Wednesday Hero – 02/28/07

Sorry this is late! I lost track of the days…again!

This Weeks Soldier Was Requested By Echo9er

Sgt. Maj. Brent “The Rock” Jurgersen
Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th U.S. Cavalry, 1st Infantry Division -
 Active Duty

Not even two near-death encounters deterred Sgt. Maj. Brent Jurgerson’s passion and eagerness to serve his country and lead his troops back home.

Jurgersen celebrated his second “alive day” anniversary January 26, 2007. It was a day of mixed emotions for him because on that same day two years ago he was given a second chance to live. It was a day that changed his life forever. While on patrol in Ad Dyuliah, Iraq, two rocket-propelled grenades struck his Humvee. The explosion killed his gunner and left Jurgersen fighting for his life, flat-lining twice on the operating table in Balad.Afterwards, during a promotion ceremony in August of 2006, Jurgersen was selected for a command sergeant major appointment. Becoming the first full limb amputee student to attend the academy.You can read the rest of Sgt. Maj. Jurgersen’s story here.

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. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by going here.

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Scars

This is a post I wrote about a year ago and I wanted to share it again. It’s a reminder, a nudge, a let’s not forget what happened, a keep going, a don’t give up. It’s a reminder that some things have not changed despite the years and we need to remember that the threat is still there…

     It was a nightmare, a horror we never believed could happen here. So many gone. They were our brothers and our sisters, our neighbors and our friends. They lived just around the corner or thousands of miles away. Their names are carved in our hearts, but their faces are fading from our memories. We never knew them, but we mourned along with their families. There are pictures, there are memorials, but we are forgetting.

     War was declared on America on September 11, 2001 and it is a war that is not over. Why do people keep forgetting that? Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda, Taliban, fanatical Islamists, they all want America destroyed. For a while we were united. We were truly one nation under God. Our sorrow as a nationa pulled us together, determination moved us forward, patriotism kept us strong…for a while. Now, it’s all but gone.

     There are some who still feel it. Some who keep us safe and some who save our lives, everyday. And some of them leave their families for months at a time to keep us free. They start each day with the knowledge that it could very well be their last, but they go anyway. Some go back because they believe. And some don’t see home again.

     What keeps them going? It is love and faith and belief. It is love of family and country. It is faith in themselves, in their abilities and training. It is the belief, the knowledge, that what they do, day in and day out, is necessary. Why do they do it? It started with a dream as a child, a father, a mother, a brother, a sister, a friend who inspired them. It is just what they do. It is what they know. And for some, it is a calling.

     These are our heros. They are police, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs but most especially our men and women in the military. If you ask them why they do it, most will say that it’s their job, it’s what they do, because they can, because they are needed. None would call themselves heroes, but they are because they do the jobs that the rest of us are unable, unwilling or too afraid to do. Despite what some would say, they are keeping us safe and free.

     I am in awe of them, I admire them and their families and I will do what I can to be a help, not a hindrance, because I bear the scars, too. My heart broke that day in September and I will fight in the ways that I can. I will send cards and letters and care packages. I will thank them for keeping my family and I safe, for being there, for fighting and dying for our freedom. I will cry with their families and I will mourn their loss because they are my brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors and I will not forget!

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Who Cares #3

This goes along with my previous post “Obituary for Common Sense” and other previous posts entitled “Who Cares”. It just shows you how idiotic the media is….days and days and days on Anna Nicole, Brittany and such when there are so many other important things going on in the world that affect all of us!

Michael Ramirez

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Wishing It Was…

The Progress of Spring by Charles Daniel Ward

(’cause I’m cold and I’m ready for warm!)

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Obituary for Common Sense

In light of the rampant irrationality going on both east (DC) and west (CA), I thought this was appropriate to post. I’m sure some of you (possibly a lot) have seen this before in an e-mail (I received it from my Dad of course!), but it’s a good reminder anyway.

OBITUARY for COMMON SENSE

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the worm; life isn’t always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies –such as adults, not children, are in charge.

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher
fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job which they themselves failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Tylenol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when a person couldn’t defend himself from a burglar in his own home and the burglar can sue for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by three stepbrothers: I Know My Rights, Someone Else is to Blame, and I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him pass this on, if not join the majority and do nothing.

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Wednesday Hero – 02/21/07

Staff Sgt. Kara Opperman
332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron

Staff Sgt. Kara Opperman performs a quality control check Feb. 13 on fuel coming out of a fill stand at Balad Air Base, Iraq. Sergeant Opperman ensures the fuel is safe and meets Air Force specifications before it is used for aircraft and equipment.

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. If you would like to participate in honoring the brave men and women who serve this great country, you can find out how by going here.

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Neighbors

Here are a couple of my Dad’s neighbors. Aren’t they gorgeous? Although my brother thought they resembled the two old men, Statler and Waldorf, from The Muppet Show. I think he may have something there!

“Where the stars and stripes and the eagle flies…”

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Picnic Anyone?

This is our backyard today. Our poor dog (85 lb. golden retriever named Sadie) has not had much fun time trying to get through this white stuff. She usually doesn’t mind the snow, except when it’s deeper than she is tall!

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Just a Thought

Independence Day was on last night. Yes, it’s a silly movie, but I like it! And as corny as the scene is, I still get a chill when “President Whitmore” gives his speech and this part of it seems a bit significant these days…

“…We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist…”

The radical Islamists would certainly like to annihilate us…

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A Daughter’s Duty

I just read a great story. It’s about a 20-year-old girl who moved back home to take care of her four little sisters while her Mom and step-Dad were deployed to Iraq. It’s another example of the sacrifices made not only on the battlefield, but at home as well.

This is Sgt Gary Smith and his wife Sgt Claudia Hernandez-Smith. They were deployed jointly to Iraq in April. They requested the joint deployment knowing that they younger girls would be taken care of by their oldest sister, Audrey Delgadillo and so that husband and wife would be able to stay together as well.

A picture of her mother and stepfather hangs on the living room’s foyer. He is in his Army regalia, she in a sleek black dress.”I told my mom, ‘Don’t ever feel like you put this on me,’ ” Delgadillo says. “It was my decision, and we knew since she joined the Army that one day she was going to be called.”

That call came last April.

Her mother, an Army Reservist for the last decade, was working with the Census Bureau in Azusa. Her stepfather, a helicopter crew chief, had just returned from more than a yearlong tour in Iraq.

There was never any doubt that Sgt. Hernandez-Smith would answer the call, but her husband also wanted to return for his wife’s first tour of duty. She left that April; he followed three months later.

“We as a family decided that I should go with her to try and help her with being away from the girls,” Smith said. “Plus, I was worried for her safety and wanted to keep an eye out for her.”

These are their girls (left to right) Grace 10, Audrey 20, Emily 3, Ashley 4 and Stephanie 17. It’s been hard on all of them, but Audrey assures her mother that this responsibility wasn’t pushed on her and that she chose to do it. Yes, she is missing time with her fiance and she’s finding that being a parent is a really hard job, but she knows that she is doing the right thing.

The family of sisters sits down for dinner and gathers around the TV to watch an Animal Planet special on wolves. Afterward, Delgadillo coaxes Emily and Ashley into bed, a nightly battle of wills that can last two hours.

The girls say Delgadillo is more lenient than their mother. But if anyone messes up, Iraq is only an e-mail away.

“My mom is still the law in this house,” Delgadillo says.

“She’s just far away. The only difference is that now she does her yelling in all caps.”

Read the full story by Jonathan Abrams: LA Times
Photos by Irfan Khan: Photo Gallery

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