Free Republic

3/29/2010 - FAIRFAX, Va. (AFNS) -- The military and the circus have a lot in common. They both have people from around the nation and assets from around the world. Both are highly trained units that perform sometimes unimaginable feats and handle unspeakable logistical details in carrying out their mission. And, most importantly, both share an important priority: children. On March 26, this priority was at the forefront when Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey honored military families at a performance of its traveling circus "Zing Zang Zoom" at a performance at George Mason University's Patriot Center here. Normally, a...

WE ARE HERE FOR THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE THERE FOR US!! BELOW: And in case any one forgets, the moonbats are wrong about their views. These two signs sum up why we have been out at Olney for 217 Saturdays, for 255 CONSECUTIVE Fridays at Walter Reed, and on March 20, we will also be at the Arlington Cemetery Memorial Circle supporting our military. WEEK 216 - Feb. 27,2010 Patriots in Olney this Saturday include Dave (Army, WWII) and friend Janet, Halsey (USMC, Korea), Lurkers Bill and “D” and Cindy_True_Supporter, Fraxinus and iMacManPictures are by iMacMan BELOW LEFT: Lurker Bill...

We’ve been roughly plowed out of our subdivisions since late Thursday with the roads being rutted with up to 5" of snow pack. And the main roads were down to pavement but you unexpectedly loose lanes driving down them. But we survived. And our red banner survived. And we were back out on the corner in Olney. BELOW LEFT: Lurker Bill doing our reenactment of the Iwo Jima flag raising. Iwo Jima Vet Glenn BELOW RIGHT: appreciated our efforts. Note that the snow mound is higher than the banner, and the banner is on the ‘grassy knoll’ about 2 feet...

Being sarcastic, but YES 3DJOY, there is a [Mrs] T and iMacMan’s pictures prove it!! BELOW LEFT: [Mrs] T putting flags on snow mound. BELOW RIGHT: And waving to a passing supporter. BELOW LEFT: PleaDeal, recognize [Mrs] T’s USMC scarf?? BELOW RIGHT: Dueling picture taking with iMacMan. Patriots in Olney this Saturday include Dave (Army, WWII) and friend Janet, Glenn (USMC, WWII), Halsey (USMC, Korea), Carl (Army, Vietnam), Lurkers Bill and “D” and Cindy_True_Supporter, iMacMan and [Mrs] Trooprally and myself. Pictures by iMacMan and [Mrs] T are mixed together. BELOW LEFT: There iMacMan is, on the planter, with Lurker Bill...

WEEK 234 - Oct. 09, Dusk Coming Earlier Each Friday List of 7 Patriots at Walter Reed this ‘warm’ night: Lurker Bill, BufordP, Cindy_True_Supporter, Fraxinus, Jimmy Valentines Brother, [Mrs] T and myself. Pics by [Mrs] T BELOW LEFT: BufordP before even the banner s and flags put up. Short sleeve weather but dusk is quickly encroaching on us. BELOW RIGHT: Me heading to the northwest corner after putting up some banners. DARK ALREADY!!! The Walter Reed bus is not the regular dinner bus. During the night this bus usually goes in ‘n out of WR shuttling soldiers and their...

%20Week 252, February 12, 2010 – Two major snowfalls and over 30 inches of snow fell since beginning last Friday. It’s become a “big nuisance” but not big enough to prevent the DC Chapter to stand tall for the 252nd consecutive Friday night at the front gates of Walter Reed. FRONT GATE NOTES Mr and Mrs Trooprally arrived first and Trooprally was able to dig "standing holes" in the white stuff. Although the streets were passable, one of the 3 lanes was still partially covered meaning we could safely stand in a "standing hole" to hold signs or flags. Trooprally...

Patriots physically in Olney this Saturday: NONE Patriots there in spirit: TOO MANY TO MENTIONAfter braving the weather to be a Walter Reed this past Friday the snow continued to fall through Saturday. At 10AM Saturday we had around 20" on the ground. BELOW LEFT: Our driveway. Vehicle on right is not as covered as the left because we used it for Walter Reed. BELOW RIGHT: Progress!! BUT WE WERE ON THE CORNER IN SPIRIT!!!What’s that red thing up there? And there is a flag with it All right!! The Olney Patriots are here without really being there. NOTE: Picture...

Week 251, February 5, 2010 - Ignoring weather warnings to stay off the roads at all costs, the DC chapter recorded its 251st consecutive Friday night at Walter Reed. FRONT GATE NOTES The following report is from Trooprally’s notes and the great photos were taken on site by Mrs Trooprally. As you look at the photos, remember this was only the beginning of the” great 2010 blizzard”. Trooprally wrote: “We arrived about 6:40, shoveled and salted a small clear area where we were going to stand and we were on our posts before 7. Even the salted areas eventually got...

WEEK 242 - Dec. 04, LOTS OF BUSES, LOTS OF FREEPERS NEWS FROM THE NORTHWEST CORNER There was a lot of activity on the NW corner tonight. Token visits by [Mrs] T, TomtheRedHunter and Fraxinus were appreciated, but the visit by Sensei Ern was most appreciative. He brought me a real nice cigar. More importantly was the support from passerbys. One young lady walking by had her brother in Walter Reed. He arrived several weeks ago and had a leg amputated. He is doing well. She wants to bring him out to the corners when he is able. One...

Sung to “Clap On - Clap Off” if you hadn’t made the connection. Now you’ll have this theme running thru your brain as you get snowed in. :-))WEEK 211 - Jan. 23,2010 CLAP OFF - NO SNOW!!Hooray, warmer weather continued this week. While it was only around 30 degrees, the sun was out, the wind was still, and there was NO SNOW on the ground. The sun actually made it feel toasty out since we were not dressed for the sun. At Walter Reed 30 degrees is chilly since there is no sun. Patriots in Olney this Saturday include Glenn...

A Cold January Night, But Warm Support at Walter Reed, Week 250, January 29, 2010 A frigid evening with snow on the way found eight of us decked out in cold weather gear to fight off the wind chill in the low teens. FRONT GATE NOTES The wind kept our flags waving fiercely while an unusually large number of cars passed up and down Georgia Ave. Many drivers honked their horns and passengers waved, as we waved back. Their support for the troops keeps us warm. VictoryNY, Lurker Bill and RonGKirby are constantly waving and respond to the passengers who...

WEEK 209 - Jan. 09,2010 Cold as cold does. Looks like this may be our last real cold Saturday for a while. What you see for Week 209 is the dusting of snow that we received 24 hours earlier. It was too cold out for even the sun to melt this dusting. As the below picture shows, our FReeps are nothing compared to what our brave soldiers in Afghanistan trudge through. We only endure the snow and cold for a few hours. Our troops have to sleep out in the extreme cold. Picture borrowed from a Tea Party Express email....

I found this link where you can find out what our troops need and send packages directly to our military in Afghanistan and Iraq accordingly. I guarantee that if you go there and start sending packages, you will be overwhelmed with tears of joy!br> AnySoldier, Inc. is a 501(c)(3)n.p.o. Also check out: Dept. of Defense Citizen Support

We start our 5th Year with temps in the high 20s, wind chill in the low-teens, gusts in the mid-40MPH. When two fearless moonbats showed up, I bet everyone that they would be gone by 11. I was wrong - they were gone by 10:50. But with 8 patriots out this morning we started our 5th year in good spirits. Before I get into this Saturday’s Troop Support Rally, a look back at YEAR FOUR. Sadly we lost 3 Legionnaires this year. BELOW LEFT: Clyde (Navy - WWII), BELOW MIDDLE: Francis (Army - WWI), and BELOW RIGHT: Frank (Army -...

News of Vice President Biden's low-key visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Christmas Day was buried in the wake of the terror attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 and the subsequent bungled response by his already vacationing boss, Barack Obama.But for all the grief Obama rightly took for his exhorbitant, self-indulgent extended stay in Hawaii over Christmas and New Year's, Biden should be credited with spending much of his Christmas with our wounded warriors and their families.As Free Republic's Walter Reed regulars know, Christmas at Walter Reed can be quite lonesome as the hospital and service groups work...

After a cold and rainy Christmas Day Rally at Walter Reed, Olney was the FReepers Christmas Gift. A misty rain was still there, blowing all over our glasses, but it was sufficiently warm that no gloves were needed. At least I didn't wear any. And the State Highway Administration has provided us with another flag pole support. BELOW LEFT: The new signal pole that will hold some additional flags. I’m putting up one flag on the power pole but the new pole will hold two. BELOW RIGHT: Lurker Bill setting up a banner on the soon to be torn down...

BALTIMORE, Dec. 24, 2009 – As the rest of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport bustled with holiday travelers yesterday, its USO Lounge offered military travelers -- many returning home from overseas deployments -- a welcome sanctuary of solace. The USO Lounge at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport offers military travelers a respite from crowded airport terminals, particularly during the holiday season. DoD photo by Donna Miles  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The lounge is conveniently positioned near the international departure gates on the airport’s lower level. Yet, to the dozens of servicemembers who took refuge here yesterday afternoon, it...

This Saturday, to all those who have attended Olney’s Support the Troops Rally, YOU WERE OUT ON OLNEY’s CORNER “IN SPIRIT”. And those who have read the Olney AARs as we come up to our 4 Year Anniversary on January 2,2010, Thank You for your support. BELOW LEFT: Distant view of our red banner from Friday night thru Monday morning. BELOW RIGHT: Close up of banner, dah. That explanation is for any moonbats who are reading this AAR. BELOW LEFT: Saturday AM at the Olney Bunker. “Hey [Mrs] T - think we can make it up the hill?”. BELOW RIGHT:...

As shown in Weeks 203 & 204's AAR, we had the Navy flag up this Saturday. And it looks as good this AAR as in yesterday's AAR. BELOW: Our NEW Navy flag. Before the Air Force and Coasties complain, we would be more than pleased to put up your branch’s flag. Just FRmail me for our address. With the new traffic light configuration we’ll have more traffic poles to attach your flag to it. With our group mainly being associated with the Marines and Army, their flags got the prime space. We didn’t want to put your flags on the...

WEEK 202: NOV. 21,2009 The MAC is BACK, the iMacMan that is. iMacMan is someone I consider a “cold weather FReeper”. His retirement keeps him away from Olney during the warmer months. While iMacMan didn’t bring his cameras today, he takes some of the best pictures of our passing supporters that I know of. And then the edits he does are great. To those who know cameras, I do not, he sets his cameras on wide lens and then with one push of the button, gets 6 frames shot. BELOW: Several of iMacMan’s neat pictures. Did I forget to mention...