sentence for the second...

VFW’s Response to Blumenthal’s Press Conference KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 18, 2010 - Mr. Blumenthal is not a member of the VFW and VFW National By-Laws do not allow any level of the organization to endorse political candidates. VFW national did not sanction and was not, in fact, aware that the press conference was going to be held at a VFW Post. This decision was made at the Post level and the VFW Department of Connecticut issued the following: The following statement is by Richard DiFederico, Department Commander Connecticut VFW: “Those who served in Vietnam or offshore or in neighboring...

Dear JJ: A few weeks ago, I asked you to urge your senators to amend a portion of the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S.3217) currently pending in the U.S. Senate. Today, I am writing to thank you for your efforts and inform you that your concerns were heard. Your outreach sent a strong message to the Senate and prompted the introduction of an amendment that addresses the concerns of USAA and our valued members. As you now know, the Senate has been debating this sweeping financial reform bill which includes a provision, known as the Volcker Rule,...

Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., was one of the main authors of the bill and represents Camp Lejune on the North Carolina coast outside of Jacksonville. Jones feels the name change accurately describes the scope of the department and recognizes the Marines' efforts and contributions. Now, in an effort to give them more recognition, the House approved a measure to rename the Department of the Navy to the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps.

I'm trying to determine if a federal law has been broken.

   It certainly looked real. It had the right font, right seal. It was even signed by the secretary of the Navy.   But Doug Sterner, self-appointed guardian of the nation's military decorations, immediately suspected that there was something fishy about the Marine's citation for the Navy Cross, one of the military's most prestigious awards.

go over to the FR link for the plans to honor WWII History

"Farrell's remains were discovered in 2008,when a German explosives team swept a proposed construction site--------"

4/21/2010 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) -- Vintage B-25 Mitchell bombers fly during a memorial honoring the 68th Doolittle Raiders reunion here April 18.A vintage B-25 Mitchell bomber flies near the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, April 18, 2010, during a memorial flight honoring the Doolittle Raiders. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey) View the slideshow

4/19/2010 - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, OHIO (AFNS) -- Some of the remaining members of the Doolittle Raiders participate in a question and answer session with the media here April 16. The Raiders continue to inspire those servicing in the Air Force.

We'll Be Waiting When You Come Back Home (1918) words by Chas. H. Gabriel, music by Homer A. Rodeheaver MIDI sequence by John McDonnell: chgos010.mid (clarinet sound indicates the voice part)free online sheet music of this composition You have gone to fight our battles in the trenches "over there". You have left your home and country for the war-torn world "somewhere". Though we may not stand beside you, as the days of trial come, Yet as mothers, sweethearts, brothers, we'll be waiting when you come back home.We'll be waiting when you come back home, with a welcome you will understand....

ARLINGTON, Va. — Thinking of writing a few choice words in an online “white power” chat room? Think again. The Pentagon is cracking down on extremism in its ranks with a new set of rules restricting servicemembers from participating on the Web sites of supremacist groups. A new Defense Department directive on dissident and political activity issued on November 27 — the first since 1996 — says servicemembers “must not actively advocate supremacist doctrine, ideology, or causes.” This includes writing blogs or posting on Web sites. The new directive is the first at the Defense Department-level to address Internet-based supremacist...

They were playing "One O'Clock Jump" when the news broke: The Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. "We were at a dance at the Madison Theater," says Tom McHugh, 88, who grew up in a family of 12 kids in Rochester, N.Y. What followed next may be the most amazing World War II story I have ever heard - and believe me, I've heard plenty of them. On Dec. 19, 1943, McHugh, a retired attorney and longtime Tucsonan, was bombardier on a B-17 that literally exploded in midair after being attacked by the Luftwaffe. The explosion blew him out of the...

FREMONT — World War II hero Art “Jibby” Jibilian, who volunteered with two others to parachute into Nazi-occupied Serbia and orchestrate the air rescue of 513 downed U.S. pilots, died Sunday evening in his home. The 86-year-old had battled leukemia for two years. His daughter, Debi Jibilian, said yesterday her father was persistent in his goals, including fighting his cancer. He had a dose of chemotherapy just a week ago to try to beat back the disease, she said. “God love him. He continued to give speeches, he would get blood transfusions, and he would keep traveling,” she said. “What...

For 68 years, John E. Love has been haunted by the memory of carrying fallen comrades to a mass grave hollowed out of a Filipino rice field. Now, at last, a bit of history is being rewritten because of those memories. After six months of research, The Associated Press is correcting the caption on one of the most famous photos in its library, 65 years after the image first moved on the newswire. The image shows defeated Allied soldiers after their surrender to Japanese forces on the Philippines’ Bataan Peninsula in April 1942. Over the years, the photo has become...

www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=4gGMI8d3vLs For part II Night Ops: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=4gGMI8d3vLs

Historical Footage: Japanese Surrender Signing Aboard Battleship Missouri Sunday Sept. 2, 1945.. This is an actual film made of the surrender ceremony of the Japanese to General Douglas Mac Arthur in Tokyo Bay in September 1945. Actual voice of the General.