Freedom Team
S A L U T E

LCPL Carlos M. Fernandez III
For outstanding service to the Nation as a United States Marine Soldier. You are being recognized for your patriotism and continued support of the Marine tradition….of the Marine family. Your legacy is today's Marines and the values Soldiers such as yourself exhibit while fighting the Global War on Terrorism. All combined efforts
are a direct reflection of your service, and the United States Marines and a grateful Nation thank you.
Welcome Home from Iraqi Freedom Tour

Happy Veteran's Day to all of you!

A Tribute to the Coast Guard's Best....our very own....Joe Collins....
***Click on picture to enlarge....

Coast Guard's own, Joe Collins...
We salute you, Joe, and are very proud of you...

Dad, Kurt, does the honors....man to man tribute of......Love and Pride.

Proud Mom, Melissa....with one of her ...... heart's delight!

Welcome Home Our Hero...

LCPL Fernandez III

Our Marine is home....safe and sound, Thank God....
Sees 6 mo. old son for the first time....
Carlos M. Fernandez III and
Carlos M. Fernandez IV meet at last!

U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, inventory a weapons cache they discovered while on patrol in Hit. (yep - that's the real name for this place.

ask Pipo/Dez of the 4th AA BN.4th Div.)

Pic: Lance Cpl. Michael R. McMaugh, U.S. Marine Corps

U.S. Marines from 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, inventory a weapons cache they discovered while on patrol in Hit. (yep - that's the real name for this place. )

Pic: Lance Cpl. Michael R. McMaugh, U.S. Marine Corps

Soldiers of 3/7 Cav, 2nd BDE, of the 3rd Infantry Division conduct a MEDCAP mission in Salman Pak.

MEDCAPS are conducted to give the local populace medical care.

Pic: SPC David Kobi

With Love....From Beth to Steve....in Iraq!

I Do Not Like This Dust and Sand!

This poem is credited to a Kentucky Army National Guard chaplain who is currently serving in the sandbox.

"I Do Not Like This Dust and Sand"

I do not like this dust and sand
I do not like it on my hands
I do not like dust in my head
I do not like it in my bed
I do not like sand in my hair
I hate it in my underwear
I do not like this dust and sand
I used to like the color tan
I do not like dust on my clothes
I despise it up my nose
I do not like sand in my face
Invading all my private space
I do not like dust in my mouth
I do not like it north or south
I do not like sand east or west
Nowhere is where I like it best
I do not like dust in my ear
It's hard to reach, I cannot hear
When it gets in my drink and food
It affects my attitude
I like it not with ham and eggs
I do not like sand on my legs
I like it not in socks and boots
Nor on my veggies, meats and fruits
This dust and sand floats everywhere
It dances in the desert air
I like a dust storm even less
Because it leaves a gritty mess
I want to leave this sand and dust
But until then..... in God I trust.
Pray for Peace

Serbian church in Cernica, Kosovo guarded by US Forces

Smallest US Post Office in the Everglades, Florida

Welcome Home....
...4th AA BN 4th MAR DIV
2nd PLT.....God Bless You!
We hear you are 'in transient' and
will be on US soil before the week is out....

Thank God!
Your loved ones are so anxious to have you back

in our/their arms and homes....
Congratulations on a job 'Well Done'!

Who Are They?






He's a recent High School graduate;
he was probably an average student,pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away.
Or he may have a wife and new baby waiting and praying anxiously for his return...
He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or country, jazz or swing and.... 155 mm Howitzer. He is 10, 15 or even 25 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can fieldstrip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must. He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop or stop until he is told to march.



He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient. He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts. If you're thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life -- or take it, because that is his job.
He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death then he should have in his short lifetime.

He has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them.
He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combatand is unashamed.
He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand,remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out,far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom.
Beardless or not, he is not a boy.
He is theAmerican Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.


And now we even have women over there in danger as well...




He has a face and a name....like....Chuckie/Pipo/Dez, Sanchez, Caruthers, Cooley, Chris, Covell, Bickerstaff....

Prayer for our military ... "Lord, thank you for these wonderful troops... Please protect them as they protect us. Bless them and all their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need.. Give them your favor as they return, weary, from war and doing their jobs for their country....Heal their many wounds, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual....Lord, help us to never take these wonderful hero's for granted....Bless them abundantly, it is for this I pray....Amen,"

Marine LCPL C. Fernandez's Family at briefing for returing troops from Iraq....for the 4th AA Bn. 4th MAR.DIV....2nd PLT...Happy days are just ahead!

Sanchez....our hero who was wounded along with Josh Cooley...
and Vinnie, Chuckie's brother....share a light moment at Marine 4th AA Bn. briefing...

Faith in Action.....

9 11, 2001 to

9 11,2005.....

Blue Angels over Twin Towers
in earlier times.....

Lest

We
Forget!

Congratulations to.....Joe Collins
United States Coast Guards BEST


Joe just graduated,,,,2nd in class, from electronics school in Virgina and is on leave for a few days....
His parents, Melissa and Kurt, flew up from St. Cloud, Florida, for his ceremony and were part of the 'special' day.
Family and friends salute you, Joe.
We are very proud of you and your accomplishments and....
M O R E T O C O M E!

Below is a copy of the update on MelissaJo's Web Page....I post it here for those of you who have been praying for Josh Cooley...


Update on Cooley From St. Pete Times

On long road to recovery, a step forwardThe Marine
who was injured in Iraq last month woke from his coma.

By COLLEEN JENKINS, Times Staff WriterPublished August 13, 2005

Christine Cooley got an amazing gift for her birthday Wednesday.
She didn't win the lottery, but she felt like she had.
Her son woke up.
A month after he slipped into a coma from injuries endured in a
roadside blast in Iraq,
Lance Cpl. Josh Cooley opened his eyes and responded to a doctor's commands from his ICU bed in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
For the Marine's parents and wife, it was a small but momentous step.
"Is he talking, walking?
No, he's not," Christina Cooley, Josh's wife and fellow Pasco County sheriff's deputy, told the Times on Friday.
"But it's a step in the right direction.
"Cooley's family has been with him since he was flown to Bethesda from Germany, where doctors removed part of his skull to relieve pressure from his brain.
In the weeks since, he has had multiple additional surgeries.
Surgeons performed a crucial procedure Aug. 3, removing a piece of shrapnel the size of a credit card from his head and also doing skin grafts over
the burns on his hands.
Some bone fragments were left in his brain because the area was too sensitive to operate on.
Doctors in Bethesda had removed Cooley, 28, from sedation each week to see how he would respond, Christina Cooley said.
Usually, they got no response.
They expected it would take the soldier at least two weeks to awake after his most recent surgery. But he started trying to open his eyes the next day, she said.
Then, Wednesday morning, he emerged from the coma.
That afternoon, his left eye was able to focus on his family and follow their movements.
His right eye sustained nerve damage, and doctors aren't sure whether it will function again. Cooley also squeezed his family members' hands on command.
"He'll squeeze your hand and rub your finger with his thumb," Christina Cooley said.
Still, the road ahead is long, his wife cautioned.
Cooley remains on heavy pain medication and sleeps most of the day.
Doctors won't know his long-term prognosis until he is fully awake.
They aim to stabilize Cooley enough to make the trip back to Tampa, where he will be rehabilitated for his head injury at the VA hospital.
Friday, the Marine made another important trip:
He moved out of the ICU ward to another floor where soldiers recuperate.

Left: Six year old
Wild Man....future
Marine....

Our Family Marine in Iraq....

Pipo, Carlos III, is still.....Our Hero!

Coming home soon

in Oct....

A really BIG family party is planned.

God Bless Him and all the

team at 4th AA Bn...4th Mar Div....

We see strength in our Military and sadly, we see the Twin Towers.

Something we never want to forget....
 

Blue Angels over
Niagara Falls... so beautiful.
 

Navy's Blue Angels Majesty...... 

Blue Angels over San Francisco Bay
Golden Gate Bridge.... 

BIG BIRD COMING IN FOR A LANDING??? ALCATRAZ OR WHATS LEFT OF IT...

LOOK, DISNEY WORLD COMING UP...
 

SO IMPRESSIVE...
 

Our Veterans must always be Honored...
 

A Single Honor...For Two Heroes

From: St Pete Times....Aug. 1, 2005
by: Colleen Jenkins...

By enlisting to serve, Lance Cpl. Josh Cooley followed in the footsteps of his military minded older brothers, father and grandfathers.
On Saturday, the 28-year old Marine made family history when he received a Purple heart from President Bush at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
He also helped bring his father peace, and their war stories made the president cry.
A Pasco County sheriff's deputy, Josh Cooley remains in a coma from a head injury wrought by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Ed Cooley had spent nights the past several weeks by his son's bedside. The elder Cooley had spent the past three decades bitter about the cool reception he got as a young Marine returning from Vietnam and the long wait for his Purple Heart.
Then, Friday, the Cooley family learned Josh Cooley would receive his Purple heart the next day - from the president.
After the family got word about the visit, Ed Cooley, 54, decided he better get some rest.
Instead he sat awake at 2:30 a.m. dictating a letter to his wife.
Dear Mr. President, she typed.
The New Port Richey man wanted Bush to know Josh, to understand the man who left behind a steady job and new wife to fight for a cause he believed in. He expressed gratitude to the president for personally presenting the military decoration to his son.
Things had not been so in Ed Cooley's time. He received his Purple Heart in the mail, 14 years after enduring a head injury in combat.
On Saturday, he watched with a mixture of awe and pride as the president pinned a Purple Heart medal on Josh's hospital gown.
"You're back home now, and you're safe," Bush whispered to Josh, according to Christina Cooley, his wife and fellow deputy.
Bush had 14 other Marines to visit, seven Purple Hearts to award. Ed Cooley mentioned his letter as the president was heading out the door.
Bush offered to read it, right there in the intensive care unit.
A few seconds in, he turned his face away from the White House photographer and wept.
Not only have you honored my son, the letter said, but you have also healed some old wounds as well.
Bush pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes.
He turned to Josh's father.
"I'm sorry it was never said to you before, but thank you for serving our country." Bush said
"It's a long time coming," Christine Cooley said.
"It sure is," Bush said. "This man is a true hero himself, and now his son is also a hero."
The Bush wrapped Ed Cooley in a bear hug.
The ex-Marine didn't know if he was allowed to hug the president back.
But he knew it was an experience he would never forget.
"It was a really special moment between two men, and it wasn't (because it was) the president or anybody else," Ed Cooley said on Sunday.
"It was just man to man."

Melissa Jo's shirt message....