Today, February 9, is Shawn’s birthday. Sgt. Shawn P. Martin, USMC. He would be 33. The last time I spent time with him was in 2006- he was 29. He and Mimi had come from California for a surprise birthday party for her brother who was turning 30. I’m so glad they were able to come for the party. I will always treasure those memories.
I miss him so much, not as much as Mimi, but a lot. He’s up with the angels. Probably getting a poker game together and having a beer. You go Shawn!
Did you miss my weekly Thursday post? I have been having computer troubles.
I shut down my desktop to get it ready for a memory upgrade. I was using my laptop when, apparently, the hard drive failed. I got up in the morning,hit the button to turn it on and, !whoa!, I saw the “blue screen of death”! First time for me to have that experience. The error message stated that there was no “bootable device”. Funny I don’t remember removing it! LOL So after some troubleshooting, I am convinced that the hard drive failed. Poof! Gone! Since I am a minimalist when it comes to backing up, I will assume that whatever I had on the laptop is now gone. It’s okay, though, I use the desktop more, so most of whatever was on the laptop is also on that one. “”sigh” Now to decide about getting a replacement hard drive and whether I can do the installation myself. I think I can. Even if I shouldn’t, I know that I will probably try. I’m like that. I have some knowledge- just enough to be dangerous- about computers. Luckily, the software that will be need to be re-installed came with this one. Sometimes it doesn’t. Which to me is a mystery.
Anyway, on to the business of the day. The last week was particularly difficult with eight (8) losses in Afghanistan, one (1) in Iraq and three (3) in Pakistan. Twelve (12) of our finest young people gone. Ten (10) from the US Army and two (2) from the US Marine Corps. Just a note that the losses in Pakistan were uncharacteristic in these conflicts. The soldiers were there training Pakistanis.
God Bless you all. Your tours of duty are done on earth. Rest in peace as you continue to watch over the rest of us and keep us safe. Thank you for your service.
Thank you to the families of the fallen for supporting them in their mission. May God Bless you and give you strength to endure the future. May God also grant you peace.
Here it is Thursday again. Seems to be my self-appointed day to update the 2010 Honor Roll. Six (6) names were added. One (1) from the US Army, one (1) from the US Navy and three (3) from the US Marine Corps.
Two (2) are service members from New York State. A soldier - Pfc. Gifford Hurt- from Yonkers and a Marine- LCpl. Zachary Smith- from Hornell which is downstate near Corning. I read some of the articles about Zachary Smith which picture him as eager, fun-loving and hard working. He knew he wanted to serve with the Marines and enlisted after high school graduation in 2006. He was married last summer.
My condolences to all of the families, especially those from New York. I pray for you that you may find the strength to face the future without your loved one. Thank you for supporting them as they served our country. God Bless them and God Bless the USA.
Just a short post to add 5 additional service members since last week’s entries. Four from the US Army and one from the US Air Force.
Bless you all and thank you to the families dealing with the unimaginable. It’s a long road ahead but the strength inherent in our service families will help them endure.
Never forget those you love and miss. Keep them in your hearts.
If you happen to take a look at the Honor Roll page for 2010, you will see that it is askew. It is all uneven and looks unformatted. I sat here for 2 hours trying all sorts of methods shy of redoing the page entirely and could not get it centered. Try as I might, I had no luck. Must have been gremlins at work. :- (
LOL. Anyway, seems like that is a mighty small problem considering the tragedy that struck Haiti. How wonderful are those Marines, Soldiers and Sailors who are hard at work doing whatever is needed from medical concerns to organizing supplies. The medical needs are so very great that it is absolutely mind boggling. And we think we have a health care system in crisis?
I am a news junkie so imagine how many newscasts I have watched including those from Canada which is right over the border. I am so impressed at the scope of the abilities of those who have gone to Haiti to give aid. From search and rescue to attempting to alleviate the critical medical needs, the world has responded in ways that makes one proud to be a citizen of the world. Sure there will be glitches and the hard work of rebuilding will be daunting, but right now pulling together to help the Haitians is the most necessary action.
Please keep these folks in your thoughts and prayers and, if you can, pledge a donation to a reputable charity. Isn’t is a great thing that we now are able to donate through something so easy as a text message? Awesome. Which reminds me that I need to do just that.
Pray for our troops serving in posts worldwide. Pray for those we have lost but will never forget. And lastly pray for anyone who is in crisis anywhere. And thanks to all for your support.
One week ago, I began the new page dedicated to those who make the ultimate sacrifice during the year. At that time we had lost 7 service members. Sadly during the past week, 7 more have been identified as killed in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. We lost 2 serving with the US Army and 5 serving with the US Marine Corps.
Nothing will replace those fine young people. We honor them, their service and thank their families for standing with them. We know that the families’ service is as important as that of the soldier, marine, sailor and airman.
For each person serving in our military, there can easily be a hundred others supporting. So when we lose just one the effect is greater than is imagined. It seems that now we lose someone on a daily basis which means that there are hundreds of family, friends, coworkers, church members and the countless numbers in the towns, villages and cities where the individual grew up feeling loss. So many people finding themselves grieving and remembering. Those lost will not be forgotten because the ones left behind don’t forget.
On Monday, January 11, the first service member from New York State fell in 2010. Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski, 21 years old from Franklin, New York, lost his life in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. He served with the US Marines. According to newspaper accounts, he had aspired to be a Marine even as a little boy. His grieving family can find comfort in the fact that Nick was doing what he loved as most all are.
Farewell, Cpl. Nicholas Uzenski, from a grateful nation.
As of today, January 7, 2010, there have been 6 casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have decided to use the names of all Americans no matter where the service member is from on the honor roll for 2010.
I have come to the conclusion that although this blog originated as one to honor only those from New York State, that all states and territories are represented in the conflicts, therefore I will be putting each name on the Honor Roll for 2010.
Here is hoping that a bright new year has dawned in each of our lives. I am aware, of course, that because service to the country continues that losses will happen. My feverent hope is for a resolution to the conflicts so that as each new year dawns we will see less conflict and more of our service members back home to enjoy the freedoms they have worked so hard to provide for the rest of us.
Thank you to our Hereos for all that you do to protect the United States of America.
So here it is, December 26, 2009. The day after the most beloved holiday of the year.
It’s been pretty uneventful the past couple of days. I’m shuffling between my home and my son’s while I dog sit for him. His dog, Cooper, is such a baby and doesn’t do well alone. He’s a mix of pit bull and staffordshire terrier which might conjure up a rather fierce protective mutt- but not so for Cooper. He loves people and being right in the thick of things. Such a contradiction for a dog thought of as being super protective and downright scary!
On the weather front, we are experiencing freezing rain and just plain yucky weather. It will pass after which the weather will undoubtably return to upstate New York winter.
On the news front, some guy from Nigeria allegedly tried to blow up a Delta/Northwest flight yesterday! He didn’t get to complete his “task” though as a passenger foiled the plot. Good for passengers who still believe that action trumps inaction!
Some day I hope to see news that isn’t focused on destruction. Some day I would like to log on and not feel the need to access the DOD website to check on casualties. Some day.
I hope that it is as quiet around the world where our forces are stationed and deployed as it is here. You could hear a pin drop- so to speak.
I pray for the safety and health of all who are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hope you all enjoyed a rather peaceful day. God Bless All and, hopefully, a Happy New Year!
On my short drive back to work the other day after my lunch break, I heard a song that stuck in my head and heart. Rodney Carrington’s new song, “Camouflage and Christmas Lights” tells the very current story of another holiday, traditionally the most popular and family oriented celebration each year, lived through by our troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly a decade of Christmases have come and gone for our men and women in uniform serving in conflicts that at one time were billed as a “War on Terror.”
Today Christmas is one week away. I, personally, am not ready. I have not finished shopping for gifts to be given to family members. Finding time to do this and juggle the needs of a full-time job by a person who really isn’t a shopper-type is a tad stressful. Frankly, though, the stress is silly in comparison to those whose committment is to freedom and safety for all Americans. Those devoted individuals serving thousands of miles away in foreign lands will not be going to holiday parties or exchanging gifts with those they love and enjoying sumptious meals (compared to what they can get depending on where they are on any given day). Their celebration will most likely be as simple as in the Rodney Carrington song- paper stars on a plastic tree, turkey dinner on a paper plate, making it like home the best they can. Here is the link from YouTube to the video of the song.
The last words in the song, “Thank God it’s a silent night” , brought to mind the story of the Christmas truce during World War I. I looked it up on the History Channel site http://www.history.com/content/christmas/christmas-truce-of-1914. Wouldn’t it be great if for one day, the fighting would stop and enemies could treat one another like friends?
During your celebrations this year, please, please, remember all of our men and women who are deployed- whether in harm’s way or not- with a prayer for their safety as well as a thank you for protecting all of the Americans near and far.
Today is, December 8, 2009. Historically, it is the day the United States entered World War II. The attack on Pearl Harbor on 12/7/1941 forced us into a war that we had been trying to avoid. War was raging in Europe while the US practiced isolation from those troubles. We were not to be spared, though, just as we were not to be spared from the conflict bubbling all over the Mideast many years later.
The attacks on September 11, 2001, on our soil, precipitated our attack on Afghanistan and as it has been said, the rest is history. A constantly developing history. The “march” in to Iraq in 2003 was just the beginning of years of conflict and loss. So much loss. Now we, the citizens of this country, “have committed” thousands more of our service members to the fight in Afghanistan. Some say it’s necessary; some disagree. It is happening never the less.
I have a vested interest in both attacks that propelled us into war. My father was stationed at Schofield Barracks at Pearl Harbor. A young, untested soldier soon began a struggle for survival in the Philippines while trying to defeat the Japanese. He rarely talked about those years- only to say that he lost 5 years of his life. He was changed forever by what he did and, undoubtably, witnessed during the trek from island to island. I often wonder what kind of father he might have been had he not had to fight for our country as well as most of the rest of the world. What a great burden for a young man- for so many young people.
And then there is Shawn, serving his country as a Marine. He was part of the “surge” into Iraq in 2007. Unlike my dad, though, he never came home. The enemy this time was more treacherous; harder to defeat. Despite being part of the best trained and best equipped modern military, it’s hard to survive the bombs. We will not know what kind of father he would have been. Fun, dedicated, loving are words that come to mind. Hopefully he would not have been distant- always mentally fighting the war like my dad was.
They were both good men who served this country with pride, dedication and gave their all for us. Dad, Shawn and thousands of others are now keeping an eye on the US and, hopefully, will guide us in figuring this thing out and putting an end to it. Then maybe we can go back to a “little bit” of isolation and enjoy our great nation without loss- for a while at least.
