Free Republic

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) recalled the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks that occurred 20 years ago, saying that at the time, he thought the events would bring about another world conflict. During an interview on Cats Roundtable on WABC 770 AM, Schumer recalled being in the House gym when news broke that a plane hit the World Trade Center in New York City.

Lynnwood, Wash., native Spc. Alex Teesdale, a chaplain's assistant for 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, bows his head in prayer during a 9/11 prayer breakfast, Sept. 11, at Camp Taji. Dozens of Soldiers gathered to pay tribute and remember those who lost their lives that somber day in America history and in the war on terror. Photo by Spc. Nathan Hoskins, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. CAMP TAJI — It isn’t a day of celebration, but of remembrance. It isn’t a day of happiness, but a day of somber...

12/6/2006 - HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) -- Retired Chief Master Sgt. Ralph Barnett returned to Hickam for the 65th Anniversary of the attack on Oahu and to show his family where he was on that fateful Sunday morning. At the time of the attack he was a 24 year old assistant armament chief Buck Sgt. with the 23rd Bombardment Squadron stationed on Hickam Field. In the early morning hours of Dec. 7, 1941, 250 aircraft from the 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy set out to cripple the American naval and air forces with a surprise...

BRANSON, Mo., Nov. 9, 2006 -- More than 50,000 veterans and their families are expected to attend the 13th Annual Veterans Homecoming event, which kicked off Nov. 5 in Branson, Mo. The homecoming, with the theme, “Branson Doesn’t Forget,” includes numerous events, many free to veterans or active-duty servicemembers. It will conclude Nov. 11 with the 72nd annual Veterans Day Parade. Sponsored by the nonprofit group Branson Veterans Task Force, the 13th annual event is a tribute to all veterans and active military members and those who support them. Among the special guests who will share the week's events...

SEBRING, Ohio, Sept. 12, 2006 – Under a “no rain” proclamation issued earlier in the week by the town’s mayor, Colton Lockner, age 9, led nearly 2,000 people in Sebring, Ohio’s first Freedom Walk yesterday. Mother Nature took heed and altered her rainy forecast so participants could walk from the town’s elementary school to the Sebring Veterans Memorial. Lockner, the walk’s organizer, served as master of ceremonies during the short program at the walk’s culmination to remember the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and honor the nation’s servicemembers. “We are not on the Mall in Washington or on Times...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2006 – Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers was visiting senators on Capitol Hill Sept. 11, 2001, when he first heard of a plane hitting the World Trade Center. The first reports called the strike a probable accident by a small plane, so Myers, now retired, went on with his appointments. Myers was serving at the time as the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and was visiting senators in anticipation of his confirmation hearings as chairman. Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was on his way to NATO meetings...

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J., July 13, 2006 – Time hasn't completely healed Betty Jean Pulliam's wounds, and talking about her son can still bring a tear to her eye. New Jersey State Police troopers escort Betty Jean Pulliam of Wichita, Kan., to the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial July 9. The American Gold Star Mothers Inc., held a ceremony there to honor all children lost in service to the United States. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Lance Cpl. Dale Alan Pulliam was 21 years, two months and one day old when he was...

TAMPA, Fla. (Army News Service, June 27, 2006) – On the day I turned 41, the war in Iraq treated me to a wild ride through Baghdad in an up-armored sport utility vehicle. It was the first of two times during my year-long tour that I would leave the International Zone without the armed, Humvee-led convoy security escort I traveled with on dozens of other missions. I sat sideways in the rear right seat, facing the tinted window with my M-16, locked and loaded, in a modified ready position. I did my best to stay steady as the driver careened...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 2, 2005 – President Bush remembered America's deployed servicemembers who he said are "serving the cause of peace" during the Dec. 1 Christmas Pageant of Peace and lighting of the national Christmas tree here. "We ask for God to watch over our men and women in uniform who are serving overseas," Bush said during the ceremony on the Ellipse. "Their families miss them, hold a seat open for them and pray for their safe return." America's men and women stand for freedom and serve the cause of peace, he said. "Many of them are serving in distant lands...

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 13, 2005 – The sailors who died on board the USS Cole in a terrorist attack were remembered Oct. 12 at Arlington National Cemetery on the fifth anniversary of the attack. The White House Commission on Remembrance hosted the ceremony at the site where three of the guided missile destroyer's crewmembers are buried. As the Cole was refueling in the harbor of Aden, Yemen, a small craft approached the port side of the guided missile destroyer and exploded, blasting a 40-by-40-foot hole in the ship's side. The attack took the lives of 17 crewmembers and 39 others...

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - A new exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library showcases items and images from Reagan's funeral. Nearly 6,000 people visited the hilltop library on Sunday for the opening of "Mourning in America," a play on Reagan's upbeat "Morning in America" presidential campaign theme. Reagan died June 5 after battling Alzheimer's disease for a decade. The exhibit recalls the 40th president's funeral, burial and public viewing as well as the nationwide outpouring of sympathy for the Reagan family. On display were the black velvet-draped bier that supported Reagan's mahogany casket in Simi Valley; riding boots placed...