On this day I would like to remember the sacrafice made by our forfathers and our troops. This is a day to honor their memory and all that they stood for. Thank you for protecting us and doing your duty, even though it cost you the ultimate sacrafice. For those who still serve, thank you. We will never know the pain or the loss that you have had to go through for our freedom. Thank you does not even seem enough to show the grattitude of a thankful nation. We will always be in your debt. You guys are amazing!
Thank You!
Showing posts with label american. Show all posts
Showing posts with label american. Show all posts
Monday, May 25, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Americas Heroes
As I browsed through the Depart of Defense's website, I found a tribute to the Medal of Honor recipients. There was one story on there that I found disturbing and quite honestly sad. I'll post it right here.
Who Are America's Heroes?
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, March 13, 2009—
The challenge issued by a flight attendant during a recent commercial air flight seemed innocuous enough: Name just one of the five Medal of Honor recipients from the current engagements in Afghanistan or Iraq, and get a free drink coupon.
But the passengers’ response – more specifically, the inability of all but just one to respond – revealed how little the average American knows about its military heroes.
Bombarded by superhero lore almost from birth, many Americans grow to revere fictional heroes as well as sports and celebrity icons. But silence descended over the cabin of a flight bound from Jacksonville, Fla., to Baltimore when the conversation turned to those who had earned the nation’s highest honor for valor – even when a free cocktail hung in the balance.
Dale Shelton, an Annapolis, Md., resident who served five years as a Navy intelligence specialist, was the only passenger to press the button over his seat to beckon the attendant. Shelton’s response: Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, the first Medal of Honor recipient in the global war on terror, and in Operation Iraqi Freedom.Smith received the highest military honor for valor posthumously on April 3, 2005, two years to the day after saving more than 100 soldiers in the battle for Baghdad’s airport. His young son and widow accepted the award on his behalf during a solemn White House ceremony. The flight attendant gave free drink coupons to Shelton, as well as his wife Jean and two other traveling companions. Then he returned to the crew area to announce over the intercom that only one person had correctly answered the challenge. This time, the attendant offered a second challenge: name an American Idol winner. The cabin lit up like a pinball machine as 43 passengers scrambled to push their attendant call button. Passengers named various Idol winners.
The attendant announced that he wasn’t going to award drink coupons for that answer, telling the passengers that "naming an Idol winner was not worth a free drink," Shelton recalled. "He concluded his announcement with the question: ‘What’s wrong with our country when out of 150 passengers, only one can name a Medal of Honor recipient, but 43 can name an American Idol winner?’"Later during the flight, Shelton shared with the attendant his own frustration over "the current lack of appreciation of our military heroes."
The attendant asked Shelton if he knew the names of the other four Medal of Honor receipts from the current military operations. Shelton said he was able to name three: Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor and Army Spc. Ross McGinnis. All were killed sacrificing themselves to protect their comrades during enemy attacks.
Murphy, a Navy SEAL, died June 28, 2005, trying to save his team members during Operation Red Wing in Afghanistan. Monsoor, also a SEAL, died in Iraq Sept. 23, 2006, using his body to absorb a grenade blast that likely would have killed two nearby SEALs and several Iraqi soldiers. McGinnis died Dec. 4, 2006, after throwing himself on a hand grenade in Iraq to save four fellow soldiers when insurgents attacked their Humvee.Shelton said he regretted that he had forgotten the name of Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham. Dunham died April 15, 2004, using his body to shield fellow Marines in Iraq from a hand grenade.The flight attendant didn’t hold Shelton’s memory lapse against him. "He gave me all the remaining drink coupons he had in his possession and shook my hand," he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Medal of Honor Recipients since the beginning of the War on Terror.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith
Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy
Marine Corporal Jason L. Dunham
Army Specialist Ross A. McGinnis
Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God bless these men and women who give their lives for our freedom! Whether you agree with the war or not, please support our troops. They are just doing they're job. George Orwell once said, "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." This is very true! Children and spouses are losing loved ones every day, because these people have taken an oath to protect us from all enemies foreign and domestic.
Today, May 16, 2009, is Armed Forces Day in the United States. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all who serve in any branch of our military. Many times they go unnappreciated, and today (as every day should be) is a time to recognize the sacrafice that has been made on our behalf.
Thank You!
Who Are America's Heroes?
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, March 13, 2009—
The challenge issued by a flight attendant during a recent commercial air flight seemed innocuous enough: Name just one of the five Medal of Honor recipients from the current engagements in Afghanistan or Iraq, and get a free drink coupon.
But the passengers’ response – more specifically, the inability of all but just one to respond – revealed how little the average American knows about its military heroes.
Bombarded by superhero lore almost from birth, many Americans grow to revere fictional heroes as well as sports and celebrity icons. But silence descended over the cabin of a flight bound from Jacksonville, Fla., to Baltimore when the conversation turned to those who had earned the nation’s highest honor for valor – even when a free cocktail hung in the balance.
Dale Shelton, an Annapolis, Md., resident who served five years as a Navy intelligence specialist, was the only passenger to press the button over his seat to beckon the attendant. Shelton’s response: Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith, the first Medal of Honor recipient in the global war on terror, and in Operation Iraqi Freedom.Smith received the highest military honor for valor posthumously on April 3, 2005, two years to the day after saving more than 100 soldiers in the battle for Baghdad’s airport. His young son and widow accepted the award on his behalf during a solemn White House ceremony. The flight attendant gave free drink coupons to Shelton, as well as his wife Jean and two other traveling companions. Then he returned to the crew area to announce over the intercom that only one person had correctly answered the challenge. This time, the attendant offered a second challenge: name an American Idol winner. The cabin lit up like a pinball machine as 43 passengers scrambled to push their attendant call button. Passengers named various Idol winners.
The attendant announced that he wasn’t going to award drink coupons for that answer, telling the passengers that "naming an Idol winner was not worth a free drink," Shelton recalled. "He concluded his announcement with the question: ‘What’s wrong with our country when out of 150 passengers, only one can name a Medal of Honor recipient, but 43 can name an American Idol winner?’"Later during the flight, Shelton shared with the attendant his own frustration over "the current lack of appreciation of our military heroes."
The attendant asked Shelton if he knew the names of the other four Medal of Honor receipts from the current military operations. Shelton said he was able to name three: Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Monsoor and Army Spc. Ross McGinnis. All were killed sacrificing themselves to protect their comrades during enemy attacks.
Murphy, a Navy SEAL, died June 28, 2005, trying to save his team members during Operation Red Wing in Afghanistan. Monsoor, also a SEAL, died in Iraq Sept. 23, 2006, using his body to absorb a grenade blast that likely would have killed two nearby SEALs and several Iraqi soldiers. McGinnis died Dec. 4, 2006, after throwing himself on a hand grenade in Iraq to save four fellow soldiers when insurgents attacked their Humvee.Shelton said he regretted that he had forgotten the name of Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham. Dunham died April 15, 2004, using his body to shield fellow Marines in Iraq from a hand grenade.The flight attendant didn’t hold Shelton’s memory lapse against him. "He gave me all the remaining drink coupons he had in his possession and shook my hand," he said.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Medal of Honor Recipients since the beginning of the War on Terror.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith
Navy Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy
Marine Corporal Jason L. Dunham
Army Specialist Ross A. McGinnis
Naval Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God bless these men and women who give their lives for our freedom! Whether you agree with the war or not, please support our troops. They are just doing they're job. George Orwell once said, "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." This is very true! Children and spouses are losing loved ones every day, because these people have taken an oath to protect us from all enemies foreign and domestic.
Today, May 16, 2009, is Armed Forces Day in the United States. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all who serve in any branch of our military. Many times they go unnappreciated, and today (as every day should be) is a time to recognize the sacrafice that has been made on our behalf.
Thank You!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
American arrogance and Islam
So everyone I talk to believes that Muslims are peace loving, co-existors, that only want the best for the world...most everyone, that is. There are very few people that actually believe in, and see the threat that this very kind of thinking. As Americans, we like to think that there is no evil in the world. As quoted by Joel Rosenberg in his book The Last Jihad, "To misunderstand the nature and threat of evil is to risk being blindsided by it." Which is the point I want to make.
I personally don't believe Islam is a peaceful religion (if you don't like it, too bad...if you don't agree with me, and are going to complain about this post, well here is a little disclaimer *no one is making you read this!*). The only reason it seems peaceful, is because its believers, I think, are apathetic. If one actually sits and reads the Qur'an, you will see that Muhammed did, at first, preach peace and coexistence with the Christians and Jews at the time. However, after a series of wars, Muhammed all of a sudden changed his stance on peace...he flip flopped, if you will, kind of like John Kerry did in the 2004 elections (and as Obama has done already on some very key issues, on which he promised changed...stay posted for that blog in the near future.) After his displacement from Mecca to Medina, he basically said, "Forget everything I have said about living peacefully. You now have to give the infidels a chance to convert, if they don't, kill them." Now while this isn't the view of all Muslims today, it is the point of view of the so called "radical Islamist."
Now, while talking with many people, most say, "Well we really have nothing to fear. Those extreme views aren't shared by all muslims." This is the type of arrogance President Obama should have apologized for in Europe. This type of thinking shows classical American ignorance in the fact that everything is OK now and it won't happen again. Did you know that an increasing number of American Muslim youth would give thier lives for a jihad here in the USA? Look it up, the polls are there. So much for a nonthreatning religion...even the apathetic are waking up to the supposed truth of the Qur'an. Now while most Americans wallow in this type of thinking, Ahmadinejad is building a nuclear arsenal. He has threatened to wipe Israel and America off the face of the earth. No one believes him though. They all say he is a crazy man who shouldn't be taken seriously. We said the same thing about Hitler in the 1930's when he was threatning to kill every single Jew. Of course he didn't, but he did kill 6 million Jews. Will we still continue in our ignorance, stand by and do nothing, while this goes on? We as Americans need to throw off ignorance, and put ourselves in the extremists' shoes. Surprise!!! Not every one thinks like us! *GASP* Shocking, I know. So even though maybe even less than 1% of Muslims hold an extremists view (which by the way, 1% of 1.3 billion people is 13,000,000....still a butt load of terrorist), they believe that we have no right to live!
Have we forgotten the catastrophic events of 9/11? On 9/12 there was a united America. One that "Would never forget" the events of the day before. However, we have. We are yet again misunderstanding and therefore underestimating the threat of evil. We will eventually be blindsided by it. I mentioned before that Muhammed ordered all his minions to kill everyone who wouldn't convert. Well not surprisingly, a few years ago, one of Al Qaeda's top leaders extended an invitation to all Americans to convert to Islam. No biggie right? Wrong! Now according to them, since we are not converting, they have the right to kill us. Uh Oh.
But hey all our politically correct buddies don't really care. We are willing to "negotiate" (more like sign our death warrant) with Iran and other terrorist nations! All the human rights activists say that we need to care about their rights and wants....What about our rights? What about the rights of the 2,974 Americans that died in a smoldering burning heap of twisted metal and jet fuel? What about the rights of the families that were destroyed? What about the right of mothers and fathers that lost their sons and daughters? What about the rights of the children that lost their mother and fathers? We have the duty to honor them, to protect their rights first, and the rights of every single American.
Well of course this type of thinking is hateful to the rest of the world. So we now believe that we have to go sucking up to every nation and explain ourselves to them...especially to the French! What the heck, the French owe us. They've never won a war by themselves, save the French revolution, which was a civil war. As a matter of a fact if my history isn't wrong...if it wasn't for the so called "American Arrogance" (AA) and our right to defend our bases (Pearl Harbor), and our national soverignty, then Europe would all be speaking German right now. They should be grateful, but yet as Americans have done, now the rest of the world forgets their history. The only ones who haven't forgotten theirs though, are the extremist who declare Jihad on all who opose them....them and the Israelis. They remember when the world was as unsuspecting as before.
Now the extremist lie in wait, waiting for the perfect opportunity when the whole world is unsuspecting...then like a snake they will strike...again. They've already warned us that another attack is coming. They will hit D.C. and major American cities. What will we do? Are we going to sit back and continue in our apathy, or will we rise up and demand something be done?
I will never forget.
http://www.videonewslive.com/view/311932/daddy_i_miss_you__heaven_911__its_been_8_years_later_daddy
I personally don't believe Islam is a peaceful religion (if you don't like it, too bad...if you don't agree with me, and are going to complain about this post, well here is a little disclaimer *no one is making you read this!*). The only reason it seems peaceful, is because its believers, I think, are apathetic. If one actually sits and reads the Qur'an, you will see that Muhammed did, at first, preach peace and coexistence with the Christians and Jews at the time. However, after a series of wars, Muhammed all of a sudden changed his stance on peace...he flip flopped, if you will, kind of like John Kerry did in the 2004 elections (and as Obama has done already on some very key issues, on which he promised changed...stay posted for that blog in the near future.) After his displacement from Mecca to Medina, he basically said, "Forget everything I have said about living peacefully. You now have to give the infidels a chance to convert, if they don't, kill them." Now while this isn't the view of all Muslims today, it is the point of view of the so called "radical Islamist."
Now, while talking with many people, most say, "Well we really have nothing to fear. Those extreme views aren't shared by all muslims." This is the type of arrogance President Obama should have apologized for in Europe. This type of thinking shows classical American ignorance in the fact that everything is OK now and it won't happen again. Did you know that an increasing number of American Muslim youth would give thier lives for a jihad here in the USA? Look it up, the polls are there. So much for a nonthreatning religion...even the apathetic are waking up to the supposed truth of the Qur'an. Now while most Americans wallow in this type of thinking, Ahmadinejad is building a nuclear arsenal. He has threatened to wipe Israel and America off the face of the earth. No one believes him though. They all say he is a crazy man who shouldn't be taken seriously. We said the same thing about Hitler in the 1930's when he was threatning to kill every single Jew. Of course he didn't, but he did kill 6 million Jews. Will we still continue in our ignorance, stand by and do nothing, while this goes on? We as Americans need to throw off ignorance, and put ourselves in the extremists' shoes. Surprise!!! Not every one thinks like us! *GASP* Shocking, I know. So even though maybe even less than 1% of Muslims hold an extremists view (which by the way, 1% of 1.3 billion people is 13,000,000....still a butt load of terrorist), they believe that we have no right to live!
Have we forgotten the catastrophic events of 9/11? On 9/12 there was a united America. One that "Would never forget" the events of the day before. However, we have. We are yet again misunderstanding and therefore underestimating the threat of evil. We will eventually be blindsided by it. I mentioned before that Muhammed ordered all his minions to kill everyone who wouldn't convert. Well not surprisingly, a few years ago, one of Al Qaeda's top leaders extended an invitation to all Americans to convert to Islam. No biggie right? Wrong! Now according to them, since we are not converting, they have the right to kill us. Uh Oh.
But hey all our politically correct buddies don't really care. We are willing to "negotiate" (more like sign our death warrant) with Iran and other terrorist nations! All the human rights activists say that we need to care about their rights and wants....What about our rights? What about the rights of the 2,974 Americans that died in a smoldering burning heap of twisted metal and jet fuel? What about the rights of the families that were destroyed? What about the right of mothers and fathers that lost their sons and daughters? What about the rights of the children that lost their mother and fathers? We have the duty to honor them, to protect their rights first, and the rights of every single American.
Well of course this type of thinking is hateful to the rest of the world. So we now believe that we have to go sucking up to every nation and explain ourselves to them...especially to the French! What the heck, the French owe us. They've never won a war by themselves, save the French revolution, which was a civil war. As a matter of a fact if my history isn't wrong...if it wasn't for the so called "American Arrogance" (AA) and our right to defend our bases (Pearl Harbor), and our national soverignty, then Europe would all be speaking German right now. They should be grateful, but yet as Americans have done, now the rest of the world forgets their history. The only ones who haven't forgotten theirs though, are the extremist who declare Jihad on all who opose them....them and the Israelis. They remember when the world was as unsuspecting as before.
Now the extremist lie in wait, waiting for the perfect opportunity when the whole world is unsuspecting...then like a snake they will strike...again. They've already warned us that another attack is coming. They will hit D.C. and major American cities. What will we do? Are we going to sit back and continue in our apathy, or will we rise up and demand something be done?
I will never forget.
http://www.videonewslive.com/view/311932/daddy_i_miss_you__heaven_911__its_been_8_years_later_daddy
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