Cpl. Reynold Armand
21 years old from Rochester, New York
2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force
August 7, 2007

Reynold Armand didn’t want to wait until he turned 18 to join the Marines. He persuaded his adoptive mother to sign papers allowing him to sign up a year early.

“I’m very proud of him,” said his father, Carl Armand. “When he was home, he gave no sign of being afraid.” Armand didn’t speak much about his experiences in Iraq, according to family members, saying only that most Iraqi civilians he encountered were very nice.

“We used to send him a lot of candy,” said his mother, Alma Armand. “He would pass it out.”

Manny Rodriguez, 21, of Rochester met Armand five years ago at New Day Church in Rochester, where both young men were members of the youth group. “He was such an amazing all-around person. He was so easy and comfortable to be around. He liked people for who they are.”

No definitive report could be found on how Cpl. Armand died. Some report that he was killed when shot and others report that he was killed by an IED that exploded near his vehicle in Balad, Iraq.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com with help from Kathi

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

A Republic…If We Can Keep It.

Love,
Mom

I was reading Drudge and just had to click on the link….

OMG…it’s the Buggers!  Ender Wiggin, where are you??

(Caution… if you haven’t read Ender’s Game...spoilers at those links.)

*Lavender, raspberries and honeybees.

*A stack of new books.  Some that are just comfort food for the mind.

*Toast with rosemary jelly and a cup of Earl Grey tea…”hot”.

*Daylilies

*”We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.”  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  I don’t know about you…but that is so true for me.

*Birdsong…any time of the day.  (Sorry Punky!)

*Bloggers that make me laugh.  This one…and this one.

*Having bounced around the house and internet all morning…and still having 3 hours before I have to be at work.

Love,
Mom

Force Protection Team

Members of the force protection team at Camp Eggars, Afghanistan, assess damage resulting from an explosion near the gate. A vehicle-born improvised explosive device exploded near the German Embassy and a U.S. base. Eliminating threats such as the VBIED is the focus of Army’s 3rd Counter-IED Conference that was scheduled July 28-30.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Ok…I gave The Daughter ample time to post this and since she didn’t….here it is.

With all the wall to wall coverage of the sad demise of Michael Jackson, the news people seem to have forgotten there’s a big world of turmoil out there.   And that turmoil is  going to affect a whole lot more people…in more profound ways than MJ ever did.   Now, I’m not one for all this “we are the one world” crap… but the call for freedom?  Count me in.  Kudos to Jon Bon (as he’s affectionately referred to in our house…even if I usually find his politics a tad bit misguided).  Just sayin’.  And who knew Iran had “Superstars”?

On June 24, Iranian Superstar Andy Madadian went into an LA recording studio with Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and American record producers Don Was and John Shanks to record a musical message of worldwide solidarity with the people of Iran. This version of the old Ben E. King classic is not for sale – it was not meant to be on the Billboard charts or even manufactured as a CD…..it’s intended to be downloaded and shared by the Iranian people…to give voice to the sentiment that all people of the world stand together….the handwritten Farsi sign in the video translates to “we are one”. If you know someone in Iran – or someone who knows someone in Iran – please share this link

Love,
Mom

h/t  American Digest where I saw it first.

Going out to the garden in a little bit, but I have to get this off my chest first.  I read that the United States House of Representatives had a moment of silence for Michael Jackson.  Ok…fine…he was an extremely popular ENTERTAINER. My condolences to his family.

I worry for our “culture”.  I worry that our priorities are so skewered that an entertainer is mourned with more fanfare than young men  who truly did change the world.  *I* thank God for these young men.

Sgt. 1st Class Paul R. Smith

Lt. Michael P. Murphy

Master-at-arms, 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor

Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis

Cpl. Jason L. Dunham

They are the real STARS.

Love and Respect,
Mom

Update:  Bouhammer is thinking along the same line I am.  He posts,  Someone More Important Than Michael Jackson Died.  Godspeed 1LT Brian N. Bradshaw.

Band Of Brothers

Something a little different this week. Instead of profiling a service member, Wednesday Hero will be profiling a movie. Band Of Brothers. It was a miniseries tha aired on HBO in 2001. It follows Maj. Richard Winters, Cpt. Lewis Nixon and the men of the 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, aka E-Company or Easy Company on their march to Germany. From their training to their battles at Normandy and Bastogne, their liberation of the Kaufering IV concentration camp to their taking of Hitler’s Eagle Nest. A great cast and great writing make this one of the best war movies ever made. But it is graphic in visuals and language. And parts of it may be hard to watch, but it is worth it.

What the men of E-Company did will never be forgotten. They are the heroes that helped the cause of freedom.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Light and shadow.

It’s the little things.

Love,
Mom

Pvt. William Long
23 years old from Conway, Arkansas
D Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry
June 1, 2009

“My brother taught me valuable lessons and made me the man I am today,” said Pfc. Triston Long, brother of Pvt. William Long. “My commander said, ‘Make your brother one of us.’ I will miss my brother with all that I am, and I serve in honor of him.”

Pvt. William Long had just completed basic training and was set to ship out on June 8 to his first duty station in Korea when he and Private Second Class Quinton Ezeagwula were shot outside a Little Rock, Arkansas Army-Navy Recruiting Center by Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad. They were in Little Rock to speak to with potential recruits about their experiences.

Pvt. Long’s father, Daris Long, a former Marine, wrote a letter to give to him when he shipped out for South Korea. In that letter he wrote, “Your day only ends when you’ve done your duty. You and your brother … are both heroes for having the moral courage to stand up when your country needs you most. You are in my hopes and my thoughts and my prayers. You are my son, you are my hero. I love you. Semper fidelis.”

Along with his father and brother, Pvt. William Long is survived by his mother, Janet, who had served in the Navy herself.

All Information Was Found On And Copied From RedState, Sipsey Street Irregulars & Army Times with help from Kathi

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.