Free Republic

State of Illinois trying to return 108 forgotten war medals to veterans, families AP ^ Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2013 12:51:37 PM by 1rudeboy [] State Treasurer Dan Rutherford is asking people to take a moment over Memorial Day weekend to see if they recognize the names on a list of veterans whose military honors are held by the state. [] Many of the items come from safe deposit boxes that have been forgotten. Banks eventually transfer the contents to the treasurer's office. The veterans' names can be found at www.treasurer.il.gov.

Among the most revered posts in the army is that of the soldiers who guard the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Just a handful of soldiers have earned the honor of keeping vigil, and it’s a watch that has remained unbroken since 1926. TODAY’s Erica Hill reports.

Editor’s Note: Williamsburg resident Joe “Porky” Porcacelli’s oral narrative of his experiences in WWII is available from the Colonel Robert R. McCormick Research Center in Wheaton, IL, http://firstdivisionmuseum.org. Williamsburg Man’s Military Service Gave Close-Up View Of Combat By Etta Pettijohn The epic history of WWII has been told through movies and books, but nobody knows the details better than Joe “Porky” Porcacelli. His personal war experience was loaded with historic names and places - General George S. Patton Jr., D-Day, Omaha Beach, Nazi prison camps, the Nuremberg Trials, and War Correspondent Ernie Pyle, to name a few. >Porcacelli quit high...

Ford's B-24 Bomber Plant at Willow Run, MI, dedicated June 16, 1941 before the USA entered WW2. Henry Ford was determined that he could mass produce bombers just as he had done with cars. He built the Willow Run assembly plant and proved it. It was the world's largest building under one roof at the time. Even then FORD HAD A BETTER IDEA! This plant rolled one B-24 off the assembly line every 55 minutes. ADOLF HITLER HAD NO IDEA THE U.S. WAS CAPABLE OF THIS KIND OF THING.

Biplane Battle: Flying Against the Bolsheviks During Russia's Civil War By Derek O'Connor Originally published by Aviation History magazine. Published Online: July 03, 2007 The noise first reached the Bolshevik cavalry as an intense, insectlike droning in the sky while the horsemen were riding across southern Russia's sunburned steppes, featureless plains that scarcely afford cover for a rabbit. Their objective was the strategically important city of Tsaritsyn (later Stalingrad) on the Volga River, where they anticipated an easy victory over the White Russian anti-Bolshevik defenders. A brutal orgy of rapine and torture would follow against any enemies of the revolution...

PHOENIX - Under a new state law signed by Gov. Jan Brewer, military experience will count toward a commercial driver's license or a nursing license. "Veterans already have their training. They've done emergency operations under fire. They're used to the high stress environment," said the law's author, Rep. Sonny Borrelli, a Lake Havasu City Republican who served 20 years in the Marines. As they transition from military to civilian life, veterans can face a lot of "redundant training" to get a state license for something they were trained to do in the military, Borrelli said. When the law goes into...

As I squeeze into my dress blues for the first time since 2009, I think of my grandmother. She’d told my brother and me that Americans were once embarrassed to be seen in public with young men not wearing a military uniform. Then she’d shake her head, say that had been a long time ago, and ask if we wanted another bowl of Raisin Bran. My grandmother was a practical woman and a career Navy wife, so nostalgia didn’t soak her words when she said this. Just consideration. She passed away 10 years ago. The World War II–era America she...

Long time St. Louis Post Dispatch columnist Bill McClellan is advocating ending the practice of giving most veterans military honors at their funerals. His reason? Government can't afford it. Certainly, men and women killed in combat deserve full military honors. It's a way for the country to say, "We honor the memory of those who died in our service." These military honors - and the thought behind them - are intended to provide some solace for the families of the fallen. But what about the guy who spends a couple of years in the military and then gets on with...

Fourteen employees of the USS Midway Museum engineering department have been fired after officials discovered metals from the "historic" aircraft carrier were being sold off “..big time in the recycling but only a portion of the money was returned said the nonprofit to its "volunteers." This involves hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years... it had been going on for some time.” Museum officials informed 150 employees.

Will the Swift Boat Vets oppose Kerry as Secretary of State? I can't think of a worse choice for the position (Except Hillary Clinton)! Kerry? That's not scraping the bottom of the barrel. It's lifting the barrel and going underneath!

Both the left and the right are wrong about Marine Corps Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis. He is neither the Jack Nicholson caricature of a Marine depicted in the 1992 movie A Few Good Men nor the callous and mad eccentric depicted by George C. Scott in the 1970 movie Patton. And Gen. Mattis didn’t just talk the talk; he walked the walk. He led from the front. Indeed, on at least one occasion that I know of, the General was bloodied from a firefight or improvised explosive device while out on patrol with junior, enlisted Marines one-third his age....

Wreaths Across America (Sierra VistaFt. Huachuca, AZ)

http://rescueattempt.tripod.com/Stille_Nacht_12-23-2012.wma My dear sister Janet, It is 2:00 in the morning and most of our men are asleep in their dugouts—yet I could not sleep myself before writing to you of the wonderful events of Christmas Eve.

http://rescueattempt.tripod.com/Stille_Nacht_12-23-2012.wma My dear sister Janet, It is 2:00 in the morning and most of our men are asleep in their dugouts—yet I could not sleep myself before writing to you of the wonderful events of Christmas Eve. In truth, what happened seems almost like a fairy tale, and if I hadn’t been through it myself, I would scarce believe it. Just imagine: While you and the family sang carols before the fire there in London, I did the same with enemy soldiers here on the battlefields of France!

The Silver Star Families of America work to free Lance Corporal Hammar.

I though everyone would be interested in this. It is amazing to me the utter unresponsiveness of the government. We have only gotten one reply to our inquires and that is from his representative in Miami. Nothing from State, nothing from the White House. Frustrating beyond belief.

Late-hour speeches by Republican Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.) and John McCain (Ariz.) on runaway military health costs led the Senate Tuesday to shelve a defense bill amendment that would have spared family members and retirees more burdensome co-pays on drug prescriptions filled off base. The timing of their opposition, in the last hours of consideration of the 2013 defense authorization bill when amendments were only being approved by unanimous consent, allowed Coburn and McCain to block the Senate from supporting the softer House-passed plan for raising prescription fees. There will be a second chance next week when House-Senate conferees iron...

In October 2004, Betsy Beard's life changed forever when her only son, Spc. Bradley Beard, was killed in action in Iraq. Stricken with grief, Beard began what she called "hemorrhaging on paper," in which she poured out her heartache through journaling. "At the time, I just didn't see how I was going to live through that," said Beard. Beard turned to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors [TAPS] to find help in dealing with the loss of Bradley. Little did she know her involvement with TAPS, journaling and a special 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Caisson horse,...

Former Tomb Sentinels lay roses at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Va., Nov. 18. Sentinels, past and present, gathered for the reunion to commemorate the special bond and brotherhood only Sentinels share. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Megan Garcia) Since 1948, The Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Identification Badge, has been awarded to a small percentage of Soldiers who exemplified selfless service while guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier [TUS] in Arlington National Cemetery, Va. On Nov.17, they gathered to reflect on this special duty and the unique bond that exist within...

Freeper friends and Vets can you please distribute to others that would be interested reading a great book about a tour in Iraq? Plus help out a retired Vet who deserves credit for his service. This is written by a true hero and if you see some of the details you will agree. I served with the author in Soc Trang Republic of Vietnam he was a helicopter engine mechanic in 1967-1969. He returned to Iraq to serve a year tour 2004-2005 as he was approaching the age of 56 as a platoon sergeant of combat medics. This book deserves...