Veteran @ MindSay

I pray that the reading of this very personal account of war and its aftermath will benefit other combat veterans agonized by severe and chronic PTSD as it has been for me in the writing of it. The intention of this account is to help them, their friends and loved ones better understand this devastating “psychological, automatic, and natural response” to repeated, life threatening situations and to offer them hope and guidance in achieving a much brighter future. This publication will bring them to the realization that they are not alone in their sufferings and that professional help, understanding and comradeship, is as close as the nearest Veterans Administration Medical Center.

 

READ ON

 http://www.police-writers.com/articles/griffin_bugle_call.html

I like this picture. This was taken at the Victoria rally for Ron Paul. The guy standing with Ron is a friend of mine. His name is Coolidge. He's an 82 year old WWII veteran. He's a real patriot. If the country had more people like him in it then it would be a much better place.

I am saying this now instead of tomorrow:  I want to THANK every single Veteran in the USA for their service, their loyality, and their lives that they have placed on hold and/or gave up for the service and protection of this Country.  I want to also THANK all the Warriors in every Military branch that is currently serving our country today.

 

Veteran's Day usually comes and goes with out a lot of hubbub in a lot of areas of the US.  I am not sure why.  My own town didn't do to much besides close it's gov't offices and put the flags along main street.  You know I was 5 years old when the Veitnam Memorial was unvieled.  I actually remember my dad and a lot of my uncles being exstatic over it.  But also sad and not because of friends they lost during the conflict, but because the Korean War Vets, still didn't have a National Memorial.  And they lost friends in that war also.

 

When I was 17 years old and a Senior in Highschool, myself and a group of Seniors and Juniors from my school participated in Close Up.  Which is a School Program that sends Srs and Jrs to DC for a week to learn, discuss, and debate Federal Politics.  It is held so many weeks through out the year and your school doesn't necesarily go with other schools from your state.  The states that were with us, were WA, MA, MI, WY, NE (us), KS, WVA, and CT.  We were paired with one member of our group and two members from another school from another state in the hotel.  What was really eye opening was that the Midwest and West State Schools on our week, made a point to add the Vietnam Memorial to our own intinerary, outside of the Close Up one.  A lot of us were either asked to go by our parents who have never been to DC since the Memorial was placed and a few of us went to look up family member's names and get pencil shadings of the names.  The East States (includiing MI) had no want to go to the Memorial.  Said why bother going?  That boggled my mind!  But again I grew up in a Military family where the majority of the men served and my own brother was currently in the Navy and served during Desert Storm already, my family was Legion and Legion Aux, and I was chosen for the Legion Girl's State my junior year of highschool.  AGain a week where the Legion sends down a Girl and Boy to go to their State Capital's for a week with the Help of a College in town.  OUrs was UNL that put us up.  And we had to go to lecutres, classes, and to the Capital to learn, discuss, and also debate our State Politics and how they worked.  I just couldn't comprhend why so many kids didn't want to go to the Memorial.  And either could some of the kids from the Midwest and Western States! 

 

And it all goes back to the fact that every once in a while makes news, cities, towns, and communitis in the US all loose soliders in conflicts and wars, but the Midwest and West can loose whole communities from their warriors dying or just not coming back home from serving their country.  And if they choose not to come back it isn't because their town or city has nothing to offer them but they choose not to come back because of what they have seen and do not want to put their troubles on to their family and friends.

 

I finally convinced my ever loving if not irritating Husband finally to join the Legion this summer.  I have yet to join the Legion Aux again because I just can't remember to get the enrollment forms to the lady!  My mom is looking through her paperwork (she is this town's Legion Aux Vic Pres) to see if she can find me enrollment forms.  The lady that I need to give them too is the Enrollment Officer for Bago's Legion Aux and they haven't ordered any enrollment forms lately because not to many women join and now she can't remember what she did with them.  I fully urg any and all ex military vetrans of Desert Strom and Iraqi Freedom to join the Legion and have their spouses and children either join the Legion Aux or Sons of the Legion.  The WWII vets are dying out (sad to say) but when they finally relinquish control of the Legion the Korian and Veitnam Vets are more than happy to take the Legion over, get it where it needs to be at to address their newer brothers and sisters of the Military and happily hand it over to the Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom vets when it comes time for it.

 

It is time for our generation of Warriors and their families to step up to the plate and emerse ourselves in to the workings of not only the Legion but also the VFW!  To teach these old timers that a new breed of Vet is out there and to also teach our children and down the line our grandchildren to honor and thank our Militery and our Veterans.  Once I get my paper work in for the Bago's Legion Aux, I will be the youngest member of spouses at the age of 30 and the older Indian and White ladies have already made comment that they might have me take over Enrollment for them so I can go hit up my friends and their partners to join.  And to get their kids to join either the Aux or Sons of the Legion.  The ladies have also said they might have me start the paper work to get the Jr. Aux up and going.  My own parents are apart of the Legion and Legion Aux in our town but it is dying out because a WWII Vet who runs it won't let the Korian and Veitnam Vets run it and he has driven out all the members, and since I had Randy join Bago's Legion and I will be joining their Aux, they are debating if they join another Legion and Aux and give up their Ajunte (sp?) and Vic Pres position and join a Legion and Aux that accepts the younger and middle age vets with out alinating them like so many WWII vets do!

 

And on this note:  Thank You to all the Vets and Current Service Men!

1.  Grand Entry on Thursday.  The first two gentlemen carry the Eagle Staff's.  One of them at all times is the Winnebago NE's Legion or VA's staff and the other one each day is a visiting organization staff.

 

2.  This picture is of the various pow wow princesses from other tribes and last year's Ho Chunk princess.  One of these girls came clear up from NM!  Now contrary to popular beilf.  Tribes do NOT have Indian Princesses.  They have Chef daughters and most Chefs are not chosen from family but the best warrior.  This is a white man thing.  The Pow Wow Princesses represent not only their respective tribe but their communities!  The Ponca Tribe had 2 Princesses.  One for the tribe and one for the Warrior Society.  The Ho Chunk Tribe of NE had 2 also.  One Sr (16 and up) and one Jr (16 and below).  Don't ask me which Ponca tribe it could have been the OK one or the NE one.  They didn't say!

 

3.  Color Guard!  I should have had it underneith Grand Entry!  The various military flags are represented.  The Ho Chunk Tribe of NE was the first Tribe in the US to have a Congressional OK for their Pow Wow.  This is called the Homecoming Pow Wow to Honor the last Chef of the Ho Chunk tribe (of NE)  Cheif Little Priest.  Little Priest and many of the Ho Chunk warriors served Fort Omaha Scouts and they held a pow wow with the gov'ts okay (at the time no large gathering of indians could happen with out gov't okay) to welcome their warriors home!  Today this Homecoming Pow Wow of the Ho Chunk Tribe still happens and all Warriors from all walks of life are honored through out the celebration.  They have a song for each of the Military Branches and all Veterans and Family of Veterans and those serving are welcome to dance.  My children and I danced in all of the Military songs but the Coast Guards!  That is the only branch we have no family in or served in.  They even have a Mother's of Warriors dance for all the mothers and grandmothers!  A few of my friends from highschool signing in some of the drum groups went and talked to the head of pow wow commetee and suggested they have a drum group compose a Spouse of Warriors song because of how many of my age group that were there have spouses that served.  I was the only one from my class (from my town) that paid honor to my family; my friends from Bago danced along side of me.

 

 

4.  The first gentleman in this pictures is called the Head Man dancer.  He helps in the areana while the men are dancing.  He leads all the men and boys in during Grand Entry and during retreat leads them out.  The men behind him are the Golden Age Dancers (Men over 50) 

 

5.  This Golden Age Dancer is a Fancy Dancer.  These are the most watched men's dancers out there so for this guy to be dancing in his 50s or 60s this fast of paced is something else.  And let me tell you, this gentleman can keep up with the Men's if he wanted too!  He was my favorite out of the Golden Age men!  Scared me a bit on Friday evening, he staggared a bit during a Special.  But he was okay and kept right on dancing after his granddaughter ran him out some water!

 

6.  I play softball with this gentleman and his wife!  I know his wife but I can't for the world of me think of his name.  He dances Grass Dancing.  He won his Special and boy can he move!  My girl Mikal has herself a handsome man!  All my friends in the drum groups next to us were laughing their asses off because I said:  "Boy, now I know why Indian families can get so large!  If I had a man who could move his hips like some of these men do I would want to bed him all the time!"

 

7.  These guys are the Men's Fancy Dancers.  These are the ones you want to watch!  They go extermly fast to the beat of the drum, go down low, and usually end in splits!  They are extermly fun to watch on a Sneak up dance!  Sneak up dances are when they tell the story of sneaking up on either an enemy or game.

 

8.  I don't know what these guys names are but they were our Pow Wow buddies for the weekend!  They traveled up from one of the Southwest states.  We sat next to them all weekend long.  They are dressed in their tradational style and were the only ones to partake in what is called the Chicken Dance.  Which I think (but don't quote me) a Southwestern dance.  The dance tells the story of the prairee chicken mating.  We helped the long haired guy's wife out giving them water because she had an injuried hand and they helped us out by keeping an eye on the kids!  Which came in handy on Sunday when my girl Bree had to work and I had to help her ol man Arjan get the kids ready.  They helped me get Trystan's roach on him tight!  That is the thing on the top of their heads!

 

 

I think this is enough pictures for tonight.  I have to a few more to post of the women and of the young boys.  Not to mention of my neice and nephew!  Hope you enjoyed these pictures

 

American Forces Press Service

 

May 1, 2007 – Hundreds of musicians from across the country will pay tribute to the nation's fallen heroes on Armed Forces Day, May 19, in an event called "EchoTaps." The first EchoTaps was held in 2005, when nearly 700 brass players from 30 states gathered in upstate New York to perform the military bugle call "Taps." Buglers performed a continuous cascading version of "Taps" over a 42.2-mile path between the Woodlawn National Cemetery in Elmira and Bath, N.Y.

 

Later at the Bath location, the players performed "Taps" en masse. The project involved 2,200 volunteers and attracted national media coverage.

 

This year, a national program is being planned that will stage EchoTaps at each of the 123 national cemeteries across the United States. Organizers at each location will perform a tribute based on the number of buglers, from 10 to 1,000.

 

Volunteers playing horns of all types will render a cascade of "Taps" at 11 a.m. local time at each site on May 19, beginning at American Battle Monuments Commission sites in the Philippines, North Africa and then throughout Europe.

 

A variety of programs will follow at national cemeteries, including Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, National Park Service cemeteries, and participating state veterans cemeteries across America, beginning on the East Coast and concluding in Honolulu.

 

EchoTaps is a cooperative effort of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Bugles Across America. The purpose of the program is to raise awareness of national cemeteries and celebrate the 60th anniversary of the VA Voluntary Service program, which uses volunteers to help provide services to veterans.

 

EchoTaps also is aimed at increasing the number of buglers available for military burial services, volunteerism, and exposure of the VA Voluntary Service program.

 

As an example of events planned, the Military Salute Project is coordinating the event at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. The Fort Snelling Memorial Rifle Squad and the Minnesota State Band will take part.

 

Tribute to the Troops, a nonprofit group based in Center City, Minn., also is slated to participate. The group organizes an annual motorcycle ride and concert to raise funds for America's fallen heroes and their families and also donates proceeds to charities benefiting those who still serve, such as Fisher House and the Wounded Warriors Hospital Fund.

 

Tribute to the Troops is a member of America Supports You, a Defense Department program that highlights what American individuals and corporations are doing to support military members, veterans and their families.

 

Article sponsored by Criminal Justice online leadership as well as police and military personnel who have authored books.