Honor our nation's fallen Heroes by honoring the families they left behind.
The 2010 Weekend of Remembrance will be the largest-ever gathering of the families of the Fallen.
We need your help to make this weekend happen.
Please join us by sponsoring a family today. A donation of $10, $20, or $50 is a small sacrifice for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 30, 2010 - Memorial Day is a time for Americans to remember and honor the ultimate sacrifices made by past and present generations of U.S. servicemembers, President Barack Obama said yesterday during his weekly address to the nation.
Each year on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, America honors all of its citizens who've worn a military uniform, Obama said. Yet, Memorial Day is something different, he said.
"On this day," Obama said, "we honor not just those who've worn this country's uniform, but the men and women who've died in its service; who've laid down their lives in defense of their fellow citizens; who've given their last full measure of devotion to protect the United States of America.
"These are the men and women I will be honoring this weekend, and I know many of you are doing the same," said the president, who tomorrow will provide Memorial Day remarks at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill.
From the Revolutionary War to the present day, generations of Americans have been willing to take up arms - and die, if necessary - in order to preserve the nation's freedoms, Obama said.
"That commitment – that willingness to lay down their lives so we might inherit the blessings of this nation – is what we honor today," Obama said. "But on this Memorial Day, as on every day, we are called to honor their ultimate sacrifice with more than words. We are called to honor them with deeds."
America also honors its fallen warriors, he said, by supporting the surviving family members who must carry on after their loved ones have passed.
"We are called to honor them by doing our part for the loved ones our fallen heroes have left behind and looking after our military families," Obama said. "By making sure the men and women serving this country around the world have the support they need to achieve their missions and come home safely. By making sure veterans have the care and assistance they need.
"In short," he continued, "by serving all those who have ever worn the uniform of this country – and their families – as well as they have served us."
Obama recalled a post-Civil War incident that occurred April 25, 1866, when a group of women in Columbus, Miss., visited a local cemetery to place flowers on the graves of Confederate soldiers who had died during the Battle of Shiloh.
As the women placed the flowers, he said, they noticed that a nearby group of Union soldier graves was bare of flowers.
"But no one had come to visit those [Union] graves, or place a flower there," Obama said. The women, he said, then "decided to lay a few stems for those men, too, in recognition not of a fallen Confederate or a fallen Union soldier, but a fallen American."
A few years later, he said, a group of Civil War veterans established what eventually became Memorial Day, picking a date when the spring flowers are in bloom.
"So this weekend, as we commemorate Memorial Day, I ask you to hold all our fallen heroes in your hearts, and if you can, to lay a flower where they have come to rest," Obama said.
Dear Sean,
What's more important: honoring the memory of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice or the winner of American Idol?
Memorial Day is right around the corner, but judging by what's being talked about on Facebook and Twitter, you might guess people are more interested in reality TV than in real heroes.
On Monday, everyone's thoughts should be focused on the men and women who gave their lives while defending our country. Can you take a minute to make Memorial Day the topic that everyone is talking about? Post a message to Twitter or Facebook or send an email to your friends and family asking them to honor the day's purpose.
Your message can be simple, but it's incredibly important: ask your friends and family to promise to reflect on the sacrifice and bravery of those who lost their lives while serving our country. Click here to get started.
By spreading the word, you'll help us ensure that Monday's true meaning isn't lost during trips to the beach or BBQs. Click here and take a minute to help make sure Americans are talking about the real heroes.
Thank you for standing with us.
Sincerely,
Paul
Paul Rieckhoff
Executive Director and Founder
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
"Memorial Day is not a day for celebration. We are supposed to show respect and gratitude for our heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom," states Mike Esmond, a VFW member and Vietnam War veteran.
................................................................................In recent years, Esmond has been appalled to see fireworks being sold at his local Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart stores in the days leading up to Memorial Day. He decided something needed to be done to stop the "celebration" of this day.
"Over the years, Memorial Day seems to have lost its meaning. I think the younger generation is losing sight of what the holiday is truly for," Esmond said, "If we don't teach these young folks the true meaning of Memorial Day, who will?"
Esmond decided to start writing letters to the Wal-Marts and Winn Dixies of the U.S. explaining the importance of the holiday and what a disgrace it is to him and other veterans, to sell fireworks in "celebration" of a day that should be observed with honor and remembrance of those that gave their lives for this country.
At first, the stores' representatives responded to the letters by explaining that they have a responsibility to provide their customers with the products they want to purchase, but Esmond and other veterans who joined in on the campaign were not taking no for an answer. The letters continued to pour in and eventually, Esmond and his fellow veterans' efforts were rewarded.
It was a long battle, but through Esmond's letter writing campaign, beginning this year, no fireworks will be sold at any Wal-Mart or Winn Dixie in the United States until after the Memorial Day holiday. In fact, Wal-Mart even thanked Esmond for his persistence and guidance on the matter.
"If we don't remember where we came from, how can we know how to move forward?" Esmond concluded, "We need to remember the past and those sacrifices people made."
 | Colonel Olds (first row, third from left) with the 8th TFW Satan's Angels squadron. (U.S. Air Force Photo) |
 | After downing a MiG, Colonel Olds with the May 4, 1967 mission flight members |
 | Colonel Olds waving to the troops after his final mission September 1967. (U.S. Air Force Photo) |
 | The famous Robin Olds "finger" at the final mission celebration in the Ubon officers club. (U.S. Air Force Photo) |
 | Debriefing the Chiefs of Staff after the meeting with LBJ. (Department of Defense Photo) |
 | SCAT XXVII comes home to rest at the National Air Force Museum in 1988, its battle scars honorably intact. Robin insisted the museum not repair or clean his Phantom. (Air Force Museum Photo) |
[2] P.L. 111-117; Senate Appropriations Committee, FY10 Consolidated Appropriations Bill: Milcon/VA Summary, 12/8/09.
[3] P.L. 110-161; P.L. 110-329, Senate Appropriations Committee, Summary of FY 2009 Milcon VA Appropriations, 9/24/08.
[4] Senator Akaka, Press Release, 3/8/10; Office of Management and Budget, Fact Sheet on the President's Budget for Fiscal Year 2011: Department of Veterans Affairs.
[5] P.L. 111-163; Senator Akaka, Press Release, 5/5/10.
[6] P.L. 111-81; Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Press Release, 8/7/2009; Remarks by President Obama, 10/22/09.
[7] S. 728 (Passed as Senate Amendment 2654 to H.R. 1037); Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Press Release, 10/7/09.
[8] P.L. 111-16.
[9] P.L. 111-37; Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs Press Release, 6/11/09.
PORT CHAROTTE, Fla. - It's a story that has some local veterans at a loss for words. A man stole a dozen military service medals from a veterans home.
Early Friday morning, someone at the Veterans Affairs in Port Charlotte noticed a suspicious man inside. A short time later, they noticed open drawers, and realized the man was a burglar. Deputies quickly tracked down a man matching the description - 26 year old Mitchell Pearson - and on him, found several stolen Military/Service medals, including a Purple Heart.
"He kept changing his story," Bob Carpenter of the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said. "First one, he went to the V.A. at 3 in the morning to read the Bible. The next time, he said he was retrieving medals from his grandfather."
Pearson even said he was there for research. Finally, detectives say Pearson confessed to stealing the medals, an act that deeply upsets local veterans.
"To lose medals because some because some person decided they wanted to take them to scrap them...it's totally unconscionable," veteran Walter Rash said.
Pearson is charged with Burglary and Grand Theft. He's being held in the Charlotte County Jail without bond.
NPR: "The Department of Veterans Affairs is struggling to cope with tens of thousands of veterans filing for disability benefits. Because there are applicants from two current wars - plus a new wave from the first Gulf War and Vietnam - thousands are now stuck in the clogged pipeline."
Although there are differing estimates of how many, "everyone agrees that way too many vets are waiting way too long to get benefits. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki is experimenting with ways to get the old, crippled bureaucracy to do better.
The number of outstanding claims at the VA for service-related disabilities - amputations, injured limbs, PTSD, brain trauma - hovers around 500,000. Nearly 40 percent of those have been waiting on a decision for more than four months."
Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense says the complexity of the VA system is the problem. "And Sullivan says the department's problems are only beginning." A large number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have filed disability claims.
"Those tidal waves will be rolled in by Secretary Shinseki's new rules allowing claims from Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam and chemical exposure in the first Gulf War." This story is the second of a five-part series (McChesney, 5/11).
This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.
© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
And I'm Michele Norris.
All this week, we've heard a series of reports on the new wave of veterans -men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have presented the Department of Veterans Affairs with new challenges: A bigger, younger clientele and more women than ever before. There are also more vets with brain trauma and more with post-traumatic stress.
Today, we'll hear from the man who's trying to reinvent his agency, so that it can meet the needs of these new vets, the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
SIEGEL: General Eric Shinseki brings impressive credentials to his office. He was Army chief of staff. He was the one who said we would need hundreds of thousands of troops in Iraq. Incidentally, he is the first American of Asian ancestry to achieve a four-star rank. His family is Japanese-American. And he's no stranger to the problems of veterans. In Vietnam, a land mine took off part of his foot.
I sat down with Secretary Shinseki earlier this week in his office to ask about his attempts to overhaul the VA.
General Shinseki, welcome to the program.
Secretary ERIC SHINSEKI (Veterans Affairs Department): Thank you. It's good to join you.
SIEGEL: And in addition to my questions, I want to put to you what some of the veterans have told our reporters with their stories this week in the series. For example, we'll begin with Brian Hawthorne, a veteran who's been waiting for two years for your agency to process his claim for PTSD. He told our reporter this.
Mr. BRIAN HAWTHORNE: They kind of all stem back to the same thing, which is just wait. So whether it's G.I. Bill or medical disability claim, you have this impression that the VA will get to it, and that is unfortunate because - and I say this all the time - we have to realize that, well, if the VA is not your friend, who is?
SIEGEL: How do you fix a culture of the Department of Veterans Affairs so that veterans like Brian Hawthorne just assume that the Department of Veterans Affairs is their friend?
Sec. SHINSEKI: Well, I would, you know, explain to Brian that it's more than just about friendship. This is an obligation that the nation owes those who have served. And by my responsibilities, I am the one charged with ensuring that those obligations are met. And we look at this as a relationship with clients, not just customers. Customers have an opportunity to shop around and decide which choices they want to, you know, exercise.
And relationship with a client is different. Clients have already invested in this relationship. Our obligation now is to fulfill that obligation. And so to Brian's concerns about how long it takes to process some of these things, my concerns as well. It's what we've been after for the past year. Some of this has built up over time, but we intend to do something about it.
SIEGEL: As our reporter John McChesney reported this week, the number of outstanding claims at the VA for service-related disabilities - injured limbs, PTSD, brain trauma - is around half a million, and nearly 40 percent of those have been waiting on the decision for over four months. How do you deal with the backlog? How do you break down that backlog?
Sec. SHINSEKI: Well, I'll accept those numbers. They seem to fall into the rough categories, I recall. I would tell you that last year we processed 977,000 claims, and then received about a million new claims in return. So this is not a case of, you know, case is sitting for extended periods of time. We do exceed the 125-day mark, and a number of those, but we move them as well.
SIEGEL: The figure that our listeners heard was about 40 percent exceed that four-month mark.
Sec. SHINSEKI: That's correct. This is a big numbers game. And so, we have to take a bold approach to this. In the past, our approach has been more claims, hire more people. You want to go faster, hire more people. Today, we have 11,400 persons adjudicating claims. Now, that's a significant number. We have just received authority to hire about 4,000 more people to help us in this area.
At some point, we have to get beyond just sort of the brute-force approach to this, and we have to get better business processes, automation in place. We have to change the relationship between VA and the veteran where they see us as advocates for them.
And so, the level of trust is better, because for every claim we adjudicate where the veteran feels there is a requirement to appeal the decision, well, it just compounds the numbers that we're dealing with.
SIEGEL: Our listeners heard this week that the first encounter, the beginning of that relationship, for the veteran with the VA is here's your 23-page application that you have to fill out and not a symbol of advocacy right there. More like, you know, what are you all about, fellow? Can you do anything about that? Or is it inevitable that your first encounter is a mound of paperwork?
Sec. SHINSEKI: Well, I'm one of those who went through that process, so I have firsthand knowledge about, you know, what that means. It's not a good welcome, and we intend to do something about that. We have to simplify the process and get our decisions down to what are the essential elements of information we need to adjudicate a claim at a high quality on behalf of the veteran.
SIEGEL: I want to play you something that we heard during this week's series. This is something about the burden of proof resting with the veteran. Vietnam veteran John Wood was an Army reconnaissance scout and says it took him from 1972 to 2006 for the VA to admit that he had a post-traumatic stress disorder. Here's what he said.
Mr. JOHN WOOD: I was, you know, having nightmares and flashbacks. I couldn't get along with people, a lot of anger issues. They were saying that I couldn't prove that I had any sort of combat status in Vietnam. And so, therefore, it couldn't possibly be post-traumatic stress disorder because I wasn't in combat, which I was.
SIEGEL: I know that you can't comment on Mr. Wood's case, but can the VA actually shift the burden of proof? Can it change that in any way?
Sec. SHINSEKI: Well, I think much of what I bring to this responsibility is I'm part of the same generation he is, and so I have a good number of friends who went through the process of trying to have some of their issues recognized.
PTSD was, at that time, not something that was recognized, so I think that was probably widespread. And yet throughout history, you know, whatever we want to call it, PTSD has always been part of what combat soldiers for sure, sailors, airmen, Marines, for sure, have dealt with. But as the environment of warfare has changed, there are no safe areas today as we describe them in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Well, those stresses apply to more than just the combat frontline soldiers. And that's part of the adjustment here, both to the fact that PTSD is a real issue and that many more are exposed to the level of stress that produces these outcomes.
SIEGEL: That if somebody served in a country where there could be an IED or a car bomb any place, stress is not just for those who are out on the - whatever we call, the frontline today.
Sec. SHINSEKI: Sure. In fact, we are putting in place recognition of the fact that under the current operation, service in the combat zone itself can be seen as a precursor for PTS.
SIEGEL: Our listeners this week also heard from Carolyn Schapper, who is an Iraq veteran, who told our reporter about asking a counselor at the Washington, D.C. VA hospital for a women's-only-counseling session. Here's what she said.
Ms. CAROLYN SCHAPPER: A young female veteran walking through the VA is very aware of herself because it's mostly Vietnam vets. All their heads turn, they're all watching you. And so, it's uncomfortable to walk to the back of the hospital to get to this clinic. Because if you have experienced military sexual trauma, that's the last thing you're going to want to do.
SIEGEL: And Schapper asked why not have a separate entrance for the women's clinic? This is a change in your clientele. You have now, I believe, 12 percent female veterans coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sec. SHINSEKI: Actually, it's a little higher, Robert. I think the active component is 14 percent and reserve component I believe she may be a reserve component soldier - as high as 17 percent. So, yes, the population is changing.
In 10 years, we're going to be probably 15 percent women. Today, we're about 5, maybe 6 percent, so pretty significant.
SIEGEL: It sounds like a huge change.
Sec. SHINSEKI: Oh, it is a change. And 10 years is not all that much time, so we are beginning this process. We have appointed women's program coordinators at 144 of our medical centers. They're important because they are the folks that are going to help us understand what programs we need to create and put into place in the next 10 years. And that's everything from integrating women's health care into primary clinic areas or creating a women's clinic, free-standing clinic that take care of women alone.
The reason I give you those two offers is because we've already started this discussion. And in some cases, you know, the women at one hospital want a clinic. In other cases, they choose not to, they'd rather be integrated into the primary care just like everybody else. And where that's their preference, that's what we try to do so that we're not coming up with a cookie-cutter approach to everything.
SIEGEL: In the last election, John McCain often proposed that veterans be given a card, which would give them portability, and they should take it to any medical center in the country and get treated. It seemed to be an alternative to saying how do we keep on building veterans facilities to accommodate this growing population.
And a lot of veterans didn't like that idea. They wanted their own system, a discrete system. What is the future of that idea? Do you assume that there will be always a discrete medical system for veterans? Or could there or should there just be a benefit you get, which gets you your health care for the rest of your life?
Sec. SHINSEKI: This is a good question. I would offer that there will still be major conflicts in the future of this country. It's not assured, but there is some opportunity for those kinds of concerns. And as long as we have that potential, I just think you need a health care system that's prepared to deal with the large-scale consequences of that and not find out after the fact that we've given up capabilities that, with good reason, were put into place after large conflicts like World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
This is about meeting the obligation, as I indicated, to the veterans. And it's also a business proposition. But the obligation is an important part of this.
SIEGEL: Well, General Eric Shinseki, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, thank you very much for talking with us.
Sec. SHINSEKI: Thank you, great pleasure. Thank you, Robert.
SIEGEL: And you can hear the other stories in our series on Veterans Affairs at our website, npr.org.
(Soundbite of music)
MICHELE NORRIS, host:
This is NPR.
http://www.nbc26.com/Global/story.asp?s=12477029&clienttype=printable
By Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel
It was through Sue Haack's typewriter that many families learned of the deaths of their loved ones in Vietnam.
Assigned to U.S. Army Vietnam Headquarters in Long Binh, she arrived to the war in January 1969 and left one year and two days later. Sometimes she had to go to the morgue to help sort identifications before rolling a form letter into an old manual typewriter.
"All you had to do was put in the name and address. It was such a cold feeling. It was hell on earth," said Haack, 62, of Madison.
Haack didn't talk about her experiences in Vietnam as an enlisted soldier for 15 years after she returned home in 1970.
Wearing her uniform - the only clothes she had - on her journey back to Madison, she was kicked out of a taxicab and a stewardess refused to let her on a flight until the plane's captain intervened. Why talk about Vietnam when it seemed as if everyone was protesting the war, Haack figured.
Now, she and many other Wisconsin Vietnam veterans are getting a chance to speak about their experiences in a documentary that will be broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television this month. "Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories" will air in three one-hour segments May 24 to 26, the week after LZ Lambeau, a three-day event and welcome-home gathering at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
In the documentary, she relates the fate of the soldier she replaced in casualty notifications - he committed suicide 10 days before the end of his tour. Though most of the names of the casualties were unknown to her, Haack handled letters to the families of five friends she met in Vietnam who died when their helicopter crashed.
Growing up in the small community of Dane, Haack left Wisconsin soon after high school graduation and moved to upstate New York, where she worked for the company that made Navy pea coats. Her brother called her to say he had been drafted and was going to Vietnam. Haack said she would see him there.
"I went down to my boss and said 'I need an hour for lunch so I can go join the Army.' He said, 'No,' and I said, 'OK, I quit.' So I did and walked two blocks to the recruiting station and joined the Army," Haack said. "I never regret one day of my military service. I just regret the treatment we got."
The reluctance of Vietnam veterans to tell their stories has much to do with the anti-war fervor at home, said Kerry Denson, a Huey helicopter pilot who served two tours in Vietnam and is featured in the documentary. In the decades since the end of the Vietnam War, much of the American public has become more politically mature and separates the war from the warrior, he said.
President Lyndon Johnson's refusal to mobilize the National Guard to fight in the war because he thought it would anger the U.S. electorate had the opposite effect, said Denson, who retired three years ago as Wisconsin Army National Guard deputy adjutant general.
"We know now if you mobilize the Guard, you mobilize America," said Denson, 63, of Lake Mills.
The retired brigadier general talks in the documentary about the importance of helicopters in Vietnam, the first war to so heavily use rotor aircraft to ferry troops and supplies, conduct aerial reconnaissance and evacuate wounded. His first yearlong tour was in 1967-'68, and he was three months into his second tour when his Huey was shot down Aug. 9, 1970.
The helicopter broke in half and Denson suffered gunshot wounds to his leg, severely injured his back and smashed his head against the instrument panel. He was hospitalized for several months before making a full recovery and making a career of the military.
"Do I have bad memories? No, I don't," he said. "I don't dwell on the past, I always look forward. I'm lucky I'm not a name on a wall, and I'm very appreciative and aware I came within inches of being a name on a wall."
"Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories" came about after similar first-person narrative documentaries on Wisconsin Public Television of World War II and Korea, said Mik Derks, producer. For the Vietnam film, 110 veterans were interviewed, with 60 making the final cut, chosen to represent all of the military branches and time periods of the war.
Gary Wetzel, a helicopter door gunner from South Milwaukee, earned a Medal of Honor - the nation's highest military award - for his actions after his aircraft was shot down in 1968. Trapped by deadly fire, Wetzel was severely injured while trying to help his commander.
Despite losing his left arm and bleeding from severe wounds to his right arm, chest and left leg, he staggered back to his machine gun and fired at the enemy. He remained at his gun until he stopped the attack and helped rescue his commander even after losing consciousness twice.
In the documentary, Wetzel, 62, talks about the Medal of Honor he wears on a pale blue ribbon around his neck. He says he's only a caretaker for the medal that he wears for all the troops who served their country. About his prosthetic arm, Wetzel said every night he takes off the war and hangs it up and in the morning puts the war back on.
He hopes "Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories" will illuminate what the war meant and still means to the men and women who served in Vietnam.
"Maybe once in a while people should take a moment and look back in the past of the men and women who have taken time out of their lives to give us freedom and maybe think about the price people paid for that word," Wetzel said.
The three-hour "Wisconsin Vietnam War Stories" will air on Wisconsin Public Television stations throughout the state with one-hour segments airing at 8 p.m. May 24, 25 and 26. On May 27, a one-hour special filmed at LZ Lambeau will air at 8 p.m. For more information, go to LZLambeau.org.
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 11, 2010 - Let the games begin.
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Some 200 wounded warriors and disabled veterans from all five branches of military service marched proudly down Irwin "Ike" Belk Olympic Path at the U.S. Olympic Training Center here yesterday evening in the games' opening ceremony.
The ceremony marks the culmination of months of training and an even longer road to recovery for many of the athletes. And although the games are a time for competition and celebration, it may be difficult not to reflect on how the troops earned the title of wounded warrior.
Many had fallen victim to roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan, while others suffer from the psychological toll of long bouts of combat. All served and were willing to sacrifice their lives for their country.
"The cloth of your nation is proud of you today," Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, said at the ceremony. "The flag that you fought to represent is proud of you."
Despite their disabilities, this group of troops has learned to adapt and achieve what many of them may have thought impossible. They marched down the Olympic Path with prosthetic limbs and in wheelchairs with a glow of confidence gleaming from within the formation. The roar of cheers from hundreds of families, friends and supporters may have made it difficult for them to disguise their rough, tough military personas.
But the truth is they should be proud. The troops have come a long way to compete in the Paralympic-style events. More than a few of the participants were restricted at one time to their hospital beds, unable to walk and get around on their own. But this week, they will display their re-learned skills in track and field, cycling, sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, archery, swimming and marksmanship events.
Their resolve and desire to improve their lives is an inspiration for the nation, Renuart said, and is in keeping with the military community's goal to build resilience among its members. The games are a testament of the influence of sports and proof of what one can accomplish through determination and will power, the general added, noting that the games are a "significant event" for Defense Department and military leaders.
"They know how important this is," he said, "not just to you, but to our services and what we hope to promote for each and every one of our men and women serving as they go forward in their lives."
Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter hailed the troops as heroes and role models, calling them "the pride of America" for volunteering to serve and for their ability to triumph over adversity.
"You really are the core of who we are as a people," Ritter said. "Your resilience exemplifies the kinds of things that we would all like to believe about ourselves -- that we would like our children to emulate."
Juan M. Garcia III, assistant Navy secretary for manpower and reserve affairs, lauded the troops for their willingness to compete and to never give up on themselves and their nation. He praised their readiness to accept new challenges.
"Who could not be inspired by what's going on here?" Garcia asked. "Before us are men and women who suffered injuries both physical and mental. [But] they refuse to be defeated, no matter where their battlefields were –- Afghanistan, Iraq, rehab centers or even their own minds.
"It's old cliché saying, 'Getting here makes you winners, no matter the results of the competition,'" Garcia continued. "But just because it's cliché doesn't make it less true."
The games are a joint venture of the Defense Department, the U.S. Olympic Committee and the USO to promote resilience and the healing power of sports. Officials hope to make the games an annual event and possibly expand participation and future venues.
Competition begins today, and the closing ceremony is May 14.
Greetings, I was on watch in the 6901st when our guys got shot down in September 1958. I also served in Landsberg in 1956 with the 6905th. I belong to the American Cold War Association and we had our annual meeting last week. http://www.americancoldwarvets.org/ We went to Arlington to honor Cold War Veterans who died in a forgotten war, they dare call "peacetime". These guys weren't awarded even the "National Defense Medal." I Met with Senator Snow from my home state, and told her it's a shame these guys are not eligible for this medal. We are fighting for a Cold War Medal also. I was able to find the marker and place some roses. I am the former webmaster for the www.6901st.org web site. You may post these pictures on your site if you desire.
Don Levesque |
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