Stories like this are so disheartening. There is just no way to describe the pain that a family must feel to have a loved serve a tour of duty in what is supposed to be a combat zone only to lose their life at home through a senseless act of violence.
The armored car guard shot to death while leaving the Toco Hill Kroger with a bag of cash Tuesday was identified by police Wednesday as a Lawrenceville resident. Gary Castillo, 32, was shot three times around noon outside the grocery store where he had just made a pickup, according to the FBI. He died later in the day at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Channel 2 Action News is reporting that Castillo had just returned from a military tour of duty in Afghanistan. Family members told Channel 2 that he has an 8-year-old son.
Castillo was shot as he walked to his vehicle at the curb. He had just collected cash from the Kroger in the 2200 block of Lavista Road.
The suspects in the case are wanted on suspicion of robbing at least 6 other armored cars in the area. In this case they didn't even give the guy a chance. With his back turned to them as he was walking to the truck they simply pulled their guns and shot him. Cold blooded. Calculated. Remorseless.
A $100K reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of these punks, and hopefully by that time Georgia will once again be able to carry out executions since all of them are on hold right now since the DEA seized all of the drugs used to carry out executions by lethal injections. Might I suggest they just fire up 'Ol Sparky again.
Mr Castillo leaves behind an 8 year old son.
Another story that I heard this morning, but I haven't been able to find it on the web yet concerns a once deported illegal immigrant who while driving drunk was involved in a accident which took the life of another veteran who had also recently returned from Afghanistan.
Frank Buckles, who lied about his age to get into uniform during World War I and lived to be the last surviving U.S. veteran of that war, has died. He was 110.
Buckles, who also survived being a civilian POW in the Philippines in World War II, died peacefully of natural causes early Sunday at his home in Charles Town, biographer and family spokesman David DeJonge said in a statement. Buckles turned 110 on Feb. 1 and had been advocating for a national memorial honoring veterans of the Great War in Washington, D.C.
When asked in February 2008 how it felt to be the last of his kind, he said simply, ``I realized that somebody had to be, and it was me.'' And he told The Associated Press he would have done it all over again, ``without a doubt.''
Before there was "The Greatest Generation", there was his generation. This serves as a reminder that this country is constantly blessed to have such fine men and women who are willing to step up and be members of the latest greatest generation. That is not meant to be a slight on those who served in WWII, it is meant to be praise for all who serve. As long as such people exist America will somehow manage to weather the bad times as well as enjoy the good times.
Jammie posted the video earlier of the union loving folks using a war memorial as a post-it notes bulletin board as part of a larger post and I just couldn't let it rest there, so forgive me putting down my thoughts on the matter.
First off I actually saw the video after Instapundit linked to Ann Althouse's blog about the matter. I wish to commend the people who confronted the folks manning the booth for remaining so civil, but something inside of me just went dead while watching that. I don't know if is because of the cumulative effect of having to wage verbal and written jujitsu with so many liberals of all stripes for the last ten years or if it was the introspection I underwent in wondering what my 20 years of service meant and how things haven't changed in this country with respect to our military and an appreciation of their sacrifices.
I remember back to when I enlisted, I was working full time for a printing company doing photographic screening and setup for the guys working the printing presses. Upon hearing I had enlisted in the Army, much to my surprise they weren't like other folks who went about tsk-tsking, instead they chided me for not going into the Marines. It was then I found out that a good many of them had prior military service and I had been working there over a year. They hid their service either out of shame or fear or because maybe to them it wasn't any big deal. They had done their time and moved on.
Flash forward about six months and it was me walking through the Atlanta airport with my parents headed to catch a plane for the first 3 year tour in Germany. A young man, my age, maybe a little older veers over in our direction, calls me a baby killer and attempts to spit on me. Discipline instilled by drill instructors took hold and my normal personality of being a smart ass took over and I quipped something about how he must have me confused with an abortion doctor and we continued on our way. I can't forget the look of hurt on my parents face however while I was reassuring them that it was alright and to forget about it. That was 1978.
In the ensuing decades the military went through periods of ups and downs. Shame while Carter was president to chest bursting pride when Reagan was, and just a gallows humor sort of mentality while Clinton held the office. The one constant however was a downplaying of being a member of military, just as our young men and women today do. Just like those guys I worked with, it was a sense of just doing your job.
Now here we are in 2011 and while some of the more blatant personal attacks on service members seem to have waned, the general atmosphere concerning the military seems to have not changed much. Hollywood still portrays military members as some sort of redneck buffoon with a propensity for violence, living on a mental razor's edge with some sort of substance abuse or dependency problem just one step away from flying into some sort of PTSD fueled rage. Think of every television show, movie, or special and try to recall when the military member or veteran was ever depicted as normal, even in shows which are willing to show the military in a positive light.
Let me apologize for the rambling but I can't muster the emotion to rant. That video, for me encapsulated for me how little progress we really have made to show just the least little bit of respect for those who have worn the uniform. I kept waiting for someone from the group to apologize and make a move to remove the notes and stickers, but no one did. They didn't even flinch in that direction. Ponytail guy was living out his vision of what life must have been like in the heyday of the hippies in the 60's and the young woman merely seemed clueless as to why someone would be upset over using that memorial as anything other then a display stand.
I am tired of fighting but beyond that I am just tired. Maybe I am getting old. Maybe it is just finally giving in to the inevitable. Maybe it is because what somebody who is much better with words then me said once. Something like freedom has a taste that those which have fought for it is so sweet and the protected will never know.
Final random thought for you to chew on. You know how on those reality shows they every so often reunite the contestants with their loved ones after 15 or 30 days of separation and there is all the tears and hugging. Yeah, me and the wife have a good laugh over those. You see 23 days after we got married I shipped off to Korea for a year by myself. I have spent more time on little field exercises then these shows actually last. And now today the wife says she misses those separations. You see for her the biggest adjustment to civilian life has been having me around all the time.
I agree with the guys over at TAH, this case of the Mojave Desert cross is entering into the theater of the absurd. The latest update is that a replica cross was constructed and erected while waiting for the original cross which had been stolen to be recovered.
The National Park Service said in a press release Thursday afternoon that the replica cross would be removed.
Late Thursday, Mojave National Preserve spokeswoman Linda Slater told reporters in California that the new cross is illegal and must come down.
So let me get this straight. According to the twisted logic of this government bureaucrat only the original cross can go back up. If the original cross is never recovered, then a criminal has accomplished what the liberals couldn't through the force of the courts and they are alright with it.
Using this sort of logic I guess our White House wouldn't have been repaired after the British sacked it in the War of 1812, renovated the home of Martin Luther King Jr., (you know they didn't use original materials) or any one of a number of sites that have had to be replaced or renovated over the years.
Maybe instead of working so hard to keep the cross out of sight they could use their resources to catch the oxygen thief who stole it in the first place. For those that didn't know there is now a $100k reward for the return of the cross.
Great piece of journalism there, ABC. You say there is a long list of politicians who have faced a similar situation like the latest scandal revolving around Democrat candidate Richard Blumenthal and then the only case you can cite is a Republican from 14 years ago. You might want to check on a bunch of the current crop of so-called veterans who put on a little dog and pony show in Washington a while back euphemistically called Winter Soldiers II. They played before a packed house of Democrats in the basement of the congressional building, and just like their predecessor the original Winter Soldiers, had a whole list of wannabees, never had been people trot out their horror stories from Afghanistan and Iraq.
No, when it comes to creative editing on biographies related to military service the Democrats excel, and those that can't inflate their street cred that way go out of their way to discredit those who do serve. See: Murtha, Jack; Durbin, Richard.
While you are it, ABC, why don't you go check out the ads the Democrats are running against Ilario Pantano and Allen West, two Iraq war veterans who are threatening to take seats away from the Democrats.
An oxygen thief purporting to be somebody who knows one of the supposed scum-sucking carbon-based life-forms who stole the cross erected in the Mojave Desert to honor our veterans called a newspaper in Barstow, California and issued his insane ramblings on why the cross was taken.
This refugee from a mental institution wants to somehow make us feel better about the theft by saying he took great care with it and that it wasn't about religion but rather a blow against discrimination. Like all left-wing pseudo-intellectuals, which by his manifesto he fancies himself to be, he fills it with references to the Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln and Supreme Court justices, as if that makes everything alright.
I only regret that this pond scum did not fall victim to a Mojave green rattlesnake while carrying out his act of cowardice.
I am not posting any parts of the supposed letter, but I hope they have some sort of CSI group out there that is tracing phone records as I write to track down the caller and then after going Jack Bauer on him find out just how close a relationship he has to the person who he claims perpetrated this act.
I will leave the "Fair and Balanced" stuff to Fox News.
Bernie Marcus (right), who built the Georgia Aquarium, is stepping up to help wounded vets. Susan Johnson (left) of the Shepherd Center talks with Brig. Gen. Donald Bradshaw.
I applaud the gesture and I support his intent, I just don't want him to go off into left field with the rhetoric. The health care of veterans is an important issue and something that should be addressed and I support all who support our troops not just with words but deeds.
Marcus offered to underwrite the costs — care, transportation and housing — of any wounded soldier, sailor or Marine whom the Shepherd Center, a renowned Atlanta clinic for brain and spinal injuries, approved for treatment.
At a press conference Monday at the Shepherd Center, Marcus said he wanted to set an example for his fellow philanthropists. He aims to bring financial help and possibly shame the Pentagon and Congress into covering all medical treatment costs for its vets.
Note to Michelle Obama, he is one of those corporate types you wish people would not want to become.
No AP photos were used in the creation of this post.
EDISON, Ga. - Dan Hammack III, a special forces veteran and a lieutenant colonel in the reserves, wanted to do something more to show his respect for wounded veterans.
So he helped organize the "Purple Heart Hunt," which invites wounded veterans to share in the therapeutic qualities he believes are found in nature.
Hammack and other Calhoun County plantation and hunting lodge owners treated about a dozen wounded veterans on Friday and Saturday to what Hammack says is some of the best quail hunting in the world. He hopes it will become an annual event.
"We're just not doing enough for these guys," Hammack said. "I began trying to think of a way that we could show these wounded veterans a good time to try to uplift their spirits and get them away from all the day-to-day grind they're facing with recovery."
PETA was unavailable for comment. Folks sometimes it is the simple things that we take for granted that can mean so much to somebody else. The previous generation of veterans have certainly stepped up to help this "Greatest Generation" and sometimes I not sure who benefits more from this comradarie of arms. The Vietnam vets often thank this generation for restoring their self esteem after the damage that was done to their psyche form the anti war liberals of their day, but they go far and behind the call to make sure history does not repeat itself.
The oldest American World War I veteran has died in Ohio aged 109, leaving only two known US soldiers from the conflict still alive.
J Russell Coffey died on Thursday, according to a nursing home in the town of North Baltimore.
Mr Coffey enlisted in the army in October 1918, about a month before the Allies and Germany agreed a ceasefire, and did not see action.
Harry Landis, 108, and Frank Buckles, 106, are the surviving US veterans.
More than 4.7 million Americans enlisted in the military between 1917 and 1918.
University degrees
Mr Coffey was born on 1 September 1898 and was a semi-professional baseball player.
His two older brothers fought and he initially expressed disappointment at missing out on action although he told Associated Press in April 2007: "I think I was good to get out of it."
He was discharged a month after the end of the war and returned to Ohio State University, where he earned two degrees.
Mr Coffey's daughter Betty Jo Larsen, who died in September, had previously told AP her father would rather be remembered for his life contributions rather than his old age.
"He told me 'even a prune can get old'," she said.
Gaye Boggs, nursing director at the Briar Hill Health Campus nursing home, said Mr Coffey's health had been failing since October but no cause of death had yet been determined.
The US Veterans Affairs Department lists Mr Buckles of Charles Town, West Virginia, and Mr Landis, of Sun City Center, Florida, as the only World War I US veterans known to still be alive.
Only one Canadian veteran, John Babcock, 107, who lives in Spokane, Washington, is still alive.
Watch the video from John Stossel and read Michael Fumento's analysis of a homeless advocacy group's bogus statistics.
This shocking report got a lot of media attention when it first came out, but you won't hear about it now that it's been demonstrably proven false.
THE homeless-advocacy industry always puts the most sympathetic face on its "clientele." It works desperately to divert attention from alcoholics, drug users, schizophrenics, and fat panhandlers holding signs reading: "Hungry."
And it doesn't talk about unpleasant truths like those reported by ABC's John Stossel - who, after exhaustive efforts, managed to find only one person with a sign reading "Will work for food" who would actually do so.
Instead, advocates focus (with the media's help) on unrepresentative but heart-tugging cases - like veterans.
Eleven years ago, I debunked a "study" claiming a third of all men in homeless shelters were vets - noting it was based entirely on the men's own claims, and that claiming to be a vet is a favorite panhandler ploy.
But comes now a new "study" from the Homeless Research Institute (HRI), the research arm of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. It claims government data show that vets are more than twice as likely to be "homeless" as non-vets - that is, that vets make up 11 percent of the adult US population, but 26 percent of the labeled homeless.
The 29-page report also insists it's a myth that substance abuse and/or mental illness is at the heart of the homelessness problem; rather, it's "lack of affordable housing." And, naturally, it's the job of an expanded government to make that housing affordable.
Read the rest.
This isn't to say there aren't any veterans who maybe homeless. It's just not what has been reported.
Folks that frequent this site are probably aware of the recent stories, which were brought to light by Fox News, of soldiers who were being notified that they would have to repay some of their enlistment/reenlistment bonuses for not completing their enlistments. What made the story so insane is that these letters were being sent to soldiers who had been wounded and were unable to continue their service. See the story of Jordan Fox. Well thanks to the folks at Fox News, most notably the group on Fox and Friends the Pentagon has said he will not have to pay back any money. In addition they have established a hot line number to call for any other veterans or even those still serving can call to get their cases reviewed also. The number is 1-800-984-8523 If you know anybody that may be affected by this or you can help get the word out please do your part. They have served their country and protected you and now you can help them. Thanks.
On May 27th, Orlando at FortHardKnox provided some unique and meaningful insight into the observance of Memorial Day.
I’m ashamed to admit that Memorial Day had little meaning except for a mini-vacation, a day off, BBQ, and picnic.
Sound a little bit too familiar?
That changed when I joined the military and served in the Gulf War.
Thank you for your patriotism and service, Orlando.
More than 1.5 million American men and women who served our Armed Forces have died. One point five million – that is the equivalent of the entire country of Estonia. It is hard to comprehend. They did not die in vain. They died in service to our country. In return, we owe them and their families our greatest respect.
Indeed, we do and it must be never ending.
Orlando's commentary brings to mind ways in which we disrespect our veterans - our World War II veterans specifically. For starters, see if there's more than passing reference that this year marks the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, the start of the Allied invasion of the European continent.
Now, think back one month ago. How much was said or written about VE Day?
To our great shame, very little.
In the Czech Republic's southwestern Bohemia, however, the memories and significance of VE Day - 62 years ago - survived nearly 45 years of Soviet liberation occupation; an occupation that was no less brutal and cruel than that which was visited upon the Czech Lands by der Übermenschen, the Austrian corporal's Master Race.
As World War Two in Europe came to a close in the first days of May 1945, more than just the end of the war was at hand. For over six long years, the people of western Czechoslovakia had lived under Nazi tyranny - longer than any other people subjugated by Nazi Germany. Now, two corps of General George S. Patton, Jr.'s Third U.S. Army were in the Sudetenland region along the old 1937 German- Czechoslovak border. The German Army opposing them was literally melting away, as tens of thousands of its soldiers surrendered or deserted daily. Third Army was about to bring an end to western Czechoslovakia's long years of Nazi occupation and oppression.
For more than 40 years after U.S. forces drove Nazi Germany from Plzeň, west Bohemia, an important truth was kept quiet. Although this event was known as the “liberation” of Plzeň, the city continued to suffer under the oppressive censorship of Soviet communism, and schoolchildren were taught that it was the Russians who freed Plzeň from the Nazis’ grip.
But private memories persisted. Many people remembered the massive celebration when the Americans rolled into town in May 1945. Families secretly kept photos, and some even hid U.S. military vehicles that had been left behind.
Discovery would have meant execution for being an enemy of the state.
Eva Stejskalová, of Prague, was 6 years old at the time; she remembers bringing a cake her mother baked to some U.S. soldiers and parroting the English phrase her father taught her: “How do you do?” The soldiers laughed and gave her chocolate.
On May 6, 2007, a convoy of Jeeps and other military vehicles made its way along Klatovská street, re-enacting the liberation.
Perched in one of the jeeps was Earl Ingram, 84, a U.S. veteran from North Carolina. It was his division, the 2nd Infantry, that liberated the city in 1945.
Doug Brackenbrough, 75, a Korean War veteran, came over from Washington state for the celebration. His eyes teared when he remembered driving through a small Czech town in 2002 with the convoy and passing a crying elderly couple holding a sign that read, “Thank you America.”
“The outpouring of appreciation and patriotism in this country is much greater than in our own,” he said.
