WEDNESDAY’S HERO

Spc. Josiah H. Vandertulip
Spc. Josiah H. Vandertulip 21 years old from Irving, Texas 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division October 14, 2004 Louise Vandertulip fussed at her son about his spending. He bought wild, overpriced hats that had flames on them or horns coming out of the top, she said. While in Army basic training, he bought portraits of himself. His mother told him to save his money. She's glad he didn't listen. The hats and the pictures are all a part of her memories now. Spc. Josiah H. Vandertulip was killed in Baghdad when his patrol came under small arms fire. Josiah Vandertulip joined the Army right after his graduation from Irving High School in 2002. He spent a year in South Korea before being stationed at Texas' Fort Hood in February. Against his mother's advice, he volunteered to go to Iraq. She told him to wait, to go to college. "When he was determined to do something in his heart, he would do it and hell or high water couldn't keep him from it," she said By going, he knew someone else with a young family could be saved from serving, relatives said. He always had the important things right, Louise Vandertulip said. "There's a lot of rest in knowing that he died doing what he believed in and doing what he thought was right," she said. "We have a much more real sense of the cost for the freedom that we enjoy now," said his father, Robert Vandertulip. "Josiah was the first brand new soldiers I recieved as a dismounted team leader in Korea. He was one of the Best soldiers I have had the honor to train and work with. He loved being a soldier as much as any guy I have met. He was a great leader in the absence of his superiors. I could always count on him to make sure the mission was accomplished. I watched him change over the year I had him from a goofy kid, to a hard charging soldier." Sgt. Nickolas Faul
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero. We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. To find out more about Wednesay Hero, you can go here.

 

This came to “Indian Chris” over at Wednesday’s Hero:

 Chris,
I don't often do this, but I need some help getting the word out about a local soldier who is in need.  Chris Cooper Jr is currently stationed in Iraq.  His father passed away from cancer last month, and the combination of loss of income, medical bills and funeral expenses has practically wiped the family's finances out.  Cooper has had to take out a loan against his military pay to help pay for the funeral and other bills.

I have a post up at Lone Star Pundit about the Cooper family's plight: 

There is more info in the local newspaper, here: 

Would you be willing to send out a message to the Wednesday Hero blogroll, to see if anyone would be interested in carrying (or at least linking to) Cooper's story?

Much obliged!
Thanks,
        Kyle
http://lonestarpundit.wordpress.com/

 

BLOGGING LITE

I think today completely re-defines blogging lite!  I have a 17 page hand-written rant on immigration but I am just way too tired try transcribing my handwriting tonight.  I went to Roswell today, arriving home about the time O’Reilly came on.  By the time I unloaded the Durango and put up groceries it was pushing 8PM!  It is now 10PM and I just don’t have my act together tonight.  I have a beautiful rant planned, but it will wait until manana.

 

My mother had some sad news today.  She and my father are in Memphis for the month with my sister.  The woman who is house-sitting called to tell her that the five back porch kittens are phenomena and are terminal.  She is quite upset.  I suggested my mother call and tell her to take them down to Dr. Franklin and just deal with it.  They don’t need to suffer.  I think that’s why I was so worried about Miss Piggy when she was so little and so ill.  But we did not have that problem. 

 

Oh Lord, I just heard on the local news that Jane Fonda is now living in New Mexico.  There goes the neighborhood!  All of Hollywood seems to be heading here.  Granted it is the best place to live, but still…  Okay, I admit, when I saw Sam Elliot buying gas next to me at the station in Las Cruces a couple of years ago I did a very bad thing and gawked, ignoring the fact that my mother had just been released from the hospital a few blocks away and the rest of the family was waiting with her on the sidewalk.  We’re talking Virgil Earp here.  There ARE priorities.   Fortunately most of the Hollywood type seem to hang around Santa Fe, but according to Michael Hurd, they are heading down toward the Hondo Valley.  The first time I drove through the Hondo Valley, about 12 years ago, I phoned home to tell my mother it was one of the most beautiful stretches of land I’d ever seen.  

 

Tomorrow I will do better, I promise.  Do watch the Bill Richardson ad.  I think it is the best Presidential ad I’ve ever seen!  Kudos for Liz Mair for putting it up at GOP Progress.

Just what was Lindsey doing in Iraq?

 

More on Morgellons

 

NASA is predicting Atlanta summers that reach 110.  Sorry, been there and done that, and add 95% humidity along with it.  It was the summer of 1977. 

 

The incredible archaeological finds just keep on coming.  Now they have found a piece of fabric in Greece that is nearly 3000 years old!

 

Liz Mair has posted a link to Bill Richardson’s new commercials.  They are hilarious – not as good as the cowboy commercial he ran last fall, but a couple of the best presidential commercials I’ve seen.

  

THURSDAY THIRTEEN  

THIRTEEN THINGS I’ve Found While Redecorating My Condo

1.       A copy of my grandfather’s obit

2.       Atlanta Braves promotional cap I picked up on a date – years ago

3.       Gift from someone very special

4.       Cow tags my grandfather had made to talk me out of St. Barnard puppy (long story)

5.       My little girl painting apron

6.       Collection of antique fans I thought were lost

7.       Collection of decorator eggs

8.       Bathing suit 20 years old (don’t ask)

9.       High school diploma

10.    My teen age ‘calling cards’

11.    First glasses

12.    A few of my grandmother Reidhead’s handkerchief’s

13.    Gideon’s Bible from high school (when they were allowed to distribute such things)