Category: Support the troops

The folks at Walter Mitty Hunt sent us a link to a post over there about how they’re facing the same dilemma folks here in the US faced in March of 2007 when protesters threatened to desecrate the Vietnam War Memorial which gave rise to the Gathering of Eagles and eventually blunted the effect of anti-war protests. The folks at Walter Mitty Hunt are calling for their members to join them in protecting their own memorials from protesters.

However, their protesters in the UK are protesting under the guise of opposing defense cuts. From what they tell me, the protests are being supported by the British National Party (the BNP), described to me as a “right wing fascist party in the UK”.

The Mothers of our Fallen have taken these protests and shown them for what they are, downright disrespectful. They have created their own campaign to ensure that our Memorials are not pulled into this blatant power struggle. They do not wish the protests to not go ahead, they are simply asking that the memories of their children, as well as every other fallen hero, are not tarnished by what is no doubt going to be a very messy ordeal.

As usual, as soon as anyone disagrees with these villains, the abuse and lies are not far behind. Have these mothers not been through enough? Why must they have to endure the spite and vicious stupidity that is these women and their followers?

The politics of the whole thing are a little difficult to follow (I needed some clarification before I wrote this), but it’s an informative read and demonstrates how little the cultural differences are between what our veterans face on opposite sides of the pond.

Yeah, I’m not sure what to say about this. I can’t stand to watch Charlie Sheen on TV anymore, but this is certainly generous, if he follows through on it.

Charlie Sheen announced today that he’ll donate 1% of the profits from his new FX show Anger Management to the USO. He guaranteed a minimum of $1 million will go to the organization. And, there’s an unlimited cap on the final donation, he says in a release from his rep.

“It’s an honor for me to be able to give back to these men and women of the military who have done so much for all of us,” said Charlie Sheen.

I’m fairly sure he made promises to Denise Richards that he didn’t keep either, so we’ll see.

Thanks to Arby and Green Thumb for the link.

With the exceptions of Bob Hope and Martha Raye, there’s probably no other American who never served, who has served more. That person is Gary Sinise, actor, director, producer writer, musician, a bit of a down home, foot-shuffling, aw-shucks guy from the Midwest who has probably spent as much time in war zones as many members of our over-worked military, and certainly more than any Member of Congress. Sinise is one of those rare humans who is easy to sum up in quick terms: a really good guy. Or if you wish to add accolades as I’m sure many in the military would: a really damned good guy, among many other unpublishable terms of praise.

The role Sinise played in Forrest Gump, that of Lieutenant Dan Taylor, an embittered, double-amputee veteran of Vietnam, made him, whether he wanted it to or not, forever a part of the military and veteran community. He wasn’t necessarily a hero, but simply someone with whom they could identify and find some hope and cause in their lives, through his spot-on depiction of the despair and resurrection of a horribly wounded veteran in a horribly wounded cause.

To his everlasting credit, Gary Sinise, quietly accepted the burden of being the iconic, Lt. Dan, to one of the most emotionally and politically disquieted factions in America. Though he’d never worn the uniform, nor much less been in combat, he had thoroughly resonated as Lt. Dan with those who had, as well as the broader audience who had seen his screen depiction. In what I consider a bit of inspired creative and moral genius, in 2004, Sinise, along with Kimo Williams, created the Lt. Dan Band, and began playing to military audiences around the world.

Since that time, Sinise has taken the Lt. Dan Band into combat zones repeatedly to entertain our combat-deployed troops. Few civilians ever attain the level of acceptance among the troops that Sinise has: Bob Hope,, Martha Ray and most assuredly, John Wayne; but few others are in that pantheon, and certainly no other contemporaries. And yes, part of it is attributable to the fictional role of Lt. Dan, but most of it is due to Sinise’s pure dogged determination to serve, uniform or no, as the real deal, a singing junior officer in arms, Lieutenant Dan, in the flesh, right there in the combat zone with them. As a Vietnam vet, that resonates mightily with me, as I’m sure it does with all my brothers and sisters of our war.

As a country, we struggle to preserve and maintain our social structures that made us the great nation that we are.

Regardless of your political views as to the wars we wage, Gary Sinise should be considered an American warrior of the first order in our national conflicts. In fact, should he ever get to the Pearly Gates and be asked if he is, in fact, Gary Sinise, I would advise him to say, “Nope, I’m Lieutenant Dan, reporting for duty, Sir!” Which no doubt will be followed by: “Well get your butt in here, Son; you’re definitely one of us.”

Crossposted at American Thinker.

Did you notice the VALOUR-IT button to your right? Yep, it’s that time of year to help Soldiers’ Angels to buy voice-controlled laptops for wounded warriors;

WHAT IS PROJECT VALOUR-IT?
Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:

Voice-controlled Laptops – Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

Wii Video Game Systems – Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

Personal GPS – Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

The experience of Major Chuck Ziegenfuss, a partner in the project who suffered serious hand wounds while serving in Iraq, led to the creation of this program that has used voice-controlled laptops to the support recovery and reintegration of thousands of wounded troops since 2005.

“At that time I had no use of either hand. I know how humbling it is, how humiliating it feels. And I know how much better I felt, how amazingly more functional I felt, after Soldiers’ Angels provided me with a laptop and a loyal reader provided me with the software. I can’t wait to do the same, to give that feeling to another soldier at Walter Reed.” – Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss

HOW YOU CAN HELP!
This is our chance to give back to our wounded warriors – give them something that will help them heal and connect with family, friends, and their comrades back in the combat zones.

You can help by donating and spreading the word about Valour-IT and Soldiers’ Angels.

So I’ll end this by saying thank you to all of you (small spheres of influence) who have helped these amazing American men and women.

If you can’t pick up a rifle, then please help our warriors.

Thank you!

SO click the link at the top of the right side bar. It was a fairly painless process. The Marines win every year, for some reason – there’s fewer of them. I guess it’s because Army guys are supporting all of those ex-wives.

The folks at DVIDS send us a link to an article written by SSG Deborah Richardson from the 153rd Public Affairs Detachment in Charleston, WV about Robert Dorsett and his wife Lori who came to West Vorginia to watch the PGA match at Greenbriar. When they got here and saw the devastation from last weekend’s storm they felt they had to do something. So to free up some of the first responders, they took up kitchen duties;

“I can’t really put our appreciation for Robert, Lori and Travis into words,” Spc. Richard Hatton, assigned to 156 military police in Monaville, W.Va., said. “In times of emergency, we just jump in our trucks and go but it’s the small things, like having a hot meal, that keep us going and enable us to continue to assist the community.”

During a routine visit to the EOC, Maj. Gen. Melvin L. Burch, West Virginia National Guard, was fortunate enough to arrive during meal time and enjoyed the delicious lunch provided. “When people give up tickets to a big event like the Classic to come here and help others, that’s what being an American is all about,” Burch said.

“It’s truly something to see firsthand the kindness and generosity of people in a situation like this,” added West Virginia Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. James A. Hoyer. “We’re always focused on soldiers and airmen out helping the communities. It is heartwarming and greatly appreciated when you experience the community reaching out and helping us.”

To give you an idea of what it’s been like here, 3/4 of West Virginia was without power the first weekend, and you know from Zero’s reports that his power just came back on. The roads are still packed with power company trucks a week and a half after the storm struck. Thankfully, I lost power for about three seconds a week ago Friday (I’m knocking on wood with one hand while I type), but my work mate about ten miles down the road lost power for about a week,

According to the article, the Dorsetts have also paid for most of the food they’ve cooked for their grateful soldiers, fire fighters and police.

The folks at The NOC sent us this video that Cleveland Brown’s Seneca Wallace filmed himself of his visit with troops in Kuwait with the USO;