Knottie's Niche» Navy

Veteran’s Day.. A Civics Lesson

Knottie — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 02:33:27 +0000

In the United States we have 3 National holidays that celebrate our military. Unfortunately it seems most people either don’t know anything about them or they get them all mixed up and push them together. Ok so here is a civics lesson

Memorial Day is the last Monday in May every year. This is the day we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave their life for this nation in the face of an enemy. This is a day of mourning and remembrance. For far too many it’s the welcoming of summer, a long weekend and a chance to drink beer and bbq. But for many they do take a moment to remember and recognize the Fallen.

Armed Forces day is the 2^nd Saturday of May. This is the day we THANK those currently serving. It’s a chance to shake the hand of a man or woman in uniform and thank them for the job they doing.

Veterans Day is Nov 11^th every year. It’s a day to thank those who served and came home. It a day to embrace them and say we are glad you came home and job well done. As the mother of a fallen soldier I want this one day to be happy and celebrate my son’s brother who came home. To be happy that these men are here and to thank them and all those who have served and came home. This is not a sad day.. it’s a day of gratitude and celebration.

What people do not seem to understand, when they center us Gold Star Families out on Veterans day, is that they are taking a moment from those who served and came home and from us. A Moment that we want to celebrate others not mourn our own. Yes, we want our sons and daughters remembered but for this one day we want our Veterans celebrated and we want to sit quietly in the back ground and just take in the celebration of gratitude towards these men and women who wore the uniform, protected this nation and came home to carry on. Leave the mourning of our sons and daughters who are Fallen for Memorial day and the rest of the year.. but for today ..Veterans Day… honor them by focusing your full attention and gratitude to their brothers and sisters in arms who came home.

Thank you Veterans.. I am glad you are home..

Lt.Col. Kurt Schlichter’s Memorial Day Speech

Knottie — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:50:51 +0000

Memorial Day Ceremony at Forest Lawn Hollywood, May 31, 2010
Keynote speaker Lt.Col. Kurt Schlichter, HQ, 40th Infantry Division

RIP Lt John Finn…

Knottie — Fri, 28 May 2010 00:10:21 +0000

A little over a year ago I met some very amazing men. The all had received the Medal Of Honor and wore it with pride for all those who served with them. None of them claimed it as their own. I was told before going to this gathering I had to take Guinness and drink one with Lt John Finn. And so I did.

On Dec 7^th 1941 many Heroes were made. John Finn is one of those men who received the Medal of Honor for his bravery on that day. He said he didn’t deserve it and simply held it for all the others who fought and died that December day. I disagree. On that Dec. Morning John held his position firing on the enemy for over two hours even though he himself had been hit 21 times. Several of his wounds serious. Once the skies were quiet he sought medical help after being ordered to and then returned to help rearm the remaining airplanes at Kanoehe Bay. Because Kanoehe was hit 5 minutes before Pearl Harbor many believe that John Finn is the first one to earn the Medal of Honor during WW2. But when you sit and listened to his stories he told you of his men not of himself. Even at 99 years old his mind was sharp and he loved to share his stories with those who would listen.

Today we lost his hero.. He was 100, nearly 101. I knew he had been ill. My heart breaks that we lost this hero. Words he spoke to me changed my life. I will never forget him overhearing a conversation I was having stopping his conversation and pointing at me saying “I like you”. Very seldom have words made me so proud as being told I was liked by John Finn. After that he and I sat for nearly 2 hours and just talked. I listened to his stories about his wife and his men and he listened to mine about my son and his brothers.

I’m sad I will never get to sit with Mr. Finn again but in a odd way I am happy for him. He has peace now. He is with his beloved wife Alice. And I have to believe he got one hell of a welcome to Heaven. I can see them lining up to have a Guinness with Mr. Finn. I had the honor and now I need to believe it is my son’s turn.

Thank you John.. for your service and for being so kind to me. Thank you for defining my mission. I was honored to know you sir.

Enjoy Your Vacation Mr. President

Knottie — Wed, 26 May 2010 01:29:53 +0000

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

Opsecs people OPSECS!!!!

Knottie — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 04:14:56 +0000

Opsecs people OPSECS!!!! … if you don’t know what those are and are in the military or love someone in the military it means Operational Security. It’s information our enemies would LOVE to have! This solider could have gotten his entire unit killed. Military personnel can’t always tell you where they are what they are doing or when they will be flying to or from. It’s for their safety and the safety of others. So please DO NOT ask them and if you feel someone int he military is sharing too much information… question them on it.

IDF calls off West Bank raid due to Facebook leak

The Israel Defense Forces called off a raid in Palestinian territory after a soldier posted details, including the time and place, on the social networking website Facebook, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.

The soldier – since relieved of combat duty – described in a status update how his unit planned a “clean-up” arrest raid in a West Bank area, Army Radio said.

“On Wednesday we clean up Qatanah, and on Thursday, god willing, we come home,” the soldier wrote on his Facebook page, refering to a West Bank village near Ramallah.
The soldier also disclosed the name of the combat unit, the place of the operation and the time it will take place. Facebook friends then reported him to military authorities.

The Israeli military spokesman’s office had no immediate comment.

Israel says raids in the West Bank are aimed at detaining militants suspected of planning attacks on Israelis. Palestinian officials say the incursions undermine efforts by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority to enforce law and order in the territory.

Full Story

The Pledge by James Hooker

Knottie — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:34:19 +0000

I was asked by James Hooker if he could include a picture of my son in his most recent video. Now I have been familiar with James’ music for a little more than a year now and I know his love and respect for our troops so I did not have to think twice about it. I hope you enjoy this video as much as I did. If you haven’t heard James Hooker’s music before go check out more of it at http://www.tipjarmusic.com/1/home.html He has some really great music…

The Pledge from James Hooker on Vimeo.

Veteran’s Day 2009

Knottie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:35:56 +0000

I have a blog I wrote on my lunch break I was going to post for Veteran’s Day but I read something today and will be posting it for Veteran’s Day instead because I feel it says it all so much better…. I will post the other blog later.

Thank you to all you that have served and are serving for all you have done and all you are doing.

Definition of a Veteran: A veteran is someone who, at one point in his/her life, wrote a blank check made payable to “The United States of America”, for an amount of “up to and including my life.”