Music Monday

Oh...my...god. It's insane how amazing this song is. They sound just as good today, well, 2007, as they did in '75. And Bonzo's son does a great job sitting in.


Led Zeppelin - Kashmir (Live)

Wednesday Hero

No Wednesday Hero this week. Fear not though, it will be back in the new year.

Merry Christmas

I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Eat lots of food, open lots of gifts and please remember those who are unable to be with friends and family.


Trans-Siberian Orchestra - This Christmas Day

Music Monday

One of the best Christmas songs of all time. You can't listen to it and not sing along.


José Feliciano - Feliz Navidad

Wednesday Hero

Anthony Seirafi & Ricsi


Marine Corps Police Department Officer Anthony Seirafi, a dog handler with MCPD’s K-9 unit aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow calls out for intruders with his dog, Ricsi, during a training exercise Nov. 9. Handlers train on a daily basis with their dogs to maximize the efficiency of their work aboard the base.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Marines taken by Cpl. T. Allen Bricke

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

Is there anything better than 70's Rock? Well...


Mountain - Mississippi Queen

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Michael

Seaman 1st Class James R. Ward
20 years old from Springfield, Ohio
USS Oklahoma
September 10, 1921 - December 7, 1941


This past Friday marked the 71 anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor. One of the ships that was destroyed in the attack was the battleship USS Oklahoma. On board the Oklahoma was a young man by he name of James Richard Ward who had only enlisted in the Navy a little more than a year before. When the attack happened, the Oklahoma was hit by three torpedoes and began to list dangerously. It quickly became apparent that she would capsize. The order was given to abandon ship. However, Ward stayed in his turret holding a flashlight so his fellow sailors could escape. He didn't make it out.

Read more »

Music Monday

Don't ask me what they're talking about. It was the 60's, they were most likely trippin' balls when they wrote it.

Cream - Tales Of Brave Ulysses (Live)

MIA Vietnam War Soldier Identified

Army Capt. James M. Johnstone, of Baton Rouge, La., will be buried Dec. 12 in Arlington National Cemetery. On Nov. 19, 1966, Johnstone was the pilot of an OV-1A Mohawk aircraft that crashed while conducting a daytime reconnaissance mission over Attapu Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the wing of Johnstone's aircraft hit a tree during a climb to avoid a nearby ridgeline. No parachutes were seen exiting the aircraft. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented recovery efforts. From 1993 to 2009 joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed multiple witnesses, and conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Attapu Province. The teams located human remains, military equipment, an identification card bearing Johnstone's name, and aircraft wreckage of an OV-1A, which correlated with the last known location of Johnstone's aircraft. To identify the remains, scientists from JPAC analyzed circumstantial evidence and used forensic identification tools, such as dental comparisons.

Chag Chanukah Sameach

I want to wish you a very joyous holiday and continued blessings in the new year.

December 7, 1941

71 years ago today over 2,000 people lost their lives in the attack at Pearl Harbor. As the attack was happening a reporter was assigned to cover it. The story she wrote was deemed to graphic to print and was rejected. 71 years later her report has finally been released.
h/t to Cindy for sending this to me.

Missing Vietnam War Soldier Identified

Army Sgt. John R. Jones, of Louisville, Ky., was buried Dec. 6 in Arlington National Cemetery. On June 4, 1971, Jones was part of a U.S. team working with indigenous commandos to defend a radio-relay base, known as Hickory Hill, in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. When enemy forces attacked the site, Jones and another serviceman took up a defensive position in a nearby bunker. The following morning, Jones was reportedly killed by enemy fire and the other soldier was captured and held as a POW until 1973. From 1993 to 2010, joint U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations, surveyed the site and interviewed multiple witnesses, including those involved in the battle.

Read more »

Wednesday Hero

Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Vargas


Lt. Cmdr. Kenneth Vargas, disaster preparedness officer for Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southeast, dressed in authentic Choctaw clothing, plays a Choctaw flute during a luncheon. The Native American Heritage celebration was hosted by Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 202 Detachment Jacksonville.

Photo courtesy U.S. Navy taken by Matt Simons

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

I know it's become somewhat of a cliche, TSO in December, but I love their music. With one band I get my Christmas, Classical and Metal fixes. What's not to like?


Trans-Siberian Orchestra - A Star To Follow

Our Troops This Holiday Season

First, head over and check out Wreaths Across America and find out how you can help them lay wreaths on military graves this Christmas. It's takes place on December 15 so you don't have a lot of time. Also, please spread the word and let others know.

Second, if you're planning on sending cards to wounded service members beware because there's hoax going around in an email. If you get one informing you that you can send cards to "Any Wounded Soldier" at Walter Reed, ignore it. It's fake. What you can do, however, is check out the Red Cross site Holiday Mail For Heroes.

Wednesday Hero

Fisher House Foundation

The Fisher House Foundation is a great charity that offers free housing for families of wounded service members to stay in while their loved one recuperates.

The Fisher House Foundation was start in 1990 and has a least one house at every major military medical center. Since there is no cost to the families they rely on donations to continue operating. So, please, head over to their site and check them out. And if you're able to, please make a donation.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

I'm such a Daft Punk whore.


TRON: Legacy (End Titles) (Sander Kleinengerg Remix)

Recipes For The Troops

We all love food during the holiday season. So while we pack on the extra pounds why not help those serving while we do it. Kenmore, the appliance company, is making donations to Heroes At Home to help make the holidays a little brighter for our brave Men and Women. All you have to do is head over to the Cookmore site and Kenmore will donate $1 for every recipe that's either submitted or downloaded. Their goal is 10,000 recipes, which would equate to $10,000. Easy peasy lemon.. piesy... sorry, I got food on the brain now.

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Michael

Pfc. Charles George
20 years old Cherokee, North Carolina
Company C, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
August 23, 1932 - November 30, 1952


The name Charles George may sound familiar to some. That's because last week it was reported that two boys in New York were at a local antique shop looking for G.I. Joe's when they came across a number of military medals, Medal Of Honor, a Purple Heart, a bronze star and good conduct award, bearing the name Charles George.

Read more »

Honor Flights

www.honorflightthemovie.com

This is a documentary that comes out on Dec. 7 that follows four WWII vets as they visit the WWII Memorial in D.C. Head over and check out the site and if you know a WWII vet you might want to take them to see it.

Music Monday

All these fake poser "Rock" bands out there who care more about their look than their music should listen to this to know what real Rock & Roll is.


Deep Purple - Highway Star (Live)

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Greta

Cpl. George Smith
90 years old from Sundance, New Mexico
June 15, 1922 - October 31, 2012


There aren't many Code Talkers left so it's a true tragedy when we lose one. George Smith joined the United States Marines when he was 17, after lying about his age, becoming one of three brothers in his family to do so. He was trained as a rifleman then as a Code Talker serving in a Pacific. He was honorably discharged in 1946.

You can read more on George Smith here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

There are just some people who will live forever.


John Lee Hooker - Shake It Baby

Thank You

We can never thank the Men and Women who've worn the uniform enough, but we can sure give it a try. Thank You.

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Michael

SSgt. Hiroshi H. Miyamura
87 years old from Gallup, New Mexico
Company H, 7th Infantry Regiment, 442nd Infantry Regiment

Read more »

Music Monday

I thought it was an appropriate song for tomorrow.

And if I am elected
I promise the formation of a new party
A third party, the Wild Party!
I know we have problems,
We got problems right here in Central City,
We have problems on the North, South, East and West,
New York City, Saint Louis, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago,
Everybody has problems,
And personally, I don't care.


Alice Cooper - Elected

Wednesday Hero

This post was suggested by Kathi

George Lutz

George Lutz had the most horrible event a human can have happen in their lives happen to him. The loss of a child. His son, George Anthony Lutz II, was KIA in Fallujah, Iraq on December 29, 2005. Mr. Lutz almost let his son's loss beat him until he met a Mother, a few months later, who had lost her son as well. It was then that he realized that he could do something to help honor and remember the fallen. He set out on a mission to find a nationally recognized symbol for all fallen service members.



You can read more about George Lutz here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

Godsmack - Serenity

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Michael

Sgt. Darrell Cole
24 years old from Park Hills, Missouri
1st Battalion, 23rd Marines
July 20, 1920 - February 19, 1945

Read more »

Music Monday

1980 was a great year for music.


Saxon - Wheels Of Steel (Live)

Missing Vietnam Airmen Identified

Air Force Col. Wendell Keller of Fargo, N.D., and Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 19 in Arlington National Cemetery. Meroney was interred individually on June 9 in his hometown. On March 1, 1969, Keller and Meroney were the crew of an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Khammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented recovery efforts.

Read more »

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Kathi

Dan Carbonneau


A grenade explosion might have put an end to Dan Carbonneau's effort to serve his country, but he hasn't let it sway his determination to serve others. He found a new mission: training assistance dogs.

The former Marine from Excelsior spends 20 hours a week at Can Do Canines in New Hope, teaching dogs to do everything from punch elevator call buttons to open kitchen drawers.

"The dogs help people with disabilities," he said. "It's nice to know that you're doing something positive for the community."

You Can Read More About Carbonneau Here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

This is what I listen to when I'm in a foul mood.


Halford - Silent Screams (Live)

Wednesday Hero

Master Sgt. Nicole Culverhouse


Master Sgt. Nicole Culverhouse, 60th Medical Support Squadron element chief, was recently reunited with her family almost four decades after she was kidnapped as a child in Bogota, Colombia.



You can read more about Master Sgt. Culverhouse here

Photo Taken By Airman 1st Class Madelyn Ottem Courtesy U.S. Air Force

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

A great song made even more meaningful when you know the events that took place before the recording of the album.


Rush - Ghost Rider

Missing WWII Marines Identified

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Laverne A. Lallathin of Raymond, Wash., 2nd Lt. Dwight D. Ekstam of Moline, Ill., 2nd Lt. Walter B. Vincent, Jr. of Tulsa, Okla., Tech. Sgt. James A. Sisney of Redwood City, Calif., Cpl. Wayne R. Erickson of Minneapolis, Minn, Cpl. John D. Yeager of Pittsburgh, Pa. and Pfc. John A. Donovan of Plymouth, Mich., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on today in Arlington National Cemetery. Six of the Marines were identified and buried as individuals previously this year. Lallathin, also individually identified, will be interred individually at Arlington on the same day as the group interment. On April 22, 1944, the Marines were aboard a PBJ-1 aircraft that failed to return from a night training mission over the island of Espiritu Santo, in what is known today as Vanuatu.

Read more »

Wednesday Hero

Pfc. Richard Bigouette
Bravo Company, 602nd Aviation Support Battalion


A 2nd Infantry Division Soldier gave the gift of life to a 9-year-old Korean girl when he saved her from drowning at Haeundae Beach in Busan June 13.

Pfc. Richard Bigouette of Bravo Company, 602nd Aviation Support Battalion, was swimming a little way from shore with Pfc. Joshua Davis, also of Bravo 602nd ASB. Suddenly, Bigouette heard frantic screams from people on the beach pointing to a place beyond the waves, more than 50 yards out into the water.

A little girl was struggling for her life as she tried to remain above the water. Another girl, standing waist-deep in the choppy water between the waves, was crying for help.

You can read more on Pfc. Bigouette here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Heroes At Home Wish Registry (Reprise)

About a month ago I posted about the Heroes At Home Wish Registry that Sears is doing to help our troops out this Holiday season. The registration has closed but you can still make donations, either in store or online, now through Nov. 16 to help those serving have a nice Hanukkah or Christmas. Over the past five years the Wish Registry has raised over $17 million and helped more than 83,000 families. Here's the video again if you haven't seen it.

Music Monday

Good, old fashion, no frills Rock & Roll.


Danko Jones - I Want You

Gold Star Families

Their service and sacrifices will never be forgotten.

Missing Servicemen Identified

Marine Pfc. Richard S. Gzik, of Toledo, Ohio was buried on Sept. 28 at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, DC. On Dec. 2, 1950 Gzik and the other Marines of M Battery, 11th Artillery Regiment, 1st Marine Division, came under attack on the west side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. It was during this battle that Gzik was killed in action and his remains were buried alongside the road leading to Hagaru-ri. Later that month, the withdrawal of U.N. forces from the Chosin Reservoir region made it impossible to recover Gzik's remains. In 1954, United Nations and Communist Forces exchanged the remains of war dead in what came to be called "Operation Glory." All remains recovered in Operation Glory were turned over to the Army Central Identification Unit for analysis. Those which were unable to be identified, given the technology of that time, were interred as unknowns at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii -- the "Punchbowl."

Read more »

Wednesday Hero

Capt. Jennifer Curtis


In April 2011, Captain Jennifer Curtis received a short-notice deployment to Firebase Chamkani, Afghanistan, where she embedded with U.S. Army Special Forces to assist with village stability operations. Captain Curtis quickly realized that her deployment would be dangerous when she first arrived at the firebase located in the mountains on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan and her helicopter was targeted by mortar rounds. After being on the receiving end of more than 126 mortar rounds over the course of her deployment, Captain Curtis became accustomed to this hazardous way of life.

One night, the mortars hit her encampment. "Rockets were shot and landed right in the middle of our compound," she said. "There was a lot of shrapnel wounds. People were unconscious". Because the camp was on lockdown, Curtis was the only medic on the scene for the first 20 minutes of the attack. She didn’t have much time to think.

You can read more on Capt. Jennifer Curtis here and here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

Remember when it was about the music instead of how "hot" someone was or how outrageous they could be?


Queen - Hammer To Fall (Live)

POW/MIA Recognition Day

You will never be forgotten.

Wednesday Hero

Navy SEALs Tyrone Woods & Glen Doherty and Sean Smith
September 11, 2012


On Tuesday, September 11, what appears to be a coordinated attack on the American embassy in Libya took the lives of four Americans. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and two servicemen and one former serviceman. Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty were Navy SEALs and Sean Smith was a veteran of the Air Force.

You can read more at the links below:
Tyrone Woods
Glen Doherty
Sean Smith

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

One of the last of the great Bluesmen.


Buddy Guy - You Damn Right I've Got The Blues (Live)

Heroes At Home Wish Registry

For the past five years Sears has been doing the Heroes At Home Wish Registry which helps the men and woman serving overseas, and their families back home, have a good Christmas and Hanukkah by giving them gift cards to help purchase gifts such as clothing, toys and decorations. You can make donations either in a Sears store or online. Check it out and then pass this on. Sears has compiled a video you can watch about the Heroes At Home Registry.

Wednesday Hero

This Post Was Suggested By Michael

1st Lt. Alexander Bonnyman, Jr.
33 years old from Knoxville, Tennessee
2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division
May 2, 1910 - Nov 23, 1943


Alexander Bonnyman didn't have to go to war. Because of his age and the fact that he was running a company that was producing material that was vital to the war effort, Bonnyman was exempt from military obligation. But he enlisted anyway. Though it wasn't his first stint the military. A few year before he was in the Army Air Forces but was washed out after only three months for buzzing too many control towers.

You can read more about 1st. Lt. Bonnyman here

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives just so others may get to enjoy freedom. For that I am proud to call them Hero.
Those Who Say That We're In A Time When There Are No Heroes, They Just Don't Know Where To Look

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Music Monday

One of my all time favorite songs. Richard Wright, may he rest in peace, was simply amazing.


Wot's... Uh The Deal by Pink Floyd

Wednesday Hero

1st Sgt. Rodney James Tadashi Yano
25 years old from Kealakekua Kona, Hawaii
Air Cavalry Troop, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
December 13, 1943 - January 1, 1969

Read more »