Free Republic

HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) -As of Tuesday afternoon, thirteen veterans at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke have died and all residents and staff are being tested for COVID-19. According to Brooke Karanovich from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the following was confirmed by the Soldiers Home Tuesday: According to Brooke Karanovich from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the following was confirmed by the Soldiers Home Tuesday: 13 veteran resident deaths (6 tested positive for COVID-19, 5 pending test results, 1 negative and 1 is unknown 10 veteran residents have tested positive for COVID-19 25 veteran...

"President Donald J. Trump meets World War II Iwo Jima veteran John J. Sheridan, 95, and his daughter Dianne Fairbaugh on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House." "President Donald J. Trump salutes World War II Iwo Jima veteran Ira Rigger, 97, and his wife Yong Rigger during their visit Tuesday, March 3, 2020, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House."

Veterans have invited the sitting president to attend the event every year for 25 years, and Trump is the first to accept the invitation.........Trump’s support for the parade goes back decades, as in the 1990s he personally offered financial support to save it from financial insolvency. “In 1993, almost 25 years ago, the parade was in difficult financial straits, and the president of the United States—then [known as] ‘The Donald’—no questions asked, just said, ‘Yes, I will do it.’” “He wrote a ginormous check, saved the Veterans Day Parade. He was honored at the Pentagon way back then,” White added....

I am greeted by a wooden casket hoisted on the shoulders of eight high school basketball players as I enter the lobby of Catholic Memorial School in early January. An American flag covers the casket. At 8 a.m., I expect a tired expression across the face of each young man and wonder how they will navigate the halls to the narrow chapel. But, stoic and calm, the boys looked at ease. They walked tall, proud and sure-footed. Their composure surprised me as they made their way into the school chapel. Following the procession, I scanned the room to find an...

Democrat who has quickly risen to top tier of 2020 field is putting more emphasis on Navy Reserve stint

[Misleading headline. He doesn't "want" 100 kisses, he's been promised 100 kisses] Bethel Killman SCOTTSBURG, Ind. — It’s been a rough year for Bethel Killman, 99, of Scottsburg, but he’s hoping his 100th birthday marks a turnaround. In April, the World War II vet was diagnosed with a heart valve problem and given five months to live. In September, he lost his wife. Now, less than two weeks before his 100th birthday, the World War II veteran’s family is trying to cheer him up with a community-wide birthday party. “Bethel was feeling down about his prognosis last year, so I...

Travelers at Nashville's busy airport over the weekend stopped to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” paying their respects to a plane full of children whose parents had died in combat. “At the Nashville airport I walked out into the concourse to this scene @americanairlines was flying a plane full of children who had lost a parent in combat to Disneyworld on an all expenses paid trip and they threw a party for them at the gate,” Jen Tringale wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

On Veterans Day, it is important for those who have never served to take a moment to understand the solitary world of a vet. Millions of vets are and have been successful in all endeavors. They are doctors, lawyers, business people and a thousand other professions. Not all have PTSD; not all are the troubled, brooding, street corner homeless guy, although they exist and need help desperately. No matter how successful a vet might be materially, more often than not, vets are often alone, mentally and spiritually each day and for the rest of their lives. Vets’ stories are all...

Dan Crenshaw is running for Congress in Texas. Below is a link to the video.https://twitter.com/tylerstapleto14/status/1058948005871738880?s=12

So powerful to watch POWs returning home. History...

President Trump slammed Democrats pushing for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying those who join such calls are disciples of a “very low IQ person” Maxine Waters and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. “Instead of supporting our ICE officers, many of these Democrat politicians who are really disciples of a very low IQ person, Maxine Waters, and perhaps even worse, Nancy Pelosi, they’ve launched vicious smears on the brave men and women who defend our communities,” Trump said Tuesday during remarks at the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States National Convention.

ATLANTA (CBS/CNN) — One good deed is turning into many, many more and a surreal US tour. **SNIP** This inspired him to start the Raising Men Lawn Care Service, a foundation that not only mows lawns for those in need but also works to inspire young men and women to make a difference. **SNIP** To defray the cost of his expenses, Smith said he’s funded by donations, including those by lawnmower companies that donate equipment. He takes submissions to decide what lawns he’ll mow, both on his website and on social media. He said it’s important to teach kids about...

"Save my heroes from suicide." Prince Harry has raised serious concerns about the number of British soldiers committing suicide after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Prince confided his fears about a recent surge in suspected suicides in a private letter to a decorated former war hero. His intervention comes as an investigation by The Mail on Sunday reveals veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now taking their own lives at a faster rate than their comrades died on the battlefield. At least 12 veterans are feared to have killed themselves since the start of the year...

Remembering the Vets who gave their lives in training to go to war.

A group of veterans from the Vietnam War who recently met for a reunion in Florida are searching for one of their comrades who they only knew by a nickname. 'Louisiana' is seen in photos with curly brown hair and a goofy face and his friends from the war remember the warm personality he had during the dark times. 'The picture represents the beautiful grin he had almost all the time,' said veteran James Garvin - who took the photo - to WBRZ. According to a Facebook post from wife Susan Waldrop Garvin, 'Louisiana' was a grunt on the ground,...

President Trump donated his salary for the first quarter of 2018 to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the White House said Thursday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump’s $100,000 quarterly salary will go toward the VA’s caregiver programs. The president is donating his salary each quarter to "important projects," she said....

The mayor of Jacksonville has responded to growing outrage after Jaguar Power Sports was issued a warning citation for their patriotic rooftop flag display. Store employees say the incident also involved mistreatment of a veteran....snip...On Monday, Melinda Power, a city of Jacksonville inspector, issued a warning citation for the display, saying the military flags were in violation of city code. She entered the store accompanied by her supervisor.

PAMELA MURPHY All these years later, she’s still remembered by newspaper editors and publishers in small towns across this country wanting to know if they can reprint for their readers a column I wrote on her death. Sure, I tell them, go ahead. We had her all to ourselves out here for so long working at the Sepulveda VA, we almost took her for granted — as if that were ever really possible. There never has been a woman who commanded so much attention and respect from the first moment the veterans heard whispers in the VA hallways about who...

Veterans returned to the U.S. after fighting in the jungles of Vietnam a half century ago, but hundreds of them may be dying from a silent bullet — a slow-killing parasite living in the men decades after the war, a new study revealed. Liver flukes, parasites that infect a human when raw or undercooked fish is eaten, are being investigated as the cause of a rare bile duct cancer among veterans who served in the Vietnam War. It could take years for symptoms to show up, but when they do, the host is left with tremendous pain and given just...

On Veterans Day, it is important for those who have never served to take a moment to understand the solitary world of a vet. Millions of vets are and have been successful in all endeavors. They are doctors, lawyers, business people and a thousand other professions. Not all have PTSD; not all are the troubled, brooding, street corner homeless guy, although they exist and need help desperately. No matter how successful a vet might be materially, more often than not, vets are often alone, mentally and spiritually each day and for the rest of their lives. Vets’ stories are all...