Memorial Day 2013

Today we will smoke a brisket and have friends over to eat and fellowship. Shay and Lindz will be here and I will thank Shay for serving in Iraq with the Oklahoma National Guard.

Growing up in a resort town, Memorial Weekend was a day to kick off the busy summer season. The weekend was always busy with thousands of motorcycles filling the small valley town. It was so busy and crazy, I never had much time to think what Memorial Day was really about. But today, I will think of those who have served their country and those who have given their all.

Earlier last week, I attended a family funeral where I saw some cousins that I rarely see.  At one point the conversation turned to my great uncles' military service in WWII.  One cousin said that my uncle "Carl Matney was one of the most decorated soldiers of WWII along with Audie Murphy." I thought that was quite a statement. Uncle Carl's son confirmed the statement and promised to send me more info concerning Uncle Carl's military career. He did say that his dad had invaded Italy at Salerno in 1943 and fought his way across Italy into France, Austria, and into Germany. You can Wiki the Italian Campaign for more on that or you can Wiki Audie Murphy.  In the meantime all I could find was this poorly written obit:

During World War II, he served as commander of Company G, a rifle company known as "Matney's Raiders."For his valor and leadership in battle, Capt. Matney earned the Purple Heart with Cluster, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star with Cluster, the French Croix de Guerre, the Italian Military Valor Cross and the Combat Infantry Badge.After the war, Mr. Matney was made commander of the First Battalion near Stuttgart, Germany. 

At some point while fighting across Europe, Uncle Carl ran into his little brother, Homer Matney.  I bet that was quite a reunion. As a little girl, my mom would tell me some of the war stories she had heard about her uncles. Although Uncle Carl did not like to talk about the war, there is one story that I remember and that my cousins retold at the funeral last week.  It seems that my uncle and his men were trapped in a loft somewhere in Europe in a town they had held, but the Germans had taken back.  One of his men asked him, "What are we gonna do?" My uncle replied, "When it gets dark, we are gonna climb out of this loft and march right down the main street and out of town." And that is what they did. They walked out and down the main street and the Germans let them rather ensuing a big fire-fight.

Uncle Carl came home and was an educator in Amarillo, TX. He died in 1999 at the age of 83. My Uncle Homer is 92 years old and lives in the VA retirement center in Lawton. He played professional baseball and was quite the athlete in his day. All  six of the Matney  boys were handsome and athletic.  A couple of them were real heroes. Here is a picture of Uncle Homer and his wife Doris who have been married over 65 years - taken at the recent funeral.
Here is Mom and Aunt Mildred, who is 90. She was married to one of my favorite uncles. Uncle Jack was a Seabee - there isn't anything he couldn't build or put together.

Of course, I always think of my Uncle Bobby on my dad's side of the family. I love Uncle Bob like no other uncle. He did three tours in Vietnam including the Ia Drang Valley. I will think of him today and remember him holding his hand on the Vietnam Memorial Wall, touching names of those lost in the war.

Summer Art 7

Years ago Jesse and I traveled to Washington DC for my uncle's Ia Drang Veteran's reunion.  My cousins also came.  I took a photo of my younger cousins clowning around.  These two are brothers - Caleb and Jacob were quite fun.  Being November, it was cold - hence the hat and long sleeves.  Anyway, I've been working on this in pastels. 

Eatin' and Dancin' thru Texas

Jesse and I got home last night about 5:30 PM. We promptly fed animals and cleaned house. Jes made a great supper - something more on our diets than we have had the past several days. I feel like we ate our way through Austin and will need to do some serious dieting.
The first night in Austin, we ate at some place on Lake Travis. The food was only mediocre, but then people don't go there for the food. They go there for the atmosphere and view of the lake. Although the lake was way down, it was still a very cool place - especially with a live band and a bit of after dinner dancing.
The second night in Austin after a day of lazyin' around the pool and visiting with cousins, we went to The Iguana Grill. Once again this place was on the lake, and the food was only okay, but the music and atmosphere were great. We ate outside overlooking Lake Travis which was pitifully low. See the trees in this photo? That is where the water is normally. The singer at the Iguana was Malford Milligan, an excellent blues singer.Toby and my brother
Cousin Cindy and daughter
Younger cousins
Jesse and the music

Toby had to be in Houston on Monday so I drove him over on Sunday afternoon. We went through San Marcos and drove around Texas State - Toby's Alma mater. It has changed lots in the 32 years since we lived there in the married housing. We ate lunch at Grin's - like old times. Then we made a little shopping trip to the outlet mall to buy Toby some new "girl britches" or dress slacks as everyone else calls them. We eventually headed on to Houston. Since Monday was our 34th anniversary, Toby took me out to eat. He actually suggested eating at Luby's. I actually thought that would be okay, then I remembered it was my anniversary. I almost started crying, but that was probably just my hormones being weird. We ate at a French restaurant called Bistro Le Cep. It was excellent.

Monday Toby went to work in Houston and I went back to Austin. Once there, we packed up and went to Hamilton Pool. If you don't look up any of my other links, do look at that one - very cool place. We had a great time playing in the water and people watching. After way too much sun and fun, we hiked back up the trail and went back to the condo to clean up. My cousin's daughters who live in Austin, wanted to meet us at Stubbs Barbeque. My brother met us there too. The barbeque was good, but not the best I've ever had. Once again, it was all about atmosphere - crazy Austin stuff.

Tuesday morning, Jesse and I headed home. We stopped in Round Rock to pick up my DIL's mother - my good friend. She had been in Texas taking care of her elderly mother and needed a ride back to OK. It made it a very nice trip home to get to catch up with my friend and all that was happening in her life.

So the food and atmosphere were great in Austin, but the best part of being there was just seeing and visiting with my cousins. It had been over a year since I had seen them last. Jesse had seen Pam in Hawaii and stayed with her family, but it is not often that I get to see Pam. Cindy lives closer in Southern Louisiana, but still we don't get together often. I had seen some of them at my dad's funeral five years ago. Before that, it I had not seen them since their father's Ia Drang Valley Veteran's reunions in DC. They are definitely the fun cousins and this time was just as good. I also got to see my brother, but I missed seeing his beautiful wife by just a few days. She has been in Europe this summer teaching a class. I bet she was having fun too, and she will get to meet Pam and family before they leave for Hawaii.

A few side notes about our trip:
Texas and Oklahoma are about burnt up. It is dry, dry, dry and hot, hot, hot! We need some rain.

In Houston, Toby and I went into an HEB grocery store on Westheimer St. at about 9:00 PM. We were two of maybe five white people in the store - everyone else was black. As we stood in line to check out, the guy behind me said, "Excuse me" and reached for the divider thangie to put between our groceries. Just jokingly, I put my elbow down on his hand and pretended not to see him. He erupted in giggles - maybe he was surprised that a perfect stranger would do something like that. Of course it caused a little commotion, and Toby turned to see what trouble I had gotten myself into. He was not surprised to see me laughing with the guy in line behind me. The guy then remarked that he needed the grocery divider to "keep all right with the world." We all laughed. As I was leaving I told Toby that there had been more black people in that store than I had seen in all of OK in the past year - no exaggeration. How odd!

Traffic on a Sunday afternoon on I-10 was bumper to bumper. What's up with that? And Traffic in Austin was busy no matter where or what time of day. I could never live in a city again. It is good to be home on the Lazy B and have all my critters. More photos tomorrow.

Freedom

Jesse and I went to The City yesterday. We bought clay and glazes and other pottery supplies. We visited a friend in the hospital. We ate lunch at Ted's. I had a great day with my girl. Freedom is grand.

You will be glad to know that a friend called to talk to me about another art show. She wants to do a youth show, which I am not opposed to, but she has some big and wild ideas. I am more the KISS sort of person. She was soliciting my help and getting my thoughts. "Heck no" was pretty much my thought and my words to her. Aren't you proud of me?

If you are interested in artillery, military, cavalry, Ia Drang Valley, etc, my cousin posted thishttp/://www.commandposts.com/2010/11/artillery-in-the-ia-drang-valley. It was written by my uncle.

Veteran's Day

When I was a teen-ager one of my favorite things was getting up early and going out with my dad. Sometimes we hit the junkyards looking for parts for my old truck. Sometimes we went to jr. varsity football games. Sometimes, we just kicked around Wichita Falls. One Veteran's Day, Dad took me to all the war memorials around town. It was a great lesson on what Veteran's Day was all about. But the best lessons on Veteran's Day came from my Uncle Bobby (Dad's baby brother). If you have followed my blog in the past, you know my Veteran's Day stories. You probably already know how much I love my Uncle Bobby, Retired Lt. Col. Robert L Barker, and his family. You know he did three tours in Vietnam. You know that one of those tours included the Ia Drang Valley. You know that his youngest daughter was born while he fought in that battle. You know that Jesse and I spent two Veteran's Days in Washington DC at the Ia Drang Veteran's reunions. You know that those were life-changing experiences. Although you could do a search through my past blogs and see lots of pictures and read lots of stories about those DC trips, I will just link one for you.

Thank you, all who served and are serving.

Upcoming 45th Anniversary

Most of my readers know that my Uncle Bob was at Landing Zone Falcon in the Ia Drang battle in Vietnam in 1965. He sent me an email this morning reminding us that the 45th anniversary of that battle is approaching. He also sent me this link/article about the battle. Many of you have read the book We Were Soldiers or have seen the movie and know basically the story of the battle. This article does not go into details of the battles, but gives insight into how the Ia Drang affected the decisions made by Washington concerning the Vietnam War. It is very interesting, and I suggest reading it entirely. Once again I am reminded of the great sacrifice made by young men of our country. Never forget!
I am tempted to repeat how much attending the Ia Drang Veteran’s reunions in DC meant to me. Meeting the veterans, meeting Jo Galloway and Hal Moore, standing at the Memorial Wall as roll call was read at dawn with bagpipes playing, seeing grown men cry and hug each other - rubbing their hands over names of the fallen, meeting the wives and family members of the vets – some who lost their husbands and fathers in the battle – all of this was a life changing experience for me. It made me realize and understand the sacrifice. And yet, I feel like an outsider, because they are truly a band of brothers, and I can only imagine.

You can do a search of my blog to see photos and stories from my trips to DC for the Ia Drang Veteran's Reunions and other photos.

Veteran's Day Pics

If you know me and have read my blog for a while, then you know about my favorite veterans and the best Veteran Day's ever. Rather than write about my trips to Washington DC with my Uncle Bob for his Ia Drang Valley Veteran's reunion, I thought I would just post some of my favorite pictures of the trip(s). It was a tuff decision on which pictures to choose. We took lots of photos and had lots of fun seeing the sights in DC including some great memorial shots, but I thought I would stick to the photos of the Vets. Thanks for laying down your life for your country. And for those vets not pictured - like all my blog buddies - thank you, too.

These two photos were taken in the hospitality suite: Hal Moore and Joe Galloway and Jes.

My Marine cousin Jim, Bruce Crandal and Uncle Bob. Color Guard from Ft. Hood and Jesse.

These photos were taken at the banquet:

Uncle Bob and Aunt Caroline with their buddies. 2nd pic - cousins. Capt. Jeff Donnithore, Uncle Bob, MOH receipiant Ed Freeman, and (now) Major Jim Lively.

This picture is one of my favorites because it has Marine, Air Force, Army and Navy all pictured. Dress blues and new shined shoes...

The Best Veteran's Day

Every Veteran’s Day I am reminded of one of the best vacations ever. Five years ago (gosh, has it been that long?) Jesse and I spent four days in Washington DC with my uncle and his family for the Ia Drang Valley Veteran’s Reunion. I have mentioned this before in several different posts, but I wanted to share some photos and memories again. It was just such an eye-opening experience. Just reading the book, "We Were Soldiers" is an experience you will not forget, but to be with the veterans and their families on Veteran'’ weekend in Washington DC was awesome. These men, this band of brothers, were so humble and loving. On the surface they seem like normal men, but to me – knowing their sacrifices, they are heroes. The first day in DC before we went sightseeing, we spent time in the hospitality room of the hotel getting autographs. Here is Jesse with Ret. Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway. I love this pic of her and the color guard from Ft. Hood. Notice in these pictures how young Jesse looked.

Then we went sight seeing – having a real pilot/wizo (Capt. Jeff) take you through the Air and Space Museum is so much better than just reading the plaques. Later we got dressed up and went to the banquet. One of my uncle's vet buddies was shocked to see Jesse, because he had assumed she was about 15 yrs old - then suddenly she did not look so young after all. Uncle Bob made sure that Jeff wore his dress blues – the Vietnam Vets were all over Jeff wanting to know about his Iraq War experiences. It was just funny that Jeff was trying to get pictures and autographs of the vets, but they were trying to get pictures and autographs of him.

Sunday morning at dawn, there was roll call at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I can’t begin to tell you how moving it is to hear the names of those that died read aloud by Gen Moore and Mr. Galloway.

Later we did more sightseeing. Then before Jesse and I flew home on Veteran’s Day, we went to the Arlington National Cemetery. Here are the sights that met our eyes. At first we did not know what was going on, but we were enjoying the photo ops. It turns out that President Bush was going to speak that day and security was tight. You can see the camera setting up at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We did not stay for his speech, because we had a plane to catch and things to see before we left. We continued our sightseeing tour including visiting the Iwo Jima Memorial. It was such an amazing experience, the next year we took Toby with us.

Veterans are just an amazing group of people – tell one "thank you" today.

A True Hero

This Joe Galloway article makes me very sad. I had the pleasure of meeting Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman as well as Bruce Crandall. These men are true heroes. May Mr. Freeman rest in peace.

Most of you know that in the first photo, the USAF uniform is Capt. Jeff Donnithorne (flew some of the first bombings on Baghdad and has a Distinguished Flying Cross), my Uncle Bob Barker who is an Ia Drang Valley Vet, Ed (Too Tall to Fly) Freeman, and my cousin, Major Jim Lively (two deployments to Iraq and a Purple Heart)

The second photo is my Aunt Carolyn, Bruce Crandall and his wife and Uncle Bob at the Whitehouse for the MOH ceremony.

The Weekend

Misunderstandings
It was really a very nice weekend with the exception of the wind. Toby and I went to WF on Friday to replace some tools needed to work on the tractor, which meant a trip to Harbor Freight - yeha! Since we needed to make a trip to the big city, we took our old lawn mower to Mom, ran some errands, and then went to Olive Garden to eat. The day was slightly ruined by a misunderstanding whether we were going or not going to Starbucks (I'll save that for some other post). Jesse called while we were in WF to say that she would buy plants for the garden. She consulted with her father on what he thought she should buy for the garden. On Saturday morning, we planted 16 tomato plants, 8 pepper plants, 6 squash hills, and some onions. We will have to plow up more garden area for the green beans, black-eyed peas, and okra. I think there might have been another misunderstanding about what to buy for the garden. Get out the tractor!

Jesse also planted a small herb garden and bought several photinia shrubs which she called by some other odd name which probably made the people at the nursery laugh. Toby and I continued to work all day, but Jesse left around noon to go to Norman with her friend, Kat. They did some shopping and went to a Renaissance Festival. Apparently there were camel and elephant rides at this festival along with the pretty odd characters that attend those festivals. She and Kat rode the camels. Look for photos on her blog at some point. Later, she asked her dad if he would buy her a camel. Personally, I have always wanted an elephant. He said no to both.

Easter Speech
My uncle sent me an email with an Easter Speech given at Ft. Benning by Ret. Lt. Gen. Hal Moore. I started to post the whole speech, but it is rather long. Let me know if anyone would like a copy of the speech or if you think I should just post it. It is, of course, very moving. It reminded me of what a wonderful man Gen. Moore is and what a hero he is.

I was also reminded of his book and movie"We Were Soldiers" and of the first time we met Gen. Moore. I have posted this before, but I will say it again. After seeing the movie back in 2002, Jesse told me that she was "in love with Hal Moore" - not Mel Gibson, but Hal Moore. I understood perfectly. Who could not love a man who was so great with his wife, his children, and his men? Who could not love the man in the movie who was brave, caring, and a real leader? Then we met Hal Moore in person at the Ia Drang Veteran's reunion in DC. Jesse had her picture made with him, and we told him about her "being in love with him." His wife, Julie, got a real kick out of that. Then later about 9 PM that same evening, we shared an elevator with him. He told us that he was going to buy his wife a bottle of wine because "she likes a glass of wine before bed each night." As he got off the elevator, he turned to us and said, "Take care of my girl (meaning Jesse)." Jesse looked at me and said, "Now I know I'm in love with Hal Moore."

At the time, it seemed humorous to me and maybe enchanting that Jesse would say such a thing. Now, I see it a little differently. As Jesse meets young men, she measures them by a pretty high standard. I am sure she is looking for someone like her father who is a godly man, a wise man, someone who is fun and adventurous. She is looking for a man is not ashamed to love his wife, his children ,and the people around him - a man who will take care of those he loves. She wants a leader who is not afraid to say what he thinks, and will stand up for what he believes and loves. She wants a man who also holds up a high standard. She is looking for a "Hal Moore."

Veteran's Day

My sister called to see if I had any pictures of Uncle Bob or Cousin Jim, because her son needed pictures of veterans for Veteran's Day tomorrow at school. She said she was watching "We Were Soldiers" on TV, and asked me what was Uncle Bob's part in the movie. "Technically, he is not in the movie" I told her. "He was at landing zone Falcon lobbing in the heavy artillery that kept Col. Moore's men from being over-run." "You mean he wasn't a helicopter pilot?" she asked. "Mom always told me he was a helicopter pilot" she continued. "No, Uncle Bob was never a pilot, but he did jump out of airplanes occasionally." How do such stories get started? I worry that our traditional family folklore is totally screwed up just because stories that are passed down often get confused. I remember Mom telling me stories of my two Matney uncles in WWII. Carl Matney was a hero in Italy, but she told me the stories when I was young. I was confused at to which stories went with which uncle. Now, I may never know all I would like about my uncles.

The important thing here may not be the stories themselves, although I wish I knew more, but it is the fact that my uncles served their country. Uncle Homer is still alive and well. Uncle Carl died several years ago. I wish I could talked to him. I wish I had heard his stories first hand. I wish I could have thanked him. Many of my uncles and cousins have served their country and I am proud of them and thank them.

So I sent my nephew lots of pictures last night of his Uncle Bob, Cousin Jim, and Capt. Jeff - pictures taken at the Ia Drang Valley Vet. reunion a few years ago on Veteran's Day in Washington, DC. Those are great memories. I think I will call Uncle Bob today.

The last photo is Chip Parker (helicopter pilot in the Ia Drang) Joe Marm (MOH recipient) Uncle Bob, and Joe Galloway - thanks guys!

And Thanks to all who served.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

The whirlwind blew through this morning - Jes is home. After some flight delays in NY and being routed through DC, she got home at 2:00AM. She was up by 6:30 this morning to get ready for work and gone by 7:30. I did not get any great adventure stories - yet. I snatched a few photos from her camera, but not all that I wanted. In fact, I did not even get to view all of them. I meant to get a pic from the Niagara photos, but she rushed me, and I only got two photos from the baseball game. They went to see the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. Guess who they played. The Texas Rangers! Pretty funny! Although I have never been to a professional baseball game, it is on my list of things to do before I die. Jes brought me a Blue Jay's baseball as a souvenir. I'll wear it proudly.

One year, Toby was in Chicago on a business trip. The company he worked for (Allied Waste) had box seats to see the White Sox. Chicago, White Sox, third base box seats - I was so jealous. The next spring, I was able to go to Chicago with him. Wouldn't you know that was the year of the strike. A friend took me to see Oprah, but it was just not the same.

Jes said the trip home was pretty wild. They only had 20 minutes to change planes in DC. She said they were running through the airport, catching a shuttle, and snapping pictures of what monuments they could see - those ought to be interesting. When they went through security, they were pulled aside and scanned - Either they looked like serious threats or the guards like pretty girls. Jes said she pointed out the place where Jeff jumped over the railing. Have you heard that story?

The first time we flew into DC for my uncle's Ia Drang reunion, we had a friend pick us up at the airport. Our friend was USAF Captain Jeff Donnithorne whom I have blogged about many times. We were waiting on our luggage when I spotted Jeff. I pointed him out to Jesse who started towards him. He was on the other side of a railing when he spotted her. He neatly jumped the railing and gave her a big hug. I was watching from a short distance as was some girl next to me. She gave me a look and said, "Nice!" It was very impressive, but then that is Jeff for you. For those of you who wonder, Jeff and Jesse were just good friends. He is happily married now and training pilots in Florida. And Jesse is still setting a pretty high standard.

To All "We Were Soldiers" Fans

My unlce recently sent an email with the following announcement concerning this print:

Military artwork publisher Valor Studios in conjunction with the 1st Cavalry Division Association, is proud to announce the release of "First Boots on the Ground," a new limited-edition art print by William S. Phillips.
A Vietnam veteran and one of America's most popular artists, Phillips painted "First Boots on the Ground" in tribute to the men who fought in the battle of Ia Drang and in air mobile operations during the Vietnam War.
Each print has been hand-signed by legendary veterans and lead characters in the "We Were Soldiers" movie: Gen. Hal Moore, Command SGM Basil Plumley, MOH recipient Col. Bruce Crandall, and others!
Valor Studios is offering special discounts to veterans/family of the 7th Cavalry Regiment/1st Cavalry Division.
-The limited-edition paper print (28"w x 14"h) signed by Moore, Plumley, Crandall, and others is: $325 plus $15 S&H.You'll save $70 off the $395 "general public" price!
-The limited-edition canvas print (38"w x 19"h) signed by Moore, Plumley, Crandall, and others is: $695 plus $15 S&H.You'll save $100 off the $795 "general public" price!
With only 1,000 prints available worldwide, don't delay in ordering your copy before they sell out!
One can order by visiting: http://www.valorstudios.com/cav.htmOr, order by calling Valor Studios: 570-435-4523 (9-5 EST, Mon-Fri)

MOH Ceremony

My Uncle Bob sent a disk of photos from his visit to Washington and Bruce Crandall's MOH ceremony. This picture was taken at the Whitehouse - from l to r: Aunt Carolyn, Bruce, his wife, and Uncle Bob.

Uncle Bob said that seeing his friend, Bruce get the MOH was an honor that he never thought he would see in his lifetime. Not only was the ceremony at the Whitehouse impressive, the next day there was a ceremony at the Pentagon that UB said was awesome. I will post more pics from the Pentagon later.

I am really glad that UB was able to attend the ceremony. "Too Tall To Fly" Ed Freeman was not able to make the ceremony due to the snow storm at the time. Ed received his MOH years ago, but for some reason Bruce's was held up in Congress. Bruce is a sweet humble man, a man who loves his wife and family, a true hero. He well deserved the MOH.

A funny story to go along with the disk of photos: As soon as I got the disk, I popped it into my computer and looked through the pics. Right off the bat, I started recognizing people that we met while attending the Ia Drang Veteran's reunions several years ago. Today, as I was picking out a photo to share, I could not come up with one couple's names. I had it yesterday, but was drawing a blank today. I went and asked Jesse if she could remember the name of the couple at the reunion that bought our dinner. Jesse thought for a minute and said, "Wasn't his name something like Dale?" I told her that "Dale" was not right - not even close. She was no help. A few minutes later as I looked through more photos, their names popped into my brain. I hollered to Jes, "Their names were Chip and Vicki." She started laughing. She had thought his name was Dale, but it was Chip. Chip and Dale - pretty funny.

Buck posted this link on Bruce Crandall in my comments yesterday. This site was apparently put together by Bruce’s children and is very special as is the man. Bruce was portrayed in the movie "We Were Soldiers" very accurately as a hero, but also as a friendly and very funny man. Talking to him is like talking to a stand up comic. I found this picture of my cousin, Captain Jim, Bruce Crandall, and my Uncle Bobby. The picture was taken in 2004 at the Ia Drang Veteran’s reunion in DC. Last May posted a picture of Ed Freeman, who was also a helicopter pilot and good friend of Crandall’s, with his Medal of Honor. Although both men were heroes flying the wounded out of the hot zone and flying supplies back into the zone, the MOH was awarded to Freeman years ago, but not Crandall. There is big excitement that the MOH is finally (40 years later) being awarded to Crandall. I am sure if you could talk to the men who fought in the Ia Drang Valley, they would all have heroic stories to tell about Crandall. He is a hero and he deserves the MOH, but more than that, he was a hero with style. This story was told to me by a veteran at the reunion (and was part of my post last Memorial Day). I thought it was appropriate as an example of Bruce Crandall's personality and heroism:
I met Mr. Rangel who signed my book on the page where he is described bayoneting a North Vietnamese soldier. Later Mr. Rangel told me how he was wounded and put into a helicopter flown by Bruce Crandall. He said that as he was put in the helicopter he could see a downed helicopter and feared the same would happen to him, but as they lifted off he watched the tree line, the mountains, and finally clear blue sky. He said that Bruce Crandall turned and gave him a "thumbs up" sign – something that he would never forget.

Too Cool

This morning my computer was not letting me online. Maybe it was a good thing because I went to town and did some shopping and went to quilting and helped the ladies. They did not really need my help today. Now I am home and my computer is working better. I got this email from my Uncle Bob who fought in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam 1965. I have been to two of his veteran reunions and met Mr. Crandall. Anytime you get to go to the White House, it is just an honor, but to see Bruce Crandall get his Medal of Honor, well, too cool!

Dear Family and Friends,
On February 26, 2007, Bruce Crandall will be awarded the Medal Of Honor at a ceremony in the The White House. President Bush will present the award. It is an award a long time coming and Bruce is very deserving of the MOH. He had been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his acts of heroism.

Carolyn and I have been invited to attend this very special ceremony honoring my good friend Bruce. If you have read the book, We were Soldiers...Once and Young" or have seen the movie, you would recognize "Snake 6" for his acts of heroism during the battle at LZ X-Ray.

Carolyn and I are very excited to be included in "this once in a lifetime visit" to the White House for this very special occasion and the opportunity to meet President Bush. The itinerary also includes a reception at Ft. Myer, a dinner, and a visit to the Hall of Heroes at the Pentagon.

We will fly to Washington, DC on February 24 and return on the 28th.

Carolyn and I are honored to be included in the ceremony and on the guest list.

Veterans

Because this is the 41st anniversary of the Ia Drang Battle in Vietnam and Veterans Day just happened, I thought I would share some thoughts between my Uncle Bob, who was as Landing Zone Falcon in the Ia Drang Valley and my cousin, Jim, who is currently in Ramadi. There are references to Jim's father, Fred (my cousin) who fought in Vietnam as well as my cousin, Joe Fred. My favorite part of the story is the part where Uncle Bob gets back to base to discover that his daughter (my cousin Sheri) had been born during the days of battle. I am always awed by the sacrifices of military and their families. My Uncle Bob shared a link to a recent article on the Ia Drang Battle. You might find it interesting reading. Here are the letters between Vietnam Vet and young Marine starting with Uncle Bob's letter:

Thank you Paula. And you know how much I love you and your family. My thoughts of Jim are daily and I know our Lord and Savior will protect him and Auriel. He is a brave, courageous Marine who has my love and most of all the pride I have telling folks about my Marine great nephew.
Two years in a row, Jim was our guest at the Ia Drang reunion and I can never tell you how proud my wife, daughters, sons in law, and grand children were to have Jim as our guest. My grand sons are in awe of their cousin, especially Jacob. Sadly, the 40th reunion was our last but the memories of the reunions and the men I served with so many years ago will never leave me. I get kind of antsy this time of year since 41 years ago we were deploying to the Ia Drang and getting ready to fight a determined NVA. The antsyness won't pass until around Thanksgiving when my battery returned to An Khe and I found out about a baby daughter named Sheri Lynn and that Carolyn was doing well. A letter form Nanny Barker told me about Sheri and her Mother. What great news that was after having been in combat for almost three weeks.
Fred, tomorrow is Veteran's Day and I want to welcome you home and thank you for your service to our Nation. To have served with you at the same time and in Vietnam will always remain in my memory. The same goes for Joe Fred although he and I were not in RVN at the same time.
Carolyn and I send our love to all the Livelys.

Uncle Bob and Dad,
Thanks for the great email. I received the prayergram from Six Mile…awesome! Sorry I didn’t send Vet’s Day greetings to you and Dad. I guess I might get some slack hey? All’s well here. We’re not facing the NVA, but we’ve got an enemy on our hands that’s determined and cunning. He continues to inflict chaos and casualties. We’re ever vigilant and even simple missions like delivering supplies to a local hospital can prove lethal. The enemy yields no quarter and we of course don’t expect it from him.
I’m anxious to see how the next 12 months will unfold now that our legislative branch has turned over. We’ll see. We may well be some of the last forces in Al Anbar province. So be it....and glad it’s us.
That’s it from this end. I’m so proud of the heritage of military professionals that I follow. From grandfathers, great uncles, and of course my father, I’m just proud to be in uniform in some way carrying out a mission that was started long ago, carried by you both for a time and now passed to me and my comrades. Band of brothers is what we are. Family first, soldiers always and protectors of our nation’s honor and security. I’ve got a tear in my eye as I reflect on the commitment that the Lively, Barker, Hays and Wells families have made.
Garry Owen, Semper Fidelis and Keep your powder dry! Happy Vet’s day to my two favorite Vets!
Jim

Painting of the Week

Jesse took this picture while we were in DC a few years ago in November for the Ia Drang Veterans reunion. My longtime student, Sarah Ann, also chose to paint this picture with me. We kept the other students entertained while we "raced" to be the first one finished and fought over the photograph while we painted. I showed my girls the new artist blogsites that I had found. While showing them the Painters Daily site, I thought, "I could never do a painting a day." Then I realized that if I did not spend so much time on the computer, I could probably paint every day...hmm.

Jesse had a softball game last night. They may be a losing team, but they have a lot of fun. Toby got home from Houston - we both were home in time to see the St. Louis Cardinals win. Yeha! I am looking forward to cheering for Detroit in the Series. Today, I am headed to The Falls. My sister will be there again - more shopping, more eating, more fun!

This One Is For You, Buck

Here is a picture of Captain Jeff Donnithorne on the far left taken in Kuwait several years ago. The Donnithornes have been friends of ours for a long time. We got to know Jeff when he came to see his uncle in New Mexico. He went to Duke University and joined the USAF. Later when Jeff was stationed in Kuwait flying the No Fly Zone in Iraq, he and Jesse began emailing occasionally. Mostly we got his mass emails to family and friends. Those emails were awesome. Jeff came home and did some time in Idaho before being sent back to the Middle East. He was one of the USAF planes dropping bombs on Baghdad at the beginning of the war. Once again his emails were awesome describing his feelings as he flew his missions and the importance of what he was doing. When Jeff returned to the USA, he was sent to DC and the Pentagon while he completed a leadership program and his Masters at George Washington U. We visited Jeff in DC in Nov. of his first year there. He escorted us around the Capitol and acted as tour guide. We took Jeff to the Ia Drang Vietnam Veteran’s reunion banquet. Jeff had read the book, "We Were Soldiers" and was excited to attend – he said it was a life changing experience. While at the banquet wearing his dress blues and medals, he was impressive. Actually, Jeff is just pretty impressive anytime. My Uncle Bob, whom I have blogged about many times, took Jeff around to meet his friends. You should have seen the Vets swarming Jeff asking about the war and his service. My uncle introduced Jeff to General Peterson who was so impressed that he told Jeff that he wanted Jeff working for him. And so it was. Jeff went to work with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The next year, Jeff sent us word that he would be on CSPAN sitting behind General Myers during the 911 Hearings because he was on the team that did the research. We also have a picture of Jeff sitting next to the Cheneys at a Washington function. Jeff is now stationed in Alaska and will be getting married in December. Enjoy the picture. If you want, I will post a picture of Jeff in his dress blues, but I may have done that before - can't remember.

Memorial Day

Last night on local TV, I watched "We Were Soldiers" for the second time. The first time I saw this movie was at the theater when the movie first came out about four years ago. Although I later bought the dvd, I have never been able to watch it again. Toby had never seen the movie. Both of us had read the book over ten years ago when it was first published. I remember that time well. For the week it took me to read the book, I was a basketcase. I cried all week. I fretted and worried about the lost platoon. I dreamed about the soldiers. I was so upset, Toby finally told me to stop reading the book. I told him that I could not stop reading it, but that he would have to read it too. He did, and he was upset for the next week.

Last night I started crying early on in the movie because now, I have not only read the book, I have met many of the people mentioned in it. Jesse and I attended the Ia Drang veteran’s reunion in Washington DC several years ago. It was such an amazing experience, that we took Toby with us the next year. At the beginning of the movie, Mel Giblson’s character, Hal Moore, told his wife that whenever he prayed, he thanked God for her, I started crying. I have met Hal Moore with his wife, Julie. I have seen the love between them, and I knew that when Julie died of cancer a few years ago, it was very hard on General Moore. I have stood and talked with Bruce Crandall and listened to his jokes. He is like a stand-up comedian. I have had my picture taken with "Too Tall To Fly" Ed Freeman and his Medal of Honor. I met Mr. Rangel who signed my book on the page where he is described bayoneting a North Vietnamese soldier. Later Mr. Rangel told me how he was wounded and put into a helicopter flown by Bruce Crandall. He said that as he was put in the helicopter he could see a downed helicopter and feared the same would happen to him, but as they lifted off he watched the tree line, the mountains, and finally clear blue sky. He said that Bruce Crandall turned and gave him a "thumbs up" sign – something that he would never forget. At the reunion banquet, I sat at the same table and had dinner with Barbara and Camille Geoghean, the wife and daughter of Jack Geoghean who wore his daughter’s baby bracelet into battle and was killed. Camille is a grown woman now and very beautiful. At the same table, I ate with my cousin, Sheri. She was born during the days of the battle while her father, my Uncle Bob, was manning the big artillery guns a few miles from Landing Zone X-ray. Sheri’s father returned to her; Camille’s father did not.

I met other men such as Tony Nadal and Sgt. Gilreath. I found a picture of Mr. Nadal online and did a painting from the picture. I was able to present it to him at the reunion. I went to dinner with Chip Parker who flew helicpoters into the battle. I met many more men and some of their wives and listened to their stories. I have stood at the Vietnam Memorial Wall at dawn as Hal Moore and Joe Galloway read the names of the fallen soldiers. I watched as men cried and hugged each other. I saw my uncle find the name of one of his men who was killed in the first thirty minutes of the battle. He ran his fingers over the name and bowed his head in prayer. As I have said before, attending the Ia Drang reunion was a life changing experience. It made me understand the sacrifice of the soldiers and their wives and families. This sacrifice is not over when the war is over. It is forever. I am awed and humbled by these soldiers and all soldiers who have served their country past and present. I bow my head and pray for them today, and I am thankful for them.

Pictured above is Captain Jeff Donnithorne who flew some of the first bombing missions in Baghdad in the Iraq War, Ret. Lt. Col. Robert L. Barker (Uncle Bobby), "Too Tall to Fly" Ed Freeman, and Captain Jim Lively who recently returned from Fallujah (my cousin).