When I returned to the states after Desert Storm, my best buddy Dave, who was in Nam, encouraged me to join the VFW. I am in awe of all of my Brothers when I go to one. The stories that some of the WWII vets are simply amazing. My Dad, and my 2 Uncles fought also, but they never talked about it to me, save for the advice to never volunteer for anything...lol.

The Nam era vets were the most grateful (???) for my serving in DS. If it weren't for the HELL that they went through, our gov't might have screwed up again. It's not my intent to insult what they did in Nam, quite the opposite. I honor them. It's just our gov't finally let the soldier fight the war, and not DC.

Hi there Mikey...

Good to see you, Brother

Love and light and big hugs

and many thanks to you, also

To All of Our Brave & Noble Troops, past & present

So much love, respect, & endless eternal thanks too,

to my very dear Brother, Friend & Sweet Love


{{{{{ <<<<< Brigade >>>>> }}}}}


who is home from his fifth or sixth time in combat


and going back for another tour very soon.


I pray for you every second of every day,

may hosts of heavenly angels keep you safe always

& Forever Protected from the evil snares of the enemy

securely hidden in the secret place of the Most High God

thanking Our dearly beloved Soldiers Tonight


sending showers of love & blessings upon them


Protect Them Oh Lord during the deepest darkness of night


& during the day with all the intense heat & exhausting sunlight

I thanked my awesome Dad yesterday...He is 83

& lives in Florida, across the Country from me...


He was also a Soldier during World War II...

My Daddy had just enlisted for the Army

in the early part of 1943,

at the tender age of 19...

He was stationed over in Europe

with the First Battalion 350th Infantry

or Regiment...Company C in the 88th Division


Thank you Daddy...

I'm so proud of you & love you immensely





when my Dad was still only 19 or 20, his Brother...

my Uncle Louie was killed by enemy bombs...

along with the rest of his ship's crew...

and the crews of 17 other Merchant Marine ships

in the Adriatic Sea on December 18th,
I think ...

of 1943...at the age of 25...


I'll never forget you Uncle Louie

I'll never forget Uncle Joe Lukasic, either

who also gave his life, at age 19 in WWII

I'll always remember your sacrifices...

and the sacrifices of all the men and women

whom i never got to meet ,


those who also paid the ultimate price

with their precious lives

for their Families, their Country

& for Freedom & Justice in the World

America The Land of the Free


How can this be?
America started under British Rule, and would never be free.
With thirteen small colonies we survived it all.
The Indians, French, British, and even the snow storms that pilled up so tall.
Each war America has fought, had a lesson to be taught.
That a big heart filled with pride, made a stronger opponent run and hide.
Freedom was precious to the fore fathers here.
The British war machine we no longer would fear.
A new nation was born with military might; it would never run from a fight.
America Land of the free, and home of the brave.
Our new war machine had nations to save.
We have stood tall for over 230 years.
If an enemy sees our flag with all its glory, for his very life he fears.
Old Glory has been all around this globe, and many have fought for the right To be free.
Today, I thank our veteran’s, without you this would not be.
Against all odds you gave us that right, and our enemy knew you put up one Hell of a fight.

By Randy Ward

Love & Light
To our Men & Women Around the world

I thank them often!

I am surrounded everywhere I go!

I love living by the base!


Oh! I finally went to Fort Riley Friday night to see one of my best friends!

It was breath-taking!

America Is

America, America, I can hear your name all day
America, America, it’s such a beautiful name
Where else can we roam free
Where else brings so much glee
America, America, I can hear your name all day

Eagle, Eagle, I love to watch you fly
Eagle, Eagle, so strong, powerful and gracious
What else could embody the power of our nation
What else could represent our strength
Eagle, Eagle, I love to watch you fly

Soldier, Soldier, you risk your life for mine
Soldier, Soldier, for you I’ll always cry
Who else will stand up and fight
Who else will bring the world to right
Soldier, Soldier, you risk your life for mine

By Matthew Joehnk

The Graveyard
2005


One day, while driving home, I noticed an elderly lady placing a small American flag on a grave at a National Cemetery. Nothing unusual about that but over a period of months I noticed this same lady placing a flag on a few different graves. She would seem to materialize out of the fog with a small handful of flags and place one or two and then slowly amble off.

Summer came and went and the winter winds were blowing as I again passed by the Cemetery going home. Again, I saw the little elderly lady with her hand full of flags, placing them here and there.

Curiosity finally got the better of me and I pulled into the Cemetery entrance, firmly expecting that the old lady would vanish into the wind. However, I noticed her crossing the street and entering into a senior citizens home, the wind blowing her worn black coat against her.

I walked into the home and asked the lady at the desk if she had seen an elderly lady that had just entered wearing a black coat. No, she said, all the residents were at dinner and no one had come in or out for quite a while. Feeling rather foolish I left for my own warm home.

However over the next few months I continued to watch this lady come and go from the home to the cemetery. One hot summer day, I had enough and I confronted the lady at the front desk of the home. I told her that for over a year, I had seen an elderly lady; always wearing black, carrying little flags back and forth across the street.

The lady at the front desk became a little agitated. She asked me to wait until she got her supervisor and we went into a private room. There I relayed my story about the elderly lady with the flags.

After I was finished, the supervisor looked me in the eye and said, "You know I would not even tell you this story unless I was sure of your sincerity." You see, for many years, Mrs. Snowden was a resident here. Her husband had died in World War II, her brother in Korea, her son in Vietnam and her daughter in Desert Storm.

She had them all buried in the cemetery across the street and visited them everyday, always making sure they had new American Flags on their graves. I asked where Mrs. Snowden lived now and the supervisor gave me a strange look.

She said, "Sir, Mrs. Snowden died over a year ago."

Well, I don't really know what I had seen or what it meant. But something inside me changed that day. From that day forward, I helped place little American flags on the graves of our honored dead. Whatever had happen to me made me realize that someone had to remember... Someone had to recognize the sacrifice of those that have given their all for our freedom.

And to this day, when I come to Mrs. Snowden's final resting place, I say a silent prayer. She no longer has to place her little flags on the resting place of her loved ones. She passed that on to me. I picture her in Heaven with her family together again. After all her loss and all her pain she never forgot and she always remained…

A TRUE AMERICAN!

Steven J. Newton