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Saturday, November 12, 2005

Valour-IT Blog Competition Wrap Up

Visit the Valour-IT Blog for the current totals - still some counting to do, but it's looking kinda grim for the Army Team....

Still, the final totals are pretty darned awesome! Thanks to all of you who donated, posted, and otherwise helped in this effort.

A Visit to the Vietnam Wall

from the Department of Defense

Flowers adorn the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The memorial lists the names of 58,249 dead and missing from the Vietnam War. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


James Finnerty and his wife, Denise, look for names of casualties from Finnerty's unit during Vietnam, the 101st Airborne Division, at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. The Finnertys traveled from Pennsylvania to visit the memorial. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


Gary Morrison, of Cape Coral, Fl., kneels in front of the name of James McMahon at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Morrison and McMahon joined the Marine Corps together the day after they graduated high school and went through basic training together. McMahon was killed while on a patrol that was coming to help Morrison's unit get out of an ambush in Vietnam. Morrison wears a bracelet engraved with McMahon's name. Morrison said that it's hard for him to come to the Wall, but he wanted to come to honor his comrades. "I wanted to do it out of respect for our fallen heroes," he said. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


Visitors view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Nov. 9 in Washington, D.C. The memorial consists of three parts: the Wall of names, the Three Servicemen Statue and flagpole, and the Vietnam Women's Memorial. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA



Nikki Elkind, of Fort Collins, Colo., and Margaret Adams, of Oxford, England, view the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


Daniel V. Miller, a Vietnam veteran and a member of the USMC Combat Helicopter Association, makes a rubbing of the name of Thomas Lenz at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Miller, who travelled from Chapel Hill, N.C., to visit the memorial, served with Lenz during his tour in Vietnam. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA


The Three Servicemen Statue overlooks the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., Nov. 9. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA

UPDATE: If you liked these pics, there's also an incredible one over at Speed of Thought. You really should go take a look at it. (Hat tip to Billy Budd over at American Dinosaur)
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Nov. 9, 2005) - Sailors man the rails aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) as she returns to Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Chafee returned to Pearl Harbor after a regularly scheduled deployment as part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in support of the Global War on Terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 3rd Class Ryan C. McGinley

In Today's News - Saturday, November 12, 2005

Quote of the Day
"The United States themselves are essentially the greatest poem."
-- Walt Whitman

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom

Kofi Annan in Iraq
Baghdad blast kills eight, injures 21
Web site confirms Saddam aide dead

Operation Enduring Freedom
Militants Slay Two Senior Afghan Leaders
Afghanistan Election Results Finalized

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Slain Terrorist Was Planning More Attacks

Jordan Bombings
Differing Account
Video: Amman Aftermath
Jordan says Al Qaeda behind bombings
Official: Bombers Were 'Non-Jordanians'

Paris Burning
Parisians Protest
France acts against unrest in Paris
Police Fan Out in Paris to Deter Attacks

Other News of Note
Purported CIA Operatives Sought in Italy
Mideast Democracy Summit Ends in Rancor

Fox News
North Korea Demands Aid Before Disarmament
Bush Rebuts War Critics
Rice Condemns Syria Over Political Prisoners
America Honors Its Heroes on Veterans Day
Anglicans Call for Split with U.S. Episcopal Church
Italy Seeks Extradition of 22 Alleged CIA Operatives
Bill Clinton: Impeachment an 'Egregious' Abuse (gee, why would HE say that?)
Thomas: Abortion Holds Judiciary Hostage
Coalition Deal Will Make Merkel German Chancellor
Junkyard Owner in Wis. Case to Face Murder Charge

Reuters: Top News
Pope speaks about ethics in politics
Weah party demands election rerun
Rice takes aim at Syria over human rights
Health problems up in Zimbabwe
China unlikely to sign on to Kyoto emissions cuts
Calif. liver program closed after decertification
Smarter kids may live longer: study
Book softens Elia Kazan's reputation
Burundi's child soldiers seek fresh start

AP World News
Prize-Winning Cuban Scientist Denied Visa
U.N. to Immunize Children in Quake Zone
N.Korea Offers Reactor-for-Concessions Bid
S.Korean Police Probe Stroller Incident
Energy-Rich Azerbaijan Gains Prominence
Investigators Interview Lebanese President
Man Gets 6 Years for Machu Picchu Damage
Police Break Up Protest by Quake Survivors
Merkel to Be Germany's First Female Leader
Colombia's Uribe Given Green Light to Run

CENTCOM: News Release
MAJOR ROAD IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS NEAR COMPLETION
BAGHDAD SUICIDE BOMBING CELL BLOWN

Department of Defense
President Reaffirms U.S. Commitment -- Story Remarks
Bush Honors Vets, Vows to Boost Support Programs
Cheney: Veterans' Service Ensured Freedom -- Story Remarks Photos
Patience, Resolve Key to Victory, Pace Says -- Story
Pace Speaks for Troops at Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Rice Gives Troops in Iraq Vets Day Thank You -- Story

ON THE GROUND
C-130E Squadron Brings Troops Home Safely -- Story
Marine Security Unit, Bahrain Celebrates Birthday
Photos: Marines Celebrate Birthday in Afghanistan

IN IRAQ
Brigade Transfers Authority at Camp Victory
Coalition Forces, Iraqis Open Soccer Field Photos
Troops Convert Trash Lot to Soccer Field for Kids

IN AFGHANISTAN
Operation Pil Aids Security in Kunar Province
Afghan, U.S. Soldiers Prepare for Winter
Virgin Island Reservists Serve in Afghanistan

FACE OF DEFENSE
Marine Updates Iraqis as Troops Perform Missions -- Story

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Supporters Join Vets Day Parade -- Story
Network Highlights Troop Support
Ky. Communities Support Troops

TOP NEWS
SPECIAL REPORTS
Hurricane Coverage
Iraq Transition of Power

IRAQ
Operation Steel Curtain Continues
Tall Afar Benefits from Rebuilding
U.S. Troops Die; Safe Houses Raided
Rumsfeld: Iraqi Security Progresses
U.S. Contractors Destroy Munitions
Nabbed al Qaeda Forger Identified
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps
Iraq Daily Update
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
Iraq Progress Fact Sheet (pdf)
Weekly Progress Report (pdf)

AFGHANISTAN
Road Projects Near Completion
Military Courts Nearly in Session
Afghans Thwart Attack, Detain 2
Afghan Army Chief Visits U.S.
Afghanistan Daily Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Leaders Condemn Attacks in Jordan
Search for Zarqawi Continues
Directive Sets Interrogation Policy

MILITARY NEWS
Veterans Day Special to OIF Vets
Submarine USS Norfolk Deploys
Program Helps Troubled Vets
VA Secretary Extends Thanks
Enlisted Advisor Visits NORAD
National Guard, Reserve Update

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Marine Casualty -- Story

Weather
Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Gitmo

National Hurricane Center

Today in History
1775 - General Washington forbids recruiting officers from enlisting Blacks.
1892 - Pudge Heffelfinger receives $500, becoming the first professional football player.
1915 - Britain annexes Gilbert and Elice Islands.
1918 - Emperor Karl of Austria-Hungary abdicates; Austria becomes a republic.
1920 - Judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis is elected as the first baseball commissioner.
1921 - The Washington Conference for the Limitation of Armaments takes place.
1927 - Trotsky is expelled from the Soviet CP; Stalin becomes undisputed dictator.
1933 - The first known photo of Loch Ness monster is taken; Nazis receive 92% of the vote in Germany.
1936 - Oakland Bay Bridge opens.
1938 - Hermann Goering announces he wants Madagascar as a Jewish homeland.
1939 - Jews of Lodz, Poland are ordered to wear yellow armbands.
1940 - A blizzard strikes the midwest; 154 die (69 of those on a boat on the Great Lakes).
1941 - Germany's drive to take Moscow is halted.
1944 - The German battleship Tirpitz is sunk off Norway.
1946 - The first drive-up bank window is established in Chicago.
1948 - Japanese premier Hideki Tojo is sentenced to death by a war crimes tribunal.
1953 - U.S. district Judge Grim rules the NFL can black out TV home games.
1954 - Ellis Island immigration station in NY Harbor is closed.
1960 - The Mercury-Redstone-1 test launch fails at an altitude of 10 cm.
1965 - The U.S.S.R.'s Venera-2 is launched towards Venus.
1975 - Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas retires after 36 years.
1977 - New Orleans elects its first Black mayor, Ernest (Dutch) Morial.
1979 - The U.S. halts Iranian oil imports, and freezes Iranian assets.
1980 - The U.S. space probe Voyager-I approaches within 77,000-mi (124,000 km) of Saturn.
1981 - The second shuttle mission (Columbia-2) marks the first time a spacecraft is launched twice.
1982 - Yuri V. Andropov succeeds Leonid Brezhnev as Soviet leader.
1984 - Space shuttle astronauts snare a satellite in the first space salvage.
1987 - Heavy snow closes schools from DC to Main.
1989 - Brazil holds its first free presidential election in 29 years.

Birthdays
1790
- Letitia Christian Tyler, first wife of President Tyler
1815 - Elizabeth Cady Stanton, suffragist (80 Years & More)
1866 - Sun Yat-sen, father of modern China (ROC, PRC)
1889 - DeWitt Wallace, publisher, founder of Readers Digest (1921)
1908 - Harry A. Blackmun, Supreme Court justice (1970-1994)
1934 - Charles Manson, criminal (Tate-Labianco)
1937 - Richard H. Truly, Rear Admiral USN/astronaut (STS T-2, T-4, 2, 8)

Passings
1035
- Canute "The Great," King of the Danes (1016-1035)
1558 - Rabbi Shalom Shakna ben Joseph, founder of the first Polish Yeshiva
1987 - Roger Lewis, aviation executive (Lockheed, C. Wright, Pan Am)

Reported Missing in Action
1965
Hunting, Peter M., Civilian; remains returned November, 1965

1966
Frosio, Robert Clarence, USN (FL); A4E shot down (pilot), KIA, body not recovered

Jones, James Grady, USN (AL); A4E shot down (pilot), KIA, body not recovered

1967
Cayce, John D., USNR (TX); swept overboard by a wave while performing duties as part of a helicopter detail, Killed, body not recovered

Roark, James D., USNR (VA); swept overboard by a wave while performing duties as part of a helicopter detail, Killed, body not recovered

1969
Bodahl, John Keith, USAF (ID); F4E crashed (w/Smith)

Dennany, James E., USAF (MI); F4D shot down (co-pilot, w/Tucci)

Helmich, Gerald Robert, USAF (NH);A1H crashed, presumed Killed

Smith, Harry Winfield, USAF (LA); F4E crashed (w/Bodahl)

Tucci, Robert L., USAF (MI); F4D shot down (pilot, w/Dennany)

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