U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jared C. Althouse, a 24-year-old Columbus, Ohio native and fireteam leader with 2nd platoon, Lima Co., 3/25 prepares to enter with his squad in Karabilah during Operation Spear. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ken Melton


U.S. Marines with 2nd platoon, Lima Co., 3/25 search a building Karabilah during Operation Spear. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ken Melton


U.S. Marines with 2nd platoon, Lima Co., 3/25 prepares to enter a buliding in Karabilah during Operation Spear. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ken Melton


Marines with 2nd platoon, Lima Co., 3/25 climb over walls so they can complete their mission in Karabilah during Operation Spear. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ken Melton


Marines with 2nd platoon, Lima Co., 3/25 provides security in Karabilah during Operation Spear. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ken Melton


U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jared C. Althouse, a 24-year-old Columbus, Ohio native and fireteam leader with 2nd platoon, Lima Co., 3/25 provides security for his squad in Karabilah during Operation Spear. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ken Melton


U.S. Marines with 2nd platoon, Lima Co., 3/25 patrol roads in Karabilah during Operation Spear. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Corporal Ken Melton

Be sure to go to BlackFive for information on Captain Chuck Ziegenfuss of TCOverride, who was wounded in Iraq. Matt has an update on his condition, as well as a link to his site. You can leave a message of support for Chuck and his wife at Chuck's blog.

And please be sure to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

At some point tonight, in all likelihood, we are going to hit 375,000 visitors. Wow.

Also, today I got an email informing me that the Library of Congress wanted to archive this blog (they referenced the original site at http://www.brandonblog.homestead.com), as part of their collection of Iraq War materials.

When Patti Patton-Bader, founder of Soldiers' Angels, asked me to start taking over this blog, she made it clear that her vision for the site was a historical record, a way to make some sort of permanent record of support for the troops, and a record of information on the accomplishments, heroism, and achievements of our fighting men and women. She told me that she felt that the mission of this blog was to let our troops know how proud we were, and to get the positive news out there. Having this site archived in the Library of Congress is a heck of a way to get there, and we're thrilled.

Thank you to all of our visitors, and to all of the bloggers and site owners who have linked to this site. Thank you to Patti for having the confidence in me to let me do this. Thanks to all the bloggers who have served as inspirations to me as I made my first forays into the blogosphere, and continue to provide inspiration.
My husband thanks you all too, 'cause now I can rant here instead of at him!

From the beginning, I've looked at this as part of my personal oath to never again see the troops dishonored as they were after Vietnam, and another way for me to say "thanks." The time and effort I spend blogging is nothing compared to the efforts and sacrifices of those who protect our freedom, but I hope it's something.

I am honored to be a part of this blog, and again, my thanks to you all for being a part of it, too.

A protest raged on a courthouse lawn,
Round a makeshift stage they charged on,
Fifteen hundred or more they say,
Had come to burn a Flag that day.

A boy held up the folded Flag,
Cursed it, and called it a dirty rag.
An OLD MAN pushed through the angry crowd,
With a rusty shotgun shouldered proud.

His uniform jacket was old and tight,
He had polished each button, shiny and bright.
He crossed that stage with a soldier's grace,
Until he and the boy stood face to face.

"FREEDOM OF SPEECH", the OLD MAN said,
"Is worth dying for, good men are dead,
So you can stand on this courthouse lawn,
And talk us down from dusk to dawn,

But before any Flag gets burned today,
This OLD MAN IS GOING TO HAVE HIS SAY!!
My father died on a foreign shore,
In a war they said would end all war.

But Tommy and I wasn't even full grown,
Before we fought in a war of our own.
And Tommy died on Iwo Jima's beach,
In the shadow of a hill he couldn't quite reach

Where five good men raised this Flag so high,
That the WHOLE WORLD COULD SEE IT FLY.
I got this bum leg that I still drag,
Fighting for this same old Flag.

Now there's but one shot in this old gun,
So now it's time to decide which one,
Which one of you will follow our lead,
To stand and die for what you believe?
For as sure as there is a rising sun,
You'll burn before this Flag burns, son.

Now this riot never came to pass.
The crowd got quiet and that can of gas,
Got set aside as they walked away
To talk about what they had heard this day.

And the boy who had called it a "dirty rag",
Handed the OLD SOLDIER the folded Flag.
So the battle of the Flag this day was won
By a tired OLD SOLDIER with a rusty gun,
Who for one last time, had to show to some,

THIS FLAG MAY FADE,

YET THESE COLORS DON'T RUN.

-- author unknown




Thanks to Sgt. S.K. for this one

Iraq hostage freed after 7 months
06/22/05 07:51 AM, EDTA
Filipino citizen taken hostage in Iraq more than seven months ago has been released from captivity, Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has said.
FULL STORY - from CNN.com

Fox News
U.S. Spy Plane Crashes in Middle East
Iraqi Officials Urge Nations to Aid Reform
Ex-Judge Killed in Iraq; Filipino Hostage Freed
Airman's Rape Trial Faces Delay
N. Korea Blames U.S. for Nuke Program
Police Urged to Replace Bulletproof Vests
Israel Warns Palestinians on Gaza Attacks
Russia: Nuclear Break-Ins Thwarted
Mexico: Man Arrested Has Links to 9/11
Lebanon Opposition: Pro-Syrian PM Must Go
Afghan Clashes Kill Scores of Insurgents
Afghan Violence Shatters Pakistan Alliance
Suspected Hezbollah Drug Ring Busted
Pinochet Hospitalized Again After Stroke
Gadhafi's Opponents to Gather in London

Reuters: Top News
Israel revives militants assassination policy
Afghans say 64 Taliban killed in heavy fighting
Senate Democrat offers pledge on Bolton vote
EU, U.S. rally world backing for 'inclusive' Iraq
Bomb barrage kills 18 in Baghdad -police
U.S. spyplane crashes after Afghan mission

Today in History
1772 - Slavery is outlawed in England.
1775 - The first Continental currency is issued.
1807 - The British board the USS Chesapeake, one of the events leading to the War of 1812.
1815 - Napoleon abdicates for a second time (after Waterloo).
1847 - The doughnut is created.
1868 - Arkansas re-enters the U.S.
1870 - Congress creates the Department of Justice.
1873 - Prince Edward Island joins Canada.
1911 - King George V of England is crowned.
1918 - in Ivanhoe, Illinois, a troop train rams a circus train, killing 68.
1936 - The Virgin Islands receive a constution from U.S. (Organic Act).
1940 - France falls to Nazi Germany; Finland invades Karelia.
1941 - Germany declares war on the Soviet Union.
1944 - FDR signs the "GI Bill of Rights" (Servicemen's Readjustment Act).
1959 - Vanguard SLV-6 is launched; it fails to achieve an Earth orbit.
1970 - President Nixon signs the 26th amendment, lowering the voting age to 18.
1978 - Neo-Nazis call off plans to march in the Jewish community of Skokie, Illinois.
1981 - Mark David Chapman pleads guilty the murder of John Lennon.
1983 - The Space Shuttle makes the first retrieval of a satellite from orbit.
1990 - Florida passes a law prohibits wearing a thong bathing suit.

Birthdays
1837 - Paul Morphy, greatest chess player of all time
1896 - Francis C. Denebrink, U.S. Naval officer (WW I, WW II, Korea)
1903 - John Dillinger, one of America's Most Wanted
1920 - Paul Frees, the voice of "Bullwinkle"
1941 - Ed Bradley, CBS news correspondent ("60 Minutes")

Passings
1874 - Howard Staunton, world chess champion, designer of chess pieces
1922 - British Field Marshal Sir Henry H. Wilson, murdered
1954 - Don Hollenbeck, newscaster (CBS Weekend News)

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Smith, Warren P., Jr., USAF (TX); O1F shot down

1967
Pirie, James Glenn, USN (AL); A4E shot down, released by DRV February, 1973 - deceased, May 1998

1969
Engelhard, Eric Carl, USAF (OH); O2B shot down, remains recovered April, 1974
Roberson, John W., US Army (TX); Presumed drowned while crossing a stream, body not recovered
Seagroves, Michael Anthony, USAF (IL); O2B shot down, remains recovered April, 1974

1970
Earle, John S., USNR (MA); A4C crashed in water shortly after takeoff, Killed, body not recovered
Gumbert, Robert W., Jr., US Army (OH); likely KIA, body not recovered

1971
Strohlein, Madison A., US Army (PA)

Polish Explosive Ordnance Detachment (EOD) Soldiers from the Polish 1st Battle Group, set charges to detonate old munitions collected near Camp Carlie, Iraq, on June 9, 2005. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Arthur Hamilton)


Spc. Nicolas E. Terrazas, assists Soldiers from the Afghan National Army unloads humanitarian aid from a vehicle at a school in Nagahan, Afghanistan, on May 30, 2005. Terrazas is assigned to the 450th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne). (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jerry T. Combes)