U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class John Shimkus (left), a platoon sergeant with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team crosses a creek during a dismounted combat patrol in Babur Village, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, on Aug. 13, 2011. The Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team’s mission is to improve security, governance and infrastructure capacity throughout the province. DoD photo by Senior Airman Sean Martin, U.S. Air Force.
Category Archives: Photo of the Day
The USS New York coming home for the 9/11 Anniversary
The USS New York is seen cruising into lower Manhattan for this weekend’s 10th Anniversary of the attacks of 9/11.
9/11 Memorial Decal
With the upcoming 10th anniversary of 9/11 right around the corner I wanted to make everyone aware of a tribute image I think is one of the best I have seen to capture the memory of all of those lost on that day. Ok, I could be a little slighted because I designed it, but take a look and tell me what you think.
Of course what stands out is the silhouette of the twin towers in NYC, but there were more than just those that suffered and died on that day. The graphic’s shape is that of the Pentagon and of course the flight number at the bottom of the image remembers those who stopped the hijackers on the fourth plane and crashed it into a Pennsylvania field.
The colors all have a meaning too. The black skies that hung over those cities and crash site on that day and the days following. The red blood that was shed that day and days following. The grey symbolizes the sadness and grief we as a nation went through following the attacks and still do today. The white outline is the “silver lining” marking that we will and have emerged stronger from these attacks as a nation. The blue represents the country itself and that we stand together and will not be bullied by some cowards who think they can make us shrink in fear.
If you like this image as much as I do, you can order it at www.vision-strike-wear.com/Flight-UA-93-9-11-Twin-Towers-Decal_p_2614.html.
If you would like this on a shirt, email Todd at todd@vision-strike-wear.com and let him know. I am sure they will have made one very quickly.
Culvert Denial
U.S. Marine Cpl. Jesse L. Tabor places a cage over a culvert along a busy road to prevent insurgents from inserting explosive materials inside in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on Aug. 19, 2011. Tabor is a metal worker assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group. The operation lasted four days and engineers covered nearly 33 miles of Route 606, one of the country’s busiest roads. The cages, known as culvert denial systems, will increase safety for troops and travelers. DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Bruno J. Bego, U.S. Marine Corps.
Great pics from Afghanistan
If you have a few moments, be sure and check out:
weaselzippers.us/2011/08/28/pics-from-the-front-40/
to see a geat collection of current pictures from the front lines in Afghainstan.
Remembering Aunt Maggie
Aunt Maggie as she was known in my house was a very close friend of my family’s while growing up. I didn’t know anything about her Hollywood past as a kid. She was someone who came and visited and when she wasn’t visiting, she would call (usually in the middle of the night). As I got older I knew she was in some movies like Airport ’79 and in TV shows like Alice. I remember sitting around with my family in the 80s watching her in the sitcom Alice and laughing at how silly she was.
It wasn’t until many years later and after I was in the Army myself when I started to fully realize all that she had done. I am not talking about what she did in Hollywood (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Raye) , but what she did in Vietnam and for our military (www.vietnamexp.com/morestories/MarthaRaye.htm). Besides the previous link there are many other stories about the true heroism of Aunt Maggie. Another story is below and even more can be found in the Special Forces Museum on Ft. Bragg, NC where one whole section is dedicated to her.
Some things you probably did not know about Martha Raye
Most of the old time entertainers were made out of a lot sterner stuff than today’s crop of activists and whiners.It was just before Thanksgiving ’67 and we were ferrying dead and wounded from a large GRF west of Pleiku, Vietnam .We had run out of body bags by noon, so the Hook (CH-47 CHINOOK) was pretty rough in the back. All of a sudden, we heard a ‘take-charge’ woman’s voice in the rear.
There was the singer and actress, Martha Raye, with a SF (Special Forces) beret and jungle fatigues, with subdued markings, helping the wounded into the Chinook, and carrying the dead aboard. ‘Maggie’ had been visiting her SF ‘heroes’ out ‘west’.
We took off, short of fuel, and headed to the USAF hospital pad at Pleiku. As we all started unloading, our Captain said to Martha, “Ms Ray, with all these dead and wounded to process, there would not be time for your show!”
To all of our surprise, she pulled on her right collar and said…..”Captain, see this eagle? I am a full ‘Bird’ Colonel in the US Army Reserve, and on this is a ‘Caduse’ which means I am a Nurse, with a surgical specialty….now, take me to your wounded.”
He said, yes ma’am…. Follow me.
Several times at the Army Field Hospital in Pleiku, she would ‘cover’ a surgical shift, giving a nurse a well-deserved break.
Martha is the only woman buried in the SF (Special Forces) cemetery at Ft. Bragg .
A video of Maggie singing Silent Night
Today, August 27th is Aunt Maggie’s Birthday. She would have been 95. In my house we remember her every year on this day. We have a full set of dishes in our cabinets that she bought my mom way back in the day as a Christmas gift. My mom gave them to me not long after getting married and every year we have dinner on “Maggie’s dishes”.
Happy Birthday Aunt Maggie!! We love you and miss you!
A Shura in Sarobi
U.S. Navy Lt. Patrick King (center) and members of a U.S. Army team specializing in civil affairs and psychological operations meet with Afghan police in the village of Khani Kalay in the western Sarobi district in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, on Aug. 16, 2011. King is the Paktika Provincial Reconstruction Team Orgun Detachment operations officer. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Makenzie Lang, U.S. Air Force.