My Perfect Valentine

You are my perfect Valentine

An awesome fact to have you mine

Such love and pride you show to me

As great as one could ever be

I realize how you make me feel

For all you are just makes it real

You are the one that I wished for

My life through you can only soar

Your love surpasses all that’s fine

My thoughts of you are all divine

You are the poet of many dreams

The brilliant light of magic beams

A rose within my heart you are

My dearest, sweetest, bravest star

Your uniform brings such a rush

There is no doubt, I have a crush

Your heart, it's filled with loving care

Which willingly you proudly share

My Sweet GI, my thoughts of you

So grateful that you are so true

God be with you while you’re away

And bring you home safely, I pray

The previous record for a Valentine card was 5,000.

As of this posting, the Valentine's Day card for our troops, hosted at Operation Love Our Troops, has garnered more than 20,000 messages.

Wow.

Thanks to Soldiers' Angels and the Library of Life for this wonderful way to show support for our heroes, and thanks to all of you who added your messages.

More details at Soldiers' Angels Germany.

-- Col. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC,

rallying his First Marine Regiment

near Chosin Reservoir,

Korea, December 1950

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bird Flu Alert in Iraq
Saddam on Hunger Strike- Video: Saddam on Strike
Gunmen Kill 11 Iraqi Farmers
Bomb kills three Iraqi children walking to school
U.S. Iraqi military strategy aids radicals, critique says
Iraq protesters decry alleged beatings by British

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghans arrest Taliban commander, UK troops arrive
Afghan gas line nearer reality

Homeland Security / War on Terror
Iraqi Booted for Terror Link
Moussaoui Curses U.S.
Jordan sentences Zarqawi, 8 militants to death
Britain to extradite al Qaeda suspect to Spain
325,000 names on U.S. terror suspect list: report
German court scraps law on downing hijacked planes
U.S Seeks Canadian Terror Figure
Victims of Madrid Bombings Demand Answers

Welcome Home!!
Marines Return to Camp Lejeune from Iraq - Photos
Photos: A-10 Unit Returns from Afghan Deployment

Hamas Rising
Abbas Consolidating Powers Ahead of Hamas
Hamas Assails U.S., Israeli `interference'

Cartooning Muhammad
Key events in the cartoon controversy
Cartoonish No More
Religious Leader Urges Responsibility

Worldwide Wackos
Iran Confirms Uranium Enrichment Activities
Video: Nuclear Showdown
Iran confirms date for Russian nuclear talks: report - Video

VP Hunting Accident
VP's Victim Recovering - Has 'silent' heart attack
Hunters sympathize with Cheney

Other Political News
Senate says no to asbestos fund
Fed's Bernanke to play the hawk on Capitol Hill
Analysis: Cheney forced onto center stage
Bushes, friends celebrate Valentine's Day
With Hackett departure, old politics win
Hutchinson downplays impeachment role

XX Winter Olympics
Missed Targets Plague Army Olympian
WINTER OLYMPICS (Reuters)
Gretzky expects blame game

Oddities
Man with 'worst driving record' jailed
Missing N.Y. man found here, lost his memory
Moms sue maker of Thomas trains

Other News of Note
Microsoft warns of "critical" security flaws
China under attack on all sides over media freedom
U.S. Web Companies Defend China Policies
Americans play the villains in Turkish hit
(If you haven't heard about this, this is one story you need to read. You can also view the trailer here)

Fox News
Wal-Mart Ordered to Stock Emergency Contraception
Animal Rights Group Sues to End Horse Slaughter
Thousands Mark Hariri Killing
Dow Finishes Over 11,000
Sharon's Son to be Jailed
Report: Government Failed With Katrina
Stocks to Watch: HP
FULL SPORTS COVERAGE

Reuters: Top News
US deal said to let India expand nuclear arms
Israeli army kills Palestinian holding toy gun-mayor
Colored bull terrier is Westminster show's top dog
Rare dolphin heading for extinction in Cambodia
Mazda to lease gasoline-hydrogen car in Japan
Nintendo unveils TV, Web browser features for DS
Complex ICU situations cause deadly errors: report
US to look for early signs of cancer drug effects
Oil inches higher, awaits US inventory data
Global air cargo probe widens to Asia
Ranbaxy says has bid for German generic drug firm
Siemens wants to break up telecoms unit - report
Free newspaper group Metro Q4 disappoints
Basin Water files for $52 mln IPO
Saker sweetens offer for Foodarama
Jakks Pacific profit falls; shares slide
Suntech shares drop after warning on margins
US stocks rally on cheaper oil, retail sales - Video
United Auto profit rises 15 percent, shares up
Demand to keep pace with Vegas boom
Video: Trump CEO Perry on turnaround
Video: CEO Boyd on Europe market

AP World News
Interim Haitian Govt Orders Vote Review
Snow From Building Kills Student in Japan
Lebanese Mark Anniversary of Hariri Death
British Lawmakers Back End to Pub Smoking
Report: Avalanche Kills Student in Japan
Kosovo Rejects Delay on Final Status
Egyptian Parliament Postpones Local Vote
Weddings Held at Site of Mandela Prison

The Seattle Times
Brazil prepares to power up uranium-enrichment plant
A mortality test for boomers
Church arsons strike at heart of rural life
Gay bishop checks in for alcoholism rehab
Biracial Super Bowl hero is big hit in South Korea
O'Brien meets his Finn "twin"
Guard links inmates' escape to election
Syria switches from dollar to euro

Chicago Sun-Times
Inmate escaped despite warning
FAA giving air traffic controllers cushion of err
Pass 'Riley's Law,' girl's family urges
Ohio drops controversial language on evolution
Mass. makes Wal-Mart sell morning-after pills
Killer in car wash abduction: I was on coke, wanted to die
People spotted directing cartoon protests
Lottery numbers make encore appearance
Australian official: We're 'aborting ourselves almost out of existence'

Boston Globe: World
Bird flu kills 135 swans in Iran

Military.com
2006 Is Iraq's Make-or-Break Year
Roadside Bomb Kills U.S. Marine
DoD Updates Equipment Reimbursement Policy
Army Expects Up To $69 Billion More

Department of Defense
Ambassador Welcomes Vote Certification - Story
U.N. Inspectors Declined Guantanamo Visit - Story
Officials Update Reimbursement Policy - Story
New Mail Contract Projected to Save Millions - Story

ON THE GROUND
Troops in Iraq Renew Vows on Valentines Day - Story
Bagram’s New Hospital Nears Completion - Story
Pacemaker Engineers Train Afghan Army - Story

IN IRAQ
Central-South Division Helps Flood Victims
Database Aids Battlefield Communications
Joint Effort Goal: Stop Terrorists Inflow, IEDs
NATO Troops Learn Lifesaving Techniques
Field Hospital Moves From Tents to Trailers
‘Beanies for Baghdad’ Bring Smiles to Iraqi Children

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Kids Craft Valentines for Vets, Troops - Story
Groups Team Up to Send Valentines
Support Takes Circus Center Stage

TOP NEWS
IRAQ
Terrorists Kill Iraqi Officer, Son
Iraqi Navy Protects Oil Platforms
Forces Capture, Kill Insurgents
Iraqi Army Leads Operation
Province on the Right Track
Reconstruction Progress Made
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq (pdf)
Multinational Force Iraq
Eye on Iraq Update (pdf)
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (pdf)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghan Engineers Attend Workshop
IED Kills 4 U.S. Troops
Afghans Evacuated for Treatment
ANP Open Family Response Unit
Afghan Workers Improve School
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Rumsfeld Thanks Morocco
Low Possibility Al Qaeda in N. Africa
Rumsfeld Tours Africa
Nations Oppose Iran Nuke Program
Rumsfeld Recalls Ike's Words
Rumsfeld: Terrorists Fail
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

MILITARY NEWS
Army's Top NCO Visits South Africa
Budget Reflects Hard Choices
Senate Confirms Edelman to Post
Senior NCOs Wrap Up Conference
Recruiting Momentum Continues
National Guard, Reserve Update

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

Today in History
0399 - Philosopher Socrates sentenced to death
1145 - Bernardo elected Pope Eugene III
1313 - Peace of Angleur
1386 - Duke Philip the Stout forms Council of Flanders
1563 - Russian troops occupy Polotsk Lithuania
1637 - Ferdinand III succeeds Ferdinand II as Holy Roman Emperor
1677 - King Charles II reports anti-French covenant with Netherlands
1689 - German Parliament declares war on France
1763 - Austria, Prussia & Saxony sign Peace of Hubertusburg
1764 - St. Louis founded as a French trading post by Pierre Laclade Ligue
1768 - 1st mustard manufactured in America advertised, Philadelphia
1775 - Angelo Braschi chosen as Pope Pius VI
1797 - Battle of Cape St. Vincent
1799 - 1st US printed ballots authorized, Pennsylvania
1804 - New Jersey becomes last northern state to abolish slavery
1842 - 1st adhesive postage stamps in US (private delivery company), New York NY
1851 - Black abolitionists invade Boston courtroom, rescuing a fugitive slave
1861 - Ft. Point completed & garrisoned (has never fired cannon in anger)
1862 - Grant's major assault on Ft Donelson, TN
1869 - Charges of Treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped
1870 - Ground broken for Northern Pacific Railway near Duluth, MN
1876 - Historic Elm at Boston blown down
1879 - Congress authorizes women lawyers to practice before the Supreme Court
1882 - 1st cargo of frozen meat leaves New Zealand for Britain, on SS Dunedin
1898 - USS Maine blows up in Havana harbor, cause unknown-258 sailors die
1900 - General French relieves Kimberley/Cecil Rhodes
1903 - 1st Teddy Bear introduced in America, made by Morris & Rose Michtom
1906 - British Labour Party organizes
1918 - 1st WWI US Army troop ship torpedoed & sunk by Germany, off Ireland
1919 - American Legion organizes in Paris
1922 - Marconi begins regular broadcasting transmissions from Essex
1926 - Contract air mail service begins in US
1931 - 1st Dracula movie released
1932 - 3rd Winter Olympics games close at Lake Placid, NY; Australia beat South Africa in cricket by an inn in 5 hours 53 minutes playing time
1933 - President-elect Franklin Roosevelt survives assassination attempt; Karl Radek praises invincible force of German communist party; Social-democratic newspaper "Vorwärts" banned again in Berlin
1936 - Hitler announces building of Volkswagens
1939 - German battleship Bismarck was launched
1942 - Singapore surrenders to the Japanese; German U-boat shells Antillian oil refinery; Japanese troops march into Palembang, South Sumatra
1943 - Women's camp Tamtui on Ambon (Moluccas) hit by allied air raid
1944 - 891 British bombers attack Berlin; Bombing & shooting at Monte Cassino convent Italy, begins
1948 - Mao Zedong's army occupies Yenan
1950 - Walt Disney's "Cinderella" released
1954 - 1st bevatron in operation-Berkeley, CA
1955 - 1st pilot plant to produce man-made diamonds announced
1956 - Urho Kekkonen appointed President of Finland
1957 - Andrei A Gromyko succeeds Dmitri Shepilov as Soviet foreign minister
1958 - Sjafroeddin Prawiranegara forms anti-government of Middle Sumatra
1959 - Antonio Segni forms Italian government
1961 - Entire US figure skating team of 18 dies in Belgian Sabena 707 crash
1965 - Canada replaces the Union Jack flag with the Maple Leaf
1967 - 1st anti-bootleg recording laws enacted; French Diadème 1-D satellite launches into Earth orbit
1970 - Nationalists disrupt UN session on Congo; Dominican DC-9 crashes into sea at Santo Domingo, killing 102
1971 - After 1200 years, Britain abandons 12-shilling system for decimal
1972 - President Velasco Ibarra of Ecuador deposed for 4th time
1973 - USSR launches Prognoz 3 to study sun (589/200,300 km)
1976 - 12th Winter Olympics games close at Innsbruck, Austria
1977 - Social-democrats win Danish parliamentary election
1978 - Escaped mass murderer Ted Bundy recaptured, Pensacola, FL; Zaire revises constitution
1981 - Rocket-powered ice sled attains 399 kph, Lake George, NY
1982 - Ocean Ranger oil-drilling platform lost off Newfoundland, 84 die
1984 - 500,000 Iranian soldiers move into Iraq
1985 - STS 51-E vehicle moves to launch pad
1986 - Ferdinand Marcos wins rigged Philippines presidential election
1989 - Israel attacks border strip Taba near Egypt; Soviet military occupation of Afghánistán ends
1991 - Freighter with dynamite explodes in Phang Nga, Thailand - 120 die
1991 Troy State sets NCAA Division II record with 103 points in 2nd half routing DeVry Institute 187-117
1992 - Jeffrey Dahmer found sane & guilty of killing 15 boys
1993 - Bombings by Mafia drug lords kill 14 in Bogotá, Colombia
1994 - US asks Aristide to adopt a peace plan from Haiti
1995 - Burundi premier Anatole Kanyenkiko, resigns; Population of People's Republic of China hits 1.2 billion

Birthdays
0037 - Claudius Drusus Germanicus Caesar Nero, Emperor of Rome (54-68)
1368 - Sigismund Nürnberg Germany, Holy Roman emperor (1410-37)
1483 - Babur, founder of Mughal dynasty in India (1526-30
1519 - Pedro Menéndez de Aviles, explored Florida - founded St Augustine FL
1650 - Anne Jules, Duke de Noailles marshal of France (Hugenot)
1710 - Louis XV, the Well-Beloved Versailles, King of France (1715-74)
1726 - Abraham Clark, farmer/lawyer, signed Declaration of Independence
1774 - W.G. Frederik, Prince of Orange
1795 - Charles Niellon, Belgian brigade general (10 day campaign)
1797 - Henry Engelhard Steinway, piano maker (Steinway)
1800 - Frederik W. Conrad, Dutch hydraulic engineer/railway pioneer
1803 - John Augustus Sutter, Swiss/US colonist of California gold rush fame (New Helvetia CA, Sutter Mill)
1820 - Susan Brownell Anthony, women's suffragette
1823 - Li Hung-Tshang, Chinese rebel leader/viceroy of Tsheli Canton
1834 - Sir William Preece, English electrical engineer, wireless pioneer
1835 - Alexander Stuart Webb, Union Major General
1845 - Elihu Root, US Secretary of State (1905-09)/Nobel Peace Prize (1912)
1858 - William Pickering Boston, astronomer (9th & 10th moons of Saturn)
1874 - Ernest H. Shackleton, explorer (Endurance, Antarctica)
1890 - Robert Ley German, chemist/MP (NSDAP)
1892 - James Forrestal, banker/minister of Navy
1894 - Oswaldo Aranha, lawyer/statesman (1st President of UN)
1899 - Lillian Disney, Mrs. Walt Disney
1911 - Leonard Woodcock labor leader (UAW)
1918 - Alan Arbus, actor (Dr. Sidney Freedman-MASH)
1923 - Justice Drake, British justice
1927 - William Bentley, diplomat
1929 - James Schlesinger, US Secretary of Defense (1973-75); Countess of Dysart
1932 - Adrian Swire British aircraft magnate (Cathay Pacific)
1935 - John R. Block, US Secretary of Agriculture (1981-86); Roger B. Chaffee, Lieutenant Commander USN/astronaut
1937 - Nicholas Bayne, diplomat
1937 - Terry Everett (Representative-AL)
1938 - Lord Justice Ward, British judge
1944 - Aleksandr A. Serebrov, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-7, T-8, TM-8, TM-17); Tineke Netelenbos, Dutch MP (PvdA)
1946 - Clare Short, British MP; John Greenway, British MP
1950 - Nikolai Sergeivich Grekov, cosmonaut
1953 - Derek Conway, British MP
1954 - Matt Groening, cartoonist (Life in Hell, Simpsons)

Passings
1145 - Lucius II [Gherardo Caccianemici], Italian Pope (1144-45)
1152 - Konrad III, Roman-German King (1138-1152), dies at about 58
1503 - Henry Deane, Archbishop of Canterbury (1501-03)
1568 - Hendrik van Brederode, Dutch noble (Compromise of Nobles), dies at 36
1637 - Ferdinand II, King of Bohemia/Hungary/German Emperor (1619-37), dies at 58
1818 - Charles XIII, King of Sweden (1809-18)/Norway (1814-18), dies at 69
1820 - William Ellery, US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 92
1844 - Henry Addington Lord Sidmouth, British premier (1801-04), dies at 86
1865 - Nicholas Wiseman, 1st Archbishop of Westminster (1850-65)
1928 - Hubert H. Asquith, premier Great-Britain (1908-16), dies at 75
1933 - Anton J. Cermak (Mayor-Chicago), assassinated in Miami
1939 - Henri Jaspar, premier of Belgium (1926-31), dies at 68
1959 - Owen W. Richardson, English physicist (Nobel 1928), dies at 69
1965 - Nat King Cole, singer (Unforgettable, Mona Lisa), dies at 45
1966 - Camillo Torres, Colombian priest/guerrilla fighter, dies
1967 - William C. Bullitt, 1st US ambassador in USSR, dies at 76
1979 - Mehdi Rahimi, Iranian General/military Governor of Tehran, executed
1984 - Leamon Hunt, US director-General in Sinai, killed by communists
1994 - Andrei Tsjikatilo [Rostov Ripper], Russian mass murdered, executed
1995 - Joseph Ortiz, French-Algerian extremist/rebel, dies at 77
1995 - Sahnoun Jawhari, Tunisian Annahda-leader, dies at 40 in jail
1996 - Bruno Ferenc Straub Hungarian statesman, dies
1996 - McLean Stevenson, actor (MASH, Hello Larry), dies at 66
1998 - Martha Gelhorn, female war correspondent, dies at 89

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Mauterer, Oscar, USAF (VA); A1E shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1968
Carpenter, Joe V., USAF (KY); F4D shot down (w/Writer), released August, 1968 - deceased, October, 1982

Writer, Lawrence D., USAF (WA); F4D shot down (w/Carpenter), released by DRV March, 1973 - alive and well as of 1998

1969
Niedecken, William Clinton, USN (TX); A7A shot down

Walsh, Richard A., USAF (MN); A1J shot down

1971
The following US Army personnel reported MIA when their CH47A was shot down. All presumed KIA, body not recovered:
Crear, Willis C. (AL); door gunner

Crone, Donald E. (CA); crewchief

Fivelson, Barry F. (IL); passenger

Leonard, Marvin M. (MI); pilot

Powers, John L. (ID); flight engineer

Taylor, James H. (CA); aircraft commander