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Only $100 million remains of a $3.5 billion authority granted by Congress in March to pull weapons and equipment from U.S. inventories and ship them to Ukrainians battling Russian forces, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.
An effort by Beijing to invade Taiwan that provoked a US response would be a ‘huge disaster’ that could cost Chinese President Xi Jinping his job, according to an American security expert.
I will be skipping my usual excerpt from my upcoming book. Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life. This month is military appreciation month.
Keep coming back to see more excerpts from the book. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on Subscribe. When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.
I am proud to say I am a veteran. I served with honor. My family has a history of being in the military. I had three uncles who fought in WWII; two received Purple hearts. I was in the Army and was deployed to Korea. My son was a career soldier and retired as a Colonel. Three generations of loyal Americans.
Would I go back in if they had a way to let me? In a New York minute! I am sadden by what is happening in our world and we as a nation need to stand up and take notice. We do not need to go fight in every little skirmish around the world, but we also need to defend those who are in danger.
If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, GET HELP!!
Here is a toll free number that you can call 24/7. There are highlyqualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until they know you are OK.
+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.
+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.
NATO fighter jets positioned around the Baltic and Black seas scrambled multiple times over four days to track and intercept Russian aircraft flying near allied airspace, NATO said Friday.
Florida National Guard soldiers who trained troops in Ukraine before Russia’s invasion are now training Ukrainian forces again outside the war-torn country, chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Friday.
A strong international response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine is critical to deterring China from embarking on territorial conquests in Taiwan or the South China Sea, said Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.
North Korea fired what is suspected to be a short-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast, according to a message sent to reporters from South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Saturday.
Scores of Ukrainians were feared dead Sunday after a Russian bomb flattened a school where about 90 people were taking shelter in the basement, while Ukrainian fighters held out inside Mariupol’s steel plant as Moscow’s forces apparently raced to capture the city ahead of Russia’s Victory Day holiday.
The rebuilding effort is imbued with a sense of optimism that Ukraine will outlast Russia’s assault. Volunteers are mostly carrying it out, allowing government funds to remain focused on the war.
What follows is some information about some Band of Brothers who lived right in my home town. These soldiers fought in WWII and parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day June of 1944. They were called Easy company. They are part of my upcoming book, Signs of Hope for the Military: In and Out of the Trenches of Life.
One of the honors I shared was right in my home town of Salem, Oregon. Three members of the Band of Brothers live close to me. Two of the three died before I started this book.
One name was Leo Boyle and high school teacher and then the special education director. He was the least known. He died in 1997. That was four years before the Emmy winning television series aired.
Only Bill Wingett was still living when I started this book. He was in a military assisted facility in Lebanon, Oregon. I was ready to go interview him and the pandemic hit. He died before I could get to him.
He is part of the ever shrinking Easy Company of the 506 Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne, which most Americans know as the Band of Brothers.
I also personally met another Band of Brothers in Minneapolis, Wisconsin. I bought his book that shares many of the actual happenings in WWII that was done by this group.
A list shows that there are only 14 Brothers left, but it is outdated.
Easy company was involved of some of the most brutal on D-Day over 75 years ago. They also fought during Market Garden-the battle of Bastogne, and the Battle of the Bulge.
But the whole story about them got started on June 6th, 1944. They were assigned a night jump behind enemy lines several hours before the invasion.
Wingett said that one day was a “red-letter day.”
As important as that day was some details faded for him who just turned 97 during this interview for the Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon. The interviewer was Capi Lynn.
“I may not be able to dig up some of the stories, but I lived them,” Wingett said. He really didn’t want to tell his own stories.
Years ago he described D-Day like this, “We got in an airplane in England and we jumped out of the Damn thing in France, and the fight began. There’s not much more to say about that.”
His group jumped into darkness in the early morning hours.
The target was Utah Beach. The allies divided the 60-mile coastal stretch into five code-named sectors for the invasion. Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sward were the others.
Wingett landed where the Germans flooded the area as a defensive tactic. Many paratroopers were killed by gun-fire before they hit the ground. And many more drowned.
Wingett struggled in the water That day. He only survived because he was slowly able to shed much of the 150 pounds of gear he was carrying, including a main and reserve chutes, weapons, ammunition, and rations, between breaths of air above water.
Malarkey from Salem, jumped roughly in the same area and landed in a tree. He dangled in his chute until he got his bearings, then cut himself loose and fell to the ground.
He went on to serve more time on the front lines than any Easy Company soldiers. He received the Bronze Star for his bravery in the Battle of Brecourt Manor.
Boyle also parachuted into Normandy, where he was wounded and evacuated to England. Boyle was later promoted to Staff Sergeant, and served as commanding officer Richard Winters’ right hand man before being severely wounded during Operation Market Garden. He was discharged after nine months in various hospitals.
Wingett said he never had a close call even though he was wounded three times.
I wasn’t able to see all of his medals because of the Pandemic. He had a purple heart with two oak leaf clusters. This was along with the many medals, ribbons, badges, and patches displayed in a frame on the wall in the apartment where he lived at the Oregon Veteran’s Home in Lebanon, Oregon.
There are more parts of the book dedicated to these heroes from WWII. Come back of ten to check them out. Better yet…go to the top of this page and click on Subscribe. When you all future posts will come directly to your inbox.
If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, GET HELP!!
Here is a toll free number that you can call 24/7. There are highlyqualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until they know you are OK.
+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.
+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.
An undetermined number of Americans — many with military backgrounds — are thought to be in the country battling Russian forces beside both Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries even though U.S. forces aren’t directly involved in fighting aside from sending military materiel, humanitarian aid and money.
Germany says it is making progress on weaning itself off Russian fossil fuels and expects to be fully independent of Russian crude oil imports by late summer.
Some women and children were evacuated from a steel plant that is the last defensive stronghold in the bombed-out ruins of the port city of Mariupol, a Ukrainian official and Russian state news organizations said, but hundreds are believed to remain trapped with little food, water or medicine.
Speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” the Illinois Republican said the joint resolution would not be a mandate for the Democratic president but rather a measure that would provide an option for Biden’s administration while also sending a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin as he pursues war with Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a subpanel of the Senate Appropriations Committee that the Pentagon is closely watching its inventories and working with the defense industry to replenish weapons such as Javelin and Stinger missiles as soon as possible.
Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, who has led U.S. Army Europe and Africa for the past four years, will replace U.S. Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, if confirmed.
Here is an interview with a WWII veteran who was in 20 different hospitals.
My interview is with George Woodruff. We had become good friends. He is a WWII and Korean veteran. He is an American hero. Not because of what he did while in the military, but what he has done for his fellow veterans.
He is allowing me to share his name.
George Woodruff is a full time resident at Trinka Davis. Way back in his early military career he fell out of a top three tiered bunk and landed on his head. That would be the beginning of years of hospital times and many trips to the ER.
SOH
George, I want to thank you for taking the time to visit with me today. I am honored to be talking to you. Tell me about your early time in the military. When did you enlist?
George
August 8th, 1944.
SOH
Where did you do your Boot camp?
George
I did my boot camp at camp Downes, Great Lake Lakes Naval Training Center.
SOH
How was boot camp?
George
It was not Picnic! March… march… march, until you thought your legs would fall off. Then we had to wear a gas mask; enter a large chamber where you had to remove your gas mask. Tears ran down my face!
Boot camp was tough, but you learned to follow orders that might keep you alive when the actual shooting started. We became men during boot camp.
SOH
Where did you go after boot camp?
George
I was assigned to Basic Engineering School. I was temporarily transferred to the Replacement Depot. It had triple decker bunks there. I figured this was an accident waiting to happen since I was assigned the top bunk. They had no railings back then. And of course it did happen. I woke up one morning finding myself lying face down on the concrete floor. My nose was broken. I went to the aid station and the medical corpsman straightened up my nose.
I had no idea how serious my injuries from the fall actually were. I was to find this out the hard way over the many years as problems caused by the fall worsened.
I was in Army Hospitals 7 times during my service. Three of these were in Germany during the Berlin Airlift. I was in Navy Hospitals twice, once at Great Lakes for Scarlet Fever and once at Oakland Naval Hospital. Since getting out of service I have been in VA Hospitals more than 20 times over the years.
SOH
Were there any incidents that stood out during your training?
George
We had a slightly overweight sailor who as not too clean. He bathed rarely. We finally grabbed him and took him to the shower. We used a stiff brush and soap and scrubbed him until his skin was red. From that day on that sailor was the cleanest guy in the barracks.
SOH
Tell me more on how your fall affected you as you went along in the service.
George
It was during the training period that problems from my fall began to manifest themselves. I would have periods of extreme irritability and occasional memory loss.
SOH
Did the fall cause you problems in your daily duties?
George
Yes, one day I was driving a forklift and blacked out. I went over the edge of a wall and crashed down onto a large diesel engine a few feet below. I was sent to Oakland Naval Hospital for evaluation and treatment. While I was in the hospital, Japan agreed to surrender on August 14th, 1945. Atom bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima, and Nagasaki.
SOH
What happened to you after your hospital visit?
George
I was honorably discharged on September 29th, 1945. I was awarded a 100% disability.
SOH
I see you were also in the Army, how did that happen?
George
I met a Sergeant in Houston who happened to be a recruiter. He invited me to his office, and he had a small bar. We had a few beers. I took some tests he asked me to take. We have several more beers. When I woke up the next morning, I was on a train to Ft. Ord, California! I had somehow joined the Army in 1947! (I did my basic at Ft. Ord, Just like George did. We have a lot in common.)
SOH
George went on to be trained at the Vent Hill Farms Station near Warrenton, Virginia. He was training for the Army Security Agency. (I too was trained to be an ASA trooper.) They trained people to do be radio intercept operators, cryptologist, and radio repair technicians.
SOH
I notice you spent much of your time at many different hospitals. That must have been tough.
George
I was in VA hospitals over seven times during my military days and over twenty times so far after I was discharged.
SOH
Let’s talk about now. One of the things you really had a hard time with was being separated from your wife Jeannie. Share your thoughts on that.
(Jeannie began to have memory loss and needed to be sent to a special facility that cares for those problems, and George had to be in a VA facility because of his problems. They had to live in separate places.)
“When Jeanne and I could no longer live together I felt like my world had ended. After so many years of a wonderful marriage we were torn apart by our failing health. It broke my heart and took away my reason for living.”
(This is an actual quote from George in an email to me.)
SOH
George now lives at the Trinka Davis Assisted Living Facility, in Corrollton, Georgia. This is a VA facility for military only. It was started by the good graces by Trinka Davis, who donated millions to get it started.
SOH
George is now on hospice care, and has many ailments including congestive heart failure, diabetes, hearing loss, stenosis of the spine, problems still from his head injury, and many other ailments. He still has a very positive attitude. He has been an inspiration to me, and I will never forget him. He is a true American hero.
·
In honor of my good friend George Woodruff, I am going share a poem he wrote in February of 2014. He told me he was extremely depressed when he wrote this poem, because he knew he would be separated from his wife Jeannie soon.
Saga of a Disabled World War II Veteran
Time has passed me by and now I’m sick and old, nearly blind, kidneys failing, stenosis crippling my spine.
A pair of painful legs that no longer function or hold me up, a power wheelchair for this worn out old carcass of mine.
So I guess I’ll bear this continual depression and pain.
Until the Supreme Architect above finally takes me away. So God if you are up there somewhere listening to my prayer,
I would really appreciate it if you decide to do it today!
There will be more interviews in future posts. My next one will be with a Vietnam veteran. He has some very scary situations he had to go through. Keep coming back to see more. Better yet…God tot he top of this page and click on Subscribe. When you do all future posts will come directly to your inbox.
If you are battling mentally, but you are losing, GET HELP!!
Here is a toll free number that you can call 24/7. There are highlyqualified counselors there to help you, and they will not hang up until they know you are OK.
+If you like what you see, please subscribe at the top of this page where it says, “subscribe.” When you do, all future posts will come directly to your inbox. Also, if you know some else who could benefit from this site, please let them know.
