A WEEK OF PRAYERS (please share with others)
SUNDAY – GOLD STAR FAMILIES
MONDAY – THE U.S. ARMY AND TROOPS IN HARM'S WAY
TUESDAY – THE U.S. AIR FORCE AND TROOPS WOUNDED IN COMBAT
WEDNESDAY – THE U.S. COAST GUARD AND ALL TROOPS
THURSDAY – THE U.S. MARINES CORPS AND TROOP FAMILIES
FRIDAY – THE U.S. NAVY AND VETERANS
SATURDAY– VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA) AND VA AND MILITARY CARE PROVIDERS Don Helton, Veterans Advocate, Pewee Valley, KY
GREAT SITE FOR VETERAN, MILITARY, PATRIOTIC, AND AMERICANA PRINTS, POSTERS, ART, ETC. www.FoundersOfAmerica.com
HOT!!!! CELL PHONE OWNER? MANY OF THE NATIONAL CELL PHONE COMPANYIES PROVIDE A 5%, 10%, 15% DISCOUNT ON REOCURRING SERVICES (E.G. BASIC PLAN, BUT NOT MINUTE OVERAGES) TO VETERANS. CONTACT CELL PHONE PROVIDER'S CUSTOMER SERVICE TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY FOR THE CREDIT. PHONE MUST BE IN VETERAN'S NAME.
TO PUSH THE VETERANS DISABILITY BENEFITS COMMISSION TO RECTIFY CHAPTER 61, TITLE 10 STATUTES THAT PREVENT DISABLED SERVICEMEMBERS FROM RECEIVING A JUST OR EARNED BENEFIT WHEN THEY BECOME DISABLED THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN www.vetscommission.com
FREE PACKING MATERIAL FOR OVERSEAS SHIPPING TO SERVICEMEMBERS - CLICK ON "GO" ON "SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS FAQ'S" THEN CLICK ON MILITARY CARE PACKAGE KIT (CAN ALSO BE ORDERED BY CALLING 1-800-610-8734) www.usps.com/supportingourtroops
NUMBERS OF AMERICANS KILLED/WOUNDED, BY ACTION members.aol.com/usregistry/allwars.htm
DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR/MISSING PERSONNEL OFFICE www.dtic.mil/dpmo/index.htm
VETERAN BURIAL LOCATOR http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/j2ee/servlet/NGL_v1
AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION & OVERSEAS VETERAN BURIAL LOCATOR www.abmc.gov/home.php
MAINE'S WORCHESTER WREATH COMPANY'S (www.worcesterwreath.com) PROGRAM FOR PLACING CHRISTMAS WREATHS ON THE GRAVES OF OUR FALLEN IN ARLINGTON CEMETARY AND THE STATE/NATIONAL CEMETARIES & VETERANS MONUMENTS www.wreathsacrossamerica.org
LINKS TO STATE/FEDERAL "FAMILY BILL OF RIGHTS", LEGISLATORS: www.thecompassionatecommunity.com
DISABLED VETERANS MEMORIAL www.avdlm.org
U.S. NAVY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION'S LOG www.lonesailer.org
"THE VIRTUAL WALL" (VIETNAM) www.virtualwall.org
TROOPS TO TEACHERS-INTERNET JOB REFERRAL JOB SITE www.jobs2teach.doded.mil
JOB PLACEMENT www.vetjobs.com
TROOPS TO TEACHERS STATE'S POINT OF CONTACT www.proudtoserveagain.com
VETERAN-OWNED BUSINESS CENTER www.military.com
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION www.sba.gov/vets www.sba.gov/reservists
VETERANS TRANSITION FRANCHIS INITIVE PROGRAM www.franchise.org
NATIONAL VIETNAM WAR MUSEUM www.nationalvnwarmuseum.org
NATIONAL INFANTRY MUSEUM www.nationalinfantryfoundation.org
ARMY PUBLIC OUTREACH SITE, CONNECTING AMERICANS WITH THE ARMY, EVENTS www.army.mil/outreach
USA CARES (PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO MILITARY FAMILIES) www.usacares.us
OPERATION GRATITUDE (SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS) www.operationgratitude.com
ARMY RECOGNITION PACKAGE THAT RECOGNIZES VETERANS PLUS OTHERS WHO SUPPORT THE ARMY (E.G. PARENTS, SPOUSES, EMPLOYERS) www.fredomteamsalute.army.mil
LET'S SAY THANKS (SEND FREE POSTCARDS TO SOLDIERS AROUND WORLD) www.LetsSayThanks.com
UNMET NEEDS (PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO MILITARY FAMILIES) www.unmetneeds.com
UNITED SERVICES ORGANIZATION www.uso.org
WOUNDED WARRIER HOSPITAL FUND (SUPPORTS THE WOUNDED FROM IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN) www.woundedwarriers.org
ARMY NATIONAL MUSEUM - FT. BELVOUR, MO (SCHEDULED TO OPEN jUNE 14, 2011 www.armhistory.org
VIETNAM POW EXHIBIT AT NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB (DAYTON) www.wpalfb.af.mil/museum/
HONOR FLIGHT - NON-PROFIT PROGRAM TO FLY WW II VETERANS (AND, KOREAN/VITETNAM VETERANS IN THE FUTURE) FREE FOR A ONE-DAY VISIT TO WASHINGTON, D.C. TO VISIT WAR MEMORIALS www.honorflight.org
VETS WITH A MISSION - HUMANITARIAN/CHRISTIAN PROJECTS IN VIETNAM www.vwam.com
SEND AN ELECTRONIC SUPPORT MESSAGE TO SERVICEMEMBERS IN COMBAT AREAS (INDIVIDUAL MARINES WILL RECEIVE "PAPER" MESSAGE) www.motomail.us
XEROX WILL LET YOU PICK OUT A THANK CARD AND THE COMPANY WILL SEND THE CARD TO A TROOP IN IRAQ www.letssaythanks.com
PROVIDE MEMORY BOXES TO FAMILIES OF FALLEN TROOPS www.opperationremembrance.org
PRIVATE ORGANIZATION THAT PROVIDES ASSISTANCE TO EXPECTANT MOTHERS WHO WILL GIVE BIRTH WHILE THEIR PARTNER IS DEPLOYED www.operationspecialdelivery.com
THE JOE FOSS INSTITUTE ( DEDICATED TO THE RESTORATION OF PATRIOTISM, INTEGRITY, AND AN APPRECIATION FOR AMERICA'S FREEDOMS) www.thefossinstitute.org
WW II VETERANS MAY RECEIVE A CERTIFICATE OF THANKS FROM FRANCE. FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT orderoflafayette@hotmail.com
WW II REGISTRY www.wwiimemorial.com (click on REGISTRY and follow directions) or call 800-639-4992
MILITARY TRADER MAGAZINE (MILITARY ANTIQUES, MEMORABILIA, REENACTMENTS, REUNIONS) www.militarytrader.com
DRIVE BY NAVAL ORDER FOR U.S. NAVY MONUMENT AT UTAH BEACH www.navalorder.org
SOLDIERS', SAILORS', MARINES' & AIRMEN'S CLUB - YOUR HOTEL IN NEW YORK: $25-$47 PER PERSON PER NIGHT www.ssmaclub.org
HALE KOA HOTEL, HONOLULU (FORT DERUSSY ARMED FORCES RECREATION CENTER ) www.halekoa.com
FRAZIER INTERNATIONAL HISTORY MUSEUM - FORMALLY THE FRAZIER ARMS MUSEUM (LOUISVILLE) www.frazierarmsmuseum.org
HERE IS A RESOURCE IF YOU SERVED IN GERMANY AND MISS SOME OF THE FOODS (SORRY, BUT GERMAN BEER IS STILL NOT IN THE FOOD GROUP) www.germandeli.com
RESONABLE PATRIOTIC CARDS, BUSINESS CARDS FOR VETERANS/VETERANS ORGANIZATIONS* www.lynncard.com
WARNING: HALF-PRICED BOOKS REFUSES TO ACCEPT THE VA ID CARD AS IDENTIFICATION WHEN BUYING MY BOOKS (MY LETTER ABOUT THE SITUATION TO PRESIDENT AND CEO, SHARON ANDERSON WRIGHT, WAS NOT ANSWERED). THE COMPANY ALSO REFUSED MY KENTUCKY-ISSUED CONCEALED DEADLY WEAPONS LICENSE, WHICH HAS THE SAME INFORMATION AS THE COMPANY'S REQUIRED STATE DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PASSPORT.
SPORTCLIPS HAIRCUTS - 20% DISCOUNT FOR VFW MEMBERS, $2 DISCOUNT ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY (ID REQUIRED FOR BOTH DISCOUNTS)* www.sportclips.com
A NICE SALUTE TO WW II VETERANS www.managedmusic.com/beforeyougo.html
SALUTE TO FALLEN MARINES http://www.pcsuccess.us/yrg/farewellmarine_final.swf
FREEDOM TEAM SALUTE (SALUTING ARMY VETERANS) www.freedomteamsalute.com
MARINE INFORMATION, INCLUDING ABOUT THE "BLOOD STRIPES" http://www.behindthebadge.net/bloodstripes/index.html
JOHN WAYNE'S "GOOD THINGS ABOUT AMERICA" AND "WHY I LOVE AMERICA" www.lilesnet.com/patriotic/Hero/john_wayne.htm
RED SKELTON'S PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE www.poofcat.com/july.html
DEFENSE FINANCE & ACCOUNTING SERVICE RETIREE NEWSLETTER www.dod.mil/dfas/money/retired
FREEDOM TEAM SALUTE (RECOGNIZES THOSE WHO HAVE ANSWERED THE ARMY "CALL OF DUTY" THROUGH A NOMINATION PROCESS) www.freedomteam salute.
THE HISTORY CHANNEL www.historychannel.com/military/
BOOKS FOR SEVICEMEMERS DONATION www.booksforsoldiers.com
VETERANS TELEVISION www.usvets.tv
COMMERMORATIVE POW/MIA KA-BAR KNIFE WITH SALES HELPING PROVIDE SCHOLORSHIPS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WHO LOST ACTIVE-DUTY PARENTS SINCE 9/11 (AMERICAN LEGACY SCHOLARSHIP) www.ka-bar.com
THE 100 GREATEST MILITARY PHOTOS (POWER POINT) http://www.hmac.us/images/100GreatestMilitaryPhotographs%201%20.ppt
WRITTEN SALUTES TO VETERANS http://www.behindthebadge.net/bloodstripes/memory/mem.html
YELLOW RIBBON SUPPORT CENTER www.yellowribbonsupportcenter.com
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM PROJECT www.tnap.or/index.html
RECONNECT AMERICA (CONSOLIDATED WEBSITES OFFERING TROOP SUPPORT) www.connectamerica.com
SPACE-A TRAVEL http://public.amc.af.mil/Library/SPACEA/spacea.htm
PARALYZED VETERANS OF AMERICA NATIONAL TRAPSHOOT CIRCUIT www.pva.org
MILITARY TRADER (MILITARY ANTIQUES & MEMORABILIA TO REENACTMENTS &REUNIONS) www.militarytrader.com
TO SEE YOUR SENATOR'S POSITION ON THE AMMENDMENT PROTECTING OUR FLAG www.cfa-inc.org; click on "The Issues" and "Where They Stand" or call 317-630-1384
BEST SELLER, 784 PAGE CLARK'S KENTUCKY ALMANAC (WITH A CHAPTER ON VETERANS) IS A COLLECTION OF FASCINATING FACTS AND INCLUDES PAST/PRESENT NOTABLE PERSONALITIES PLUS OTHER BOOKS RELATED TO KENTUCKY www.theclarkgroupinfo.com -VETERANS/ACTIVE DUTY CAN CAN CALL 800-944-3995 AND GIVE CODE 06KYVETS FOR $5 DISCOUNT
IT IS OFFICIALLY CALLED THE MEDAL OF HONOR NOT THE "CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR". THE MILITARY CHAIN OF COMMAND AWARDS ALMOST ALL OF THE MEDALS. ONLY OCCASIONALLY HAS CONGRESS BYPASSED THIS PROCESS BY PASSING SPECIAL BILLS THAT THE PRESIDENT SIGNED INTO LAW. SPECIFICE SERVICEMEMBERS ARE AWARDED THE AWARD IN THIS MANNER. THUS, IS THE ORIGIN OF THE "CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR" TERM, ONE THAT IS FREQUENTLY MISUSED.
MARINE PRAYER: I WAS THAT WHICH OTHERS DID NOT WANT TO BE. I WENT WHERE OTHERS DID NOT WANT TO GO, AND DID WHAT OTHERS FAILED TO DO. I ASKED NOTHING FROM THOSE WHO GAVE ME NOTHING AND RELUCTANTLY ACCEPTED THE THOUGHT
OF ETERNAL LONELINESS...SHOULD I FAIL. I HAVE SEEN THE FACE OF TERROR; FELT THE STINGING COLD OF FEAR; AND ENJOYED THE SWEET TASTE OF A MOMENT'S LOVE. I HAVE CRIED, PAINED, AND HOPED...BUT MOST OF ALL I HAVE LIVED TIMES OTHERS WOULD SAY WERE BEST FORGOTTEN. AT LEAST SOMEDAY I WILL BE ABLE TO SAY THAT I WAS PROUD OF WHAT I WAS...A MARINE.GENEOLOGY WEBSITES FOR VETERANS: www.cyndislist.com/military.htm, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.cem.va.gov (CLICK ON NATIONAL CEMEMTARY WEB PAGES, THEN ON THE LOCATOR), www.archieves.gov/geneology/avout-research.html LITTLE CEASARS VETERANS PROGRAM (FRANCHISE-FEE REDUCATION, ADDITIONAL FINANCING OPTIONS, EQUIPMENT CREDIT; FOR ASSESSMENT: www.vetbiz.gov (CENTER FOR VETERANS ENTERPRISE) or www.m4.usmc.mil (MARINE FOR LIFE) VETERAN AND SERVICE DISABLED VETERAN OWNED BUSINESSES CAN REGISTER FOR FREE www.VetBizNetwork.net In September of 2005, a social studies schoolteacher from Arkansas did something not to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with permission of the school superintendent, the principal, and the building supervisor, she took all of the desks out of the classroom. The kids came into first period, they walked in; there were no desks. They obviously looked around and said, "Where's our desks?"
The teacher said, "You can't have a desk until you tell me how you earn them."
They thought, "Well, maybe it's our grades."
"No," she said.
"Maybe it's our behavior."
And she told them, "No, it's not even your behavior."
And so they came and went in the first period, still no desks in the classroom. Second period, same thing. Third period. By early afternoon television news crews had gathered in the class to find out about this crazy teacher who had taken all the desks out of the classroom. The last period of the day, the instructor gathered her class.
They were at this time sitting on the floor around the sides of the room. She said, "Throughout the day no one has really understood how you earn the desks that sit in this classroom ordinarily. Now I'm going to tell you."
She went over to the door of her classroom and opened it, and as she did 27 U.S. veterans, wearing their uniforms, walked into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk. And they placed those school desks in rows, and then they stood along the wall. By the time they had finished placing the desks, those kids for the first time I think perhaps in their lives understood how they earned those desks.
Their teacher said, "You don't have to earn those desks. These guys did it for you. They put them out there for you, but it's up to you to sit here responsibly, to learn, to be good students and good citizens, because they paid a price for you to have that desk, and don't ever forget it." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------From former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee's 2 March 2007 address to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, DC. It recounts events from the first day of classes in Fall 2005 for students enrolled in Martha Cothren's military history class at Joe T. Robinson High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. She is the daughter of a World War II POW who regularly has veterans visit her classroom — it's one of the ways she teaches her course on the history of World War II and the Vietnam War.
FUNERAL HONORS: As with the military itself, our armed forces' final farewell to comrades is steeped in tradition and ceremony (from Lt. James "EMO" Tichacek, USN (Ret))
1. Prominent in a military funeral is the flag-draped casket. The blue field of the flag is placed at the head of the casket, over the left shoulder of the deceased. The custom began in the Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, when a flag was used to cover the dead as they were taken from the battlefield on a caisson.
2. One will notice, during a military funeral that the horses that pull the caisson which bears the body of the veteran are all saddled, but the horses on the left have riders, while the horses on the right do not. This custom evolved from the days when horse-drawn caissons were the primary means of moving artillery ammunition and cannon, and the riderless horses carried provisions.
3. The single riderless horse that follows the caisson with boots reversed in the stirrups is called the "caparisoned horse" in reference to its ornamental coverings, which have a detailed protocol all to themselves. By tradition in military funeral honors, a caparisoned horse follows the casket of an Army or Marine Corps officer who was a colonel or above, or the casket of a president, by virtue of having
been the nation's military commander in chief. The custom is believed to date back to the time of Genghis Khan, when a horse was sacrificed to serve the fallen warrior in the next world. The caparisoned horse later came to symbolize a warrior who would ride no more. Abraham Lincoln, who was killed in 1865, was the first U.S. president to be honored with a caparisoned horse at his funeral.
4. Graveside military honors include the firing of three volleys each by seven service members. This commonly is confused with an entirely separate honor, the 21-gun salute. But the number of individual gun firings in both honors evolved the same way.
a. The three volleys came from an old battlefield custom. The two warring sides would cease hostilities to clear their dead from the battlefield, and the firing of three volleys meant that the dead had been properly cared for and the side was ready to resume the battle.
b. The 21-gun salute traces its roots to the Anglo-Saxon empire, when seven guns constituted a recognized naval salute, as most naval vessels had seven guns. Because gunpowder in those days could be more easily stored on land than at sea, guns on land could fire three rounds for every one that could be fired by a ship at sea.
c. Later, as gunpowder and storage methods improved, salutes at sea also began using 21 guns. The United States at first used one round for each state, attaining the 21-gun salute by 1818. The nation reduced its salute to 21 guns in 1841, and normally adopted the 21-gun salute at the suggestion of the British in 1875.
5. A U.S. presidential death also involves other ceremonial gun salutes and military traditions. On the day after the death of the president, a former president or president-elect -- unless this day falls on a Sunday or holiday, in which case the honor will rendered the following day -- the commanders of Army installations with the necessary personnel and material traditionally order that one gun be fired every half hour, beginning at reveille and ending at retreat.
6. On the day of burial, a 21-minute gun salute traditionally is fired starting at noon at all military installations with the necessary personnel and material. Guns will be fired at one-minute intervals. Also on the day of burial, those installations will fire a 50-gun salute -- one round for each state -- at five- second intervals immediately following lowering of the flag.
7. The playing of "Ruffles and Flourishes" announces the arrival of a flag officer or other dignitary of honor. Drums play the ruffles, and bugles play the flourishes, one flourish for each star of the flag officer's rank or as appropriate for the honoree's position or title. Four flourishes is the highest
honor. When played for a president, "Ruffles and Flourishes" is followed by "Hail to the Chief," which is believed to have been written in England in 1810 or 1811 by James Sanderson for a play by Sir Walter Scott called "The Lady of the Lake." The play began to be performed in the United States in 1812, the song became popular, and it became a favorite of bands at festive events. It evolved to be used as a greeting for important visitors, and eventually for the president, though no record exists of when it was first put to that use.
8. The bugle call "Taps" originated in the Civil War with the Army of the Potomac. Union Army Brig. Gen. Daniel Butterfield didn't like the bugle call that signaled soldiers in the camp to put out the lights and go to sleep, and worked out the melody of "Taps" with his brigade bugler, Pvt. Oliver Wilcox Norton. The call later came into another use as a figurative call to the sleep of
death for soldiers. Another military honor dates back only to the 20th century. The missing-man formation usually is a four-aircraft formation with the No. 3 aircraft either missing or performing a pull-up maneuver and leaving the formation to signify a lost comrade in arms. While this can change slightly from service-to-service, and -- based on preferences of family members, below is the standard sequence of events for a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery:
• The caisson or hearse arrives at grave site, everyone presents arms.
• Casket team secures the casket, NCOIC, OIC and chaplain salute.
• Chaplain leads the way to grave site, followed by casket team.
• Casket team sets down the casket and secures the flag.
• The NCOIC ensures the flag is stretched out and level, and centered over the casket.
• NCOIC backs away and the chaplain, military or civilian, will perform the service.
• At conclusion of interment service and before benediction, a gun salute is firedor those eligible ( i.e. general officers).
• Chaplain concludes his service and backs away, NCOIC steps up to the casket.
• The NCOIC presents arms to initiate the rifle volley.
• Rifle volley complete, bugler plays "Taps."
• Casket-team leader starts to fold the flag.
• Flag fold complete, and the flag is passed to the NCOIC, OIC.
• Casket team leaves grave site.
• NCOIC, OIC either presents the flag to the next of kin, or if there is a military chaplain on site he will present the flag to the chaplain, and then the chaplain will present to the next of kin.
• Arlington Lady presents card of condolences to the next of kin.
• The only person remaining at the grave is one soldier, the vigil. His mission is to watch over the body until it is interred into the ground.
Source: http://dva.state.wi.us/Ben_funeralhonors.asp Jul 07
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