Free Republic

HANCOCK, Mich. — A Michigan sailor whose remains were identified nearly 70 years after he died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has been laid to rest in his home state. More than 130 friends and relatives of U.S. Navy Fireman Third Class Gerald G. Lehman filled a Hancock church Saturday for the funeral. Lehman was later buried at Forest Hill Cemetery in Houghton. Lehman's nephew, John Herres, called his uncle's return home for burial "a joyous day." Herres was six years old when his uncle died at age 18 when Japanese planes sank the USS Oklahoma on Dec....

If this does not bring a tear to your eye, head to the cardiologist because you are missing a heart.

WASHINGTON, May 4, 2010 – This week, the names of six American servicemembers will join the list of other departed or missing troops featured on the intersecting black-granite walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Expert stoneworker James Lee cleans the work after engraving the name of U.S. Army Lt. Col. Taylor to Panel 7W, Line 81 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., May 4, 2010. Taylor's name is one of six added to the memorial. The new names represent veterans who survived serious injury in the war, but were determined by Defense Department officials to have died as...

NO PRICE TOO HIGH  (1 hr) The profound conversion story of a Protestant minister who brought his congregation with him into the Catholic Church. The viewer will discover the sacrificial yet triumphant journey of a man of deep integrity and love for Christ.Wed 3/3/10 10:00 PM ET / 7 PM PT Sat 3/6/10 5:00 AM ET / 2 AM PT Pastor and Flock Convert to CatholicismJUDY ROBERTSWhen Pentecostal minister Alex Jones came into the Church this past Easter he was not alone. He brought much of his congregation in with him. When Pentecostal minister Alex Jones came into the Church...

http://www.richhumor.com/wp-filez/PerhapstheBestFordCommercia.wmv

1/15/2010 - NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) -- A Thunderbird pilot killed in Southeast Asia and listed as missing in action for more than 40 years returned to the location of his last Air Force assignment Jan. 14 for a celebration of his life among a sea of family and peers. "Today, we welcome Maj. Russell C. Goodman home," said Brig. Gen. Russell J. Handy, the 57th Wing commander during a funeral service with full military honors at the Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron hangar at Nellis Air Force Base. "We welcome him home to the United States, welcome...

YORK It took 41 years, but a York County airman missing in action since the Vietnam War has finally been laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery after his remains were positively identified earlier this year. Melvin Douglas Rash, of Grafton, was buried with full military honors Dec. 7 at the revered Washington-area cemetery. He had been missing since 1968, when his Air Force C-130 airplane was presumably shot down over Vietnam. After years of dead ends, the plane's wreckage was finally positively identified in 2002 in a jungle area near the Laotian border. It took six years before military...

After 59 years, Army Master Sgt. Silas W. Wilson is coming home tonight, and the fact he will be in a flag-draped casket does not diminish the feeling of anticipation and closure in the heart of a daughter who never knew him. "When I was a child, from the time I had any memory at all, I knew what had hap­pened," Marie Wilson Cleghorn said Tues­day night. "And for 59 years, I've prayed ev­ery day that my daddy would come home one way or another. "It's 22 years too late for my mother to be this happy, and it's eight...

Listen up y'all. I just heard from dirtyharryy2k and he is in California, as we speak, welcoming his Marine son HOME from Afghanistan. More pics on the bottom of his profile page at the link above.I am so happy for him and his family. Please help me welcome him home with open arms and grateful prayers.WELCOME HOME, MARINE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

In a final call home, Army Sgt. Benjamin Sherman told his sister to tell everyone he loved them, “because I don’t know if I’ll get that chance again.” Sadly, his fears proved true. Sherman was laid to rest yesterday in his hometown of Plymouth in a funeral Mass attended by hundreds. Sherman, 21, was eulogized as a selfless soldier who did what came naturally to him when he jumped into a river in Afghanistan to try to rescue a comrade in distress. “He jumped into that river because he loved deeply, he was pure of heart, and he exhibited the...

Lcpl Shawn P. Hefner, USMCDec 04, 1986 -Nov 13, 2009 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVWHcObPpDc

A Moving Video Showing An Excited Dog Welcoming A Soldier Home From Afghanistan Has Become A YouTube Hit. Six-year-old Gracie, a golden retriever, is seen jumping into the lap of her beloved master Lieutenant Andrew Schmidt, rolling over and wriggling in joy after he returned safely to his home in Springfield, Virginia, USA. The video was shot by his wife Jen, who opens the door of their house to let out a barking Gracie for the emotional homecoming.

Gracie the Golden Retriver when her "daddy" comes home from war from Atlanta radio station WGST. video at link.

I can’t begin to imagine how hard it would be to leave my family for months at a time, especially if my destination were Iraq or Afghanistan. And I don’t know how I could deal with my wife being deployed overseas. These reunion videos—for me, at least—shed a tiny beam of light on how emotionally draining being a military family can be. They’ll also make you want a dog. To commemorate Veterans Day, here are some overjoyed dogs greeting returning soldiers.

From Mental Floss:I can’t begin to imagine how hard it would be to leave my family for months at a time, especially if my destination were Iraq or Afghanistan. And I don’t know how I could deal with my wife being deployed overseas. These reunion videos—for me, at least—shed a tiny beam of light on how emotionally draining being a military family can be. They’ll also make you want a dog. To commemorate Veterans Day, here are some overjoyed dogs greeting returning soldiers....

My son just recently returned from Iraq. His screen name is hollywoodusmc. He's looking at this post now so please welcome him. Thanks all.---optiguy

10-year-old girl is brought to tears by surprise homecoming of her father. She thinks he is in Iraq! This short, 40 sec., video comes with a big time tissue alert!!

As Baker's flag-draped casket was lowered from a small charter jet into the hands of six fellow Marines, his family and friends stood arm-in-arm, weeping on the tarmac at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Stillness and silence dominated the scene. The sound of passenger planes taking off and landing was drowned out by the weight of the scene unfolding at ground level. That silence was broken only when a police bagpiper began playing "When the Saints Go Marching In." Baker's casket then was loaded into a waiting hearse, and scores of policemen and firefighters — from no fewer than 25 area...

CORONADO — The USS Ronald Reagan and three warships in its strike group returned to San Diego today following a five-month deployment that included air strikes in support of U.S. forces in Afghanistan and operations against pirates off Somalia. Thousands of family members lined the docks at Naval Air Station North Island to greet the arrival of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and at Naval Base San Diego to welcome home the crews of the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the guided-missile destroyers USS Gridley and USS Howard. There are more than 5,000 sailors and aviators on the four ships, which...

FAIRBANKS, Alaska -- Former Gov. Sarah Palin attended Thursday afternoon's welcome home ceremony for the 1st Stryker Brigade from Fort Wainwright at the Carlson Center. The appearance is Palin's first in the United States since resigning her office in July. Palin's oldest son, Track, is a member of the brigade that recently returned from a yearlong deployment in Iraq. Current Gov. Sean Parnell, who took over for Palin, was among the officials scheduled to speak at the Thursday afternoon public event. A memorial unveiled Wednesday at Fort Wainwright bears the names of 12 soldiers who died during the deployment. Seven...