Meet the Newest US Senator Who Earned a Bronze Star in Iraq
KVOR News
February 7, 2014
(WASHINGTON) -- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock appointed Lt. Gov. John Walsh, an Iraq war veteran, as the interim replacement to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Max Baucus on Friday.
“It’s a tremendous honor to accept your appointment as Montana’s next United States senator,” Walsh said at a news conference in Helena on Friday. “I do it humbly and with great respect for the people of our state.”
The appointment will give Walsh, a Democrat, the ability to run as an incumbent in the 2014 Senate race. Walsh had already announced his intent to run for the seat Baucus planned on vacating at the end of 2014, before President Obama selected Baucus as his nominee to be the next ambassador to China.
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Showing posts with label Bronze Star. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bronze Star. Show all posts
Friday, February 7, 2014
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Sgt. Erica McRell awarded Bronze Star for heroism
Dyess honors 'two warriors' with medals for Afghanistan service
Reporter News
By Christopher Collins
Posted January 24, 2014
For U.S. military personnel serving in Afghanistan, danger can loom around every corner.
That became abundantly clear to Sgts. Erica McRell and Rafael Rhodes, two Dyess Air Force Base personnel who were awarded medals at a Friday event at the base for their bravery in the line of duty.
“We’re going to honor two warriors,” said Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck, 7th Bomb Wing commander.
McRell was awarded with the Bronze Star for leading a team of embedded Army Special Forces members through hostile Afghan territory in search of buried improvised explosive devices.
“She was living out in the countryside, sleeping in tents every night, taking care of business,” VanHerck said. “She’s getting the Bronze Star for heroism.”
While leading the team, McRell and her canine partner, Jonny, located more than 50 IEDs. U.S. troops and Afghan civilians are often targets of these devices.
“She saved many, many lives,” VanHerck said. “We appreciate your service.”
Rhodes was also honored after his encounter with an IED — but in his case, the bomb exploded underneath the military vehicle he was traveling in as part of a convoy. After the bomb exploded, Rhodes and other members of the convoy came under enemy fire.
read more here
Reporter News
By Christopher Collins
Posted January 24, 2014
PHOTO BY Joy Lewis/Reporter-News
Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck, 7th Bomb Wing Commander, Sgt. Erica McRell, and her service dog, Jonny, begin the ceremony to honor McRell with a Bronze Star on Friday at Dyess Air Force Base.
For U.S. military personnel serving in Afghanistan, danger can loom around every corner.
That became abundantly clear to Sgts. Erica McRell and Rafael Rhodes, two Dyess Air Force Base personnel who were awarded medals at a Friday event at the base for their bravery in the line of duty.
“We’re going to honor two warriors,” said Brig. Gen. Glen VanHerck, 7th Bomb Wing commander.
McRell was awarded with the Bronze Star for leading a team of embedded Army Special Forces members through hostile Afghan territory in search of buried improvised explosive devices.
“She was living out in the countryside, sleeping in tents every night, taking care of business,” VanHerck said. “She’s getting the Bronze Star for heroism.”
While leading the team, McRell and her canine partner, Jonny, located more than 50 IEDs. U.S. troops and Afghan civilians are often targets of these devices.
“She saved many, many lives,” VanHerck said. “We appreciate your service.”
Rhodes was also honored after his encounter with an IED — but in his case, the bomb exploded underneath the military vehicle he was traveling in as part of a convoy. After the bomb exploded, Rhodes and other members of the convoy came under enemy fire.
read more here
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Vietnam veteran gives child hero Bronze Star
Three-Year-Old Collects 900 Teddy Bears for Fellow Hospitalized Children
LifeNews.com
by Lauren Enriquez
Houston, TX
12/30/13
LifeNews.com
by Lauren Enriquez
Houston, TX
12/30/13
A Vietnam veteran who chose not to be identified to the media noticed Bennett’s heroism in the face of his own battle against illness, and his selflessness in focusing on other children who were going through the same thing, and decided to give Bennett his own Bronze Star from the war.
He told Bennett that he could keep it as long as he promised to brave his medical battle like a real hero– a promise that little Bennett seems to have no trouble living up to.
read more here
linked from Bizpac Review
Friday, December 6, 2013
Vietnam veteran receives 'long overdue' hero's welcome
Vietnam veteran receives 'long overdue' hero's welcome
Montgomery News
By Dutch Godshalk
December 5, 2013
When Army 1st Lt. Ed Sasinowski came home from Vietnam 43 years ago, there were many things he didn’t receive. He didn’t receive his Purple Heart. He didn’t receive his Bronze Star. He didn’t even receive a proper hero’s welcome home.
But on a recent Saturday morning, roughly 100 of Ed’s friends and family righted that wrong. Gathered at his home in Maple Glen Nov. 30, a crowd gave Ed the homecoming party he never received after his tour of duty.
As state Rep. Tom Murt, R-152, put it as he stood before a backyard full of Sasinowski’s loved ones, “Guys like Ed had to go into combat, and after surviving, they had to come home to a country that wasn’t always that grateful for their sacrifice and their service. Let’s face it — back then our country didn’t even want to hear about your stories and injuries.”
Sasinowski’s was among the untold stories.
read more here
Montgomery News
By Dutch Godshalk
December 5, 2013
When Army 1st Lt. Ed Sasinowski came home from Vietnam 43 years ago, there were many things he didn’t receive. He didn’t receive his Purple Heart. He didn’t receive his Bronze Star. He didn’t even receive a proper hero’s welcome home.
But on a recent Saturday morning, roughly 100 of Ed’s friends and family righted that wrong. Gathered at his home in Maple Glen Nov. 30, a crowd gave Ed the homecoming party he never received after his tour of duty.
As state Rep. Tom Murt, R-152, put it as he stood before a backyard full of Sasinowski’s loved ones, “Guys like Ed had to go into combat, and after surviving, they had to come home to a country that wasn’t always that grateful for their sacrifice and their service. Let’s face it — back then our country didn’t even want to hear about your stories and injuries.”
Sasinowski’s was among the untold stories.
read more here
Monday, November 25, 2013
Iraq war veteran fights for medals
Munson: Iraq war veteran fights for medals
Des Moines Register
Written by
Kyle Munson
November 23, 2013
Sgt. 1st Class Mark Huss burst into the third-floor apartment, rounded a wall and froze with the barrel of his M4 assault rifle pointed an inch from the forehead of an 11-year-old Iraqi girl in tears.
Once the Army reservist and his fellow soldiers calmed the girl and her family, he sank onto the sofa, on the verge of hyperventilation. His combat boots sloshed with the nervous sweat that had pooled throughout that morning’s deadly car bomb attack, followed by a street firefight and a methodical search through apartment buildings to root out the insurgents who had been trying to kill them.
He has a daughter back in Iowa who’s the same age, Huss thought to himself.
What the hell was going on?
That was just one absurd scene for Huss in a violent, often surreal, deployment.
Huss, 45, still was wrangling with that deployment when I met him this month. The 6-foot, 222-pound Iowan topped by a clean-shaven head had hit a dead end in a frustrating quest to secure two belated Army medals.
He has faced a gantlet of bureaucratic hurdles, including a single, crucial box on a form that was accidentally left blank.
read more here
Des Moines Register
Written by
Kyle Munson
November 23, 2013
Sgt. 1st Class Mark Huss burst into the third-floor apartment, rounded a wall and froze with the barrel of his M4 assault rifle pointed an inch from the forehead of an 11-year-old Iraqi girl in tears.
Once the Army reservist and his fellow soldiers calmed the girl and her family, he sank onto the sofa, on the verge of hyperventilation. His combat boots sloshed with the nervous sweat that had pooled throughout that morning’s deadly car bomb attack, followed by a street firefight and a methodical search through apartment buildings to root out the insurgents who had been trying to kill them.
He has a daughter back in Iowa who’s the same age, Huss thought to himself.
What the hell was going on?
That was just one absurd scene for Huss in a violent, often surreal, deployment.
Huss, 45, still was wrangling with that deployment when I met him this month. The 6-foot, 222-pound Iowan topped by a clean-shaven head had hit a dead end in a frustrating quest to secure two belated Army medals.
He has faced a gantlet of bureaucratic hurdles, including a single, crucial box on a form that was accidentally left blank.
read more here
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Georgia police officer now carries a Bronze Star
Dalton, Ga., police officer receives Bronze Star for service in Afghanistan
Times Free Press
by Tyler Jett
November 18, 2013
A Dalton, Ga., police officer was honored by the U.S. military for his work in Afghanistan.
Brian Early received the Bronze Star at the end of his tour of duty, during which he served as a squad leader and a platoon sergeant. The Bronze Star, the fourth-highest individual honor that the U.S. military gives, is awarded for acts of valor or acts of merit.
The Dalton Police Department recognized Early at its annual Veterans Day lunch.
read more here
Times Free Press
by Tyler Jett
November 18, 2013
A Dalton, Ga., police officer was honored by the U.S. military for his work in Afghanistan.
Brian Early received the Bronze Star at the end of his tour of duty, during which he served as a squad leader and a platoon sergeant. The Bronze Star, the fourth-highest individual honor that the U.S. military gives, is awarded for acts of valor or acts of merit.
The Dalton Police Department recognized Early at its annual Veterans Day lunch.
read more here
Friday, September 20, 2013
Two Vietnam veterans finally receive honors after 4 decades
Vietnam veterans honored with Silver, Bronze Stars 4 decades after battlefield actions
By Associated Press
September 20, 2013
SAN DIEGO — Two Vietnam veterans were awarded the Silver and Bronze Star medals Friday for their courage in a battle on a jungle hillside where more than 75 percent of the troops with them that day were killed or wounded.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in his citation to the president that Joe Cordileone and Robert Moffatt showed extraordinary heroism during the first Battle of Khe Sanh in 1967. Marine Brig. Gen. James Bierman apologized to the veterans for the 46-year-wait, saying “I’m sorry that it took so long for these awards to work their way around to you.”
The men were never recognized until now because the commanders who make such recommendations were killed: Of the more than 100 American troops on the hill, 27 were killed and 50 were wounded.
The pursuit for medals for the men started with a retired Marine general listening to a group of veterans reminisce about April 30, 1967, when troops with Company M, 3rd Marine Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, advanced to secure Hill 881 South and were attacked by the North Vietnamese Army.
read more here
By Associated Press
September 20, 2013
SAN DIEGO — Two Vietnam veterans were awarded the Silver and Bronze Star medals Friday for their courage in a battle on a jungle hillside where more than 75 percent of the troops with them that day were killed or wounded.
Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in his citation to the president that Joe Cordileone and Robert Moffatt showed extraordinary heroism during the first Battle of Khe Sanh in 1967. Marine Brig. Gen. James Bierman apologized to the veterans for the 46-year-wait, saying “I’m sorry that it took so long for these awards to work their way around to you.”
The men were never recognized until now because the commanders who make such recommendations were killed: Of the more than 100 American troops on the hill, 27 were killed and 50 were wounded.
The pursuit for medals for the men started with a retired Marine general listening to a group of veterans reminisce about April 30, 1967, when troops with Company M, 3rd Marine Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, advanced to secure Hill 881 South and were attacked by the North Vietnamese Army.
read more here
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Vietnam veteran posthumously awarded Bronze Star
Vietnam veteran posthumously awarded Bronze Star
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
By RICHARD LAKE
September 3, 2013
On the desk in a room in the back corner of a congresswoman’s office Tuesday sat a series of medals and a folded U.S. flag.
Johnnette Fafard held those medals, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart and others, and she passed them to her grandchildren.
What’s it feel like? one of the TV reporters asked her. What’s it like to finally have them after all this time?
Fafard smiled and said those medals would have meant more if her husband, the man to whom they should have been awarded, were still alive. But he is not, and so they would now be passed along to the children. The children smiled and held the medals as Fafard looked at them.
“Isn’t that a wonderful thing for you to see?” she said to the TV cameras. “I think it is.”
Johnnette met Raymond Fafard when they were children growing up in Hawaii.
In 1969, Raymond was drafted into the Army. He went to Vietnam, where he served as a light-weapons soldier. He was there for a year, from March 31, 1970, to April 9, 1971.
When he came back, the two married. Raymond worked as a tour bus driver. But only a few months later, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder kicked in. He suffered for years, and eventually sought help from the Veterans Administration in 1979.
Medications, a misdiagnosis and a series of rejections from the VA followed. He was finally declared 100 percent disabled in 2001 because of his PTSD claim. The couple moved to Las Vegas in 2005 to be closer to family.
read more here
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
By RICHARD LAKE
September 3, 2013
On the desk in a room in the back corner of a congresswoman’s office Tuesday sat a series of medals and a folded U.S. flag.
Johnnette Fafard held those medals, a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart and others, and she passed them to her grandchildren.
What’s it feel like? one of the TV reporters asked her. What’s it like to finally have them after all this time?
Fafard smiled and said those medals would have meant more if her husband, the man to whom they should have been awarded, were still alive. But he is not, and so they would now be passed along to the children. The children smiled and held the medals as Fafard looked at them.
“Isn’t that a wonderful thing for you to see?” she said to the TV cameras. “I think it is.”
Johnnette met Raymond Fafard when they were children growing up in Hawaii.
In 1969, Raymond was drafted into the Army. He went to Vietnam, where he served as a light-weapons soldier. He was there for a year, from March 31, 1970, to April 9, 1971.
When he came back, the two married. Raymond worked as a tour bus driver. But only a few months later, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder kicked in. He suffered for years, and eventually sought help from the Veterans Administration in 1979.
Medications, a misdiagnosis and a series of rejections from the VA followed. He was finally declared 100 percent disabled in 2001 because of his PTSD claim. The couple moved to Las Vegas in 2005 to be closer to family.
read more here
Friday, July 26, 2013
A Vietnam war-hero's perspective on P.T.S.D.
A war-hero's perspective on P.T.S.D.
WYMT
MGN Online
By: Eric Eckstrom
Jul 25, 2013
University of Pikeville Professor Basil Clark has been given many titles in his life. Scholar, war veteran, husband and father, but a man with P.T.S.D. was never one of them.
“At the time I just knew I was going through these wrestling phases,” said Clark.
By all accounts, Clark is a war hero, twice being recognized for his bravery during the Vietnam war, earning him a Bronze and Silver Star respectively, but the subsequent mental war was his greatest challenge.
“There's kind of this fog that’s around you, like, what's happening? I can’t see clearly,” he said.
Experts at the National Center for P.T.S.D. say they are currently making progress on diagnostic tools to better identify that fog.
Clark says, for him, it was writing and faith in a higher power that was his compass through the mist....
“Getting it out and getting it on paper was really a catharsis,” he said.
Clark is finishing a new book called 'War Wounded: Let the Healing Begin,’ stemming from conversations with others suffering from traumatic experiences. But it’s a poem Clark recited from memory that perhaps summarizes his journey and so many others like him.”
read more here
WYMT
MGN Online
By: Eric Eckstrom
Jul 25, 2013
University of Pikeville Professor Basil Clark has been given many titles in his life. Scholar, war veteran, husband and father, but a man with P.T.S.D. was never one of them.
“At the time I just knew I was going through these wrestling phases,” said Clark.
By all accounts, Clark is a war hero, twice being recognized for his bravery during the Vietnam war, earning him a Bronze and Silver Star respectively, but the subsequent mental war was his greatest challenge.
“There's kind of this fog that’s around you, like, what's happening? I can’t see clearly,” he said.
Experts at the National Center for P.T.S.D. say they are currently making progress on diagnostic tools to better identify that fog.
Clark says, for him, it was writing and faith in a higher power that was his compass through the mist....
“Getting it out and getting it on paper was really a catharsis,” he said.
Clark is finishing a new book called 'War Wounded: Let the Healing Begin,’ stemming from conversations with others suffering from traumatic experiences. But it’s a poem Clark recited from memory that perhaps summarizes his journey and so many others like him.”
read more here
Friday, June 21, 2013
Utah soldier receives Bronze Star after two tours and 9 IEDs
Soldier is awarded the Bronze Star in tearful ceremony after being hit NINE times by IEDs
Joshua Hansen, 42, was left with brain damage by the last IED explosion he experienced Hansen, a father of two, served two tours in Iraq
During his second deployment, he was the team leader for a platoon that cleared roads of bombs
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
19 June 2013
A Utah soldier has been awarded the fifth-highest combat medal six years after he was hit by a bomb in Iraq that left him with permanent brain damage and unable to return to war.
Joshua Hansen, a 42-year-old father of two, was hit a total of nine times by improvised explosive devices during his two deployments to Iraq, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
It was the ninth hit, which happened on March 15, 2007, that knocked him out of the service.
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Joshua Hansen, 42, was left with brain damage by the last IED explosion he experienced Hansen, a father of two, served two tours in Iraq
During his second deployment, he was the team leader for a platoon that cleared roads of bombs
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
19 June 2013
A Utah soldier has been awarded the fifth-highest combat medal six years after he was hit by a bomb in Iraq that left him with permanent brain damage and unable to return to war.
Joshua Hansen, a 42-year-old father of two, was hit a total of nine times by improvised explosive devices during his two deployments to Iraq, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
It was the ninth hit, which happened on March 15, 2007, that knocked him out of the service.
 |
Deidre Hanse wipes away a tear after pinning the Bronze Star on the chest of her son Sgt. Joshua Hansen
|
read more here
Sunday, June 9, 2013
She was a Navy SEAL?
Ex-Navy SEAL Writes Book About Coming Out as Woman
Jun 05, 2013
UPI
In Chris Beck's new book, released this week, the decorated former U.S. Navy SEAL and combat-hardened warrior explains his upcoming transgender surgery.
Now Kristin Beck, he recounts in a biography, "Warrior Princess: a U.S. Navy SEAL's Journey to Coming Out Transgender," his 20 years of military service with 13 deployments.
He was a member of the elite counter-terrorism unit SEAL Team 6 and earned a Bronze Star for bravery in combat, the news website philly.com reported Monday.
read more here
Jun 05, 2013
UPI
In Chris Beck's new book, released this week, the decorated former U.S. Navy SEAL and combat-hardened warrior explains his upcoming transgender surgery.
Now Kristin Beck, he recounts in a biography, "Warrior Princess: a U.S. Navy SEAL's Journey to Coming Out Transgender," his 20 years of military service with 13 deployments.
He was a member of the elite counter-terrorism unit SEAL Team 6 and earned a Bronze Star for bravery in combat, the news website philly.com reported Monday.
read more here
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Iowa man claimed to be war hero
Iowa man claimed to be war hero
Omaha.com
MARCH 16, 2013
DES MOINES (AP) — An Altoona, Iowa, man was sentenced to more than a year in prison for lying about his Army record so he could qualify for Veterans Affairs medical benefits.
Federal prosecutors said in documents filed as part of a sentencing hearing Thursday that Jeffrey Kepler, 53, of Altoona pleaded guilty in September to health care fraud.
Prosecutors said Kepler had submitted a falsified discharge form to the Veterans Affairs medical center in Des Moines in August 2007.
Court documents said Kepler portrayed himself on the form as an airborne ranger and a war hero who had been awarded numerous medals, including the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He claimed to have served in the Army between January 1977 and August 1979.
He said on the form that he had served as a covert operations specialist, and information about his military service could not be disclosed for security reasons.
Prosecutors said Kepler actually served only 27 days in the Army in 1986 and was discharged for not meeting medical fitness standards.
read more here
Omaha.com
MARCH 16, 2013
DES MOINES (AP) — An Altoona, Iowa, man was sentenced to more than a year in prison for lying about his Army record so he could qualify for Veterans Affairs medical benefits.
Federal prosecutors said in documents filed as part of a sentencing hearing Thursday that Jeffrey Kepler, 53, of Altoona pleaded guilty in September to health care fraud.
Prosecutors said Kepler had submitted a falsified discharge form to the Veterans Affairs medical center in Des Moines in August 2007.
Court documents said Kepler portrayed himself on the form as an airborne ranger and a war hero who had been awarded numerous medals, including the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He claimed to have served in the Army between January 1977 and August 1979.
He said on the form that he had served as a covert operations specialist, and information about his military service could not be disclosed for security reasons.
Prosecutors said Kepler actually served only 27 days in the Army in 1986 and was discharged for not meeting medical fitness standards.
read more here
Friday, March 8, 2013
Vietnam Veteran receives Bronze Star 46 years later
After 46 years, Vietnam veteran awarded Bronze Star
MyFOX Tampa Bay
March 7, 2013
TAMPA (FOX 13)
After 46 years, a veteran of the Vietnam War was awarded the Bronze Star at MacDill Air Force Base.
Sgt. Robert French received the medal in a ceremony Wednesday.
French served in the Army as a radioman in the South Vietnam Mekong Delta.
read more here
MyFOX Tampa Bay
March 7, 2013
TAMPA (FOX 13)
After 46 years, a veteran of the Vietnam War was awarded the Bronze Star at MacDill Air Force Base.
Sgt. Robert French received the medal in a ceremony Wednesday.
French served in the Army as a radioman in the South Vietnam Mekong Delta.
read more here
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Tampa Vietnam veteran gets long-delayed Bronze Star
Vietnam veteran gets long-delayed Bronze Star
William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Friday, March 1, 2013
TAMPA — The 22-year-old Tampa kid, a radioman in Charlie Company, wasn't thinking about medals or heroics. He crawled in the muck of a rice paddy in Vietnam with a radio on his back that felt like a big bulls-eye.
It seemed as if the entire Viet Cong army was out to kill him.
Three companies of the Army's 9th Infantry Division had just walked into an ambush on the afternoon of June 19, 1967, in the Mekong Delta. Hundreds of enemy guns opened up. The radio operator tried to crawl to the only cover he could see — the earthen wall of a dike no more than a foot high.
Somewhere behind him in a village the Americans had just cleared, a sniper's aim settled on the radioman's back. A trigger was pulled.
The draftee would never reach the dike.
read more here
William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer
Friday, March 1, 2013
TAMPA — The 22-year-old Tampa kid, a radioman in Charlie Company, wasn't thinking about medals or heroics. He crawled in the muck of a rice paddy in Vietnam with a radio on his back that felt like a big bulls-eye.
It seemed as if the entire Viet Cong army was out to kill him.
Three companies of the Army's 9th Infantry Division had just walked into an ambush on the afternoon of June 19, 1967, in the Mekong Delta. Hundreds of enemy guns opened up. The radio operator tried to crawl to the only cover he could see — the earthen wall of a dike no more than a foot high.
Somewhere behind him in a village the Americans had just cleared, a sniper's aim settled on the radioman's back. A trigger was pulled.
The draftee would never reach the dike.
read more here
Friday, February 15, 2013
Sgt. William Stacey posthumously awarded Bronze Star
Fallen Camp Pendleton Marine Who Wrote Goodbye Letter To Be Awarded Bronze Star On Friday
Thursday, February 14, 2013
By Beth Ford Roth
The military will posthumously award fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey the Bronze Star at a Camp Pendleton ceremony Friday, according to 1st Marine Public Affairs.
The award citation mentions Stacey's multiple acts of exemplary bravery between September 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012 as the reason for his commendation.
Stacey was killed by an improvised explosive device on January 31, 2012.
1st Marine Division Commanding General Maj. Gen. Ronald Bailey will present the Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device to Stacey's family at the ceremony.
As Home Post previously reported, Stacey wrote a letter to his family to be read if he died while deployed to Afghanistan. On Memorial Day 2012, Marine General John Allen paid tribute to all fallen troops by reading that letter during a Memorial Day service in Kabul.
read more here
Fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey's last letter, "it was all worth it"
Thursday, February 14, 2013
By Beth Ford Roth
The military will posthumously award fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey the Bronze Star at a Camp Pendleton ceremony Friday, according to 1st Marine Public Affairs.
The award citation mentions Stacey's multiple acts of exemplary bravery between September 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012 as the reason for his commendation.
Stacey was killed by an improvised explosive device on January 31, 2012.
1st Marine Division Commanding General Maj. Gen. Ronald Bailey will present the Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device to Stacey's family at the ceremony.
As Home Post previously reported, Stacey wrote a letter to his family to be read if he died while deployed to Afghanistan. On Memorial Day 2012, Marine General John Allen paid tribute to all fallen troops by reading that letter during a Memorial Day service in Kabul.
read more here
Fallen Marine Sgt. William Stacey's last letter, "it was all worth it"
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Daughter killed in Afghanistan, memories stolen from home
Belongings of airmen killed in Iraq and taken in burglary sought
The Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail
Published: January 5, 2013
Officers from the Kanawha County Sheriff's department are asking for the public's help in recovering several stolen items from a Clendenin home - including military medals awarded to the homeowner's daughter, who was killed in action in Iraq.
Capt. Sean Crosier said the residence on Spencer Road has been burglarized at least four times in the past two weeks. Numerous items were stolen, such as an all-terrain vehicle and furniture.
But the most sentimental items belonged to the resident's daughter, who was a member of the U.S. Air Force's Explosives Disposal Team when she was killed by an explosive device at age 23. She was posthumously awarded a Bronze Medal and a Purple Heart, both of which are missing and believed to be stolen.
Her Air Force uniforms - dress blues - are also missing, and were bearing the nametag "Loncki."
read more here
The Charleston (W.Va.) Daily Mail
Published: January 5, 2013
Officers from the Kanawha County Sheriff's department are asking for the public's help in recovering several stolen items from a Clendenin home - including military medals awarded to the homeowner's daughter, who was killed in action in Iraq.
Capt. Sean Crosier said the residence on Spencer Road has been burglarized at least four times in the past two weeks. Numerous items were stolen, such as an all-terrain vehicle and furniture.
But the most sentimental items belonged to the resident's daughter, who was a member of the U.S. Air Force's Explosives Disposal Team when she was killed by an explosive device at age 23. She was posthumously awarded a Bronze Medal and a Purple Heart, both of which are missing and believed to be stolen.
Her Air Force uniforms - dress blues - are also missing, and were bearing the nametag "Loncki."
read more here
Friday, December 28, 2012
Vietnam Veteran, Senator Jim Webb, no plans to rest
No Rest for Jim Webb
Dec 27, 2012
The Virginian-Pilot
by Bill Bartel
Jim Webb may be walking away after a single term in the U.S. Senate, but that doesn't mean he's exiting public life for good.
And the 66-year-old is not going into retirement.
"I will be working. Trust me," he said in a recent interview in the wood-paneled conference room of his Capitol Hill office.
"My situation is different than most people up here. I didn't come out of a law firm. There isn't a structure that I can easily go back into. But it's a very healthy thing, at least from the way my career has played itself out, to step out every now and then and just think about things."
Sense of Honor
A Country Such As This
Lost Soldiers
Emperor's General
Dec 27, 2012
The Virginian-Pilot
by Bill Bartel
Webb's most praised Senate achievement was a new GI Bill that passed Congress 18 months after he took office. The legislation dramatically improved education and related benefits for veterans. To date, more than 800,000 former service members have used the benefits.
Jim Webb may be walking away after a single term in the U.S. Senate, but that doesn't mean he's exiting public life for good.
And the 66-year-old is not going into retirement.
"I will be working. Trust me," he said in a recent interview in the wood-paneled conference room of his Capitol Hill office.
"My situation is different than most people up here. I didn't come out of a law firm. There isn't a structure that I can easily go back into. But it's a very healthy thing, at least from the way my career has played itself out, to step out every now and then and just think about things."
The victory was the latest chapter in a career that began in 1969 in the Marines. As a lieutenant, Webb served in Vietnam, earning the Navy Cross, a Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.Born Fighting
He worked on the staff of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs after law school, and he served during the Reagan administration as an undersecretary of defense and Secretary of the Navy.
His books, both fiction and nonfiction, include the critically acclaimed novel "Fields of Fire," which is based on his wartime experiences. He's also won an Emmy as a documentary filmmaker.
read more here
Sense of Honor
A Country Such As This
Lost Soldiers
Emperor's General
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Vietnam veteran scoured garage sales to help soldiers
Frank Coyne Jr., 69: Vietnam veteran scoured garage sales to help soldiers
Atlanta Journal Constitution
By Mark Woolsey
December 15, 2012
To many, a dusty game of Monopoly offered at a garage sale might look like a throwaway, something that had outlived its usefulness. But to Frank Coyne, it was a way to connect to and support our troops.
Coyne was an avid garage sale devotee with a twist. For years, he spent weekends on the hunt for supplies for Project Mail Call, a support-the-troops effort operated by his church, Mount Bethel United Methodist, said longtime friend and fellow church member Ed Ettel. Coyne and his wife, Deborah, would scour local garage sales for sports equipment, board games, movies on DVDs, sheets, towels, pillows, blankets and other supplies.
Then, they’d carefully pack up the gifts and include a personal note of support for the soldiers in harm’s way. Many times, a sincere thank-you note would arrive days or weeks later from overseas.
“Being a veteran himself, he understood what it means when you’re overseas and you receive a letter from someone, much less a care box from someone you don’t know,” said Ettel. “Mail call is a very precious time, he knew. When you’re sitting there with nothing much to do and it’s announced, everybody perks up.”
Frank Coyne Jr., 69, of Marietta died Dec. 7 from complications of heart surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. A memorial service was held Friday at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta.
Coyne grew up in Buckhead and graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in 1966. He learned the value of mail from home during a stint in Vietnam, where he became a captain in the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army and was awarded a Bronze Star.
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Atlanta Journal Constitution
By Mark Woolsey
December 15, 2012
To many, a dusty game of Monopoly offered at a garage sale might look like a throwaway, something that had outlived its usefulness. But to Frank Coyne, it was a way to connect to and support our troops.
Coyne was an avid garage sale devotee with a twist. For years, he spent weekends on the hunt for supplies for Project Mail Call, a support-the-troops effort operated by his church, Mount Bethel United Methodist, said longtime friend and fellow church member Ed Ettel. Coyne and his wife, Deborah, would scour local garage sales for sports equipment, board games, movies on DVDs, sheets, towels, pillows, blankets and other supplies.
Then, they’d carefully pack up the gifts and include a personal note of support for the soldiers in harm’s way. Many times, a sincere thank-you note would arrive days or weeks later from overseas.
“Being a veteran himself, he understood what it means when you’re overseas and you receive a letter from someone, much less a care box from someone you don’t know,” said Ettel. “Mail call is a very precious time, he knew. When you’re sitting there with nothing much to do and it’s announced, everybody perks up.”
Frank Coyne Jr., 69, of Marietta died Dec. 7 from complications of heart surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. A memorial service was held Friday at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in Marietta.
Coyne grew up in Buckhead and graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in 1966. He learned the value of mail from home during a stint in Vietnam, where he became a captain in the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army and was awarded a Bronze Star.
read more here
Saturday, October 27, 2012
4 Tours, Bronze Star Fort Drum Soldier Armed Standoff
Friday: New Details In Armed Stand-off
Story Published: Oct 26, 2012
A domestic dispute between Fort Drum soldier Jason Love and his wife turned into an armed standoff.
With 30 to 40 police officers surrounding his house during the five-hour standoff, Love, wearing full body armor, allegedly fired a rifle three or four times.
Eventually, police talked Love into surrendering.
He was charged with menacing a police officer, first degree reckless endangerment, second degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlawfully wearing a body vest.
Love is a Bronze Star recipient who served four combat tours.
The obvious question is, was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a factor? "The situation last night, there was alcohol involvement," said Jefferson County Sheriff John Burns.
"Was there any post-traumatic?" he said. "We're not sure." go here for more and video
Story Published: Oct 26, 2012
A domestic dispute between Fort Drum soldier Jason Love and his wife turned into an armed standoff.
With 30 to 40 police officers surrounding his house during the five-hour standoff, Love, wearing full body armor, allegedly fired a rifle three or four times.
Eventually, police talked Love into surrendering.
He was charged with menacing a police officer, first degree reckless endangerment, second degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlawfully wearing a body vest.
Love is a Bronze Star recipient who served four combat tours.
The obvious question is, was post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a factor? "The situation last night, there was alcohol involvement," said Jefferson County Sheriff John Burns.
"Was there any post-traumatic?" he said. "We're not sure." go here for more and video
Police Identify Man Involved In Armed Standoff
Story Published: Oct 26, 2012
A five-hour armed standoff in the town of LeRay Thursday ended with the arrest of one man, but no injuries.
Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies say 33 year old Jason Love was charged with menacing a police officer, first degree reckless endangerment, second degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlawfully wearing a body vest.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
WWII Veteran finally accepts medals from Battle of Okinawa
67 years later, veteran finally accepts medals from Battle of Okinawa
Oct. 13, 2012
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Mari A. Schaefer
Inquirer Staff Writer
Sixty-seven years did not blot out the searing memories of the Battle of Okinawa for World War II infantryman Montraville "Monte" Lybrand.
He held his hand to his quivering chin, bowed his head, and whispered, "You always remember the ones that didn't make it." With blue eyes welling up, he waited for composure. "I was with them for such a short period of time," he finally managed to say. "We were buddies."
Over the decades, Lybrand, of Drexel Hill, rarely spoke of his experience in one of the war's bloodiest episodes, dispensing his fighting past only in "little bits and pieces," said his oldest daughter, Kathleen Murtaugh.
Yet, suddenly at 86, he decided he wanted the medals that were due him from the 82-day assault that took the lives of 12,500 comrades.
On Friday, at a ceremony in the Delaware County office of U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.), Lybrand stood proud as his blue blazer was festooned with hardware: the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Rifle Marksmanship Badge, the Honorable Service Lapel Button - and, in a surprise to Lybrand, the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest honor.
read more here
Oct. 13, 2012
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Mari A. Schaefer
Inquirer Staff Writer
Sixty-seven years did not blot out the searing memories of the Battle of Okinawa for World War II infantryman Montraville "Monte" Lybrand.
He held his hand to his quivering chin, bowed his head, and whispered, "You always remember the ones that didn't make it." With blue eyes welling up, he waited for composure. "I was with them for such a short period of time," he finally managed to say. "We were buddies."
Over the decades, Lybrand, of Drexel Hill, rarely spoke of his experience in one of the war's bloodiest episodes, dispensing his fighting past only in "little bits and pieces," said his oldest daughter, Kathleen Murtaugh.
Yet, suddenly at 86, he decided he wanted the medals that were due him from the 82-day assault that took the lives of 12,500 comrades.
On Friday, at a ceremony in the Delaware County office of U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan (R., Pa.), Lybrand stood proud as his blue blazer was festooned with hardware: the Purple Heart, the Good Conduct Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Theater Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Rifle Marksmanship Badge, the Honorable Service Lapel Button - and, in a surprise to Lybrand, the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest honor.
read more here
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