Memorial Day 2007

We alone of all the nations
Shed our blood for freedoms call
So Gods’ blessings do abound us
Save us even when we fall

Ner’ forget the ones who’ve served us
Honor every end of May
Cheer the brave and weary soldier
Here at home and far away

Beto Ochoa

First of all… As we remember those who went before us-
Thank you to all of the brave men and women who are serving in the military today… And, especially to those who are serving this great nation in Iraq or Afghanistan. Thank you.

Pat Rowe Kerr, the Missouri State Veterans Ombudsman, forwarded this article about a Southern Missouri soldier’s family in need.
KY3TV reported:

This Memorial Day Weekend, one group is asking you to help a soldier who’s fighting two battles. One battle is in Iraq and the other is here at home against his newborn’s failing heart.

Baby Denver is quite a handful, though he is one of the most content babies you’ll ever see. “It’s been rough,” said his mother Nicole Brooks.

It’s been a difficult time because Denver has a hole in his heart between his two bottom ventricles and that means he’ll have to have heart surgery.

“It’s really nice having family that supports us,” said Brooks, but she adds the person she needs the most, her husband, can’t be by her side.

Paul Brooks is a guardsman fighting in Iraq. Up until a few months ago, he was bringing home a six figure salary, but now it’s much less. And the Missouri Veterans Commission is taking notice.

“We can help them take care of the needs here at home,” said Retired Colonel Jack Jackson who knows exactly what this family and others like them are going through. While serving in Vietnam, Jackson’s wife became ill.

Though people are remembering those who served years ago this Memorial Day Weekend, the colonel said people need to also remember those who are serving now.

“I can remember flying combat missions as a marine pilot and sometimes drifting away from the thoughts of the mission at hand to how’s my family? Is someone watching my daughter? Is my wife gonna get better?” Jackson recalled.

The Veterans Commission and friends of the group hope people will help this family–like this family is helping many people–through service.

If you’d like to help, 100% of all funds received will go directly to the family to assist them with their financial needs.

Donations should be made payable to:
Operation Baby’s Heart
C/O State of Missouri Veterans Commission
205 Jefferson Street, 12th Floor
Jefferson City, Missouri 65102

I am still waiting to hear if there is a PayPal account set up for donations.

Jules Crittenden offers thoughts on the media’s poor performance.
Michelle Malkin has “How not to honor a fallen soldier.”
Democracy Project has thoughts on Memorial Day.
Glenn Reynolds has a great story from Michael Yon.

Less than a year ago… A sniper’s bullet somehow flew barely under the Marine Lance Cpl. John McClellan’s helmet, hitting just above his left ear. It severed facial nerves and parts of his ear, ripped a hole in the lower section of his skull and brain, and tore its way out through the back of his neck. But it missed his carotid artery by the thickness of a few sheets of paper. And it missed vital sections of his brain. It missed his vision and vocal controls, too.
Yesterday, John was honored at a banquet in central Missouri.

John’s sister and her husband, Jamie, Paige Ely, John, Carl & Connie-John’s mother.

At a banquet last night in Columbia, Missouri, John and the other distinguished guests were introduced and honored. John got a standing ovation. His mother COnnie said, “It was wonderful!”

Dr. Sanity ends her wonderful Memorial Day Post with this:

“The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.”

– John Fitzgerald Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
Hat Tip Larwyn

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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Thanks for sharing!