Free Republic

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2010 – I stepped out from the van and onto the rain-drenched flightline, shivering from the cold that seemed to whip straight through my wool coat. I had traveled to Dover Air Force Base, Del., in late February to write stories about the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Center. I wasn’t supposed to start working until morning, but I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to witness an event known as a dignified transfer, which marks the return of a servicemember who has died while supporting a combat operation overseas to U.S. soil. I looked up...

It was no oversight. The executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has apologized to the friends, family and fans of Farrah Fawcett, who was conspicuously omitted from Sunday night's Oscar-event tribute to Hollywood personalities who had died over the past year. While some agents and publicists, besides actors, were included in the memorial, Fawcett, a high-profile star better known for her TV work (who also appeared on the big screen), was not. Neither was Gene Barry -- who was seen in both versions of "War of the Worlds" -- or Bea Arthur. Among those criticizing...

Philadelphia democrats have proposed naming the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard after the disgraced and deceased John Murtha. I. Kid. You. Not. The same John Murtha who worked closely with anti war groups in developing a 'slow bleed' strategy in order to undermine the ability of our troops to successfully engage terrorists in Iraq. The same John Murtha that accused the now exonerated Haditha Marines of murder and war crimes: [VIDEO AT SITE] Murtha has an airport named after him, let that be. It would be more meaningful to name the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard after one of Philly's fallen soldiers. This is...

After eight years of refusing my requests for an interview about the Nixon presidency, retired Gen. Alexander M. Haig Jr., accosted in the Fox News green room, finally relented. Our tape-recorded session -- held in Haig's downtown office on July 27, 2000 -- lasted nearly three hours. I published some portions in a book I wrote on Watergate but decided to keep the vast majority private until Haig's death. Haig, who served as secretary of state under Reagan and chief of staff in Nixon's White House, died Feb. 20 at age 85. In the interview, he was in rare form:...

[...] It was blustery and cold in Section 48 of Arlington National Cemetery on Thursday afternoon, and the wind shook the branches of the giant tree that now shelters the graves of 14 lost musicians of the U.S. Navy Band. But 50 years to the day after they, along with five fellow musicians, perished in a plane crash, their widows, children and comrades gathered with members of the current Navy Band to pay tribute at the spot where most of them rest: two lines of headstones, violins and clarinets, French horns and trumpets, as if still in formation. It was...

My recent bouts of vertigo, and the fall and concussion that resulted from one of them, meant that I was unable to attend the funeral services for a great American, Al Haig. So I'll eulogize him as best I can in this column space. Thank you, Gen. Haig. Had it not been for your decisive thinking and iron resolve in essentially acting briefly as our president during those grim days at the Nixon White House in the summer of 1974, America could easily have become a vulnerable target to the Soviet Union or other enemies. I was an acquaintance of...

Todd and I would like to offer our condolences to the Haig family on the passing of former Secretary of State Alexander Haig. In addition to being a decorated veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, Secretary Haig’s service to our country spans many past administrations. He served America honorably as a four star general and a distinguished statesman. Our hearts go out to his family as we join them in mourning the loss of this patriot. - Sarah Palin

A Four Star career comes to a close. Alexander Haig during his time in the Nixon White House circa 1973 Haig died Saturday morning surrounded by his family after complications from an infection. He was 85. It's hard to encapsulate a career as star studded as Haig's. A graduate of West Point, then Military Aide to Douglas MacArthur in Korea, Awarded Distinguished Service Cross, the US Army's second highest medal for valor in Vietnam, White House Chief of Staff under Richard Nixon, Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, Four Star General of the Army and First Secretary of State for President...

Personal reflection from mid-morning local talkradio show host and friend, Jim Vicevich. A West Point grad, Secretary of State, Chief of White House staff and former President of United Technologies, General Alexander has died at age 85 reportedly from a blood infection but I wanted to make mention of my personal contacts with General Haig when I was a reporter with WFSB-TV. You will get the chance to read his bio in this post below, and here at Steve’s post,

I can't stop crying. Great video. God Bless our Troops.

EULOGY & Graveside Ceremony:Doctor E. J. T. passed away on Friday January 22nd at approx 10:25 am. He passed at the Gainesville VA Hospital, under an order of DNR lawfully signed and executed by him in full awareness that he was suffering from congestive heart failure and pneumonia combined. (Note: I threw this little tribute together in the hour or so before the formal service at the Funeral Home where a VA Chaplain who’d never met dad officiated. There were a lot of folks there & The chaplain did a very good job, however). I gave the Eulogy. Eulogy: I’ve...

Where were you on January 28th, 1986? Were you in a classroom watching the first teacher go into space? Do you remember how you felt when you saw the Challenger explode soon after it left the earth? CNN reports that about 17% of Americans were watching when the disaster occurred. One hour later, 85% had heard the news. It is estimated that 48% of 9-13 year-olds were watching. Teacher Christa Macauliffe was supposed to be the first teacher in space, but she never made it. She died in the explosion along with the six astronauts accompanying her. Most of today's...

This short footage arrangement of scenic views and creation’s creatures is accompanied with the hymn, “Lord I’m Coming Home”.

This short footage is arranged with scenic views and creation’s creatures such as red-shoulder hawk and eagles! Song, Until Then, written by Stuart Hamblen, is sung a-cappella by o7jimmy-Revski.

This short footage arrangement of scenic views and creation’s creatures is accompanied with the hymn, “Lord I’m Coming Home”.

Since I began radio broadcasting 27 years ago, I have tried to come up with ideas for New Year's resolutions for myself and my listeners. Virtually each time, I have advocated one resolution in particular: For every couple of letters of complaint or oral complaints we communicate about someone or about some company, we should write a letter or make a call to commend someone or some company. Did you complain about an airline or about a flight attendant in the past year? No problem. But if you have never cited an airline or a flight attendant for stellar performance,...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2009 – The Arlington Wreath Project, an unofficial national tradition, prompted about 6,000 volunteers to wake up extra early this morning to help place 16,000 wreaths on graves at Arlington National Cemetery. "It's really nice that America still remembers our troops," said Nikki Bunting, the widow of Army Capt. Brian Bunting, who died in Afghanistan in February 2009. She visited her husband's grave with their children, 2-year-old Connor and 5-week-old Cooper. “It's a sad sight, but it's really beautiful. It reminds us that people care,” she said. Morrill Worcester, president of Maine-based Worcester Wreath Company, started the...

Pfc. De'Angello Robinson, 19, traveled seven hours by bus to place a single wreath on the tomb of a soldier whom he'd never met. For him, and the other Marines who took the trip from Camp Johnson in Jacksonville, N.C. to Arlington National Cemetery to decorate graves, the day was about paying tribute to men and women who once stood in their shoes. "In a few months, from where we are getting shipped out, this could be us," said Robinson of the fallen soldiers. "If it is us, I would want somebody to do the same for me so I'm...

Let us pay tribute to these champions of freedom & heroes of the Red, White & Blue! God Bless Them (Living or deceased)

William F. Buckley, Jr. Born November 24, 1925 Tribute To William F. Buckley With Rich Lowry, Richard Brookhiser, Jeff Greenfield, Garry Wills and Mona Charen

ARLINGTON, Nov. 18, 2009 – Character was the focus as Scouting saluted the military yesterday. U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri told about 500 people from Boy Scouts’ National Capital Area Council that the values of Boy Scouts and the military are constant and that both organizations seek to serve something greater than themselves. This was the first Scout dinner saluting the military. Retired Navy Capt. Scott Gray, who now works with event sponsor General Dynamics, said he hopes to make the event an annual affair. The Crystal Gateway Marriott – a stone’s throw from the Pentagon – hosted the...

I posted this yesterday, but I wanted to post it again on Veteran's Day. I just had to share this tribute to our Veteran's. This video is an encouragement for citizens to stand for freedom and to stand for those who stood for us throughout history- those who paved the way for freedom, and those who continue to give their lives to serve our Country. God Bless You. And please post your tributes and memorials to honor our Veteran's and all who are serving in our military. Click here to watch Cry Freedom: A Veteran Tribute

<p>The Sarasota National Cemetery honored Air Force and Korean War Veteran, Lieutenant Van Eitel, with a full casson military burial.</p>

FORT WORTH, Texas — Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves to talk about his sponsorship ties to the military. He had a hard time finding the words Friday to discuss the massacre that left 13 people dead at Fort Hood. Texas Motor Speedway is just 170 miles north of the site of a shooting spree that also injured 30, including the suspected gunman. A U.S. Army logo with the message "God Bless Our Fort Hood Troops" was painted on the infield grass Friday. Moments of silence were planned before each event, including Sunday's Sprint Cup race. The first question of Ryan Newman's...

WASHINGTON -- White House press secretaries often have a higher public profile than the president himself. They take the blows often meant for the president but they rarely get the bows. The passing of Jody Powell of a heart attack at the age of 65 brought back memories of his years as press secretary to President Jimmy Carter. Powell was like a son to Carter. So it was left to Carter to go to a nursing home to inform Jody’s ailing mother that he had died Sept. 14 while gathering firewood at his Eastern Maryland home. Powell had been Carter’s...

Southfield (WWJ) -- The FBI will hold a memorial for the K-9 killed during a shootout in Dearborn and the dog's name will be added to a memorial wall. Freddy was a nearly 3-year-old Belgian Malinois who was killed Wednesday during a gun battle between agents and Luqman Ameen Abdullah, described as the radical leader of a Sunni Islam group.

A longtime champion of homeschooling rights around the globe, Home School Legal Defense Association Senior Counsel and Director of State and International Relations Christopher J. Klicka was called home by his Lord on October 12, 2009, at age 48, following a 15-year battle with multiple sclerosis. An attorney, spokesman, lobbyist, and homeschooling husband and father, Chris is survived by his wife, Tracy, their seven children (ages 11–21), and his parents, Ardath and George Klicka. “Chris was both a people person and a goal person. He cared deeply about people, but was also driven to always do more!” says HSLDA President...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2009 – Veterans of the Korean War, both American and Korean, gathered here yesterday with current U.S. Army and South Korean leaders to pay tribute at the National Korean War Memorial. Army Gen. Walter L. Sharp, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, left, and Jung-ki "Rocky" Park, Korean Corporate Members of the Association of the United States Army, render honors during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Oct. 5, 2009. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Members of the Korean War Veterans...

William Safire, who died today, was a breakthrough figure—the first professional Republican ideologue of his time to become a mainstream fixture in journalism. Indeed, when he was hired by the New York Times to write a column after his tenure as a speechwriter and intimate of the president in the Nixon White House, the shock and horror with which his new position was viewed in the Times newsroom and in the journalistic corridors of Washington were unprecedented in their ferocity. Safire himself said that people would barely look him in the eye in his place of employ for years. He...

The intellectual leader of a movement of thinkers remained humble through his many influential works, and his spirit of creative skepticism will be his legacy. After the plain pine box is lowered into the grave, the mourners are asked to come forward -- immediate family first -- and shovel dirt onto the casket. Only when it is fully covered, only when all that can be seen is dust, is the ceremony complete Such is the Jewish way of burial. Its simplicity, austerity and unsentimentality would have appealed to Irving Kristol, who was buried by friends and family Tuesday. Equally fitting...

This past weekend I had the pleasure of being one of the presenters at the Values Voter Summit in Washington, where we honored Phyllis Schlafly for her lifetime of achievement. She is the person whom even liberal academics look to when they want to explain grassroots conservatism. Phyllis was hailed—rightly so—for having stopped the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Many of the battles that are being fought out now–from the defense of marriage and the fight against abortion in healthcare to the effort to protect women from being ordered into combat—would have been lost if Phyllis had not sounded her trumpet...

According to his obituary in the NY Times, Irving Kristol once felt intimidated among NY intellectuals when he found himself seated with Mary McCarthy on one side, Hannah Arendt on the other, and Diana Trilling across from him. This standard—of intellect, to say nothing of other allures—was very much relaxed by the time he found himself placed next to me at a dinner at the Lehrman Institute in Manhattan in the mid-1980s. Determined to upset his likely expectation of me—I having hung onto a version of Trotskyism many years after he had discarded it—I inquired politely about his time in...

... "Irving Kristol was an intellectual giant who played a major role in developing the anti-communist arguments that led to the defeat of the Soviet Union," former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told The Washington Times. ... ... Known as the godfather of neoconservatism, Mr. Kristol was a youthful radical who went from embracing communism in his 20s to attacking it publicly in his 30s. In subsequent years, he became an equally forceful advocate of free-market economics, including the supply-side tax cuts enacted during the Reagan administration and dismantling much of the so-called welfare state. Neoconservatism was a label originally bestowed...

There should be U.S. flags as far as the eye can see at Minnesota's Camp Ripley on Sunday. The Minnesota Patriot Guard says it's aiming for the longest known flag line in honor of military veterans during the base's open house. Flag lines are formed by people holding flags on poles a set distance apart. They are sometimes seen at soldier funerals to provide a buffer between those grieving and protesters. Patriot Guard members, many of whom ride motorcycles, are hoping for at least 2,000 participants.

State Highway 9 is a two lane strip of asphalt that cuts across the northernmost tier of counties in Iowa, from Larchwood to Lansing. If you drive its 320 miles, as I have done many times, you will not be dissuaded from the stereotype of Iowa as a flat boring expanse of cornfields. The few points of interest include Lake Okoboji and the headquarters of Winnebago in Forest City. It takes you near Mason City, the model for "River City" in Meredith Willson's The Music Man, and the site of the plane crash that claimed Buddy Holly after a February...

It never stops, does it? Last night brought the news that Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary had become, at age 72, yet another beloved entertainer gone too soon. Not a complete surprise — Travers was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004 — but very sad nonetheless. Peter, Paul and Mary played a crucial role in helping the folk-music scene become a mass popular movement in the early 1960s. They couldn’t have done it without Mary Travers’ clear, expressive vocals. A gifted interpreter of others’ songs, she was the principal reason why the trio’s covers of Pete Seeger’s “If I...

Science: Norman Borlaug has died at age 95. Most will respond to the news by saying "Who?" And that's a shame. Borlaug did more for humanity than all of the government programs ever devised put together.Borlaug was known as the father of the Green Revolution, but he was no environmentalist. Unlike the greens, he was actually concerned about the condition of man. While misanthropes and neo-Malthusians were predicting mass starvation, Borlaug developed technologies that dramatically increased the yields of food crops and made them more resistant to disease. Between 1960 and 1990, the agronomist's work was responsible for more than...

I discovered a patriotic song and video on YouTube last night that just touched my heart and soul. It was called 21 GUNS (Fallen Soldier Song) by Bobby Billings. I just want to share it with everyone because it will make you realize just how much soldiers and their families sacrifice for us. Just search the title on Youtube and you will see it. Thanks.

I received a telephone call telling me a friend died of a heart attack. His name was Bob Schindler. His death certificate may say he died of cardiac arrest but those of us who knew Bob know he really died of a broken heart. I first met Bob, his wife Mary and their son Bobby in 2001 while I was in Charlotte, North Carolina to deliver the keynote address at the U.S. National Right to Life Prayer Breakfast. Bob and MaryÂ’s daughter was Terri Schiavo. They approached me to ask for help to save Terri from being starved and...

BKOBarbara K. Olson1955 - 2001Member since 11/5/1999 Tributes                                Homepage   BCMJohn Moran1959 - 2001Member since 9/28/1998 Tributes                                Homepage  

Bob Dole, a venerable 86 years old now, was back in the Washington limelight over the weekend, appearing on ABC TV to dispense counsel on a bipartisan approach to health care, popping up in newspapers explaining how to cut a deal, even suggesting Gen. David Petraeus as a presidential possibility. But his most heartfelt weekend activity took place elsewhere, out of sight of Washington politicos and devoid of any potential for gain or notoriety. It came under a brilliant Saturday-morning sun, when the former Republican presidential candidate, now a bit more frail than most Americans recall him, stepped out of...

I would like to pay tribute to Pfc. Brian Wolverton, a 21 year old Oak Park, CA resident who was killed in action in Afgahanistan on August 20, 2009. The 2006 Oak Park High School graduate died from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Kumar province. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement expressing sadness over Wolverton's death. Flags were flown at half-staff in Sacremento. A funeral service will be held at Pierce Brothers in Westlake Village, CA on Sat., Aug 29th. We all owe a debt of graditude to our nation's men and women who pay the ultimate...

The Kennedy compound in Hyannis, Mass. will be converted into an educational center and museum as a tribute to the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, FOX News learned Thursday. The compound is also known as the Hyannis Port Historic District, which covers six acres of waterfront property along Nantucket Sound. The property includes the homes of family patriarch Joseph P. Kennedy and two of his sons, Robert and John.

"This is the cause of my life - new hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American - north, south, east, west, young, old - will have decent quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege."

Here is video from 60 Minutes last night where 90 year-old Andy Rooney paid tribute to Don Hewitt, creator of 60 Minutes, and known as the "Father of Modern TV News." Hewitt died last week at age 86. . . . . (Watch Video)

Rose Friedman, who was partner and collaborator with her late husband Milton on many of his most important works of political thought and advocacy, has died of heart failure. Though her birth records in her native Russia are lost, she was believed to have been 99. The Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation has a notice of her death, which also sums up the achievements of her life: She will be remembered both as a talented economist and an influential advocate of freedom. Her economic work helped to discredit the idea of government management of the economy, rolling back policies that...

Reporter, patriot, skeptic of the powerful. One irony of Robert Novak's long and admirable career as a journalist is that he wasn't a curmudgeon, though he played one on TV. In person, he was warm, loyal to friends and especially generous to young writers, even if he was fearless and unsparing toward the public officials he devoted his life to covering—or, to put it more accurately, uncovering. Novak, who died yesterday at age 78, was among America's greatest political reporters.

Bob Novak hired me away from HUMAN EVENTS in late 2001. “Poaching,” HE Editor-in-Chief Tom Winter called it. I was not the first early-20s reporter Novak would pluck from HE’s newsroom. Nor would I be the last.

PARIS, TX -- The body of a North Texas Marine killed in Afghanistan was returned home Thursday. Thousands of people lined the streets of Paris to honor Marine Sgt. Jay Hoskins. Josh Stevenson has more. The flag-draped coffin of Marine Sgt. Jay Hoskins was met by thousands of people Thursday. Some were waiting outside the airport. Others stood and waited along the side of the road, waving American flags, wanting to pay tribute to one of their own who died fighting for their freedom. "Nobody wants to see our troops in harm’s way, but if that's where they are, then...