HOMES FOR OUR TROOPS

He will turn the key on his new home on Saturday, June 25th at 11:00. 12360 North Conestoga Terrace, Black Forest, CO 800106. Thanks to all who helped with the home. And thanks to Bob & Chris at ProTeam Roofing for helping and passing along the story. Richard

Army Sergeant Jeffrey Adams lost both of his legs due to injuries suffered while deployed to Afghanistan in August 2009. While on his second deployment, SGT Adams was returning to base from the Pesh River Valley when the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle he was riding in ran over a pressure plated IED. Pulled from the damaged vehicle, SGT Adams has no recollection of what happened prior to or after the blast. Transported to the hospital in Bagram, Surgeons amputated his right leg before airlifting him to Landstuhl, Germany and finally to Walter Reed where his left leg was amputated as well. SGT Adams remains at Walter Reed where he continues receiving therapies and treatment at this time.

SGT Adams loves hockey and having grown up in Flint, MI is a dedicated Detroit Red Wings fan. His daughter, Jewel is currently living with Jeff’s mother while they await his release from Walter Reed and prepare to live in Colorado.

SGT Adams is looking forward to marrying his fiancé and beginning a new life in a home that will allow him the freedom and independence he fought to preserve for our country. He says he is looking forward to being able to get around a home more easily as there are challenges now when he visits his home where his wheelchair does not fit into the bathroom. SGT Adams would like to thank everyone who will make his specially adapted home built by Homes for Our Troops a reality... saying it means more to him than words can say.

America has been at war since 2001. During that time, two million of our nation's sons and daughters have answered the call of duty. Over 5,000 of these brave men and women have been killed. Over 40,000 have suffered physical injuries. Of those 40,000, some have paid a terrible price, suffering injuries so severe that they must rely on others for care, losing much of their independence. These severely injured veterans have a desperate need for specially adapted homes that will help restore the independence they have lost.

Homes for Our Troops has launched the 100 More…...Homes for Our Troops campaign. In the last seven years, Homes for Our Troops has committed to giving back freedom and independence to 100 military families. This committment is set to be fulfilled in 2011 and we are looking toward the future; to 100 more and beyond. As the number of eligible applicants continues to grow, we estimate that there are between 1,000 to 1,500 OIF/OEF veterans among us that have injuries so severe that they are in need of an adapted home. With America's support, Homes for Our Troops can "give back" freedom and independence to them through a gift of a specially adapted home.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST FOR WORLD WAR TWO VETERANS

Applebees Pancake Breakfast

Preserve formatting in description (only supported in some calendar applications)
Saturday, 30 July 2011, 07:00am - 09:00am

Must have tickets to attend. Tickets require $7 donation or higher

Location : Applebees at 7625 Goddard St, COS, CO 719-535-2799

Contact : Misti, Lana, Sal, Paul, Jane or Donna

Honor Flight of Southern Colorado

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization created solely to honor America's Veterans for all their sacrifices. Honor Flight transports our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior Veterans who may be terminally ill.

Of all the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation-and as a culturally diverse, free society.

HONOR FLIGHT Network is our way of paying a small tribute to those who gave so much to fight for our freedoms, a memorable, safe, and rewarding TOUR of HONOR!!!

B-17 CRASHES

OSWEGO, Ill. -- A B-17 bomber that dates to World War II has crashed and burned in a cornfield outside Chicago.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory says the plane took off from Aurora Municipal Airport on Monday morning and crashed about 20 minutes later in Oswego.

Last year Jarred Rego and I took a ride on the flying museum... The B-17 "Liberty Belle". I have flown on several B-17s, and a B-24 and B-29. It was THE BEST plane and crew of them all. What's the story behind the Liberty Belle? On September 9, 1944 the 390th Bomb Group attacked a target in Dusseldorf, Germany and suffered its second largest single mission loss of the war. Over the target just prior to bomb release, one of the low squadron B-17s was hit in the Bomb bay by flak. The 1000 lb. bombs exploded and nine of the twelve aircraft in the squadron were instantly destroyed or knocked out of formation. Six of the nine went down over the target, one flew two hours on a single engine and landed at Paris, another "crippled plane" landed in Belgium and the other struggled back to its home base and landed long after the other thirty nine B-17s had returned from the mission. The one that came home was "Liberty Belle", she went on to complete 64 combat missions before being salvaged on February 18, 1945. The Liberty Foundation’s B-17G (SN 44-85734) has an interesting post-war history. Originally sold on June 25, 1947 as scrap to Esperado Mining Co. of Altus, OK, it sold again later that year to Pratt & Whitney for $2,700. Pratt & Whitney operated the B-17 from November 19, 1947 to 1967 as a heavily modified test bed for their P&W T-34 and T-64 turboprop engines. It became a “5-engine aircraft”, having the powerful prototype engine mounted on the nose! The aircraft was flown “single-engine”, with all four radial engines feathered during test flights. Following this life as a test platform, it was donated in the late 1960s to the Connecticut Aeronautical Historic Association in East Hartford. Unfortunately, it was heavily damaged on October 3, 1979 in a tornado, in which another aircraft was thrown onto the B-17’s mid-section. The wreck was stored in the New England Air Museum, CT from 1981 until 1987.

LETTER I READ THIS MORNING - LEFT AT WALL IN 1985

June 8, 1985
Dear Eddie

Although it's been fifteen years since you've been gone it feels like it could have been fifteen days. Many times I have regretted not getting to know you better than I did. There was a quiet, sensitive goodness about you. You were one of the guys that had been with the unit awhile and was getting “short”. I knew about your girl, your Mom & Dad and that you wanted to put your time in and get home. If anyone knew you at all, they liked you a lot.

I'll never forget being awakened at three that morning by the hysterical crying of Denny Newbill and Jerry Hall. “One of our guys is dead!” was all I could get out of Newbill. When Jerry told me it was you, I can remember demanding an answer- "Oh God, Why? Why any of us? Why Eddie?” I never did get any concrete answers. Our whole company felt a tremendous loss. When I left in August, there was still a sense of grief around. Things never did get back to “normal”.

I hope you don't mind, but recently I made contact with your parents. They’ve moved twice and are now retired in Missouri, trusting in the Lord that you are at peace. They can't afford to travel much so I've sent them pictures of the Memorial and your name. They're good people, too. I hope to meet them some day.

For years, I felt your life, as well as the other 58,000 lives, was wasted and anyone who wasn't there could not or would not understand what we went through. That's changing now. People are beginning to realize that we were doing our jobs and doing them well. We had to pay the price and until recently, we were the ones tagged as losers, not our government. So if your names on this wall make it harder to send guys half way around the world to die, then maybe it wasn't a total waste.

I love you, brother. I pray some day we will welcome each other home. Peace.

John "Soup'' Campbell

SHE IS A FRIEND OF A FRIEND... SHE IS ON THE WALL

1st Lt. Sharon Ann Lane - On the Wall at 23W 112
Lt. Lane died from shrapnel wounds when the 312th Evac. at Chu Lai was hit by rockets on June 8, 1969. From Canton, OH, she was a month short of her 26th birthday. She was posthumously awarded the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm and the Bronze Star for Heroism. In 1970, the recovery room at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, where Lt. Lane had been assigned before going to Viet Nam, was dedicated in her honor. In 1973, Aultman Hospital in Canton, OH, where Lane had attended nursing school, erected a bronze statue of Lane. The names of 110 local servicemen killed in Vietnam are on the base of the statue.

DREW DIX CITATION

The President of the United States
in the name of The Congress
takes pleasure in presenting the
Medal of Honor
to

DIX, DREW DENNIS

Rank and Organization: Staff Sergeant, U.S. Army, U.S. Senior Advisor Group, IV Corps, Military Assistance Command. Place and date: Chau Doc Province, Republic of Vietnam, 31 January and 1 February 1968. Entered service at: Denver, Colo. Born: 14 December 1944, West Point, N.Y.

Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. S/Sgt. Dix distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while serving as a unit adviser. Two heavily armed Viet Cong battalions attacked the Province capital city of Chau Phu resulting in the complete breakdown and fragmentation of the defenses of the city. S/Sgt. Dix, with a patrol of Vietnamese soldiers, was recalled to assist in the defense of Chau Phu. Learning that a nurse was trapped in a house near the center of the city, S/Sgt. Dix organized a relief force, successfully rescued the nurse, and returned her to the safety of the Tactical Operations Center. Being informed of other trapped civilians within the city, S/Sgt. Dix voluntarily led another force to rescue 8 civilian employees located in a building which was under heavy mortar and small-arms fire. S/Sgt. Dix then returned to the center of the city. Upon approaching a building, he was subjected to intense automatic rifle and machinegun fire from an unknown number of Viet Cong. He personally assaulted the building, killing 6 Viet Cong, and rescuing 2 Filipinos. The following day S/Sgt. Dix, still on his own volition, assembled a 20-man force and though under intense enemy fire cleared the Viet Cong out of the hotel, theater, and other adjacent buildings within the city. During this portion of the attack, Army Republic of Vietnam soldiers inspired by the heroism and success of S/Sgt. Dix, rallied and commenced firing upon the Viet Cong. S/Sgt. Dix captured 20 prisoners, including a high ranking Viet Cong official. He then attacked enemy troops who had entered the residence of the Deputy Province Chief and was successful in rescuing the official's wife and children. S/Sgt. Dix's personal heroic actions resulted in 14 confirmed Viet Cong killed in action and possibly 25 more, the capture of 20 prisoners, 15 weapons, and the rescue of the 14 United States and free world civilians. The heroism of S/Sgt. Dix was in the highest tradition and reflects great credit upon the U.S. Army.

VIETNAM MEMORIAL AT FORT CARSON

Fort Carson will host a Vietnam Veterans’ Welcome Home celebration June 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Ironhorse Park.
The half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, known as “The Wall That Heals,” will highlight this year’s event. The wall will be available for viewing 24 hours a day June 8-12, near Kit Carson Park outside of Gate 1.
The celebration, free and open to the public, will also feature family activities, entertainment, bus tours of Fort Carson and information booths about veterans’ services.
Access onto Fort Carson for visitors attending the activities June 10 will be through gates 1, 4 and 20. Drivers will be required to show a valid state driver’s license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance. All vehicle occupants 18 and older will be required to show valid state- or federally-issued photo identification. All vehicles entering the installation are subject to search. Visitors will be issued an event parking pass, which must be displayed on the dashboard of the vehicle at all times while on the installation. Nondecaled vehicles that are not removed from the installation by 5 p.m. June 11 will be towed at the owner’s expense.
The Vehicle Registration Office, building 6012, will be closed from 7-11 a.m. June 10 and the parking lot will be closed at 6 p.m. Thursday. Nondecaled vehicles will be processed at gates 2, 3, 4, 5 and 20 during this time.
Traffic control personnel will be directing visitors to the parking areas off of Wetzel Avenue south of Prussman Boulevard, the east side of the Ironhorse Park.
Handicap parking will be available at Kit Carson Park and the main parking lot at Ironhorse Park.
Coffee and doughnuts will be served without charge and vendors will have food and beverages for purchase.