Open Invitation

By MG Paul E. Vallely US Army (Ret.), The 2010 Medal of Honor Convention Advisory Council Member

I would like to personally invite you to attend The Medal of Honor Convention September 29-October 3, 2010 to be held in Charleston, South Carolina.

The South Carolina State Guard Foundation and The Citadel are hosting the 2010 Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Convention.

The South Carolina Guard Symbol

The Citadel

This will be a celebration honoring the 91 living recipients of our nation’s highest award for bravery in combat – The Medal of Honor.

The convention executive committee needs you – those who truly appreciate and support our greatest national treasure, our living recipients of the Medal and the men and women in uniform, serving worldwide, whom those recipients support – to partner with us. We have numerous sponsorship opportunities available at all levels. And donations in support of the convention may be made by visiting our Donations page.

Additionally, the S.C. Department of Education will endorse a statewide campaign in the state’s schools to focus on the Medal of Honor and to sponsor a state-wide essay contest for middle and high school students. This is a non-political event. The Congressional Medal of Honor Society places great interest on promoting patriotism and encouraging the youth of America to become worthy citizens.

The S.C. Department of Education endorses this celebration and encourages social studies, history and civic teachers and JROTC commanders to include a classroom activity highlighting our state’s Medal of Honor recipients and the meaning of the Medal of Honor. Classroom presentations, activities, and discussions about the Medal of Honor and its significance will support the Department’s Curriculum and Standards.

The Medal of Honor Society was chartered as a not-for-profit organization by the 85th Congress under a legislative act signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 14 August 1958. Membership in the Society is restricted to recipients of America’s highest award for valor in combat, the Medal of Honor. Society Members are joined together by a common bond of dedication to the protection, preservation of the dignity, honor and name of the Medal of Honor; service to the nation and citizens, and the promotion of allegiance to the Constitution of the United States. Members strive to foster patriotism and to inspire and encourage the youth of America to become worthy citizens.

While speaking regularly to young people in schools, community service organizations, business groups, and many others about moral strength, patriotism, service to others, leadership and good citizenship, the recipients of the Medal of Honor continue to serve their nation during peace as they did in war by promoting and following ideals embodied in this prestigious Medal.

Sincerely,

Paul E. Vallely MG, US Army (Ret)

Chairman, Stand Up America US

The 2010 Medal of Honor Convention Advisory Council Member

What is Memorial Day?

By Paul and Marian Vallely

Memorial Day is a great and wonderful way to remember our patriotic heroes who sacrificed their lives to help us breathe the air of freedom. This day is observed with families and friends visiting cemeteries and memorials to pay homage to their loved and forgotten ones.

“Your silent tents of green

We deck with fragrant flowers;

Yours has the suffering been,

The memory shall be ours.”

–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Memorial Day was first celebrated on May 30, 1868. It was observed by placing flowers on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers during the first national celebration. Gen. James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which around 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers who were buried there.

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. This date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

The alternative name of “Memorial Day” was first used in 1882. It did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The holidays included Washington’s Birthday, now celebrated as Presidents’ Day; Veterans Day and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.

“Red Poppies are a tradition inspired by a poem in 1915 “In Flanders Fields,” Moina Michael replied with her own poem.

We cherish too, the Poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led,

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies.

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance of those who have died serving our country. I tear at the sound of “Taps” played at ceremonies on Memorial Day. We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them. Francis A. Walker.

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It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN, not the politician, Who has given us the right to vote.

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I will tear up as well. We will be with our son, Scott, at his gravesite in Bigfork, Montana in memory of his service to our country. Have a fun, safe, and memorable Memorial Day weekend! God Bless America and our great United States.

MARINE SGT. KENNETH B. MAY, JR. 4/20/1984 – 5/11/2010

The Soldiers Memorial Fund once again must announce the passing of one of our brave warriors. Please join us in our prayers and condolences to his family, friends, fellow soldiers, and patriots. May he never be forgotten for his ultimate sacrifice, and his honorable duty to his country. In the pantheons of the military, he will never be forgotten. Rest in peace Kenneth!

Funeral services for Sgt Kenneth B. May, Jr. 26, of Kilgore, will be 2PM, Friday, May 21, 2010 at the First Baptist Church of Kilgore with Reverends John Gradberg, and Mike Brook officiating. Interment will follow at Danville Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Rader Funeral Home of Kilgore. Mr. May was killed in action in Helmand province, Afghanistan serving his second enlistment and third deployment with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Division, 1st Expeditionary.

Kenneth Blaine May, Jr. was born in Kilgore at Laird Memorial Hospital on April 20, 1984. He was a 2002 graduate of Kilgore High School and attended Kilgore College. Kenneth was an accomplished guitarist and enjoyed all types of music. Other interests include gaming and firearms. Kenneth was a Christian man first and foremost and very involved and active with the Saddleback Church in San Clemente, Ca. near where the family was stationed at Camp Pendleton. He leaves behind a legacy of being a loving husband, son, and dear friend. Kenneth will be remembered stating, “The Warrior, whose sole reason for existence is War, is the seeker of Peace.”

Survivors include his wife, Krystal Barton of Kilgore, parents, Kenneth and Karen Pool May of Kilgore, Mother and Father in Law, Rev. Glen and Wilma Barton of Kilgore, one sister Kalynne R. May of Kilgore, Grandfathers, John A. May and Edward O. Pool both of Kilgore. Uncles and Aunts, Mike and Frances Pool of Rice, Tim and Deanna May of North Port, Florida; Uncles Greg Pool of Rice, and John Pool of Kilgore. Other survivors include his cousins, Dexter and Amber May of Florida. Kenneth was preceded in death by grandmothers, Daisy Goodman May, and Marilyn Bickford Mace, and Cousin Brandon May.

Visitation will be six to eight, Thursday, May 20, 2010 at the funeral home. Donations may be made to the memorial fund set up at Kilgore’s Austin Bank in Kenneth’s name.

Please leave online condolences

ICasualties

NPR

A Taliban suicide bomber killed six NATO troops, including five Americans, after ramming an explosives-packed car into a convoy in Afghanistan’s capital Tuesday.

Twelve Afghan civilians, including women and children, also died in the blast. Most of the victims were on a public bus along a main thoroughfare leading into Kabul.

The attack was the deadliest for NATO troops in the capital since September, when six Italian soldiers were killed by a car bomb. The bomber carried out the assault despite efforts by Afghan authorities to bolster security in Kabul.

The blast wrecked nearly 20 vehicles, including five SUVs in the NATO convoy, and scattered debris and body parts across the wide boulevard. The body of a woman in a burqa was smashed against the window of the bus.

U.S. troops and Afghan police cordoned off the wrecked vehicles at the blast site as emergency workers placed the dead into body bags and lifted them into ambulances.

NPR’s Quil Lawrence reported from Kabul that Afghan police said the attacker’s car, which reportedly carried more than a thousand pounds of explosives, swerved from oncoming traffic into the lead vehicles in the convoy en route to a base in Western Kabul.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast that appeared to be part of a campaign to bring insurgent violence – which has long plagued the countryside – into the capital. NATO is preparing for a major offensive in the southern province of Kandahar, a major Taliban stronghold.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press in a phone call from an undisclosed location that the bomber was a man from Kabul and his car was packed with 1,650 pounds of explosives. The target of the attack was the foreign convoy, Mujahid said.

NATO confirmed that six service members were killed in the attack, and U.S. forces spokesman Col. Wayne Shanks confirmed that five of them were American. The nationality of the sixth NATO soldier was not immediately disclosed.

NATO spokesman Brig. Gen. Josef Blotz said in a statement that the attack “will not deter us from our mission of securing a better future for this country.”

News of the attack reached Afghan President Hamid Karzai as he was holding a news conference to discuss his recent trip to Washington, D.C., where he met with President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“I condemn this attack on strongest terms and hope that Afghanistan one day gets rid of this,” Karzai said.

NATO said five of its vehicles were damaged, along with more than a dozen civilian vehicles. There were no obvious military vehicles among the wreckage, but NATO troops often travel in unmarked SUVs in the capital.

DOD

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Cpl. Nicholas D. Paradarodriguez, 29, of Stafford, Va., died May 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Those of us at the Soldiers Memorial Fund extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of Cpl. Paradarodriguez. May he rest in peace knowing that he gave the ultimate sacrifice to his country. May he never be forgotten in the pantheons of our history and our nation.

“He which hath no stomach to this fight let him depart. But we in it shall be remembered. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers!! For he today, that sheds his blood with me, shall always be my brother”. Rest in peace my Brothers, you have not been forgotten. (W.Shakespeare)