We Salute YOU!

Our Family Marine....C.M. Fernandez III

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made

a Difference in the world.

But, the Marines don't have that problem."

---Ronald Reagan

Why? Why? Why?

This pretty much says it all.

A mother asked President Bush, "Why did my son have to die in Iraq?"

Another mother asked President Kennedy,"Why did my son have to die in Viet Nam?"

Another mother asked President Truman,"Why did my son have to die in Korea?

Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt,"Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima?"

Another mother asked President W. Wilson, "Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France?"

Yet another mother asked President Lincoln,"Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg?"

And yet another mother asked President G. Washington, "Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge?"

Then long, long ago, a mother asked... "Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem?"

The answers to all these are similar --
"So that others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom."

God Bless America and our Troops...

Rest In Peace....

This is something you will never see in the news.
Here's a tough, but heartwarming story and a picture of John Gebhardt in Iraq .
His wife, Mindy, related that this little girl's entire family was executed.
They intended to execute her also and shot her in the head, but they failed to kill her.
She was cared for by John's hospital and is healing, but has been crying and moaning.
The nurses said John is the only one she seems to calm down with,
so John has spent the last four nights holding her while they both sleep in that chair.
The girl is coming along with her healing.
*He is a real Star of the war and is representative of what America is trying to do.
The American public needs to see pictures like this and needs to realize that
what we're doing over there is making a difference.
Even if it is one little girl at a time.

James Gates U.S. Navy.

Click here: A Tribute to our Flag
Happy Veteran's Day, America...

This is a great photo of an Air Force training squadron flying in a never-done-before "USA" formation over the control tower "Taj Mahal" (HQ building) of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Anyone that loves photography will appreciate the precision of this photo. The jets are probably moving at around 400 mph and the photographer must be just right to get the shot at just the right instant. This is a hard formation to stay in. The ones in the "S" are just a little graduated degree behind the next one and staying that way to maintain the formation.

Awesome!

God Bless our Troops and hear their prayers, I pray.....

Holy Ground

Home Sweet Home Welcome....We appreciate YOU!

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE

Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.
He stays up for days on end.

You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.

You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at, as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.

You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.

You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.

You talk trash on your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.

You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He does not get to eat today.

Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for months, but makes sure his weapons are clean.

You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.

You are angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He is told he will be held an extra 2 months.

You call your girlfriend and set a date for that night.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.

You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.

You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own government
and remembers why he is fighting.

You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of the men like him.
He hears the gun fire and bombs.

You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the bodies lying around him.

You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does what he is told.

You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call and write home, sleep, and eat.

You crawl into your bed, with down pillows, and try to get comfortable.
He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be woken by gun fire.

You sit there and judge him, saying the world is a worse place because of men like him.
If only there were more men like him.

IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE,
FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !!!

"At last we were home. No words can describe Back together again... "
http://www.uppermansblog.blogspot.com/
From: the blog....Who's your Baghdaddy?...
by John Upperman, Round Rock, Texas...
Check it out!

Peace and safety in the midst of a war....

God Bless America and our Troops...

It is the VETERAN, not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.

This statue currently stands outside the Iraqi palace, now home to the 4th Infantry division.
It will eventually be shipped home and put in the memorial museum in Fort Hood, TX
The statue was created by an Iraqi artist named Kalat, who for years was forced by Saddam Hussein to make the many hundreds of bronze busts of Saddam that dotted Baghdad.
Kalat was so grateful for the Americans liberation of his country; he melted 3 of the heads of the fallen Saddam and made the statue as a memorial to the American soldiers and their fallen warriors. Kalat worked on this memorial night and day for several months.
To the left of the kneeling soldier is a small Iraqi girl giving the soldier comfort as he mourns the loss of his comrade in arms.

God Bless Our Troops!

Here are two very very touching photos honored at this years
International Picture of the Year...
First Place ......
Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines
climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his
casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac.

During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver
International Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as so
powerful: "See the people in the windows? They sat right there in the
plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through
their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home,"
he said. "They will remember being on that plane for the rest of their
lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they
should."

Second Place....
From :Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News
The night before the burial of her husband's body, Katherine Cathey
refused to leave the casket, asking to sleep next to his body for the
last time. The Marines made a bed for her, tucking in the sheets below
the flag. Before she fell asleep, she opened her laptop computer and
played songs that reminded her of 'Cat,' and one of the Marines asked if
she wanted them to continue standing watch as she slept. "I think it
would be kind of nice if you kept doing it," she said. "I think that's
what he would have wanted."

LCPL Chad Codwell, from Baltimore, Maryland, with Charlie Company 1st Battalion 5th Marines, carries an experimental urban combat skateboard which is being used for maneuvering inside buildings in order to detect tripwires and sniper fire.