Free Republic

In Russia, a publisher had to quickly recall a calendar recently, issued to celebrate the Russian victory in World War II, when it was discovered four of the photographs that were supposed to be showing Soviet soldiers, actually showed German troops. The publisher admitted that they did not know what German soldiers looked like during World War II. The publisher had sent copies of the calendar layout to a veterans layout to a veterans organization for checking, but the elderly veteran who looked at the photos had very poor eyesight, and could not clearly see what the images were, and...

The leader of the nation's largest veterans organization says he is "deeply disappointed and concerned" after a meeting with President Obama today to discuss a proposal to force private insurance companies to pay for the treatment of military veterans who have suffered service-connected disabilities and injuries. The Obama administration recently revealed a plan to require private insurance carriers to reimburse the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in such cases.

Good Morning Troops! FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before. Today will be find another Hero for this graphic. When I originally posted this, others suggested there were many more names to be added, that is your mission for the day. Today is an opportunity to find a hero from War II, or a current War. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WW II MOVIE STARS ??? Hope you find this as informative as I did. They gave...

Excerpt - BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia's ultranationalist Radical Party claimed victory in national elections on Sunday, in a voter rejection of Western appeals for closer cooperation on the arrest of war criminals and on Kosovo. A projection of the result showed the opposition Radicals, strongest party in Serbia for years, taking 28 percent of the vote, a point higher than the 2003 national elections. "The Radical Party has won these elections," said Tomislav Nikolic, the Radical's candidate for prime minister in the absence of party leader Vojislav Seselj, who is on trial for war crimes at the U.N. tribunal in...

VAILS GATE, New York (AP) -- Cpl. Robert Frink was captured in Germany during the final months of World War II. He and two comrades were forced to swap uniforms with their Waffen SS captors, lined up and shot in the back of the head. Miraculously, the bullet entered Frink's neck and exited his cheek without shearing his spine or jugular vein. He even felt a German kick him as he lay bleeding. "Believe me, I played dead!" After his captors left, Frink fled, found some Canadian troops, and was saved. The wound earned him a Purple Heart.

Pointless to put 2006 peace-time values on 1941 battle bravery 12 April 2006 The Battle of Crete took place in late May 1941, when 30,000 Allied troops, including 7700 New Zealanders, plus 12,000 Greek soldiers – driven from Greece by the invading Germany forces – hurriedly dug in against an assault that they knew was as inevitable as it would be ferocious, says the Taranaki Daily News. The Mediterranean island, with its port and airfield, was of huge strategic value – to shore up the German hold on Greece, to protect the Romanian oil fields the Germans had already grabbed,...

CAMP PENDLETON – All morning yesterday, Dawn Halfaker dashed after a running back and nabbed a blue flag off the opponent's waist in a game of flag football. But she rarely held the ball. A little more than a year ago, Halfaker, a retired Army lieutenant, lost her right arm after a rocket-propelled grenade tore it apart in an ambush in Baquba, Iraq. Twenty-six teams of men and women played eight games of flag football simultaneously on a vast field at Camp Pendleton. Yesterday, Halfaker and her mother, Connie Halfaker, were among more than 400 participants at the All-Star Buddy...

THOUSANDS of people have gathered around Australia to remember the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific and the end of World War II. Prime Minister John Howard and other VIPs including Japan's ambassador laid wreaths at the cenotaph at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to commemorate those who fought and died. Young Australian of the year Khoa Do urged a spirit of generosity and selflessness to fulfil the dream of those who fought 60 years ago. Mr Do called on all young Australians to remember all those who gave their lives in the quest for peace, to remember...

[Open letter signed by twenty-one Medal of Honor recipients]Dear fellow Veterans:We have listened to Senator Kerry falsely attack President Bush for months over funding for veterans, and it's time to set the record straight.  The truth is President Bush has led the way on improving veterans’ benefits, supporting our troops and restoring honor and dignity to the White House.Since 2001, President Bush has increased veterans funding by over $20 billion, and funding for veterans' health care has increased by 40 percent since he took office.  Funding for veterans has gone up twice as fast under President Bush as it...

The Vermont Press in Honoring Vermont's Fallen Patriot Mark Evnin By: Robert Skinner Politicsvt.com The ultimate show of patriotism is putting one's life at risk then losing that life in defending America against its enemies. At this moment in the Middle East, and around the world, many Vermont patriots are in harm's way sacrificing on many levels to make safe our security and our freedoms. Sadly, two Vermonters, 21 year old USMC Cpl. Mark Evnin and 40 year old army petty officer Erik Halvorsen, just made the "ultimate sacrifice" for America. Mark and Erik died in combat against a brutal...