R.I.P. Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr.

(Taken from www.lcsun-news.com)LAS CRUCES - As the American flag waved at half-staff over Gadsden High School's annual Veterans Day assembly on Tuesday, students who gathered with faculty and staff to pay tribute to those who have served were reminded that sometimes war hits much too close to home.

During the ceremony, which honored veterans around the world along with more than a dozen in attendance, the assembled students observed a moment of silence for Army Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr., who was killed Nov. 4 in Ad Dawr, Iraq, after being hit by sniper fire, according to Army officials. Carrasco, 25, was a 2003 graduate of GHS.

Carrasco's former teacher at GHS, Christina Lessau, who described herself as a close family friend, spoke during the ceremony, describing Carrasco as man who was protective of his family and of his country.

"Tony is one of my heroes," she said in a voice strained with emotion. "Today we dedicate this to Tony Carrasco, who was a unique human being."

Lessau wiped away tears as she embraced members of Carrasco's family, who received red carnations and purple irises from the students.

In honor of Carrasco and Maj. Eduardo Caraveo, 52, a former counselor at the school who was killed in last week's shooting at Fort Hood, members of the Navy JROTC Drill Team at Gadsden High School performed a maneuver patterned after the aerial salute known as the missing man formation, in which one jet abruptly veers away from the formation.

Petty Officer 1st Class Rodrigo Robles, 16, a junior, represented the "missing man" in Tuesday's performance, which also honored all fallen military personnel.

"It was a great honor doing it," he said after the assembly. "It was just to thank them for the job they do."

Carrasco and his wife, Johana, and stepchildren were stationed at Fort Riley, Kan. Members of Carrasco's family declined to be interviewed, but in comments provided by Lessau, Johana Carrasco, who is expecting the couple's child, described her husband as the love of her life, who treated her and her children with love and respect.

Other family members expressed their shock at his death, and described Carrasco as a happy, playful person. His parents praised his bravery in choosing to join the Army and fight for freedom.

The Army lists Berino, N.M., as Carrasco's hometown, but Lessau said he and his family lived in nearby Anthony, N.M. Carrasco was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division in Fort Riley.

Carrasco is survived by his parents, Antonio and Juana Carrasco; wife, Johana Carrasco, and unborn child; stepdaughter, Ilse, and stepson, Axel; sisters, Rosie Carrasco (Raymond Flores), Susana Carrasco (Adrian Cardona) and Jessica Carrasco (Steven Lopez), nephew Raymond Flores Jr. and niece Kayla Flores, as well as other family members and friends.

A viewing for Carrasco will be held 2 p.m. Friday at Iglesia Jesucristo Apostolica in Berino. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the same church.

R.I.P.

KILLED IN ACTION: NOVEMBER 1 - 7, 2009 Please pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of those who served our nation with honor, and remember also those who mourn their loss.

Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr., 25, NM
Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, NY
Spc. Jonathon M. Sylvestre, 21, CO
Rifleman Philip Allen, 20, England
Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright, 26, MD
Spc. Aaron S. Aamot, 22, WA
Spc. Gary L. Gooch Jr., 22, FL
Sgt. Phillip Scott, 30, England
Spc. Julian L. Berisford, 25, WV
Cpl. Steven Boote, 22, England
Warrant Officer Class 1 Darren Chant, 40, England
Guardsman James Major, 18, England
Sgt. Matthew Telford, 37, England
Cpl. Nicholas Webster-Smith, 24, Wales

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Attorney for 9/11 jihadist; "They'll use the trial to air criticisms..."

(Taken from the YAHOO news service) NEW YORK – The five men facing trial in the Sept. 11 attacks will plead not guilty so that they can air their criticisms of U.S. foreign policy, the lawyer for one of the defendants said Sunday.

Scott Fenstermaker, the lawyer for accused terrorist Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, said the men would not deny their role in the 2001 attacks but "would explain what happened and why they did it." (Explain? Expect a diatribe.)

The U.S. Justice Department announced earlier this month that Ali and four other men accused of murdering nearly 3,000 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in the U.S. will face a civilian federal trial just blocks from the site of the destroyed World Trade Center.

Ali, also known as Ammar al-Baluchi, is a nephew of professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Mohammed, Ali and the others will explain "their assessment of American foreign policy," Fenstermaker said.

"Their assessment is negative," he said. (Really? Who'd a thunk it?)

Fenstermaker met with Ali last week at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He has not spoken with the others but said the men have discussed the trial among themselves.

Fenstermaker was first quoted in The New York Times in Sunday's editions.

Critics of Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try the men in a New York City civilian courthouse have warned that the trial would provide the defendants with a propaganda platform. (Which is exactly what is happening.)

Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said Sunday that while the men may attempt to use the trial to express their views, "we have full confidence in the ability of the courts and in particular the federal judge who may preside over the trial to ensure that the proceeding is conducted appropriately and with minimal disruption, as federal courts have done in the past." (Horseshit. Look for the present administration use this to deflect attention from whatever is their most pressing PR problem at the time. Expect Bushbashing to continue.)

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Holder for hours about his decision to send the five 9/11 suspects to New York for trial.

Critics of Holder's decision — mostly Republicans — argued the trial will give Mohammed and his co-defendants a world stage to spout hateful rhetoric. Holder said such concerns are misplaced, and any pronouncements by the suspects would only make them look worse. (He knows this how?)

"I have every confidence that the nation and the world will see him for the coward that he is," Holder told the committee. "I'm not scared of what Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has to say at trial — and no one else needs to be, either." (What a putz. Hey dummy, remember the furor over the supposed flushing of Korans down the toilet? How did the world see that fantasy?)

The attorney general said he does not believe holding the trial in New York — at a federal courthouse that has seen a number of high-profile terrorism trials in recent decades — will increase the risk of terror attacks there. (My ass. The Big Apple will become the #1 target of opportunity for every fired-up jihadist that hears the crap coming out of their fellow followers of the Pedophile Prophet.)

Here's my prediction, may God grant I be completely wrong. The jihadists will use the trial as a pulpit for their "grievances" to be aired. Islamists the world over will hang on every word and act out violently as they see fit. The present Administration in D.C. will equivocate, try to avoid being "judgmental" and the President's Apology Tour will continue with a new phase. The "Blame America First" mentality will shift into high gear.

This won't stop a new rash of bombings and killings now happening here in the continental USA. When they do happen, Homeland Security will fall all over itself to insure the safety of Muslims within the country. Since the folks at HS already believe potential right-wing extremists pose a greater threat than anyone else, take a guess at who'll they'll go after first.

Look for the suspension of habeus corpus for starters after that. There'll be a mobilizing of a "civilian corp" to protect the country, ostensibly to avoid conflict with the doctrine of Posse Comitatus. Volunteers from SEIU, ACORN and the like will swell the ranks. I wonder if they'll be issued brown shirted uniforms? Then look for an increasing number of government designated troublemakers to be taken into custody.

By the time 2012 rolls around no opportunity provided by this self-generated crisis will be left unexploited.

The genesis of all of this tinfoil hat thinking of mine is the thought that "the ends justifies the means" is a major mindset in this administration. I've no doubt there are lofty goals in mind, the desire for peace on Earth and goodwill to all. But I've also no doubt that if it takes spilling a little blood here and there it'll be willingly accepted. Hey, our present Commander-in-Chief has such a disdain for human life he voted AGAINST the Illinois version of the Born Alive Act that procures basic medical care for babies that survive abortion. If that doesn't denote a severe emotional disconnect with his fellow human beings I'll eat this keyboard.

So beginning with that mindset, what price would be too high to achieve the goals of world peace, brotherhood among all, etc? Good intentions true enough, but there are roads paved with those intentions.

It's zealous thinking at it's best. Zealots, no matter what their beliefs, make me nervous because of the "ends justifies the means" rationale.

Stock up on the bullets, beans, Bibles and rosaries, (the last item is optional). We'll be needing them all in the showdowns that come to each of us.

I really wish I didn't believe this crap will happen. Really, someone tell me to take off the tinfoil hat and give me some reassurance it's just my paranoia kicking in.

Now I'm going to go pray for a while. In all honesty, I've really amped up on that in the last year.

R.I.P. Sgt. Eduviges G. Wolf

(Taken from www.examiner.com) Army Sgt. Eduviges G. Wolf, 24, a wife and mother from the Los Angeles area was killed Sunday in Afghanistan's Kunar province when insurgents attacked her vehicle with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Wolf, who was from the city of Hawthorne and had a husband and two young daughters, was assigned to the 704th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, out of Fort Carson, Colo.

Her husband Josh, whom she met at the Fort Bragg, Colo. Army base, was serving in another unit in Afghanistan at the time of her death. He has since left the country to be with the couple's two young daughters, Valerie, 1, and Isabel 3, who are staying with his mother in South Dakota.

Sergeant Eduviges Wolf bravely fought to defend our country overseas, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a prepared statement. "Her honorable service to our country will forever be remembered with great respect.”
A Fort Carson spokeswoman says this is the deadliest single month for the post since the war in Afghanistan started in 2001 and Iraq was invaded in 2003.

R.I.P. Spc. Brandon K. Steffey

(Taken from www.record-eagle.com)LANSING – Governor Granholm ordered United States flags throughout the state of Michigan and on Michigan waters lowered for one day Wednesday in honor of Army Specialist Brandon K. Steffey of Sault Ste Marie who died in Laghman province, Afghanistan, while on active duty supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Flags should be returned to full-staff Thursday, November 5.

Spc. Steffey, age 23, died October 25 of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 178th Military Police Detachment, 89th Military Police Brigade, 111 Corps, Fort Hood, Texas.

Funeral services will be held 4 p.m.Wednesday, November 4, at Sault Area High School.

Spc. Steffey was serving his second tour of duty, having first served in Iraq. He became a dog handler during his tour in Afghanistan. His dog Maci was trained to find militants who build, place and detonate IEDs. Spc. Steffey saw Maci as a fellow soldier and his best friend. They were inseparable.

R.I.P. Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen

(Taken from www.thesunchronicle.com) NORTH ATTLEBORO - The community is mourning the death of a young man who was fulfilling his dream of being a helicopter pilot for the U.S. Marines when he was killed Monday in Afghanistan.

Marine Capt. Kyle Van De Giesen, 29, a 1998 North Attleboro High School graduate, was killed in one of two separate helicopter crashes in that embattled country, his family confirmed.

Van De Giesen's death came just a week before he was set to end his tour, in time for the birth of his second child.

"It is with sadness today that we learned that our son, brother and husband Marine Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen was killed today in the line of duty in Afghanistan," his family said in a statement Monday. "He fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a Marine helicopter pilot, protecting his family and serving his country."

The two helicopter crashes Monday involved a total of three choppers, two of which collided in midair in the south of the country, and a third that went down in the wake of a firefight in Afghanistan's west, according to the NATO force and American officials.

It was not immediately clear in which crash Van De Giesen was killed.

Van De Giesen was a star quarterback for the North Attleboro High School football team and a 2002 graduate of St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.

He was stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

In 2005, Van De Giesen was inducted into the Attleboro Area Football Hall of Fame.

In addition to his wife Megan, who is pregnant with the couple's second child, and daughter Avery, Van De Giesen is survived by his parents, Ruth Ann and Calvin Van De Giesen; his sister Caitlin; and two brothers, Ryan and Christian.

Funeral arrangements are pending, and will be announced later this week, his family said.

Van De Giesen, who was on his third tour of duty, having served previously in Iraq, was well-known in the community.

Friends reacted with shock and devastation as news of his death began circulating in North Attleboro.

"He was a great kid," said Sandy Vandette, a friend. "Our sons played football together. Kyle was the quarterback and Mark was the wide receiver. Kyle was always determined, focused and well liked.

"He always knew he wanted to fly helicopters. It's so sad because he was such a wonderful kid. You hear on the news about people getting killed overseas, and you pray for them, but you never expect it to hit home here in North Attleboro. It's really hard."

Town Administrator Mark Fisher volunteered as a trainer with the North Attleboro High School football team when Van De Giesen was the team's quarterback.

"Everyone in the community who knew Kyle over the years is just shocked and stricken by this tragedy. All our prayers are with his wife, daughter, parents, brothers and sister," Fisher said. "Everyone is absolutely devastated.

"I had the opportunity to know Kyle when he was in school with my daughter Katie," Fisher said. "He was an outstanding young kid. I hate to use the word kid - he was always a gentleman and truly a bright shining star."

Tony Calcia, who also volunteered with North Attleboro High School's football team while Van De Giesen was the quarterback, said, "Kyle was a brave young man who is somebody that anyone who knew him can be proud of."

Calcia said Van De Giesen distinguished himself at North Attleboro High School - both academically and on the football field - as well as during his military career.

"He cared enough about the country, his community and his family to make sacrifices to protect us all," Calcia said. "We all should remember the debt of gratitude we owe to young men and women like Kyle who serve in the military. This is a terrible loss for us, and more importantly, his family."

Kurt Kummer, North Attleboro High School athletic director, called Van De Giesen "one of the best."

"He was a great student, kind to everybody, a leader," Kummer said. "He was the kind of kid who makes a difference. We're pretty devastated right now."

Principal Robert Gay this morning planned to tell students about Van De Giesen during a morning announcement.

"I will give a brief overview of what Kyle was about when he was at North Attleboro High School," Gay said Monday night. "I am going to talk about how he was a successful quarterback who led the team to the championship, was a member of the track team, voted best looking, was an officer with the SADD chapter, an officer in peer group leadership.

"He was just a very mature, special young man who decided to go off and serve his nation, and unfortunately paid the ultimate price."

While Gay came to the school after Van De Giesen graduated, his sister and brother were at the school during his tenure.

"I got to know him and met him several times," Gay said, adding he also knows Van De Giesen's parents. "Kyle would show up for games and be around the school. He certainly was a very impressive young man. I just think for the town it is just a devastating blow."

After graduating from North Attleboro High, Van De Giesen went on to St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., where he became the first varsity quarterback after the college's return to intercollegiate football in 1999.

However, Van De Giesen cut short his football career after that year, college officials said, preferring to concentrate on his studies.

Professor Peter Candella, chairman of the department of criminal justice at St. Anselm, said becoming a military pilot was an enduring dream for Van De Giesen.

"His leadership is what set him apart," Candella said. "He made connections with just about every constituency on campus, and he was very focused on becoming a pilot."

R.I.P. Spc. Nickolas A Mueller

(Taken from www.wfrv.com) Little Chute (WFRV) - The parents of a fallen Little Chute soldier are calling him a “giving, compassionate and loving hero.”

26 year-old Nickolas Mueller died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan last week.

Larry and Sharon Mueller told Channel 5’s Jenna Sachs they had spoken to their son less than 24 hours before.

“He was a soldier’s soldier,” said Larry Mueller. “He loved the service. He loved the unit he was with. He loved the guys.”

The Muellers have returned from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where they witnessed their son’s body returned, and met with President Obama.

“We never expected him to give so much attention to us individually,” said Sharon Mueller about the president. “It was emotional. There were tears in his eyes.”

The Muellers say Nick seemed destined to become a member of the Nightstalkers, his elite special operations unit. As a child, he chose wallpaper of fighter pilots.

Nick’s parents believe he will be remembered for his contagious smile, and selfless nature.

“Always put other people first,” said Larry Mueller. “He always did. We loved that he did that.”

The Muellers say they had discussed the possibility of death with their son. When asked about a burial, he told them “a soldier belongs in Arlington.”

R.I.P. CWO4 Michael Montgomery

(Taken from www.legacy.com) Michael P. MONTGOMERY Chief Warrant Office Four, Michael P. Montgomery, 36, died October 26, 2009, when his MH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed while conducting military operations in Western Afghanistan. Michael enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 1991.

In 1995 he applied and was accepted to the Army Warrant Officer Candidate School and graduated from Flight school in 1996. He was a dedicated soldier and pilot serving in many different positions while assigned to the 185th Aviation Regiment at Camp Murray, WA.

He received his Bachelors of Science Degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 2002. In October 2004 he was assigned as the senior instructor pilot and Instrument Flight Examiner at the Western Army National Guard Aviation Training Site in Arizona.

In 2006, he applied for and was accepted into an active duty position with the 160th Special Operation Aviation Regiment Nightstalkers in Savannah, Georgia. While he was assigned there, he served as an electronic warfare officer, instructor pilot and instrument flight examiner. He was qualified in the UH-60 Blackhawk and was a Scout Pilot and an instrument pilot in the OH-58 Kiowa and MH-47G Chinook. He was a combat veteran with seven deployments, two in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and five in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Michael received numerous awards including the Air Medal, two Army commendation medals, the Army achievement medal,4 Army Reserve component Achievement medals, 2 national Defense Service Medals, Afghanistan campaign Medal - Campaign Star, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service ribbon, Combat Action Badge, and the Senior Aviator Badge. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Air Medal.

He was proud to serve his country as a Nightstalker aviator, performing the most challenging and dangerous training and missions in support of US Special Operations, and living the motto that "Nightstalkers Don't Quit".

Michael was a devoted and loving father to his son Riley and a beloved best friend and husband to his wife Anita. He is also survived by his mother, Mary Montgomery; father Mark Montgomery; brother Merrill (Sokhaley) Kincade; and a large extended family.

Family and friends are invited to attend a Funeral Service in his honor, Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 11:00 am, at St. Jude Parish, 10526 - 166th Ave NE, Redmond, WA 98052. A Visitation will take place, Friday, November 6, 2009 from 4:00 - 8:00 pm, Sunset Hills Funeral Home, 1215 - 145th Place SE, Bellevue, WA 98007.

Remembrances may be shared at www.mem.com.

Nanny State: Today the university, tomorrow the nation...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Pennsylvania university's requirement that overweight undergraduates take a fitness course to receive their degrees has raised the hackles of students and the eyebrows of health and legal experts.

Officials at historically black Lincoln University said Friday that the school is simply concerned about high rates of obesity and diabetes, especially in the African-American community.

"We know we're in the midst of an obesity epidemic," said James L. DeBoy, chairman of Lincoln's department of health, physical education and recreation. "We have an obligation to address this head on, knowing full well there's going to be some fallout."

The fallout began this week on Lincoln's campus about 45 miles southwest of Philadelphia, where seniors - the first class affected by the mandate - began realizing their last chance to take the class would be this spring.

Tiana Lawson, a 21-year-old senior, wrote in this week's edition of The Lincolnian, the student newspaper, that she "didn't come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education."

In an interview Friday, Lawson said she has no problem with getting healthy or losing weight. But she does have a problem with larger students being singled out.

"If Lincoln truly is concerned about everyone being healthy, then everyone should have to take this gym class, not just people who happen to be bigger," she said.

The mandate, which took effect for freshmen entering in fall 2006, requires students to get tested for their body mass index, a measure of weight to height.

A normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. Students with one that's 30 or above - considered obese - are required to take a class called "Fitness for Life," which meets three hours a week.

The course involves walking, aerobics, weight training and other physical activities, as well as information on nutrition, stress and sleep, DeBoy said.

As of this fall, DeBoy estimated about 80 seniors - 16 percent of the class - had not had their body mass index tested nor taken the fitness class. Some of those students will likely be exempt from taking the class once they get their BMI results, he said.

Health experts applaud the school's intent, if not its execution. Mark Rothstein, director of the bioethics institute at the University of Louisville's School of Medicine, said being forced to disclose such health information is "at least awkward and often distasteful."

And it doesn't necessarily lead to the best outcomes, he said, noting that "when the (health) goals are imposed on people, they don't do that well in meeting them."

DeBoy stressed that students are not required to lose weight or lower their BMI; they must only pass the class through attendance and participation.

"It's the sound mind and the sound body concept," DeBoy said. "I think the university, to its credit, is trying to be proactive."

Some experts said recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act might lead to exemptions for morbidly obese students, who could argue that participating in the class would be dangerous.

Also, students need more than exercise, said Marcia Costello, a registered dietitian in the Philadelphia area. The university should make sure its dining halls and vending machines offer healthy choices, she said.

Costello, an assistant professor of nursing at Villanova University, also noted that body mass index can be misleading. Since muscle weighs more than fat, "it is possible to be overweight and still be physically fit," she said.

Lawson, a mass communications major, said while she believes her current BMI would exempt her from the class, she's going to take it anyway "because I would like to be healthier."

"This was a decision that I made," she wrote in The Lincolnian, "and that's the way it ought to be."

The BMI method is one of the least accurate ways to measure body fat. I'm speaking from personal experience. It was the method used when I was in the Canoe Club and while I'd always pass it always showed me as being a lardass. This despite being a gym rat who ran circles around men twenty years my junior.

If the "nanny-state mentality" is going to be pursued, they could at least use a more reliable method.

Well, we knew he had a thing for royalty...

Found this at Lucianne.com;

My kind of doctor...

Although the first words to me would include, "Lose some weight, fatboy." Found this via Lucianne.com;

RALEIGH Dr. Earl Sunderhaus, an Asheville eye doctor, has what might charitably be described as a brusque bedside manner.

That much is not in dispute.

But the N.C. Medical Board may decide Sunderhaus overstepped the bounds of decency when he recently told a patient she was irresponsible for being unemployed, on Medicaid, and relying on taxpayers to cover another pregnancy after giving birth less than a year earlier.

What really galled her, the patient complained, is that Sunderhaus poked her thigh and told her she is fat.

"When I got home I was very upset about the way I was treated by him," the patient wrote in a private complaint to the board. Efforts to contact the patient were not successful.

Sunderhaus, who describes himself as a plainspoken old German, escalated the conflict by later writing the patient to drive home his points using numbered paragraphs, signed "sincerely."

Then he fired off opinionated missives to the board, which called him to Raleigh on Thursday for a closed-door meeting.

Sunderhaus' point - that doctors need to advise patients to lose weight, because obesity is not just a personal issue, it's a $147 billion public health crisis - may have gotten lost in the delivery.

The board, which licenses and disciplines doctors, has not decided whether to charge Sunderhaus over the patient's complaint. The worst that could happen is he'd lose his license.

Most problems arising from an insensitive comment are handled with a quiet tut-tut by the board - perhaps a recommendation that the practitioner take a refresher course in effective doctor-patient communication, said Jean Fisher Brinkley, the board's spokeswoman.

Usually, doctors appreciate the confidentiality.

Sunderhaus, by contrast, stormed the beaches to defend his honor.

Defiant in face of criticism

He wrote Gov. Bev Perdue, saying the patient's "irresponsible orgasm" resulted in children whose medical care is provided by Medicaid.

He fired off numerous letters to the medical board, noting that its rules make him nauseous and, among other things, that "the biggest hoax on mankind" is the Drug Enforcement Administration.

And Sunderhaus notified The (Raleigh) News & Observer that he was about to be "screwed" by the medical board, admitting he told the patient that thick eyeglasses would not cause her to go blind, "but her thick thighs and diabetes would."

"I poked her thigh to emphasize that diabetes is the leading cause of blindness," he said Thursday. "People have got to accept criticism without getting their bowels in an uproar."

Sunderhaus, a trim man who appeared before the board wearing cargo pants and sporting a backpack, makes no apologies for his actions. He blew off a psychiatric test the board arranged, and flouted protocol by talking about his case, which the board likes to keep secret.

At the end of a conversation with this reporter, Sunderhaus offered $20 for her efforts. She returned it, but not before he tucked it in her sweater. (Guess he figures she's hot.)

After 30 years of practice, Sunderhaus said, he is prepared to take whatever discipline the board issues, even the loss of his license.

"I'm 77," he said. "I can tell them to stick the darn thing."

This ain't Marcus Welby, we could use more like him.

Faith or stupidity?

You tell me. My initial reaction was, "What a moron!". But then the little light went on and I considered the following; 1) I've never had 40K of financial assets, this woman evidently does. 2) What she expected was exactly what she got i.e., her valuables safely guarded for her.

So who would more readily qualify as a moron? Here's the story;

HAGERSTOWN, Md. – A woman quietly left $40,000 worth of rare U.S. coins near a Catholic shrine for safekeeping so the Virgin Mary could watch over her life savings while she was out of town, and apparently it worked: The money was returned to her when she got back a week later.

Operators of the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes near Emmitsburg thought they had been blessed with a big donation when a groundskeeper found the two plastic freezer bags filled with gold and silver while raking leaves.

But Shrine Director William Tronolone said the woman approached him after a noon Mass Sunday, six days after the discovery, to ask whether anyone had found some coins she had hidden beneath fallen leaves at the site on the campus of Mount St. Mary's University.

"I said, 'Why did you leave it there?' And she said, 'Well, I had to go away and I was afraid to leave it and I wanted the Blessed Mother to watch over it for me — and evidently she did because you found it,'" Tronolone said.

By then, university officials had had the coins appraised, notified police and placed the money in a safe while awaiting word from investigators.

Tronolone refused to identify the woman. He said she had been out of town about a week.

After the school's security director returned the coins Monday, he accompanied the woman to her bank and persuaded her to put them in her safe deposit box, Tronolone said.

The shrine, about 50 miles northwest of Baltimore, features a replica of the grotto in Lourdes, France, where Catholics believe Mary, the mother of Jesus, appeared to a French schoolgirl named Bernadette several times, beginning in 1858. The Emmitsburg replica draws more than 200,000 visitors annually, Tronolone said.

Grotto visitors often leave anonymous donations, including a $3,000 cash gift two weeks ago.

"Up here at the grotto, you get a lot of people that are very, very faithful," Tronolone said, "and they do things you and I would never even attempt to do."

Faith without works is dead?

Showdown with the Culture of Death?

UPDATE: The below listed document may be signed by going here; http://manhattandeclaration.org/index.php

I've been wondering what the next step would be after passage of a healthcare bill that funds abortion, despite the protests of Catholic bishops who were merely thrown a bone in the form of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment (IMO, soon to be deleted from the final bill). Seems there may be some people ready to back up all the rhetoric. All bold emphases and the comments in red are my own;

Washington D.C., Nov 20, 2009 / 06:21 am (CNA).- An unprecedented coalition of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders, and scholars has crafted a 4,700-word declaration addressing the sanctity of life, traditional marriage, and religious liberty. The declaration issues “a clarion call” to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not “under any circumstance” abandon their Christian consciences.

The statement, called “the Manhattan Declaration,” has been signed by more than 125 Catholic, Evangelical Christian, and Orthodox leaders, and will be made fully public at a noon press conference in the National Press Club in Washington DC on Friday.

“We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence,” the statement says.

“We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to like them or not, unless the laws are gravely unjust or require those subject to them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral,” the signatories explain.

But they also made clear that “we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriage or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family.”

The Manhattan Declaration is the result of several months of dialogue among Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christian leaders culminating in a gathering of approximately 100 leaders in New York City on September 28, 2009.

Attendees considered an early draft of the “Manhattan Declaration, A Call of Christian Conscience,” but the document was entrusted to a drafting committee that included Dr. Timothy George of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, Dr. Robert P. George of Princeton University, and renowned Evangelical leader Charles Colson.

The signatories explained that they speak now because in order "to defend principles of justice and the common good that are now under assault." (its about time)

"We will fully and ungrudgingly render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but we will under no circumstances render to Caesar what is God’s." (Can someone give me an "Amen"?)

The signatories of the Manhattan Declaration explain that although public sentiment has moved in a pro-life direction, "pro-abortion ideology prevails in many places of power and influence." (too true)

"Our government promotes and funds scientific research in which the lives of tiny human beings in the early embryonic states of development are treated as disposable research material."

They also contend that "public policies contribute to the weakening of the institution of marriage, including the discredited idea of unilateral divorce," while "influential individuals and organizations are seeking to redefine marriage to embrace same-sex partnerships and to recognize multiple-party sexual unions that are beyond same-sex marriage.”

Signatories of the declaration include Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia; Cardinal Adam Maida, Archbishop Emeritus of Detroit; Charles J. Chaput, Archbishop of Denver; Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York; Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C.; John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark; John Nienstedt, Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis; Joseph F. Naumann, Archbishop of Kansas City; Joseph E. Kurtz, Archbishop of Louisville; Thomas J. Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix; Michael J. Sheridan, Bishop of Colorado Springs; Salvatore Joseph Cordileone, Bishop of Oakland; Richard J. Malone, Bishop of Portland; and David A. Zubik, Bishop of Pittsburgh.

Other signatories include Metropolitan Jonah Paffhausen, Primate of the Orthodox Church in America; Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, Primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria; Jody Bottum, Editor of First Things; Chuck Colson, Founder of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview; Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of the Susan B. Anthony List; Dr. James Dobson, Founder of Focus on the Family; Dr. William Donohue, President of the Catholic League; Most Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan, Primate of the Anglican Church in North America; Fr. Joseph D. Fessio, Founder and Editor of Ignatius Press; Maggie Gallagher, President of Institute for Marriage and Public Policy; Dr. Robert P. George; Fr. Chad Hatfield, Archpriest of St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary; Jerry Jenkins, Chairman of the board of trustees for Moody Bible Institute; Jim Kushiner, Editor of Touchstone; Dr. Richard Land, President of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC; Rev. William Owens, Chairman of the Coalition of African-American Pastors; Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council; Michael Timmis, Chairman of Prison Fellowship International; Juan Valdes, Chaplain of Florida Christian School and George Weigel, Senior Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

The full document will be available http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/ following the press conference.

Wonder what's next? Speaking strictly for myself, I'm damned glad this public pronouncement is being made.

Christ in a Pez dispenser?

Found this at puritysolutions.org via Father Z and the Opinionated Catholic.

Purity Communion Host Dispenser

Use the Purity Communion Host Dispensers during the cold and flu season to prevent the passing of germs or use it all year long to reduce the cost, time and personnel needed to provide communion by as much as 50 percent.

The Purity Communion Host Dispenser is capable of dispensing communion hosts and is small enough to be used by clergy to provide communion when visiting homes, hospitals, senior living and care centers. It can also be used in the field by military chaplains.

Most recipients prefer to receive communion from clergy. Reducing the time and personnel needed to provide communion will allow clergy to provide communion to the entire congregation.



No way, no how. Even for a retired turdchasing Aganger, this is too flippant and frivolous.

R.I.P. Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger

Name: Army Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger

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Age: 32

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From: San Diego

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Assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.,

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Incident: Army Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger died Oct. 26 of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Also killed were Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael P. Montgomery, Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, Chief Warrant Officer Niall Lyons, Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb, Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez and Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.wavy.com) NORTH CAROLINA - Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger Bio:

Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, 32, died on Oct. 26 when the helicopter he was aboard crashed while conducting a combat mission in the Afghan city of Darreh-Ye Bum, Afghanistan while serving with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom July 2009 as a member of Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. This was his third deployment to Afghanistan in support of the War on Terror.

Metzger, born in San Diego, California, enlisted in September 1996 as an Ammunitions Specialist. He later attended the SF Qualification Course, graduating in 2007, as an 18E Special Forces Communications Sergeant and was assigned to 3rd BN, 7th SFG(A).

Metzger’s military education includes the Warrior Leader Course, Basic Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Course, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, SF Communications Sergeant Course, Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course, Air Movement Operations Course, Basic Airborne Course and Jumpmaster Course.

His awards and Decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, NATO Medal. Metzger also earned the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Parachutist Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.

Metzger is survived by his sons, David and Grant, who reside in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He is also survived by his parents David Metzger and Lisandra Holstein, as well as his grandmother Dolores of San Diego, Calif.

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb

Name: Army Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb

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Age: 24

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From: Terrell, Texas

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Assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

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Incident: Army Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb died Oct. 26 of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Also killed were Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael P. Montgomery, Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, Chief Warrant Officer Niall Lyons, Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez and Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.terrelltribune.com) US Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Henry McNabb of Terrell, Texas passed away while protecting our nation's freedom in Afghanistan on October 26, 2009.

He was born on born May 14, 1985 in Dallas, Texas to David and Ann McNabb. Shawn attended Terrell Public Schools and graduated from Terrell High School in 2003. While in school he was active in sports, but his bravado, talent and his love of the Terrell Tiger band was demostrated when he won many awards and was also selected to the All State Band. Shawn had a passion for the medical field where he was preparing to attend Physicians Assistant School.

Stationed at Hunter Army Air Field in Savannah, Ga.; Staff Sgt. McNabb was a soldier in the 160th Special Operations Regiment “SOAR” serving in the Third Battalion as an Airborne Flight Medic. He has been awarded for his heroism, dedication, and meritorious service receiving the Bronze Star, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, and the Purple Heart posthumously.

Shawn is survived by his loving parents: David and Ann McNabb of Terrell; sister: Heather Gray and husband Josh of Waxahachie, TX; fianceé: Sarah Jane Kirk of Savannah, GA; grandparents: George and Teresa Rock of York, PA; aunt and uncle: Sharon and Gordon Bennett of Athens, TX; plus numerous other aunts, uncles, as well as a host of friends and family. He is preceded in death by his grandparents: David Henry and Virginia McNabb.

Funeral arrangments are pending. Interment will follow at DFW National Cemetery in Dallas.

R.I.P. Chief Warrant Officer 3 Niall D. Lyons

Name: Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Niall Lyons

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Age: 40

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From: Spokane, Wash.,

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Assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

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Incident: Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Niall Lyons died Oct. 26 of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Also killed were Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael P. Montgomery, Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb, Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez and Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.spokesman.com) A decorated Spokane soldier was among the seven U.S. servicemen killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan this week, the Department of Defense announced Thursday.

Chief Warrant Officer Niall D. Lyons, 40, died Oct. 26 in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan while assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment, based in Savannah, Ga. Three federal drug agents also were killed in the crash. Another crash the same day killed four soldiers.

Lyons graduated from Shadle Park High School in 1988, earned a bachelor’s degree in geography from Eastern Washington University in 1995 and spent three years as a soldier before being accepted into the Army Warrant Officer program, where he graduated from flight school in 1999.

He worked as a flight instructor and was deployed in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan, according to a biography posted on the Army’s Web site. Lyons won several awards for his army service, including two air medals and four army commendation medals.

He is survived by a son in Alabama and two brothers, a sister, and his mother and father, all of Spokane.

R.I.P. Capt. Eric A. Jones

Name: Marine Capt. Eric A. Jones

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Age: 29

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From: Westchester, N.Y.

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Assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

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Incident: Marine Capt. Eric A. Jones died Oct. 26 in a collision between a UH-1 and an AH-1 helicopter in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, Capt. David S. Mitchell and Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.boston.com) Captain Eric A. Jones, a US Marine attack helicopter pilot, spared his parents the details of combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. “Just another day in the sandbox,’’ he told them on the phone.

Yesterday, Captain Jones’s parents, Cindy and Ken of Mashpee, stood on the tarmac at the Coast Guard air station in Bourne as six Marines brought their only child’s body home.

“He died a hero,’’ said his father. “I know he was my hero.’’

Captain Jones and three other Marines were killed just before sunrise Oct. 26 when two helicopters collided over Afghanistan in Helmand Province. He was 29.

Another Massachusetts Marine, Captain Kyle R. Van De Giesen, 29, of North Attleborough, also died in the crash when his Huey and the AH-1 Cobra attack copter piloted by Captain Jones collided.

Van De Giesen’s funeral will be held tomorrow at 9 a.m. in St. Mary Church in North Attleborough. A private burial service will follow in the National Veterans Cemetery in Bourne.

Captain Jones - who grew up in Westchester, N.Y., and was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California - had deployed to Afghanistan in July after serving two tours in Iraq. He was scheduled to return home later this month, according to his family.

At 6-foot-3 with a dimpled chin and chiseled features, his good looks turned heads. “It was fun to walk with him through restaurants and watch everyone,’’ said his mother, a retired elementary school teacher.

“He was good inside, too,’’ she said. “He always took the high road in everything. Life was grand for him. He always had so many friends.’’

Captain Jones dreamed of flying planes as a boy and began taking lessons as a student at Northeastern University, where he earned a business degree in 2004.

He came home from college one day and told his mother he was joining the Marines. “I said: ‘Eric, don’t you realize you could die? You could get killed that way.’ And he said, ‘Mom, I can’t think of a more honorable way to die.’ ’’

Born in Pound Ridge, N.Y., Captain Jones was a 1999 graduate of Fox Lane High School in Bedford, N.Y., where he swam competitively and played football.

He played lacrosse during his freshman year at Northeastern and considered a career in finance before joining the Marines in 2004. He earned his wings in flight school in April 2007.

Captain Jones was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, the Third Marine Aircraft Wing, and the First Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

His parents moved to Mashpee in 2005.

Since his death, friends and neighbors have been sharing stories with his parents of their son’s kindness. One neighbor was struggling to move a bureau into her home when Captain Jones “just ran out of the house to help, Cindy Jones said. “She said all of sudden this bureau just lifted up from our shoulders, and he said, ‘Where do you want it?’ ’’

Captain Jones also was known for his quick wit. “He was the king of the one-liners,’’ his father said.

His uncle Anthony DeStefano of Hollis, N.H., said his godson had a gift for making people laugh.

“If he could make people laugh, he would do it,’’ DeStefano said. “He was just a beautiful man. He was the best.’’

Captain Jones’s mother said her son told her he intended to start a life with his girlfriend, Jackie Guidry of Calgary. The couple met while Captain Jones was in flight school in Florida. “I know they had planned on a future together,’’ Cindy Jones said.

The day after his death, the Joneses traveled to Dover Air Force Base to claim his body.

“Not many of us are brave enough to put our lives on the line every day and then get up and do it again,’’ his mother said. “Our Armed Forces do that every day, and we need to honor that.’’

A funeral service is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday in John Wesley United Methodist Church in Falmouth. Burial will follow in the National Veterans Cemetery in Bourne.

R.I.P. Capt. David S. Mitchell

Name: Marine Capt. David S. Mitchell

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Age: 30

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From: Loveland, Ohio

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Assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

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Incident: Marine Capt. David S. Mitchell died Oct. 26 in a collision between a UH-1 and an AH-1 helicopter in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, Capt. Eric A. Jones and Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.washingtonpost.com) Marine Corps Capt. David "Seth" Mitchell was always enamored of aircraft. In a fourth-grade assignment, he said he would like to be 11, so that he could take flying lessons. It was obvious to everyone who knew him that he was going to be a pilot.

"This was a goal, something that until they said no, he wasn't going to give up," said his father, Steve Mitchell, who watched Friday as three Cobra helicopters flew in formation over his son's final resting place near a blue atlas cedar tree in Arlington National Cemetery.

Mitchell, 30, of Loveland, Ohio, was killed Oct. 26 when two helicopters collided while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Mitchell was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Four U.S. troops were killed in the crash, and two were injured, according to military reports.

Mitchell, a 1997 graduate of Loveland High School, was senior class president. His classmates voted him "Mr. Personality."

"Seth was one of the kids that would stand out far above the rest," said Julie Powers, a Loveland High math teacher who advised Mitchell on the student council for four years.

In addition to his leadership skills and constant grin, Mitchell worked hard to achieve good grades, play football and run track at his school, she said.

"His dream goal was to be a pilot, and I knew that from when he walked into the building as a ninth-grader, that was more than a dream for him; it was a complete focus," Powers said. "It didn't matter that he wasn't your typical AP [Advanced Placement] scholar; he was going to do it."

Powers added, "I don't think the word 'can't' is in his vocabulary."

Mitchell majored in English at Virginia Tech, where he was a member of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. By his senior year in 2001, he was an executive officer in the school's Corps, according to a Virginia Tech News report.

Mitchell served four years as a Marine, but he still was not an aviator. He did not meet the vision requirements to qualify for the flight program, his father said. After corrective surgery, Mitchell received a private pilot's license and continued in the prerequisite programs for the Marine flight school.

"All the service branches take the best and brightest right out of the academy," Steve Mitchell said. "Seth was coming a different route."

Not wanting to risk having his Marine aviation application lost in the mail, Seth Mitchell drove to the Pentagon to hand-deliver it. He was accepted and became a Cobra helicopter pilot.

Mitchell was two months into his third deployment. He had served in Iraq as a ground intelligence officer and as a pilot. He and another Marine from his squadron volunteered to go early to Afghanistan "because he thought he was needed," his father said.

Steve Mitchell said his son was so humble that he is just now learning of his son's many awards and accomplishments.

About 175 people gathered Friday behind Steve Mitchell and his wife, Connie, and their son, Drew, as they followed the horse-drawn caisson that carried Seth Mitchell's remains. Navy Chaplain Guy M. Lee spoke words of a hero's leadership, valor and determination. The family members stood stoically as three volleys were fired.

"He loved this country and served it well," Mitchell's father said. "I'd give anything for this not to have happened, but he was living his dream."

R.I.P. Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez-Chavez

Name: Army Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez

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Age: 23

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From: Reno, Nev.

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Assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne), Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.,

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Incident: Army Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez died Oct. 26 of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Also killed were Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael P. Montgomery, Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, Chief Warrant Officer Niall Lyons, Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb and Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.lasvegasun.com)Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez, 23, of Reno and born in Las Vegas, was one of seven soldiers killed Monday when a helicopter crashed in western Afghanistan.

Chavez was with the Army's 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Regiment (Airborne) from Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

He is survived by his father, Pedro Hernandez; mother, Eustolia Hernandez of Las Vegas; and two sisters, Cristina and Mayra Hernandez.

Hernandez was a flight engineer, the Pentagon said.

The MH-47 helicopter went down in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan, the Pentagon said. The others killed were Chief Warrant Officer Michael P. Montgomery, 36, of Savannah, Ga.; Chief Warrant Officer Niall Lyongs, 40, of Spokane, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb, 24, of Terrell, Texas; Sgt. Nikolas A. Mueller, 26, of Little Chute, Wis.; Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, 32, of San Diego; and Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, 28, of Medford N.Y.

R.I.P. Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury

Name: Marine Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury

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Age: 23

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From: Anchorage, Alaska

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Assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

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Incident: Marine Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury died Oct. 26 in a collision between a UH-1 and an AH-1 helicopter in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Capt. Eric A. Jones, Capt. David S. Mitchell and Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.ktva.com)An Anchorage man was one of four Marines killed while serving in Afghanistan this week.

Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, 23, of Anchorage died when two Marine helicopters collided in flight while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, according to a Department of Defense release.

Fleury was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. Fleury was a graduate of Service High School in Anchorage.

At Service High School Fleury was in the orchestra and a Navy Junior ROTC member.

The corporal's former teacher Eileen Foley remembers how his homework attitude changed once he learned his future military career could be on the line.

"He was so proud," Foley says. "And his Marine recruiter took him away for the weekend and made him do all the work he was missing. And Greg said I don't even care if you give me credit for it or not. I'm just glad I got it done. Because his Marine recruiter told him if someone needs to rely on you, you need to make sure you do your job. And he did his job."

Fleury had received several top military honors. State flags will be lowered to half-staff Thursday.

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop

Name: Army Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop

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Age: 28

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From: Medford, N.Y.

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Assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C..

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Incident: Army Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop died Oct. 26 of wounds suffered when the MH-47 helicopter he was aboard crashed in Darreh-ye Bum, Afghanistan. Also killed were Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael P. Montgomery, Sgt. 1st Class David E. Metzger, Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, Chief Warrant Officer Niall Lyons, Staff Sgt. Shawn H. McNabb, Sgt. Josue E. Hernandez Chavez and Sgt. Nickolas A. Mueller.

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Died: October 26, 2009

(Taken from www.wavy.com) NORTH CAROLINA - Staff Sgt. Keith R. Bishop, 28, died on Oct. 26, when the helicopter he was aboard crashed while conducting a combat mission in the Afghan city of Darreh-Ye Bum, Afghanistan while serving with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne).

He deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom July 2009 as a member of the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan. This was his second deployment in support of the War on Terror.

Bishop a native of Medford, N.Y., enlisted into the U.S. Army in April 2003 as an Infantryman. He was assigned to 1st Bn., 506th Infantry Regiment, Camp Grieves, Korea. He later served with 1st Bn., 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division before deciding to pursue the goal of becoming a Special Forces Soldier in 2007 by attending the Special Forces Selection and Assessment. He completed the Special Forces Qualification Course Oct. 2008 and earned the coveted "Green Beret" as a Special Forces weapons sergeant. He was then assigned to 3rd Bn., 7th SFG (A).

Bishop's military education includes the Warrior Leader’s Course, Basic NCO Course, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, Basic Airborne Course, Air Assault Course and Special Forces Qualification Course.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal for Valor, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge, and the Special Forces Tab.

Bishop is survived by his wife Margaret of Flager Beach, Fla. and parents Robert and Suzan Bishop, of Carlisle Penn.

R.I.P. Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson

Name: Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson

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Age: 24

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From: Broussard, La.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker and Pfc. Christopher I. Walz.

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Died: October 27, 2009

(Taken from www.iberianet.com) BROUSSARD — A Mass of Christian Burial for Sgt. Patrick Oliver Williamson, 24, will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 6, 2009, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Broussard with Fr. Louis Richard, Pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Chancellor of St. Thomas Moore. Visitation will be at David Funeral Home of Lafayette on the Youngsville Highway Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009, from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. with a recitation of the Rosary at 7 p.m. Visitation will resume on Friday from 8 a.m. until the time of the services. Interment will follow at Sacred Heart Mausoleum.

A native of Lafayette and a resident of Broussard, Sgt. Patrick Oliver Williamson died on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009, in the Arghandab Valley of Kandahar providence in Afghanistan. Because of his sacrifice, we are all safer. The world is better for having Patrick Williamson in it for 24 short years. God loved him so much that he called him home early.

Patrick is a graduate of Saint Cecilia Elementary and a 2004 graduate of Saint Thomas More High School where he earned a scholarship in Petroleum Engineering. He attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for two years majoring in Mechanical Engineering before he answered his life’s calling as a soldier in the U.S. Army, enlisting in August of 2006.

Patrick loved Cydney Palmer, whose heart he won through persistent charm. He embraced life enthusiastically. He was loyal to his friends and a joy to his family. He was mechanically gifted and often the only one who could start his truck. He was also an avid student of history, recalling the most obscure facts and dates with amazing ease. He loved the outdoors, pulling pranks, anything to be with his beloved friends. He had a quick smile and friendly demeanor when greeting friends or putting strangers at ease. He was always true to his core values and had a quiet confidence that he carried with humility. He took on all of life’s experiences without fear; whether that meant four-wheeler acrobatics, airborne training at Fort Benning, Ga., leaving friends and family to form a new Stryker Brigade at Fort Lewis, Wash., or his deployment in harm’s way to Afghanistan. He had found his calling and was never afraid. With his intelligence and aptitude scores he could have had any job in the Army. He chose infantry because that is where he could experience the best training and make the biggest difference in his mission of protecting America from her enemies. He was a responsible leader who progressed through the ranks far ahead of schedule. He was proud of his job and supported those under his responsibility.

Patrick Oliver Williamson is a true American Hero who represents the most honorable values in our country. He is extremely loved and will be missed so very much by his family. We know that he is in Heaven looking down on us. He will be with us always.

He is survived by his parents, Leon “Buddy” Williamson III and Sybil Barras Williamson of Broussard; a brother Max Williamson of Broussard; a sister Betsy Williamson of Broussard; his paternal grandmother, Elaine Baskett, of Glenmora; his maternal grandmother, Florence Barras, of New Iberia; and the love of his life Cydney Palmer.

R.I.P. Pfc. Christopher I. Walz

Name: Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz

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Age: 25

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From: Vancouver, Wash.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker and Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.

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Died: October 27, 2009

(Taken from www.kuow.org) This morning we take a moment to remember a Northwest soldier who was recently killed in Afghanistan. October marked the deadliest month for American soldiers in Afghanistan since the war started. The casualties include 10soldiers based at Fort Lewis who were killed by roadside bombs. Tomorrow, the military holds memorial services for several of these soldiers. Among them was Private First Class Christopher Walz. Most people called him Ian. He was from Vancouver, Washington.

An official military photo of Ian Walz shows him in fatigues, sunburned cheeks and intense blue eyes staring back you. His family friend, Jill Katusky, remembers Ian's softer side.

Katusky: "We used to tease him that he was the only person besides me who would hear that song "I'm proud to be American" and cry like a baby. And this was a pretty–good–sized burly young man, and that's the one that brought him to tears."

Walz' family asked Katusky to speak on their behalf. She met Walz when he began dating her daughter, Katrina, in high school. They dated for seven years, eventually got married, and later divorced. But still, Katrina and Jill remained close to Walz and his family.

Ian Walz enlisted in the military just over a year ago. He was glad to be stationed at Fort Lewis, so close to home and his mother, Victoria, who'd raised him alone.

On a recent visit home, Katusky, her daughter and Walz met for dinner in downtown Portland.

Katusky: "And he showed pictures of the guys that were with him in his unit, and Afghanistan, and some of the children that he had met. He said he absolutely loved the Afghan people, even though you couldn't tell the good guys from the bad guys. Um, didn't totally understand exactly the rules of engagement that they were going through." Despite that, Walz' patriotism was unwavering. His favorite holiday was the Fourth of July. He wrote on his MySpace page the he felt it was important to serve his country.

Walz earned an associate's degree at Clark College, and planned to go back to school for a degree in Political Science. He was a history buff and hoped to be a teacher someday.

Katusky: "He could quote McArthur and Stalin and people back to the civil war. He'd read every book you could imagine. He literally had 200 books on this history of conflicts all throughout the world. Loved world politics. I think he was the only high school kid really addicted to CNN."

Walz thought if he did become a teacher, his experience in Afghanistan would be great for him to draw on.

Before Walz' last mission, he'd told a friend he was nervous for the first time. He'd heard his unit was headed to a hot territory. As he often did, he called his ex–wife Katrina to tell her he'd be gone for a few days.

Katusky: "You know and every time he would go away, she said promise me you'll be as safe as you can. He said I will. I'll call you as soon as I get back. Yeah."

This mission took Walz and his fellow soldiers to the southern part of Afghanistan. While on patrol, a roadside bomb hit their Stryker vehicle. The blast killed all seven soldiers. A separate bomb attack that same day killed an eighth soldier from Fort Lewis.

The soldiers' bodies were flown to Dover Air Force Base last week. President Obama was there to meet them and talk with the families, including Katrina and Walz' mother.

Katusky thinks Private Walz would've been proud.

Katusky: "He was a huge Obama fan. He was like one of the first to have the Obama T–shirt, and spent a huge amount of money going to the Obama rallies. Absolutely endorsed this man. We understand that it's kind of unprecedented for a president to go to Dover and meet the plane and all that kinds of stuff, so in some weird sense I think he would've been grateful that he was kind of part of history in some weird way."

This is why they call it "dope"...

Found this at breitbart.com;

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A man and woman who reported to police that robbers stole their marijuana are now facing charges themselves. The 32-year-old man and 29-year-old woman told police five armed men came to their Wichita apartment late Monday night and took marijuana.

Police said one suspect accidentally fired his gun and spooked the other suspects. They ran from the apartment to a white Cadillac, dropping marijuana along the way.

Police found more marijuana inside the apartment.

The couple were booked on suspicion of various drug charges, including selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school.

Homosexual "rights" vs. Freedom of religion...

Found this at United Families International, the article is copied & pasted in it's entirety;

Yesterday, we sent out an alert on the threat from the “homosexual rights “movement to your religious liberties. Yet, LGBT activists continue to deny the conflict between these two contradictory rights and even well-meaning advocates of the family doubt that the threat truly exists.

In order to reiterate that homosexual rights can and do impose upon the religious liberty of those who morally oppose homosexuality, we’ve gathered here some examples of people have already lost their freedom of religion to the rights of LGBT activists.

In 2007, soon after same-sex civil unions were legalized in New Jersey, a United Methodist Church group, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, was sued for discrimination after refusing to host two same- sex civil unions at a beachside pavilion it owned. The city granted the suit, stripped Ocean Grove of its non-profit status and billed the group $20,000.

Two different Boy Scouts of America groups were denied use of public facilities in California for refusing to alter their policy against allowing homosexual men to participate in the organization. Meanwhile, the city of Philadelphia revoked the Boy Scouts $1 a year lease for a city building for the same reason.

Catholic Charities in Massachusetts pulled out of the adoption business in 2006, after it refused to offer adoption services to same-sex couples as Massachusetts law requires. Similarly, an internet adoption service, Adoption Profiles, was pushed out of doing business in California after the religious owners refused to consider the application of a same-sex couple.

A photography company in New Mexico was also sued for refusing to provide services to same-sex couples due to religious beliefs. A same-sex couple in Albuquerque sued when photographer Elaine Huguenin refused to shoot their commitment ceremony. The New Mexico Human Rights Commission found her guilty of discrimination and ordered her to pay the couple’s $6,600 legal fees.

In 2001, New York state courts ruled against the Orthodox Jewish university, Yeshiva University, in a same-sex discrimination case. The university refused to provide housing for same-sex couples in its married dormitory and the court ruled such a ban violated the state’s ban on sexual orientation discrimination. The university now allows all couples to live in the dorms.

These are just the cases in the U.S. Similar lawsuits against individuals, businesses and organizations refusing to provide services to LGBT individuals or couples can be found across the globe. As we said in this week’s alert, this is not a scare tactic, but a very real threat to your religious freedom.

The hell of it is, there are too many people who would read these examples and find nothing more than the successful response of society against homophobia. In just a few decades homosexuality has moved from the fringes of society into the mainstream where it's now accepted by many as just another normal preference.

Sorry, that doesn't fly. If it was "normal" then why is the AIDS virus overwhelmingly associated with sexual acts preferred by homosexuals? Even in Africa, where it's touted as a "heterosexual" disease, the major method of transmission is aberrant sexual behavior.

I could also mention high rates of substance abuse, suicide, etc. found in the gay community. These all get swept under the rug or blamed on the attitude of society at large. Au contraire, the examples cited by this article alone show that gays are favorably viewed by a large portion of society.

Traditional religious believers, not so much.

Wonder if we've caught up to Sodom & Gomorrah yet in levels of perversion?

R.I.P. Spc. Jared D. Stanker

Name: Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker

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Age: 22

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From: Evergreen Park, Ill.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.

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Died: October 27, 2009

(Taken from www.southtownstar.com) The family of Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker said their final goodbye today as the 22-year-old was buried with full military honors at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Worth.

Stanker, a 2006 graduate of Brother Rice High School, was killed Oct. 27 in Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with a homemade bomb. Six other soldiers also died in the attack.

"Remember Jared as a precious, loved and loveable person who was committed and devoted to God, family and county," his uncle Bob Stanker said during his nephew's eulogy.

The thousands of people lining the sidewalks and spilling into the street fell silent today when the convoy of police cruisers, motorcycles, limousines, a hearse and cars carrying friends and family started its slow procession down 103rd Street.

Men wiped tears from their eyes and mothers clutched their children a little tighter. Veterans stood at attention while others placed their hands over their hearts.

Most didn't know Stanker. Yet up and down the streets and in the surrounding neighborhoods, they talked as if the Evergreen Park man was one of their own.

"The kid gave up his life for us, the least we could do is come out here and stand up to give support to the family," said Tim Burns, of Oak Lawn.

Many learned about the show of support before the funeral at Queen of Martyrs Church through e-mail blasts sent from family to family in the tight-knit neighborhoods in Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, and Chicago's Beverly and Mount Greenwood communities.

"If it happens to one of us, it happens to all of us," said Jan Doyle, of Chicago. As the procession got under way, Kathy Meyers, of Oak Lawn, was sitting alone on a curb, her eyes leaking tears.

"I guess in my own way, I'm trying to thank him," she said. "My God, he was just a kid."

Members of the Illinois Patriot Guard Riders joined police forces from Chicago, Oak Lawn, Evergreen Park, Homewood and others to escort the body from Blake-Lamb Funeral Home to the church and again to the cemetery.

"It's like Jared said to me, there's so much negativity in the world and no one thinks anyone cares, but they do care," his mother, Susan Stanker, said after the burial. "All these people. They do care."

R.I.P. Sgt. Issac B. Jackson

Name: Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson

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Age: 27

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From: Plattsburg, Mo.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.

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Died: October 27, 2009

R.I.P. Sgt. Dale Griffin

Name: Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin

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Age: 29

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From: Terre Haute, Ind.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.

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Died: October 27, 2009

(Taken from www.tribstar.com) TERRE HAUTE October 30, 2009 11:15 pm

It was earlier this month when U.S. Army Sgt. Dale Griffin, 29, last spoke with his mother on the telephone. He was calling from Afghanistan where he was serving as part of operation Enduring Freedom. It was not an ordinary call.

“He wanted to be sure that we knew how much he loved us,” said Dale’s mother, Dona, speaking in her southern Vigo County home Friday afternoon. In that conversation, Dale asked his mother why people always seem to have to lose something or someone before they realized what they had lost.

“He said he was passing up a free vacation to Australia” to come home for Thanksgiving, Dona said. “That’s how much I love you,” he said.

Then, on Tuesday, Dale Griffin and six other U.S. Army soldiers on patrol in southern Afghanistan were killed by a roadside bomb. An Afghan civilian was also killed in the blast.

Several hours later, just before midnight, Gene and Dona Griffin learned their son’s fate. There was a knock on the door of their home and two uniformed members of the U.S. military very compassionately broke the terrible news.

Coming Home

Sgt. Griffin’s body was flown from Afghanistan to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and arrived early Thursday morning. Gene and Dona flew at the Army’s expense to Philadelphia late Wednesday and were driven to the base where they arrived around 12:30 a.m.

Prior to leaving for Dover, the Army gave the Griffin’s a document asking how much media coverage of their son’s arrival in the United States they would allow. They checked the third option, which was for essentially full media access.

“We wanted more people to know” how much each soldier had sacrificed, Dona Griffin said Friday. They had no idea how much that decision would affect their lives for the next 48 hours.

After arriving on the east coast, the Griffin’s received a telephone call to verify their decision regarding media coverage. They confirmed the decision and were then informed the President of the United States would be at the base for the transfer. Within a few hours, the Griffins met President Barack Obama and were able to speak with him briefly. Later, the president stood at attention as the caskets of all of the servicemen were carried from a military transport plane.

“I was glad to see that he made that choice,” Dona Griffin said of President Obama’s decision to meet with grieving families and stand at attention on a very cold and windy night at the air base.

In addition to helping people understand the sacrifice of American troops serving overseas, the Griffins also wanted to create relationships with and show support for – other families of lost servicemen and women, they said.

Dale had “spoken very highly” of the men he was serving with in Afghanistan, Gene said. All seven members of Dale’s unit were killed in Tuesday’s blast.

A Champion

Dale Griffin, by all accounts, was an incredibly strong and athletic young man. He was the runner up in his weight class in the Indiana high school wrestling championships in 1999, his senior year at Terre Haute South Vigo. More recently, he defeated every other member of the Fort Lewis, Washington, Army post in a mixed martial arts competition.

But Dale was also emotionally strong, always looking for ways to improve himself, his parents said. Through Army language school, he had recently become fairly fluent in Arabic and was learning a third language when he was killed. Once, when Dale was younger, Gene and Dona discovered a list he had written of things about himself he wanted to improve. Another time, after losing – based on a likely officiating error –an important sporting event, he handled the incident with dignity, Gene aaid. “That’s when we came up with the expression, ‘a trophy does not a champion make.’”

While serving in Afghanistan, Dale thought U.S. efforts were making a difference, he told his parents. He loved the Afghan people, especially children. He would ask his mother to send him crayons and paper that he could give to young Afghan children, Dona said. Dale was planning to seek a master’s degree and a law degree after leaving the Army, in which he served for just under four years.

“He was quite a young man,” Gene Griffin said, fighting back strong emotion Thursday at their home, the house in which Dale and his two brothers and sisters grew up as a closely knitted family.

“He wanted to make a difference,” Gene said. “And that’s what he’s doing.”

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez

Name: Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez

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Age: 27

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From: South Ozone Park, N.Y.

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.

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Died: October 27, 2009

R.I.P. Sgt. Fernando Delarosa

Name: Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa

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Age: 24

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From: Alamo, Texas

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Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa died Oct. 27 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.

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Died: October 27, 2009

(Taken from www.themonitor.com)SAN JUAN — Mourners from throughout the Rio Grande Valley welcomed home another fallen serviceman Saturday morning in an emotional day for family, friends and veterans.

The body of U.S. Army Sgt. Fernando De La Rosa arrived at McAllen-Miller International Airport about 11 a.m. and was taken to Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan amid a procession of vehicles. Onlookers lining the streets along the motorcade’s route waved U.S. flags as the hearse passed by.

De La Rosa, 24, of Alamo, was killed by a roadside bomb Oct. 27 in Afghanistan. He was on his third tour of duty in the Middle East.

“It was beautiful — a beautiful service,” the soldier’s mother, Rosa De La Rosa, said of the welcome her son received Saturday. “I just want to thank everybody for their support — the cards, the letters and the words of comfort.”

Alamo Mayor Rudy Villarreal, a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, said he hopes the support from the Alamo community and people across the Valley is helping the De La Rosa family get through a difficult time.

Veterans Day isn’t until Wednesday, but several businesses in Alamo have already put up U.S. flags in honor of Sgt. De La Rosa.

“They know that we’re all behind them,” Villarreal said of the outpouring of support extended to the soldier’s family.

Relatives of the fallen soldier gathered following the procession to share stories about him and summon up memories of their “Ferna,” his mother said.

They talked about “just the crazy things he used to do or the last visit when he came down in June,” Rosa De La Rosa said.

One of his four brothers, Alfredo, 21, is also in the Army, and arrived for the funeral from Korea, where he is stationed.

Sgt. De La Rosa’s wife, Karen, and two sons were unable to be present for his arrival Saturday, because they had difficulties with Peru customs officers while trying to leave the country, Rosa De La Rosa said. Karen De La Rosa lives in Washington state but was visiting Peru, where she is from.

Prior to his death, Sgt. De La Rosa had been set to return home this month for a two-week vacation with his wife and sons, his mother said. He was also on the verge of a promotion to staff sergeant.

Fellow veterans expressed sadness and disbelief following Saturday’s procession, the second such homecoming in as many weeks.

Army Staff Sgt. Bradley Espinoza, 26, of Alton, was killed by an improvised bomb in Iraq on Oct. 19. He was interred last week at the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery in Mission.

Sgt. De La Rosa is the third Valley service member to be killed in Afghanistan and the 29th to be killed in the ongoing wars there and in Iraq.

“It’s been really tough for the community as a whole,” said Vietnam veteran Felix Rodriguez, an official with the Hidalgo County Veterans Service Office. “You go into a restaurant wearing a veterans hat or cap and people will inevitably bring up the conversation that it’s sad we’re losing young men in (foreign) wars.”