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For all the free people that still protest. You're welcome.
We protect you and you are protected by the best.
Your voice is strong and loud, but who will fight for you?
No one standing in your crowd.
We are your fathers, brothers, and sons,
wearing the boots and carrying guns.
We are the ones that leave all we own,
to make sure your future is carved in stone.
We are the ones who fight and die,
We might not be able to save the world,
Well, at least we try.
We walked the paths to where we are at
and we want no choice other than that.
So when you rally your group to complain,
take a look in the back of your brain.
In order for that flag you love to fly
wars must be fought and young men must die.
We came here to fight for the ones we hold dear.
If that's not respected,
we would rather stay here.
So please stop yelling, put down your signs,
and pray for those behind enemy lines.
And then when the conflict is over and all is well,
be thankful that we chose to go through hell.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Soldier Poem
Sunday, December 25, 2005
The Sands of Christmas
The Sands of Christmas
I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh,
and looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.
The laundry wasn't finished and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point, the Dolphins lost by six.
And so with only minutes till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.
The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,
and so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.
I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.
And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,
eight hummers ran a column right behind an M1A.
A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens,
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.
They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.
Soldiers in sand
Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.
There wasn't much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.
They didn't have a garland or a stocking I could see,
They didn't need an ornament-- they lacked a Christmas Tree.
They didn’t have a present even though it was tradition,
the only boxes I could see were labled "ammunition."
I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared, and why it was I cried.
I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near
and kissed him on the forehead as I whispered in his ear.
There’s nothing wrong my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,
our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,
to worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,
instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.
He looked at me as children do and said its always right,
to thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write.
And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,
to thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote:
God Bless You all and keep you safe, and speed your way back home.
Remember that we love you so, and that you’re not alone.
The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,
You give the gift of liberty and that we can’t repay.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
I love stories like this!
Dallas Man Gives Away $5,000 to Servicemen
Dec 22, 6:53 AM (ET)
KILLEEN, Texas (AP) - A real-estate developer carrying a sign that read "grateful citizen" passed out $5,000 in $20 bills Wednesday to members of the military and their families.
"I just want to say thank you for your service," Jim Johnson, of Dallas, told the recipients as he shook their hands in a Wal-Mart store in Killeen. "We're safe and secure because of you."
Johnson said in a story in Thursday's Killeen Daily Herald that he and his son Matt drove from Dallas with the hope of meeting as many soldiers as possible. He said Killeen, which is home to Fort Hood, seemed like an obvious choice for finding soldiers and their families.
Killeen is about 130 miles southwest of Dallas.
Johnson held a sign that read, "Grateful citizen. You make my life possible."
Store owners gave him permission to come inside to hand out the money after he had to vacate his post on a corner near the shopping center. He handed out the money in about three hours.
At one point, he shook the hand of a timid military wife, reached into his pocket and found he was out of money, the newspaper reported. His son gave his father the last $20 bill.
Johnson said he was just trying to show some gratitude.
"We all have ways to give back to these families that don't complain and serve," Johnson said. "It's a tough life, and I'm so grateful for what they do."
He promised to come back next year and bring some friends along.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
A Christian Soldier's View on the War in Iraq
A View from a Christian Soldier
Written by one of our member's husbands.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Troops get another USO visit (kuwait)
Myers, USO Troupe Visit Troops in KuwaitBy Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service | ||
| WASHINGTON,
Myers and the entertainers have visited Wiesbaden, Germany; Camp Bondsteel in Serbia and Montenegro's Kosovo province; and two bases here. Temperatures on the tour have ranged from cold and rain in Kosovo to crushing heat in Kuwait. The show has settled into a routine. The general thanks the troops and introduces Leeann Tweeden, who acts as emcee. Tweeden, making her seventh USO trip, including two previously with the chairman, thanks the troops and reassures them that Americans fully support them. To read the rest of the article, click the link below. . |
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK, the official website of the U. S. Department of Defense. |
Friday, August 05, 2005
Air Guard troops deployed to Iraq
Families gather at Ellington Field to say farewell as loved ones brace for their mission
By PEGGY O'HARECopyright 2005 Houston Chronicle
Ellington Field was the scene of tears, hugs and American flags Tuesday night as several hundred personnel from the 147th Fighter Wing of the Texas Air National Guard shipped out for Iraq.
The mission, at a time when the Pentagon is considering retiring all of the wing's F-16s, is to provide air support for ground troops. Personnel and pilots are expected to remain in Iraq until the early fall.
The mission's troop commander said the mood Tuesday night was a little anxious.
"You just want to get on the ground," said Lt. Col. David Alexander, who twice has been deployed to Iraq. "I'll just tell them to take care of each other ... to make sure that everybody who gets on the plane comes back."
Alexander said he's confident the mission will prove the value of the fighter wing since it is under consideration for budget cuts.
Some family members who served together in the 147th Fighter Wing will remain at each other's side during the deployment, including a father and daughter from southeast Houston and two brothers from League City.
Senior Airman Leah Saldivar, 20, of Houston, said she has a sense of relief knowing her father will be with her in Iraq. "We're going to be fine," she said confidently. "For me, it's like an adventure. It's a mission. We're going to complete it."
She joined the Texas Air National Guard two years ago, following the lead of her father, Master Sgt. Florencio Saldivar, 49, who has served for 22 years. "We're going to make our family proud," he said, beaming at his daughter.
Velma Saldivar, wife and mother of the father-daughter team, said she has a sense of peace, despite the continuing deaths in Iraq. Eight American troops were killed in a single day, Army and Marine officials said Tuesday, pushing the U.S. military death toll in Iraq past 1,800.
"I don't ignore it," she said of the death toll, "but I try to stay focused and stay positive."
League City brothers Michael and Matthew Roberts also are making the trip together. They appeared calm and composed while saying goodbye to family Tuesday night.
"I'm really proud that they're going to go together. I'm glad they're going to support each other," said their mother, Susan Roberts. "Their dad went to Vietnam and came back. And they'll come back."
Many of the personnel appeared firm and resolute while saying their goodbyes.
"We've got a job to do. I'm going so people can come back," said Tech Sgt. William Roy of Angleton, a father of three.
Tech. Sgt. James Mullinax, of Galena Park, has been sent on missions before, but this one was harder since he got married July 22.
"I have a bigger family now," said Mullinax, embracing his wife and daughters.
President Bush served at Ellington during his days in the Texas Air National Guard.
The Defense Department has recommended the F-16 jets be removed from Ellington Field to cut costs, but community leaders have opposed that move.
The Base Realignment and Closure Commission will make final recommendations to the president Sept. 8.
peggy.ohare@chron.com
National Guard troops to begin firefighter training
HELENA -- Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Thursday declared an emergency for wildfire danger because of current bone-dry conditions and forecasts for continued hot, dry weather, authorizing National Guard pilots to begin training to fight wildfires. "We will pray for rain and prepare for the worst," he said.
Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Sexton and Adj. Gen. Randy Mosley, who heads the Montana National Guard, requested the Guard activation, writing in a memo to Schweitzer that current fire and weather conditions "indicate strong potential for significant wildfire activity" in the state within the next 60 days.
They warned of shortages in "critical resources" like helicopters and ground crews in the next week if fire conditions continue to worsen, which is expected in the next seven to 10 days.
Under the first phase of activation, National Guard helicopter crews will be trained early next week to fight fires in conjunction with regular monthly training, Schweitzer said.
The Guard helicopters, in compliance with federal law, will be deployed only if comparable resources are not available from local, state and commercial sources, he said.
"The fire season is probably going to be over in the next 50 days, but those next 50 days are going to be critical. ... We want to be ready to respond," Schweitzer said.
Starting Aug. 12, the Guard's Blackhawk helicopters will be made available for initial attacks on wildfires in the Helena, Kalispell and Missoula areas, although other areas could be added if necessary, said Col. Brad Livingston, Mosley's chief of staff. The aircraft will also help with larger fires.
More helicopters, as well as Guard troops and other equipment, would be activated under the final phase of mobilization. That, however, will only occur if needed, Livingston said.
"That's when the National Guard would be activated in large numbers, providing additional helicopters ... and hand crews, where people are trained to go out and fight fires," he said.
Livingston stressed the Guard was not being deployed en masse, and that crews would be called out only if needed.
Currently, about 1,300 Guard troops and four helicopters would be available to fight wildfires, he said.
Schweitzer warned of the possibility for a wildfire "blowup" earlier this year, and in March asked the National Guard to return some of Montana's 1,500 Guard troops and aircraft in Iraq and elsewhere for the wildfire season. He claims the Defense Department has turned a deaf ear to his request, although military officials say no state has been left with less than half of its Guard strength and stress that should be enough.
More than a dozen small fires were burning around the state Thursday, the largest being a 300-acre blaze near Philipsburg that was 75 percent contained.
Firefighters continued to mop up hot spots and work toward containment of the lightning-caused Frog Pond fire in southwestern Montana's Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
"This is a blue-collar operation," incident commander Dave Larsen told crews Thursday morning. "There is still lots of work to be done finding spots and working on them -- nothing glamorous about it."
Four 20-member crews were being sent home from the fire Thursday, officials said. The fire has cost about $1.5 million to fight to date.
In the Lolo and Bitterroot national forests, firefighters were kept busy with small, lightning-caused fires.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
2nd Battalion, 114th Field Artillery, 155th BCT Find Weapons Cache
 *To read the headline and beginning paragraph, highlight and copy below this sentence. Edited for those who don't read about the war casualties.*
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Related Site:
Multinational Force Iraq
NOTE: View the original version of this web page on DefenseLINK, the official website of the U. S. Department of Defense.
Visit the Defense Department's Web site "America Supports You" at http://www.americasupportsyou.mil, that spotlights what Americans are doing in support of U.S. military men and women serving at home and abroad.
Visit the Defense Department's Web site for the latest news and information about America's response to the war against terrorism: "Defend America" at http://www.DefendAmerica.mil.