Sunday, December 06, 2009
May we always remember them… A Different Christmas Poem
The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear...
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.
"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts...
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."
" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.
LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq
Friday, December 04, 2009
NDM - Early Day Motion 327
We have come to a critical point in our campaign now the EDM has been
submitted. We need to see just how deep our political support runs.
It is down to all of us to make sure our MP signs this Early Day Motion
(EDM).
http://nationaldefencemedal.webs.com/apps/blog/show/2254168-early-day-mo
tion-327
If your MP sits on the fence or does not reply, keep on their case, they
are there to represent our views, they are our servants.
If you need any assistance tracking down your MP try this link:
http://www.writetothem.com/
We also urge you to use your contacts, friends, associates etc, that way
we can lobby every single MP in the Country. Write to your local paper
let them know about it. We must reach every potential supporter and MP
we possibly can. Use the links below to help with email addresses,
numbers and addresses:
Labour
Conservative
http://www.conservatives.com/People/Members_of_Parliament.aspx
Libdem
http://www.libdems.org.uk/mps.aspx
Many thanks in advance for your help and support moving this campaign
forward.
If you want you can use the attached template letter, if you have any
difficulty opening it just let me know and I'll forward it in a
different format.
If you live overseas, you can still choose an MP to write to from your
original home town or maybe a place you've worked.
Best wishes,
Tony
Co-chair National Defence Medal Society
www.nationaldefencemedal.webs.com
Thursday, December 03, 2009
* Mylous Hairston
* Posted by: Eli George
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - He proudly put his life on the line for his country.
But a local war veteran says his own VA hospital turned him away for a colonoscopy and now that rejection will cost him his life.
Just looking at him, you wouldn't know David Cohen is sick and going through a variety of treatments for colon cancer. However, the man who first joined the military back in 1987 is now involved in a different kind of battle on the homefront.
It's a weekly walk U.S. Navy veteran David Cohen would rather not make. Thursday afternoon and it's another visit to VA hospital in Buffalo.
"I was diagnosed with stage four collorectal cancer in August," explained Cohen.
Cohen was diagnosed in August, but this Navy veteran's story starts several years earlier. Because of his family history.
Cohen said, "My grandmother died of colon cancer in the seventies."
And because several other family members showed signs of colon cancer, Cohen asked the VA to conduct a colonoscopy. He says he had colon cancer symptoms.
"I didn't understand why I was not being approved, denied every single request," said Cohen.
Cohen has proof it didn't take long to to deny his requests.
David Cohen provided News 4 with paperwork from the VA showing his Decmember 2008 request for a colonoscopy. The request was received at 15:13 which is 3:13 in the afternoon and denied four minutes later.
Cohen explained, "The prognosis from what they say is 26 months. But I don't ever plan on living up to that."
Cohen plans to live much longer.
Now, despite his own personal struggles, this proud Navy seaman has a different mission and a simple message for non-veterans and veterans alike. He says when it comes to your health care, don't take no for an answer.
"If you feel something is wrong. If you know something. If you feel you're not getting the right answers. Don't take anyone's word for it until you get yourself checked out and know for yourself," said Cohen.
Cohen added, "I don't know about the country letting me down. I know the VA let me down."
As part of his campaign to educate the public, Cohen is filing a lawsuit against the VA hospital.
News 4 contacted the VA hospital. Health regulations and the lawsuit prevent comments on a specific patient, but a spokesperson says the VA has a comprehensive colon cancer screening program and follows the U.S. Preventive Health Task Force recommendations for screening.
VA To Survey Veteran Households
WASHINGTON (Dec. 3, 2009) - Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched
a national survey of Veterans, active duty service members, activated
National Guard and reserve members, and family members and survivors to
learn if they are aware of VA services.
Shinseki announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched
a national survey of Veterans, active duty service members, activated
National Guard and reserve members, and family members and survivors to
learn if they are aware of VA services.
"By hearing directly from Veterans and their family members, we gain
valuable information to help us serve them better. We hope those who
receive the survey will respond to it," Secretary Shinseki said.
In addition to assessing awareness levels, the National Survey of
Veterans will collect important health care, benefits, employment, and
demographic information that VA will use to inform policy decisions and
improve benefits. Recognizing a broader client base than just Veterans,
this is the first time VA has included others, such as Veteran family
members, in its survey population.
VA is mailing out survey "screeners" to more than 130,000 households to
identify potential survey participants. The screener asks if anyone in
the household is a member of one of the identified survey groups -
Veterans, family members and survivors, active duty, Guard or Reserve
members. Eligible survey participants then may be requested to
participate in a full-length survey.
Participants will be able to select a preferred survey method: through
U.S. mail, telephone or a password-protected Internet address. VA
expects approximately 10,000 Veterans to complete the full-length
survey.
This is the sixth VA National Survey of Veterans since 1978. The
information collected will help VA in its efforts to design and conduct
outreach to Veterans. In addition, it will provide a clearer picture of
the Veteran population's characteristics to help evaluate existing
programs and policies and measure their impact.
The data collection is expected to be finished by the end of February
and the final report released by December 2010.
--
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