Mother of a Fallen US Navy SEAL speaks about what is important to her while a self absorbed POL focuses on only on himself

Thanks to Gateway pundit for putting this video front and center. It needs to be seen by all those who care about our nation and those who swore the oath to defend our nation against all enemies, foriegn and domestic.

All our prayers and thoughts to Karen and Billy Vaughn. True Patriots, Shipmates in the US Navy and all others will never forget the sacrifice your son made and your sacrifice for giving us your son to defend our nation and way of life.

Empty words from politicians and a self absorbed President mean little to the Mother of this fine Patriot. To Obama, this warrior was one more political pawn.

To a grieving Mother and Father, this was their little boy, a son who was only theirs for a short and meaingful life, given freely to preserve our Nation.

The reason

Like the man said, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Many have asked, " Why are we in Afghanistan ???  Why would we want to be there ??? What good could come from being there??"

The enclosed picture answers those questions and a hundred like it.
 
These two kids were on the street area between our villa and the office area. They were playing in the street like kids their age do everywhere.  I gave them cold bottles of water as it was very hot today in Kandahar, reaching 106 degrees.

My heart went out to these two kids - two young lives in a country where the news is usually bad and life is taken for granted.

In March 2012, Sgt. Dennis Weichel Jr, 29-year-old Providence National Guardsman was struck and killed by an armored vehicle on March 22 in Laghman Province after moving an Afghan boy to safety who was trying to retrieve something underneath the vehicle.  He knew the reason why we are here....He freely gave his life for that same reason. He was remembered by his fellow soldiers for having the "courage of a warrior" and the "heart of a father."

These children are the reason why we are here as they (and thousands like them) are Afghanistan's future.

Echoes from a Sacred Space at FOB Frontenac, Afghanistan

The enclosed info was something I had seen back in early 2010 when I was doing a bit of FOB-Hopping around Afghanistan. I came across it in some notes I had rediscovered.

What I had witnessed at FOB FRONTENAC - The name comes from Fort Frontenac, a French fort and trading post located in what is now Kingston, Ontario

– I went there on a two day helicopter hop from hell.  I was there to do a town hall meeting and see if any of their staff would work for the company I was working with at the time.  I had wrenched the crap outta my arm getting off a helo about three weeks earlier and it was killing me.
 
The Pain was an " 11 " on the scale of  1-10 as I managed to have two tendons pop off the bone in my right arm in the process of getting blown off my feet by prop wash from a helo.

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.  Then, I saw something that put it all in perspective.  Here are my notes from back then.  I am still in awe of what was on this FOB out in the middle of nowhere in Afghanistan.  Here's what I had written in 2010:

FOB FRONTENAC - AFGHANISTAN

The picture directly below is from Micheal Yon's report on this Sacred Space -- the others enclosed are the ones I took while I was there.

Enclosed are pictures from Camp Frontenac - a small FOB about 20 miles north of Kandahar...I took a hop there over the last week to do a meet n' greet with some potential new employees from another company. Middleboro Jones riding our company helicopters to get there and then getting stuck there for a day as there were no flights back that day....The next day, I caught a hop back to Kandahar with the Special Forces guys in a helicopter with no lettering or markings on it....if you want to get to where you need to go here, sometimes you have to just go with the flow...no questions asked.

Next to the Chapel, the Chaplain has erected a teepee which holds the pictures of the 21 soldiers lost from the 1-17, the Buffalo Brigade - to see this beautiful sacred space in the midst of all the harshness of the environment here is something beyond words. I stepped into the teepee and viewed the pictures and said a prayer.

There are moments of ultimate beauty here in a harsh landscape, and moments of incredible clarity - seeing how precious life really is.....It is something that is lost on most us during our day-to-day existence. We lose sight of what is really important, and how quickly it can be taken from us if we are not careful.

A prayer for the Brave Buffalo Soldiers and one of thankfulness for all that the LORD has provided to me. I am truly blessed and I was grateful for the reminder.

MEMORIAL DAY - May we never forget those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom

A good article from the National Geographic about how Memorial Day has been changed by our society and how there is movement to change the date back to the original date of May 30th, regardless of where it falls on the calendar.

It is my hope that our citizens never forget how much others have sacrificed for our freedom.

The enclosed picture was one I took when I visited Arlington National Cemetery in 2010 for the funeral of a fallen US Marine.

Memorial Day: How It's Changed, Why Some Oppose 3-Day Weekend

Day of remembrance lost in swirl of summer kickoff?

Brian Handwerk

for National Geographic News

Published May 25, 2012

Every year Memorial Day brings people together in the United States to honor fallen service members on the last Monday in May.

Since its post-Civil War beginnings, the holiday has changed considerably and now may be best known as the start of summer vacation season—prompting some critics to call for moving the date away from a three-day weekend.

Unlike Veterans Day on November 11, which honors all who have served their country, Memorial Day is set aside for special remembrance of those who laid down their lives for U.S. national defense.

Despite the modern spirit of patriotic camaraderie, Memorial Day has its roots in one of the most divisive events in U.S. history: the Civil War.

Soon after the bloody conflict ceased, General John A. Logan—commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans—called for a holiday to be observed every year on May 30.

At the time, that holiday was known as Decoration Day, because Logan wanted to honor the fallen by "strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating, the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion."

But many Civil War memorial ceremonies actually predated Logan's first Decoration Day, which was held at Arlington National Cemetery in 1868. More than two dozen U.S. cities claim to have hosted the first Decoration Day or Memorial Day.

In 1966, the U.S. Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson recognized Waterloo, New York, as the "birthplace" of Memorial Day, based on a May 5, 1866, service held to honor local veterans, which included citywide events and the closings of local businesses.
The first national Memorial Day holiday, designated by Congress, was held in 1971.

Memorial Day a "Sacrosanct" Observance

In the years just after the Civil War, Northern and Southern Memorial Day services didn't necessarily honor the same soldiers.

But since World War I, the holiday has gathered the nation together to honor all men and women who've lost their lives in conflict, from the American Revolution to the present day battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Over the decades the name of the holiday has shifted as well, with Memorial Day gradually becoming the common moniker.

Now in cemeteries across the United States veterans and citizens alike hold ceremonies, and the graves of the fallen are adorned with flowers and U.S. flags.

"We believe that Memorial Day is a sacrosanct national observance for the entire country," said John Raughter, communications director for the American Legion, a nonprofit organization of veterans helping veterans.

Smaller local observances, in which citizens honor veterans known to their communities, remain as links to the original spirit of Decoration Day, he said.

"Thankfully most communities in this country recognize this, and we are grateful that they have observances and ceremonies on the local level. Those are very important."
An End to Memorial Day Weekend?

Due to the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968—which moved observances of several holidays to create long weekends—Memorial Day has for decades been held on the last Monday in May.

But some groups, including the American Legion, hope for a return to the original May 30 observance, to truly set the day apart.

"The majority of Americans view Memorial Day as a time for relaxation and leisure recreation rather than as a solemn occasion and a time to reflect and pay tribute to the American servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives in defense of our Nation," according to an American Legion resolution issued at the group's 2010 National Convention.

Instead of being part of a long weekend, the resolution asks that Congress "restore the official observance of Memorial Day to May 30 and that all American institutions toll their bells for one minute, beginning at 11:00, on that date in remembrance of those who died defending the Nation."

Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, has several times introduced legislation favoring a shift of Memorial Day back to May 30.
(Related pictures: "World War II 'Time Capsule' Fighter Found in Sahara.")
And some communities still observe the original date with solemn parades and other services of remembrance.

Since 2000 people across the U.S. have also been asked to observe a national moment of remembrance at 3:00 p.m. local time on the official national holiday. Flags are flown at half staff until noon, to signify a day of mourning.

"I think people are realizing again that Memorial Day is not about picnics, ball games, or going to the beach," the American Legion's Raughter said.

"There's nothing wrong with those things and enjoying the lifestyle that we have," he added. "But remember that the lifestyle that we have in America—the ability to enjoy a long weekend—was made possible by the nearly one million men and women who have died in service to this country since the American Revolution."

Perhaps the fact that so many of today's U.S. troops are in harm's way, serving in dangerous overseas deployments, has sparked a bit more solemnity, no matter which date is observed, Raughter suggested.

"We seem to remember when we see young men and women come back wounded, amputees, or hear of people we know who made the supreme sacrifice," he said.
"It's a shame that it sometimes takes a war to remind us of the heroes that we have, because even during peacetime, the vets are still with us, and they should be remembered at all times, not only when the guns are firing."

On Duty on Christmas Day in Afghanistan at COP Mustang

To understand how remote this place is, you need to see the enclosed video. This is the tip of the spear, in a mountainous and unforgiving location, 7000 feet above sea level. While you were with friends and family for the holiday, they were on duty and making the best of what they have.

Food for thought next time you feel things are not working well for you...think about the brave warriors who do their best every day and ensure our safety and the safety of others in need.




In Afghanistan, Christmas on top of the world
December 25, 2011
By Clarissa Ward - CBS News

In Afghanistan Sunday, some 91,000 U.S. troops were celebrating Christmas as best they could in the closing days of a year that has seen the deaths of 412 of their comrades. CBS News correspondent Clarissa Ward spent the day with a small unit at a mountainous outpost near the border with Pakistan.

At 7,000 feet, Combat Outpost Mustang, is one of the most breathtaking and remote in Afghanistan. It has been the scene of some tough fighting over the last six months, but the 19 soldiers based there took a little time out to enjoy Christmas on top of the world.

On Christmas morning, the men of Wolfhound Battalion manned their posts as usual, far from home and nine months into a grueling deployment.

The season spirit has been slow to set in here. But there were a few noticeable changes -- an inflatable Frosty the Snowman manning a guard shack.

"He may look nice but he's not," joked one soldier.

Santa Claus took on a slightly different form for the men at Mustang, -- a helicopter flew in from a nearby base, bearing gifts and mail from home.

Pvt. Logan Stamp of New York got cheese and sausage.

Everyone knows the key ingredient to a great Christmas is a delicious meal. And for the soldiers at Mustang, a small kitchen is where the magic happens. Cpl. Billy Jennings worked as a pastry chef before enlisting -- so the men are in very good hands.

"My role up here is basically just to make these guys happy," Jennings said.

The food seemed to hit the spot and for a few moments the men were able to relax. Even their afghan guards were getting into the spirit, donning Santa caps.

But the meal was cut short. As a neighboring checkpoint came under attack, the soldiers rushed off to fire mortars at suspected enemy locations.

The war doesn't stop for holidays up there, but it does serve as a reminder of what is important in life.

"Just waitin' to call my wife," Stamp said. "Can't wait to hear her voice."

"Just to know that everybody back home is safe, safe and happy," said Pvt. Robert Hicks of Oregon. "As long as I get to the see them again, that's all I care about."

For the soldiers, it's already back to business. But the good news is that they will be heading home to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii in March.

PORTRAITS in HONOR, COURAGE & COMMITTMENT - Navy Seals who gave the full measure of service to their country

Rest easy Shipmates, we have the watch.

Bravo Zulu to each of you for your selfless service to a grateful nation.

These men lived the Navy Core Values of " Honor, Courage & Commitment"


Portraits of Navy SEALS killed in helicopter crash
By The Associated Press 10AUG2011

The Navy SEALS who died aboard a downed helicopter in Afghanistan came to the special forces from far-flung corners of the country, some motivated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They were intensely patriotic and talented young men with a love of physical challenges and a passion for the high-risk job they chose.

Thirty Americans — 22 of them SEALS — and eight Afghans were killed Saturday when a rocket-propelled grenade fired by a Taliban insurgent downed their Chinook helicopter en route to a combat mission. All but two of the SEALs were from SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed Osama bin Laden, although military officials said none of the crash victims was on that mission in Pakistan against the al-Qaida leader.

The Pentagon has not yet identified the victims of the crash, but family members and friends have spoken to The Associated Press and other media outlets about them.

Here are the stories of some of the fallen:

___

Matthew Mason

A severe arm injury during fighting in Fallujah in 2004 didn't keep Matthew Mason off the Iraq War battlefield. Nor did it dull the competitive fire of the avid runner and former high school athlete from outside Kansas City.

Within five months of losing part of his left arm, absorbing shrapnel and suffering a collapsed lung, Mason competed in a triathlon. He soon returned to his SEAL unit.

"He could have gotten out of combat," said family friend Elizabeth Frogge. "He just insisted on going back."

Mason, the father of two toddler sons, grew up in Holt, Mo., and played football and baseball at Kearney High School. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998. His wife, who is expecting their third child — another boy — also attended Northwest Missouri.

Mason returned to Missouri in May to compete in a Kansas City triathlon, and took his family to Walt Disney World for the first time this summer, Frogge said.

"He loved doing what he did," she said. "He was the type of guy who thought he was invincible."

___

Jason Workman

Jason Workman had his sights set on becoming a SEAL as a young teenager. He was about 14 when his older brother graduated from West Point. That's when he knew he wanted to be an elite soldier, friend Tate Bennett told The Deseret News. Then came the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and Workman's calling grew even stronger.

"He didn't become a Navy SEAL by chance," Bennett said. "He knew that's what he wanted at a young age and made it happen."

After returning from his Mormon mission, Bennett said, Workman went to Southern Utah University and later joined the Navy.

Across his small hometown of Blanding in southern Utah, flags were flown at half-staff as residents mourned the loss of one of their own.

Even as a SEAL, Workman came home periodically. During his last trip, he led training sessions with local law enforcement, sharing his military skills, and planned to provide more training during a trip home this fall, Mayor Toni Turk told the Salt Lake City Tribune.

___

Jon Tumilson

Jon Tumilson got an early start on his preparation to join the SEALS. He had been a wrestler in high school and competed in marathons and triathlons.

Neighbors remembered the Rockford, Iowa, man as a warrior committed to the SEALs, no matter the pain he endured in training or the risks he ran on each mission.

"When he did something, he put his all into it," Jan Stowe, a neighbor of the Tumilsons for more than 30 years, told the Des Moines Register.

Tumilson, who was 35 when he died, "was going to be a Navy SEAL since I can't remember when," Stowe said. "He's like a hero to everyone here."

Another neighbor, Mark Biggs, said people were shocked by his death.

"You just never thought it would happen to Jon," Biggs told the Mason City Globe Gazette. "He's done so many dangerous things."

Friend Justin Schriever remembered Tumilson as "a die-hard at everything. He'd always go the extra mile on everything. He wouldn't let anything stop him from accomplishing something."

___

Brian Bill

Brian Bill had plans for when he finished his military service. He wanted to return to graduate school and hoped one day to become an astronaut.

For those who knew him, such lofty goals were not out of reach.

"He set his standards high. He was that kind of person," Kimberly Hess, a friend who graduated with him in 2001 from Vermont's Norwich University, told The Advocate newspaper. "He was remarkably gifted and very thoughtful. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for you no matter the time or day."

Diane Warzoha, who had Bill as a student at Trinity Catholic High School in Stamford, said it was no surprise that he fulfilled his goal of joining the SEALs.

"Brian just wanted to do his best, to protect other people ... Challenge did not deter him, ever."

___

Spc. Spencer Duncan, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols, Specialist Alexander Bennett

Three of the crew members aboard the downed Chinook were from the same Army reserve unit — Bravo Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment — based at New Century AirCenter in Gardner, Kan.

Spc. Spencer Duncan, 21, of Olathe, Kan., had written to friends about how much he loved working as a door gunner on a Chinook helicopter. But The Kansas City Star reported that he also told friends that he missed Kansas sunsets and lying in a truck bed listening to the radio and cuddling with his sweetie.

He joined the military in 2008 and had been in Afghanistan since late May.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Nichols, 31, a pilot from Kansas City, Mo., was eager to get back to flying after a stint handling paperwork as a unit administrator. So when the word went out that people were needed to train for a mobilization, Nichols volunteered.

Lt. Col. Richard Sherman, former commander of Nichols' unit, said one of his favorite memories is flying a pace car with Nichols to the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas.

"My happiest and saddest memories are now tied to him," said Sherman, who was in command and working as an instructional pilot when Nichols joined his unit.

"He had no enemies. He was one everyone wanted to be around. You just liked flying with him because you knew he was going to improve as a young pilot and get better every time you flew with him."

Specialist Alexander Bennett, 23, couldn't wait to deploy again after returning from spending a year in Iraq in 2009. So the reservist moved on his own from the Tacoma, Wash., area to Overland Park, Kan., to join Bravo Company.

"He wanted to be part of our unit when it deployed," said Sherman. "He was a typical young kid and liked to go out and have a good time with the guys."

___

Sgt. Patrick Hamburger

Patrick Hamburger planned to propose to his girlfriend, but had a job to do first: a mission in Afghanistan.

The 30-year-old sergeant from Grand Island, Neb., joined the Nebraska National Guard when he was a senior at Lincoln Southeast High School, but this was his first deployment, his brother Chris Hamburger told The Associated Press.

"He didn't have to go, and he wanted to go because his group was getting deployed. He wanted to be there for them. That's him for you," Chris Hamburger said, adding that Patrick always looked out for his two younger brothers and friends.

He was also the kind of guy who helped his girlfriend raise her 13-year-old daughter from another relationship, as well as the couple's own 2-year-old daughter, and planned to propose marriage when he got home, Chris Hamburger said.

Patrick Hamburger had been in Afghanistan less than two weeks and had arrived at Forward Operating Base Shank a few days before climbing aboard the helicopter to rush to the aid of an Army Ranger unit under fire from insurgents.

"It doesn't come as a total surprise that he was trying to help people and that's how it all ended up happening," Chris Hamburger said.

___

Michael Strange

If someone was sad, Michael Strange tried to make them smile. He loved snowboarding, surfing, scuba diving, running, and shooting guns on the range.

"He loved his friends, his family, his country; he loved making people laugh. He was one of a kind," Strange's brother, Charles Strange III, said outside the family's Philadelphia home, where American flags were planted throughout the neighborhood.

Strange, 25, decided to join the military when he was still in high school, and had been in the Navy for about six years, first stationed in Hawaii and for the last two in Virginia Beach, where he became a SEAL about two years ago, his mother, Elizabeth Strange, told The Associated Press.

But he always told his family not to worry.

"He wasn't supposed to die this young. He was supposed to be safe," Elizabeth Strange said. "And he told me that, and I believed him. I shouldn't have believed him because I know better. He would say, 'Mom, don't be ridiculous and worry so much. I'm safe.'"

Charles Strange said his brother loved the SEALS, especially "the competitiveness, getting in shape and running and swimming and all of that."

He also had two sisters and recently became an uncle. The family last saw him in June, when he came for a weeklong visit for his birthday, his mother said. He was supposed to be back for Thanksgiving.

"It was going to be such a good time," his mother said.

His grandmother Bernice Strange remembered him as a young man who loved cheesesteaks and the Philadelphia Eagles and always brought her flowers.

"He was a wonderful grandson to have," she said Monday night. "God truly blessed me with him."

____

John W. Brown

If Elizabeth Newlun wanted to have a serious conversation with her son, John Brown, she had to shoot baskets with him.

"There's nothing athletic about me, but I realized that you have to get into other people's comfort zone to get information," said Newlun, of Rogers, Ark., explaining that her son, an Air Force technical sergeant, was a "gentle giant" who "just loved anything physical, anything athletic."

Newlun said her son played football and basketball in high school and went to John Brown University on a swimming scholarship. He had wanted to go into the medical field and become a nurse anesthetist, but decided to join the military after seeing a video of a special tactical unit, she said.

The airman was a paramedic and ready to attend to the medical needs of anyone who was rescued, his mother said.

Arkansas state Rep. Jon Woods went to high school with Brown in Siloam Springs and remembered playing basketball and watching "Saturday Night Live" on the weekends.

"When you think of what the ideal model of a soldier would be, he would be it," said Woods. "He could run all day."

___

Aaron Carson Vaughn

Aaron Carson Vaughn was a man of deep faith, insisting to his family that he didn't fear his job as a Navy SEAL "because he knew where he was going" when he died.

"Aaron was a Christian and he's with Jesus today," Geneva Vaughn of Union City, Tenn., told The Associated Press on Saturday. "He told us when we saw him last November that he wasn't afraid ... he said, 'Granny, don't worry about me.'"

"He was a tough warrior, but he was a gentle man."

Geneva Vaughn said her grandson, 30, joined the SEALS straight out of boot camp and was already a decorated fighter when he was asked by the Navy to return stateside to become an instructor. But he applied to SEAL Team 6 after two years, earning his way onto the squad in 2010.

He asked the military to return him to combat and shipped out just six weeks before he was killed, Vaughn said.

"He was doing what he loved to do and he was a true warrior," Geneva Vaughn said.

Aaron Vaughn leaves behind his wife, Kimberly, and two children, 2-year-old son Reagan and 2-month-old daughter Chamberlyn.

"They will take away his love for Christ. They will take his dream and his love for the country, and they will know what an amazing man he is," Kimberly said about the children in an interview on NBC's "Today" show Monday.

___

Robert James Reeves, Jonas Kelsall

Robert James Reeves and Jonas Kelsall had been childhood friends in Shreveport, La., where they played soccer together and graduated from Caddo Magnet High School, Kelsall's father, John, told The Times of Shreveport and KLSA-TV.

Both joined the military after graduation, though the 32-year-old Reeves spent a year at Louisiana State University first, his father, Jim Reeves, told the newspaper.

Reeves became a SEAL in 1999 and served on SEAL Team 6, his father said. During his many deployments, he earned four Bronze Stars and other honors.

Kelsall, 33, was one of the first members of SEAL Team 7, his father said.

He trained in San Diego and met his wife of three years, Victoria, when he was attending the University of Texas out of Basic Underwater Demolition training, his father said.

Reeves placed several American flags outside his home and his neighbors joined in, many decorating their homes in red, white and blue in support of the families.

___

Kraig Vickers

When he was a Maui High School football player, no one could match Kraig Vickers' intensity on the field.

But off the field? "You couldn't find a nicer guy," his former coach remembers.

"He played middle linebacker, so he was really smart, the quarterback of the defense; and when he put on his helmet, no one could match his intensity and aggressiveness," coach Curtis Lee told the Maui News.

Vickers, who would have turned 37 on Thursday, graduated from high school in 1992 and attended Evangel College in Missouri on a football scholarship. "He decided college wasn't for him," and returned home, his father, Robert Vickers, said. After stints in tree trimming and working as a hotel security guard, he became a certified scuba diver and decided to join the Navy in 1996.

He lived in Virginia Beach, Va., with his wife Nani, who is seven months' pregnant with their third child. Robert Vickers said she is making plans to return to Hawaii because she only has a small window of time before doctors won't allow her to fly.

"He wanted to be buried near the ocean," his father said, adding that the family is awaiting details on when the body will arrive on Maui.

___

Chris Campbell

Chris Campbell may have been physically slight, but family and friends said the Navy SEAL was always ready to take on a challenge.

His mother, Diane Campbell, told The Daily News of Jacksonville she remembered him and his older brother learning to ride a unicycle brought back from Okinawa as one example of her son's determination.

"If Chris thought he could, he would try," Diane Campbell said.

Former high school football coach Jack Baile remembered Campbell, 36, showing he was up to a test when he tried out for the team as a smallish junior at about 5 foot-7 and 140 pounds.

"When kids come out for football for the first time, the first thing you're worried about is, are they going to like to be hit, or want to be hit, and like to hit. That was not a problem with Chris. He had no fear with that," Baile told The Associated Press.

"I remember hearing for the first time when he had joined the SEALS, I thought that kind of fits Chris. He didn't have a lot of fear of things and I think he always wanted to try to prove to somebody that he could do things. He was an adventurous-type guy."

Campbell's work frequently sent him on missions out of the country, and his family asked few questions when he showed up with a full beard or arrived for a visit that could only last three hours. In an email to his daughter Samantha sent days before the crash, he wrote that he was looking forward to coming home in November and celebrating her 15th birthday in January.

Chris Campbell told his family that if he was killed in the line of duty, he wanted the local newspaper to write about his life and death, with a request for donations in his memory to the Wounded Warrior Project. The project helps wounded service members recover from their war injuries.

___

Nicholas Spehar

When 24-year-old Nicholas Spehar said he was going to do something, you could take him at his word.

The 2005 graduate of Chisago Lakes High School was a "quiet leader," a star in academics and three sports during his time at the school along Minnesota's eastern border, said Principal Dave Ertl.

"Nick was an active young man, and if he said he was going to do something, he did it," Ertl said. "I could see him as a Navy SEAL and giving 110 percent to serve his country."

Younger brother Luke Spehar told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis that the family does not want to talk about Nick, the second of five children, until after his funeral. "We need time," he said.

Craig Swanberg, 46, of Chisago City, a town of about 4,700, said the Spehar kids played football with his own children.

"The whole family is a down-to-earth group ... nice, everyday, salt-of-the-earth people," Swanberg said. "Nick was a big kid, a powerlifter, who was not as soft spoken as his brothers."

Ertl said Spehar played football and baseball for Chisago Lakes, starred on the swimming team and was an academic letter winner.

"He gave 100 percent in high school," Ertl said. "And he gave 100 percent to our country."

___

David Carter

David Carter was a man of faith who was "somebody you could count on."

Yolanda Levesque, a neighbor speaking for the pilot's family, called Carter an outstanding father, "a true Christian" and a patriot.

"He was our American hero," Levesque said, struggling to keep her composure while reading from a statement at a news conference Tuesday.

The 47-year-old Carter of the Denver suburb of Aurora was a chief warrant officer 4, a full-time Army National Guardsman and an instructor pilot. He was a skilled aviator with more than 700 hours of combat flying time, said Army Guard Col. Chris Petty.

Carter was one of two pilots flying the Chinook CH-47D on Saturday when it was apparently shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by an insurgent.

He had a passion for training young aviators, Petty said, and leaves behind "much more than dozens" of new pilots he taught.

"There's a big hole in our organization today," Petty said.

Maj. Gen. H. Michael Edwards said Carter was "somebody you could count on."

"Every time you needed a launch, a helicopter for a state mission, Dave Carter was there," Edwards said.

Carter, of the Denver suburb of Aurora, is survived by his wife, Laura, and two children, Kyle and Kaitlen.

Carter's sister-in-law Marie Krizanovic described him as a "gentle-souled person."

"Happy-go-lucky, gentle-natured," Krizanovic said. "He had a very strong spiritual faith. He loved flying."

David and Laura Carter were set to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary in December

4th of July - At Home & Over There

The reports from the homefront today were as expected - The 4th of July went off as planned with parades, cookouts, festivities, fireworks and the Boston Pops played on the Esplanade for hundreds of thousands cheering 235 years of our Nation's Independence....

Meanwhile, the effort to fight those who would terrorize the innocent went on as usual also....While those back home enjoyed a summer ritual of cookouts and family get-togethers, brave men & women stood the watch in places far from home....

Brings to mind a quote from Lt. Galloway in the movie " A Few Good Men"

Lt. Weinberg: Why do you like them so much?

Galloway: Because they stand upon a wall and say, "Nothing's going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch."

Memorial Day 2011

Aussie Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith earns the Victoria Cross for Australia, his nation's highest honor

Let's hear it for the Aussies...The men from "Down Under" are out there taking it to the enemy....An Aussie Corporal steps up and ensures that he & his mates don't allow the enemy to rule the day....

Inspired bravery in face of death
Ian McPhedran - The Daily Telegraph January 24, 2011 12:00AM

In the official citation for his Victoria Cross for Australia, the selfless bravery that earned Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith this nation's highest military honour is detailed for the first time

ON June 11, 2010, a troop of the Special Operations Task Group conducted a helicopter assault into Tizak, Kandahar Province, in order to capture or kill a senior Taliban commander.

Immediately upon the helicopter insertion, the troop was engaged by machinegun and rocket-propelled grenade fire from a number of dominating positions.

Two soldiers were wounded in action and the troop was pinned down by fire from three machineguns in an elevated fortified position to the south of the village.

Under the cover of close air support, small arms and machinegun fire, Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith and his patrol manoeuvred to within 70m of the enemy position in order to neutralise the enemy machinegun positions and regain the initiative.

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Under heavy fire

UPON commencement of the assault, the patrol drew very heavy, intense, effective and sustained fire from the enemy position.

Corporal Roberts-Smith and his patrol members fought towards the enemy position until, at a range of 40m, the weight of fire prevented further movement forward.

At this point, he identified the opportunity to exploit some cover provided by a small structure.

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At point-blank range

AS HE approached the structure, Corporal Roberts-Smith identified an insurgent grenadier in the throes of engaging his patrol. Corporal Roberts-Smith instinctively engaged the insurgent at point-blank range resulting in the death of the insurgent.

With the members of his patrol still pinned down by the three enemy machinegun positions, he exposed his own position in order to draw fire away from his patrol, which enabled them to bring fire to bear against the enemy. His actions enabled his Patrol Commander to throw a grenade and silence one of the machineguns.

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Storming the enemy

SEIZING the advantage, and demonstrating extreme devotion to duty and the most conspicuous gallantry, Corporal Roberts-Smith, with a total disregard for his own safety, stormed the enemy position killing the two remaining machinegunners. His act of valour enabled his patrol to break in to the enemy position and to lift the weight of fire from the remainder of the troop who had been pinned down by the machinegun fire.

On seizing the fortified gun position, Corporal Roberts-Smith then took the initiative again and continued to assault enemy positions in depth during which he and another patrol member engaged and killed further enemy.

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Conspicuous gallantry

HIS acts of selfless valour directly enabled his troop to go on and clear the village of Tizak of Taliban.

This decisive engagement subsequently caused the remainder of the Taliban in Shah Wali Kot District to retreat.

Corporal Roberts-Smith's most conspicuous gallantry in a circumstance of extreme peril was instrumental to the seizure of the initiative and the success of the troop against a numerically superior enemy.

His valour was an inspiration to the soldiers with and alonside whom he fought and is in keeping with the finest traditions of the Australian army and the Austrlain Defence Force