The Littlest Marine: An Update

Littlest Marine Memorial Day 2009

If you look at my “Top Posts” section, you will see that the very top one is Message From A Marine Mom. If you haven’t read this post, I encourage you to read it with kleenex on hand. I have had comments and questions off and on for the three years since I posted it! Needless to say, I have done a little research and found more about Taylor and her endeavors. First I found news from June 2007 on Today’s Moto (scroll down) and another link to her mom’s own blog that chronicles Taylor’s life from 2007 to the present! See what she’s been up to on the blog Proud Young American. I am so thrilled that she is growing and thriving and is still so involved with “her marines”!

Other posts about Taylor:
The Little Marine
The Little Marine Meets Her Men

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Wednesday Hero – 10/28/09

Spc. Justin Slagle

Spc. Justin Slagle returns to Forward Operating Base Lane in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after an air assault mission in the Zabul province of Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009. Even as leaders in Washington struggle with the next steps in Afghanistan, troops there are moving to better protect the Afghan people by separating them from Taliban influence and intimidation.

Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army

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. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

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Wednesday Hero – 10/21/09

Sailors & Marines Playing Volleyball With Local School Children

Sailors and Marines assigned to the amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) play volleyball with students from Sangley Point National High School during a lunch break at a community service project. Tortuga, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49) and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU) are participating in Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) 2009. PHIBLEX is designed to improve interoperability, increase readiness and develop professional relationships between the U.S. military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Photo Courtesy Navy.mil Taken By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Geronimo Aquino

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. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

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Wednesday Hero – 10/14/09

This Week’s Post Was Suggested By Beth

Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp
21 years old from Rosemont, Minnesota
3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
July 18, 2009

Ben Kopp has been a fighter since the day he was born. When he was born his mother was given morphine to stop her labor so the doctors could deliver her via a cesarean section. But it caused his heart rate to slow and when he was born he wasn’t breathing. But he recovered to the amazement of everyone. “Ben has always been up for a challenge,” said his mother, Jill Stephenson. “He came into the world a fighter.”

On July 10, 2009, Cpl. Benjamin Kopp was wounded in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. He was hit in the knee that hit his popliteal artery and the loss of blood caused him to go into cardiac arrest on the operating table at a battalion surgical center. As a result of his injuries, Cpl. Kopp developed swelling in his brain was put into an induced coma to try and save his life. But he died on July 18.

But his service didn’t end with his passing. Upon his death, by his own desire, his organs were donated to people in need saving their lives.

“Please continue to say prayers for all of the men and women who so proudly serve our country,” Stephenson wrote online. “Ben had a deep love of country and has just left a legacy of heroism for all of us to cherish. Be as proud of him as I was as his mother.”

You can read much more about Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp 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. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

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Wednesday Hero – 10/07/09

Sgt. Michael Egan
36 years old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
104th Cavalry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard
September 19, 2005

News of Egan�s death came to Pennsauken shortly after 6 a.m. Tuesday, Krista Egan, Sgt. Egan’s sister-in-law, said. His mother, Irene, was on the telephone when an Army sergeant walked up to the door. “My mother-in-law was talking on the telephone to Mike�s wife, Maria, when he came. Maria had just got the news. The Army sergeant told my mother-in-law it was his first time notifying a family.”

Sgt. Egan served in the Marine Corps for eight years, was a civilian for a year, then joined the National Guard. As a Marine, he had been previously served in Afghanistan.

“He was well-liked by everyone,” Patrick Egan, Sgt. Egan’s brother, said.

Sgt. Michael Egan was killed when an IED detonated near his vehicle while on patrol in Ramadi. Also killed in the attack were Spc. William Evans, 22, of Hallstead, PA, Spc. William Fernandez, 37, of Reading, PA and Lt. Mark Dooley of the Vermont National Guard.

Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com & You Can Read Much More About Sgt. Michael Egan 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. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

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