Choose the family that you feel is the most deserving of the new car. Only one vote is allowed per person. The family with the most votes at 11:59pm on Tuesday August 31st will be the winner of the Mercury Milan from our Woodhouse Mercury store in Omaha. Thank you for participating in our campaign. Together we can make a difference!

Well one of the four finalists for this new car is one that truly needs it and deserves it.

This candidate was at Fort Hood, TX Army Base Soldier Readiness Center checking in after returning from a second tour in Iraq. He was 5 days away from going to Officer Candidate School and pursuing a long time dream of becoming an Officer in the army. 

That all changed that day when one man that this candidate had never met, came in and started shooting. The gunman’s goal was to kill as many Americans as he could and then take his own life.This candidate saw the laser pointed at his head and was shot 4 times.This candidate’s fiancé was an undergraduate senior at Boston University, one semester away from graduating with a degree in Psychology. She had just been on the phone with him an hour before and knew what area of the base he was on. She later found out that her fiancé had been shot in the head and was in critical condition and probably wouldn’t make it through the night. 

When she got to the hospital he was alive, but in very serious condition. Most of his skull on the right side had been shattered and a part of his brain had to be removed from bullet and bone fragment damage. Later the next day, he awoke and asked her how she got there so fast. His next sentence was, “Will you still marry me even though I got shot?” Without hesitation she replied with a kiss and a, “I most definitely will.”It was truly a miracle he survived. His left side was completely paralyzed, leaving him unable to walk or use his left arm. 

After just a few short weeks he was able to be moved to the Neuro Rehab Center in Austin. After hours of extremely painful therapy every day, he was beginning to walk.January 8th was his next surgery, to reconstruct his skull and fill in the missing piece. Immediately after the surgery he had a bad reaction to the material used and his condition worsened. Because of many serious complications, the piece put in 10 days earlier had to be removed. A week later a shunt was put in because of fluid building on his brain. All of the progress he had made was lost. This candidate was unable to eat and had lost about 50 lbs. His kidneys were starting to shut down. He had problems with his liver function; and because of several other complications, he was hospitalized for over a month.On February 24, this candidate was able to go back to the Rehab Center in Austin and start over with his therapy. 

He was unable to walk, his muscles had wasted away, and he was weak from not being able to eat. But his determination was stronger than ever and within a few days he was beginning to walk again.There have been many challenges and setbacks for the both of them in the past 5 months. His fiancé has been there day and night, by his side, since the shooting. They gain strength from each other and have overcome many difficult obstacles. In reality, they will have a lifetime of obstacles, but I have never seen two people so committed, so determined and in loveHe was shot that day because of his decision to put on that uniform and fight for his country, a decision he made without doubt or regret. This candidate will never be the same, his life – their lives, have taken a much different path than they had originally planned. But they don’t dwell on that; they just simply have agreed to take a different path, knowing together they can accomplish anything.He will have at least one more surgery to reconstruct his skull and will probably be hospitalized for an additional 2-3 months after that and then have several months or years of outpatient therapy. 

 Because this candidate wasn’t injured in Iraq, and because he was shot on a US Army base by another soldier, the Army doesn’t recognize his injuries as combat related, so the army/government doesn’t offer the support or help for them that a soldier injured in Iraq or Afghanistan would have received.The vehicle they have is a small car that she has to cram and twist and push his wheelchair into the backseat. It sits down low to the ground so it is hard for him, being 6-1 to get in and out of. They wanted to get something bigger but know that they can’t afford to get anything right now. A bigger vehicle would make life a bit easier; it would be very much appreciated.They are both excited and optimistic about what the future holds for them. While they cannot control every aspect of his recovery and they don’t know what the future has in store for them, they do know that the strength and bond they are building through this experience will prepare them for whatever lies ahead.

So as you can see, Candidate #2 needs your help by getting your vote. Please head over to http://www.woodhouse.com/difference/vote.htm and cast your vote for Candidate #2.

A very good friend of mine on Facebook who is a veteran herself, married to one of my closest friends who was also with me in Afghanistan and she is carrying my future God-child right now put up one of the best Facebook status messages I have ever seen.

I mean I am also guilty of putting up dumb stuff every once in a while, so I can’t criticize people too much for putting up useless and dumb things on Facebook. But this posting really says a LOT in just a few words.

Her Facebook comment was…

I can’t believe the news coverage being given to a spoiled 20-something yr old. Here are a few 20 year-olds worth knowing about: Justin Allen 23, Brett Linley 29, Matthew Weikert 29, Justus Bartett 27, Dave Santos 21, Chase Stanley 21, Jesse Reed 26, Matthew King 23, Christopher Goeke 23, & Sheldon Tate 27. These 20-somethings gave their lives for you this week. Repost if you support the Military. Lindsey who??!!

Thanks Mrs. Prophet, as always you are awesome.

Following the recent immigration debates arising out of Arizona and in Congress made me step back and think. “What makes someone an American?” Is it an accident of birth? Having a special skill? Or is it an attitude?

My grandparents names are listed at Ellis Island. It’s no big deal, so are the names of dozens of thousands of others. They came over amongst those human waves of Europeans in the late 1800’s who were coming to the New World for a chance for a better life.

My maternal grandmother was Mary Inez Ryan, from Ireland’s County Limerick, and we grew up listening to her stories of wailing banshees and the shrieking tree. She married Joseph Mendell, whose father had changed his name from Mendel when he arrived from Germany the generation prior. My dad’s side was also European: Louis Ljubon from Budapest married Aloysia Woelfl from Bavaria Both families settled in northern New Jersey, learned English, struggled through the Depression, and then both my mom and dad joined the Marines in WW2. Afterwards they were part of the first G.I. Bill class at Montclair State Teachers College and worked hard to give us kids a better life and more opportunities.

America has so many other stories…last month at FOB Dwyer I met Tuan Pham, a Vietnamese refugee whose grandfather and father were killed by the Viet Cong. His mother and sister left Vietnam as ‘boat people,’ and eventually got Pham out when he was 16…now he’s Major Tuan Pham, USMC, who enlisted three years after arriving here. While his is certainly a far more interesting family story than mine, it’s remarkably similar in that it started with folks looking for a better life, making their way to America, working hard, giving back, and helping build that which we call “The American Dream”.

And it’s worth noting the many stories of citizenship that started after 9/11: there have been some 55,000 immigrants who became Americans through their service in the Armed Forces. The ranks of the Marine Corps are filled with young men and women with fascinating accents who are “giving back” to their newly adopted country. Some of them “give back” a lot; think back to Sgt Michael Strank, one of the five Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. He was born Mychal Strenk, in Jarabenia, Czechoslovakia, and learned English in the tough steel mill of Franklin Borough, Pa. Sgt Strank was killed on Iwo, three days after that famous photograph was taken. Or Mexican-born Marine Sgt Rafael Peralta, whose last act was to roll onto a grenade in Fallujah, sacrificing himself in order to save the lives of the Marines behind him. Other countries should envy immigrants like these two.

Perhaps they’re the strength of this country, this blend of farmers, tool & die makers, steel workers, and shopkeepers who arrived here with little more than an ill-fitting suit and a fierce determination to “do better.”

That’s the unifying feature that built the United States of America; they learned the language; worked their way into the social structure and politics of their new homeland, worked hard, tried to blend in, and in committing themselves to success, they gave this country a mind-set that anything is possible if one works hard.

Another mind-set was that of leaving the old ways behind. The old ways weren’t working; that’s why people came here in the first place. My Grandpa Lubin would never, ever discuss his hometown, or his life before he came here. “It doesn’t matter,” he’d say “I’m an American now, and being an American is all that counts.”

And unlike the faux-patriotism espoused by so many of today’s politicians, the older generations understood that patriotism was something that was to be practiced, as opposed to lectured from the airwaves. On Monday 8 December 1941, most of the men of Harvard and many other colleges were on the recruiting lines, and by 1945 America had 12 million men under arms. Everyone volunteered; in fact my ex-wife’s father forged his father’s name to the paperwork, and joined the Army a year underage – Lewis Nash participated in the invasion of Italy and ended up fighting in the Battle of the Bulge.

That’s real patriotism. Everyone served, everyone helped out, and everyone pulled together for the common goal of protecting the American way of life that their parents and grandparents offered them.

That’s what makes the recent immigration debate so frustrating. Most of these 12 million illegals hunker down, work hard, and are taking the dirty jobs that most American citizens won’t. Sure many of them don’t speak English now, but then neither did my Grandfather Ljubon or Mychal Strenk when they arrived. America is still a country of opportunities for those who want to work, and given the opportunity, look at how the Strenks and Peralta’s have become an integral part of America’s history.

Maybe that’s it; being an “American” is as much an attitude as an accident of birth. Since people today aren’t digging the Erie Canal, or building the transcontinental railroad; perhaps today’s settlers are instead cutting lawns in New Jersey or working in an Iowa meat-packing plant. But hard work and attitude never hurt anyone, as Grandpa Lubin used to tell me; and as Grandpa’s Strenk, Peralta, and Pham likely told their boys; with attitude and hard work you can accomplish almost anything.

So let’s raise a glass to our 234th birthday – with more hard work and the same attitude, we’ll be celebrating 234 more.

Happy Independence Day.

I am at Disney World for the last day today. I am here for business. As poor planning would have it I didn’t bring a red shirt along for Friday. And yes I am too much of a tight wad to buy one here. Two shirts I did have with me are Warrior Legacy Foundation and Bouhammer. The Warrior Legacy Foundation t-shirt out lived its useful life. I wore it in the extreme humidity of Florida for three straight afternoons. Needless to say, it picked up some stench all its own. Friday rolled around and I knew wearing it all day in close quarters with other human beings would not be an option. I did have a nice fresh Bouhammer shirt ready and raring to go. I proudly put on that bad boy this morning. I was getting ready for the test I was going to take and decided I needed a break. I walked over to the Boardwalk Bakery for a cup of caffeine. There was a gentleman inside ahead of me. He bought his two cups and headed out. I bought mine, thanked the lady for my time here, and went outside. The gentleman ahead of me was just outside. I said goodmorning. That is when it started. He noticed the Bouhammer shirt and let me know he liked it. He asked if I was there (Afghanistan). I told him that I wasn’t. He let me know he was a Vietnam veteran. That is when I knew having a Bouhammer shirt paid off. I thanked him for his service. I told him about LZ Lambeau that just took place in Green Bay.

Then I was just there. There to listen to his story. There to appreciate the sacrifice that he and his fellow soldiers made. There to reflect on the sacrifices he is still making, through the memories of comrades whose lives ended all too soon. There to reflect on the sacrifices that families and soldiers still make today. Remember Everyone Deployed. That’s just what I had the opportunity and privilege to do.

I love it when God makes these things happen in my life. I never served. As some may know, this is a big source of guilt for me, but when I get to interact with friends and strangers who have offered so much that guilt drifts away. It drifts away because I know I have another purpose. A purpose to be there and support as best I can all those who have done or are doing the job I didn’t.

God bless them one and all.

A friend of mine really brought a thought forward for me. There is nothing “Happy” about this day. It should not be a HAPPY Memorial Day at all. The purpose of this day is to remember the dead, the fallen, the ones who have given the ultimate sacrifice. I cannot plead with you enough not to forget that.

Please don’t be as STUPID as some of our elected representatives who have been put in positions of leadership and mix this day up with Veteran’s Day.

Back on May 27th, the 2nd in line to be President of the United States, Speaker of the House Pelosi said the following:

“On Memorial Day, America will come together and honor all who served our nation in uniform,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a floor speech, noting the symbolic timing of the debate. “I urge my colleagues to vote for the repeal of this discriminatory policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ and make America more American.”

The only thing worse than mixing up Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day is using the day that is designated to honor those who have fallen in combat as a F@#$@#%* pedestal to push your partisan political agenda. Were all those who have died to make this country gay? I don’t think so, in fact I have had the honor of knowing more than a few who have made the sacrifice and I can tell you they were in no way gay.

I digressed from my original topic which was to talk about why this is not a “Happy” day per-se. It is a solemn and somber day where all Americans (whether you have known a family or friend who has fallen in service of this country or not) should remember those who have fallen. The feelings you should have today are the same you should have when you walk the deadly battlefields of the civil war, or the way you feel if you have ever walked in the gas chambers of Dachau, or in the best example I can give the way you feel when you walk through the Gardens of Stone at Arlington. It is “MEMORIAL” day because we are in remembrance.

So if not the word “happy” then what is the proper word? Maybe just “memorial day”, or as one friend suggested “honor memorial day”, or like the Alamo you should say “Remember Memorial Day”. I am not sure of the proper word to use or what sounds best. I think it depends on each person, where you are, and the context you use it in. I think if you find yourself in a place that requires you to say something, you will find it in your heart to know what should be said. This is assuming that you remember, and don’t forget what this day is for.

For me, I am finding myself traveling today. It is very unfortunate that I could not perform my standard ritual of going to visit a few of my past soldiers today. I hope their families will forgive me. I am traveling today and the cemeteries were not opened this morning when I left. I am traveling on this holiday for work. I am traveling so this week I can do my part to hopefully keep a few out of the remembrance rituals of families in the future. I am going to be working with soldiers all week in order to record and document their hardened and painful lessons learned in combat so that those can be passed to others and to those that make things for the Army.

I know it is not the same as visiting my past soldiers as I have always done. But I guess in my mind I am thinking that by traveling today and doing what I will be doing this week there may be some slight chance that some unknown family in the future who’s loved one will reap the benefits from my work this week will be able to spend the day with that loved one alive and not visiting their gravesite.

I have a lot of friends that have fallen at the hands of our enemies and I can never visit them all on this somber day, but I have to think of their lives, our times together and the sacrifices they made. So on this day, those who rest near where I live will have to be in my thoughts and prayers today also. They are always on my mind and with me in spirit as I have felt them talk to me and me to them. So today after I get to where I am going, I will be on my knees praying to the almighty Jumpmaster in the sky and to my fallen brothers. And when I get back home after work is done, I will be sure to pay a visit to tell them about what has been happening since the last time we talked.

Bouhammer Honor Roll:

PFC Thomas Johnson – Vietnam

SGT Ed Kutz – Operation Desert Storm

SGT Ronald Randazzo – Operation Desert Storm

SGT David Roustum – Operation Iraqi Freedom

PFC Ben Scheuster – Operation Iraqi Freedom

SGM Jeff McLochlin – Operation Enduring Freedom

MSG Bernard Deghand – Operation Enduring Freedom

SPC Nelson Rodriguez – Operation Enduring Freedom

Rest in Peace Warriors, we will meet on the battlefield again one day.

These men and others that I was acquainted with or had served with whom are no longer here is what has been on my mind all day. I think not only of them, but also their families, friends, loved ones. I think of what they would be doing today if they were still here. I so badly wanted to take a moment today and spend some time remembering them in solace, but I was having to do my job all day with the ANA, a job that I hope will be successful so there are no more names added to any walls.

Tonight I sit here in my TOC (tactical operations center) typing this entry in quiet, using this private time to remember them. Using this medium to talk about these great men and these thoughts. I sit here listening to the tacsat radio about weapon cache finds and about riots in Kabul because of a stupid accident and dumb people. That is a distracter, but so is a war in a country like this place.

After stopping to pick up some flowers, we went to visit the Holy Cross cemetery to spend some time with SGT David Routsum. He was my soldier that I lost on November 20th, 2004 in Iraq. Dave was a special soldier and a special man and he is one I will never forget. I carry his name on a bracelet which I wore every day in Afghanistan and I don’t think I ever took it off. After I spent some private time with Dave, Christine and Jon joined me so we could put flowers on his gravesite and spend some more time with him.
From Dave’s site I went to a gravesite that I had not seen yet. PFC Ben Schuster was another soldier of mine killed in Iraq, and unfortunately it happened after I mobilized and deployed. I was never able to attend his funeral, so I had never been to his gravesite before. Ben is located in the Veteran’s section of a large cemetery in Buffalo that Christine and Jordan go to every year in order to put flags on Veteran’s graves. His grave marker really stands out and looks nice. His family did a good job on it and it was very moving to spend some time with him and catch up in addition to finally say goodbye.
After spending some time with my soldiers we drove home and on the way home many other soldier’s names that I know slipped into my head. Soldiers that have also never come home. Some were friends of mine that I lost in Desert Storm, some have been lost in wars since and of course there are those that have died since 9/11. I also thought of those vets that have not necessarily dropped in combat but served their country nevertheless. People like my best friend, SFC (ret) Lou Legier who was killed several years ago on a motorcycle which robbed many in this world of a great man. I also thought of my Uncle Corky who just passed the week before, or of Mouse’s mom who spent over 20 years in the US Army Reserves. To me this day is all about doing exactly this. Remembering those that fought for this country, those that made the ultimate sacrifice, remembering those that will never walk off a plane and into the arms of their loved ones. It is not about having a day off from work, sales at Sears or Home Depot, or a reason to sleep in. I wish more people would remember that and maybe just go to a local cemetery and walk through the headstones of vets that have fallen.

It is not about sales at Walmart or Lowe’s. It is to take a moment and remember all that have fallen in service to this country. Regardless if it was in the Global War on Terrorism, Vietnam, WWII, a training mission, or an accident while serving in the military. All that have served and never were afforded the opportunity to come home to their loved ones are the reason that we have this weekend and why I hope all who read this take the time to say a prayer for them and their families on Monday.

The National Memorial DayParade Presented by Boeing will take place Monday, May 31, 2010 at 2:00 PM on Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th Streets NW.

A Pre-Parade Ceremony will begin at 1:15 PM at Constitution Avenue and 7th St NW. The pre-parade ceremony will feature Anthony Kearns of the Irish Tenors and Tenor Steve Amerson. Join nearly 300,000 Americans in honoring those who have served andsacrificed in the sixth annual National Memorial Day Parade.

Marching bands,veterans units, and uniformed military personnel from around the country willmarch down Constitution Avenue in the largest Memorial Day parade in thenation.

The parade will feature a special tribute to the U.S. Marine Corps and will be led by Grand Marshal General Peter Pace, the only Marine to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Military supporters Gary Sinise and Joe Mantegna will once again join the parade, along with former Marine drill instructor and actor R. Lee Ermey.

Also participating is Edith Shain, the nurse from the famous World War II “V-J Day in Times Square” kiss photograph and R.V. Burgin, the Marine Corps veteran portrayed in the HBO miniseries, The Pacific. Formore information, visit www.nationalmemorialdayparade.com.

For nearly 70 years, Washington, DC—our nation’s capital and headquarters of our military—was without a parade on the Armed Services’ most sacred day.

In 2005, the American Veterans Center decided to bring this great tradition back to the nation’s capital by creating the National Memorial Day Parade. While each war and each branch of the military is honored in full, each year the parade highlights one branch of the military.

The 2010 National Memorial Day Parade will have a special focus on the Marine Corps, with distinguished Marine veterans and personnel throughout. The parade will be televised live on the Military Channel, as well as to our service members around the world on the Pentagon Channel.

The parade is founded and organized by the American Veterans Center, a non-profit educational foundation dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of our military personnel. The 2010 National Memorial Day Parade is presented by Boeing, with additional support from Hewlitt-Packard, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, American Airlines, The Perot Foundation, MorganFranklin, and the Nation of Kuwait.

“Troop” is a Joe Roos original, that honors all service members, but is from the perspective of a Soldier of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division. “Troop” was shot and produced during the Red Bull’s deployment to Basra, Iraq. Produced by Johnny J. Angelo Concept/Song//Lyrics/Music: Joe Roos Supporting Vocals: Debi Kilde Music Production: Jim Morgan, Conduit Sound Also available in high definition.