Last night through the men and families of the Company my son served with and I have adopted as my extended family I found out we had [...]]]> You may read this and think I am insane or that the grief has finally pushed me over the edge but I feel I have to share this story.

Last night through the men and families of the Company my son served with and I have adopted as my extended family I found out we had lost two of ours. I will not post the names yet as the Dept. of Defense hasn’t made those names public. I wouldn’t discuss their death except I know the families have been officially notified.

To say this news upset me is an understatement. My heart broke at the news, for those two men, for their families, for their brothers in arms and for this nation.  Having heard this news through the Army family grapevine I prayed it was a rumor that the news was exaggerated. I held on to hope they were only injured. Well this morning I read that 5 NATO troops had been killed in Afghanistan yesterday, two of them US Army. This news report and word from those in the company in Afghanistan confirmed what I knew.

I read this news on the AP wire and walked away from my computer to accept it.  As soon as had I stepped away from the computer having read this I heard Micheal’s voice clearly say “They’re here.”  It wasn’t a whisper, it wasn’t sad, it was comforting.  Like when you have lost your child in a crowd and someone says those words that calm you, “They’re here”.  And I knew they were with him. There was a certain peace in the words.  He was telling me they were safe and at peace with him now. On Army Guardian Angel duty.

Am I crazy? Maybe.  Maybe I just so needed to hear it I did. Doesn’t matter…  All I know for sure is they are there… where ever there is.

I will update this with a proper tribute to the two men as soon as DoD officially releases their names.  In the meantime… send comfort to their families and honor them by taking care of their brothers still fighting in Afghanistan.

http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13722

Angelia.. I tried so hard not to make memorial day a day for Moms to have to remember. I tried really hard to make sure it was a day their sons and daughters came home to see them, not the other way around. I [...]]]> A few days ago I received a message from an Army medic.

Angelia.. I tried so hard not to make memorial day a day for Moms to have to remember. I tried really hard to make sure it was a day their sons and daughters came home to see them, not the other way around. I just feel like crap this time of year.

It tore my heart out because I know to him he is seeing Memorial Day as a mark of his failures. I want nothing more than to make him understand that he never failed. He did it all perfectly and yes there were those who died but not because he did not do his job well, perfectly, but because sometimes they were just too broken to fix.

I know he and many others who served are not only remembering our Fallen this weekend but wrestling with their demons and yes even remembering the times of laughter and brotherhood. I hope they will focus on the memories of laughter and make Memorial Day a day more about celebrating those we lost and the lives they lived even as we mourn them. Even in death they are touching lives if we celebrate them and share their stories.

I went to the cemetery today to visit my son and place the proper 6 flags for a Fallen soldier that are placed for Memorial Day. I hate that I know these traditions now but I am also grateful there are such traditions. I know that now that my son is one who is to be remembered on Memorial Day the meaning of the day is more powerful to me than ever before.

Yes there will be BBQs and get togethers. There will be laughter and fun.. there will be celebrations. I only ask that while you enjoy these celebrations think of those who served.. those who wrote a check to this nation payable up to and including their lives. Remember they gave their tomorrows for your today.

Honor and Remember those who have gone before us in protection of all those things we hold dear in this Nation.

If you can save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own, and in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind. ( Via Chris Hill)

I started quite the rant earlier this evening about how Pres. Obama [...]]]> Memorial Day is next Monday. It is a day to remember and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service of this nation. It is tradition that a wreath is laid at the memorial in Arlington each year .

I started quite the rant earlier this evening about how Pres. Obama is not going to be laying the wreath at Arlington on Memorial Day so he can go to Chicago and have a vacation.

I was infuriated when I read Pres. Obama was going to a family get together rather than Honor our Fallen as Commander and Chief. My first thought was “unforgivable”. Now I know he will not be the first President to not attend the wreath laying. But others had reasons that were not “vacations”. Then I thought about Pres. Obama’s treatment of our troops and it occurred to me that if he does lay the wreath it will be play acting as he has no gratitude for those who it is laid in Honor of. It would be fake and I don’t want that wreath laid for my son and his brothers and sisters by someone who so obviously despises everything my son stood for and died for.

Pres. Obama’s loathing of our troops has been evident from the very beginning of his presidency when he was the First President to skip the Inauguration night ball Honoring Medal of Honor Recipients in over 50 years. Then there was his punishment of Gen. Stanly McChyrstal for publicly outing the fact he had ignored our Military commanders request for more troops in Afghanistan by making them wait months for an answer which was simple. That cost more lives than we probably know. Then there is the treasonous Rules of Engagement imposed on our troops.

It would be the greats Honor of my life to lay that wreath. I would be humbled to simply attend the service. But you see I love those men. I may not know their names but I know them. They are my son’s brothers and they stood and died for the same Love of Nation he did.

Enjoy your vacation Mr. President. Someday I hope you realize you are free to do so because of the men you refuse to honor.In the meantime I am glad someone with an ounce of respect for our troops is laying the Wreath at Arlington this Memorial Day.

THANK YOU to those who lay in peace now..  Thank you so very much my dear sons and daughters

When walking through the WW II Memorial, I came across this view of Lincoln's Memorial, with the Truman quote on the wall of the WW II Memorial--reminded me of why I [...]]]> My friend Jim Moore took and shared this picture. I felt it was very powerful and wanted to share it also. Thank you Jim…

When walking through the WW II Memorial, I came across this view of Lincoln's Memorial, with the Truman quote on the wall of the WW II Memorial--reminded me of why I work for VA. In Lincoln's words, "..to care for him who shall have borne the battle." ~ Jim Moore

In November of 2008 when my son’s brothers came home from Iraq I wrote this

“As we drove on Veteran’s Day I thought about how lucky the people in this country are to have the men and women of our military. Between it being Veterans [...]]]> ( I know I promised kittens but this was much more important)

In November of 2008 when my son’s brothers came home from Iraq I wrote this

“As we drove on Veteran’s Day I thought about how lucky the people in this country are to have the men and women of our military. Between it being Veterans day and where we were heading I had no choice but to see things from a perspective most Americans fail to look at. We drove without fear of IEDs. There were no check points. We could stop along the way and not fear snipers or suicide bombers. When we were hungry we had a multitude of options. And I knew without a doubt that these freedoms and this security are due fully to the fact we have such an outstanding group of people who made the choice to wear the uniform and defend these things.” http://knottiesniche.com/2008/11/16/theyre-home/

This past Saturday there was an attempted car bombing in New York. If they had succeeded the results would have been devastating.  This is not the first attempt to set off a bomb in the US. There was the Underwear bomber last December. There was an attempt in Dallas last fall.  There have been 2 shootings I know of that have cost lives carried out on US soil in the name of jihad in the past year. The Little Rock recruiting station shooting cost Pvt. Long his life. And 13 members of our military fell victim at Ft Hood last fall.

“Federal authorities arrested a U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent Monday night on New York’s Long Island in connection with the attempted Times Square car bombing, Fox News has learned.
The man was identified as Shahzad Faisal of Connecticut.”  He was a naturalized citizen..not home grown as some may say. He was what some call a sleeper cell.

Tomorrow the DHS will say the system worked because he was arrested. The TSA stopped him trying to leave the country.  But that is a lie. If the system had worked he would have been stopped returning from his recent trip to Pakistan and the bomb he failed to detonate properly would never have been parked in Times Square.  The system failed once again…  inept terrorists are not a success of our National Security system.  How long before one of these “unsophisticated” terrorist get lucky and manage to detonate their bomb?

I can no longer have the mind set I had in November of 2008. I can no longer feel secure that the war is not on our shores because our military has kept it contained. I don’t blame the military for this. I understand that their ability to do their job has been very limited in the past year. I also understand that in the name of diplomacy that our government has emboldened our enemy. I know also that the American public at large is so oblivious to the reality of the threat against our nation they do not demand that actions be taken to better protect us and stop our enemy.

It’s a sad day when we in the US have to start worrying about car bombs, suicide bombers, IEDs, and EFPs . It’s a sad thing that so many other countries already do but I never thought I would see the day that the US became so weak that we would allow an enemy this much free reign in on our own soil.

At what point do we  as a nation realize this is no longer a war being fought “over there”?

Now the day started off with me running into one [...]]]> Yesterday we loaded up and drove a few hours to the Altus OK air show. It has been years since I went to an air show and I was looking forward to it. Not so much for the aircrafts but from the demonstrations they put on.

Now the day started off with me running into one of my good friends in Army recruiting and getting big hugs so as you can imagine it was a good day. My youngest son had never been to an air show so he was very excited. He loved sitting in the cockpits and “pretending” to fly the different planes and helicopters. When the parachute demo started he didn’t take his eyes off the sky. The sheer joy and wonderment on his face reminded me of many years ago and the first time we took Micheal to an air show. The same look was on his face too.  I think that was when Micheal fell in love with airplanes. And like Micheal who was able to spot an airplane when it was nothing more than a dot in the sky Anthony was able to locate and point out the parachutist before most of us.

At one point the Thunderbirds Commander swore ina group of new Air Force recruits. It was very cool watching these young people make a commitment to this country and themselves. I was so proud of them all.

We met another young soldier from Ft Sill and I must say I was extremely impressed with how polite and together he was. He represented the Army in the best possible light a soldier could.  He and I chatted for a few minutes and I was thoroughly impressed.  I didn’t tell him about Pokey but in a small way this young man reminded me of my son. He was smiling the whole time and obviously proud of the work he was doing.  I tried to get a hold of his commander today and give him kudos.

The thunderbirds flew and amazed us all with their skills and as I stood and waited to get a commemorative book  I allowed myself to travel memories  lane… I let myself for the first time that day truly think about those days when Micheal was so very little not more than 2 or 3 and how  much he loved days like yesterday.  I got a little teary so I did not stay to have the men of the Thunderbird team sign my book.  Or tell them that a show put on by the team 19 years ago made one little boy love military aircraft and that love would lead to a love of history which would lead to a love of Country and a soldier being made…

I wonder where Anthony’s love of the parachutist will lead?

( Tomorrow .. Kittehs..)