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A
Salute to Our |
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Hometown Heroes |
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Click here
for
a personal message from
Ann, including details
on adding your Hometown
Hero to this page!
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 Pacific island donors send toys to Keesler
Last December, families at an Army installation halfway around the world donated toys to the Keesler Air Force Base Chapel to make the season a little brighter for local children impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
Tech. Sgt. Joanna Ball, a vehicle dispatcher for the 81st Transportation Squadron, is shown helping Chaplain Butler sort the toys at the Larcher Chapel on base.
Father John Sheehan, the pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish on the Army base on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands in the western Pacific Ocean asked his parishioners to gather the toys, and he sent them to Ann Ball for distribution.
The day the mail carrier brought them, she knocked on Ann’s door and said, "Your package scared the heck out of me! I heard a voice in the back of my truck and thought someone had gotten in there. Then I noticed it was your package talking!” Apparently one of the toys has a voice of its own which was activated during transit.
Ann knew that Keesler Air Base had been badly hit in the hurricane, and much of the housing damaged, so she sent the toys to her daughter to pass on to Chaplain Maj. Tim Butler for distribution.
Our thanks to Susan Griggs, (information), and Kemberly Groue, (photo), of the Keesler News for this article.
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Remind them you care - write to a soldier today!
www.anysoldier.com
Photo credits/courtesy: Any Soldier Inc., Damir Sagolj / Reuters,
John Moore / AP, Romeo Gacad / AFP
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A Parish Honors Their Own
Corpus Christi Parish of Houston. Texas, mounted a display of parishioners serving in the active military in the church foyer with a reminder to pray for all those serving their country. A parishioner brought the idea to
Joe Patrick, Director of Music and Liturgy for the parish. He took the idea to the liturgy commission which supported it and all members of the parish family were asked to loan photos of their active military sons and daughters. Joe arranged the display as you see it
below. Hopefully other parishes can copy the idea to honor their own Hometown Heroes.
  
(click
photos to enlarge)
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Operation
Iraqi Children
Please
click
here
to visit their website.
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The War’s Not Over and Dad and Mom are Still Gone
Please especially remember in prayer the children of American servicemen and women whose parents are away in the service of their
country.
Chaplain Tony Cleaver visits with the children
on base at Illesheim, Germany.
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IT
IS THE SOLDIER
"It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.”
- Charles M. Province, U.S. Army
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Tech
Sgt. Joanna Ball
U.S.
Air Force
Houston, Texas
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Private Shaun D. Blackstone
U.S.
Army
Huntington, Indiana
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Sarah Pedersen,
Senior Airman
U.S.
Air Force
California
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Our prayers for the family and friends
of Bryan
Bertrand, 23, of Coos Bay, Oregon, and his
six marine companions killed in
a plane crash in Pakistan.
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Chaplain (CPT) R. Francis Stevenson
U.S.
Army
Sacramento,
California
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Sergeant Joshua P. Ash
U.S.
Marines
Sterling Heights, Michigan
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A Tribute
to
Lori Ann
Piestewa
The first native American service woman killed in combat.
Please click here
to visit. |
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Ssgt. Mike Nelson
U.S. Army National Guard
Fort Wayne, Indiana |
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Cpl. Ron Wakefield
USMC
Spring, Texas |
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Chief
P.O. Samuel Ball
USCG Reserves
Houston, Texas
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In loving and prayerful memory of
Army
Spc. Dominic Hinton
of Jacksonville, Texas, who was killed in Iraq on Nov. 19, 2005. We honor his life and his death in the service of our country. He is at rest in Mt.
Selman, Texas. Our prayers go out to his family and friends.
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Joseph Gavitt,
Airman 1st Class
U.S.
Air Force
Belding, Michigan |
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Tony M. Cleaver,
Chaplain (LTC)
U.S.
Army
Jacksonville, Texas
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A1
C James Dodd
U.S.
Air Force
Genoa, Illinois
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click
to enlarge
R.I.P.
AF Master Sgt. William McDaniel and
Staff Sgt. Juan
Ridout, killed 2/22/02 in a helicopter crash in the Philippines.
Our prayers go out to
their family and
friends. Sketch by fellow pararescueman
Tech. Sgt. Ronald
O'Steen. |
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In loving and prayerful memory of:
Staff Sgt. Kendall Damon
Waters-Bey, 29,
Maj. Jay Thomas
Aubin, 36,
Capt. Ryan Anthony
Beaupre, 30,
Cpl. Brian Matthew
Kennedy, 25, and their
eight British
companions. |
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Major Peter
Reinhardt
U.S.A.F. |
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Major Deborah Sands
USAF -
Anesthesia
Houston,
Texas |
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Spc. Eric Foster
U.S.
Army (Infantry)
Huntington, Indiana
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Ensign Don Moore
U.S.
Navy
Bullard, Texas |
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Our prayers for the family and friends of
Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross
Chapman, 31, of San Antonio, Texas.
Sgt. Chapman, a member of the Green Berets, was the first American soldier killed by hostile fire after 90 days in Afghanistan. |
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Specialist Cody Thomson
U.S.
Army
Tucson, Arizona
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Jim Scher,
Joel Scher and
Justin Scher
Father and
Sons
U.S.A.F.R.
Ft. Wayne, Indiana |
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SPC Amanda Thomson
U.S. Army
Philadelphia, PA
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Sgt. David M.
Miedaner
Assistant Chaplain
U.S. Army
Hazleton, Pennsylvania |
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Thank You to Our Friends
Golden Corral
Restaurants
for their generous promotions honoring the military and our
veterans.
Sears
for its generous treatment of its reservist
employees.
To find more
reservist-friendly
businesses, please
click
here.
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch has donated $1 million to create the Intrepid/Anheuser-Busch
Fallen Heroes
Fund, which will provide scholarships to spouses and children of U.S. military and coalition personnel killed during the war in Iraq. The company also recently announced
Operation
Salute, a broad effort to thank the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families for their sacrifices in the war. Please
click here for more information.
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