Heroes: Some People You Should Know

Cross-posted at Rosemary's Thoughts. (I have no Trackback over at that site, so I am using this site for my trackbacks. There is a great site which I was introduced to by Big Dog's Blog, and it is excellent. You check it out.)

Here are a couple of Heroes you should really have the privilege of knowing but, unfortunately, I have not quite yet mastered the art Adobe! They are in .pdf files, and here are the files: Defense Link: Heroes, 7/11/07. This link covers only two heroes. I hope this link works, because I could not find any links to match this article except DefenseLink: Heroes, which is the beginning of the search.

I hope you enjoy them. Both of these men deserve every ounce of the medals they were awarded.

Former Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Marcus Luttrell

Surrounded and severely outnumbered in combat, you can either give up or fight to the death. Petty Officer Luttrell and three other SEALs faced that decision in the hills of Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. A SEAL never gives up

The team, which included Lt. Michael Murphy and Petty Officers Matt Axelson and Danny Dietz, had been sent on a covert mission to find and kill a Taliban leader. As the SEALs scoured the area, they encountered three civilians who Luttrell believes alerted Taliban fighters. About an hour later, approximately 80-100 Taliban fighters appeared and began a ferocious assault. As the small team fought back, a Chinook helicopter arrived in support – but was shot down by the enemy, killing all 16 men on board.

The SEALs realized that their odds of survival were slim – but their training and sense of honor told them to take out as many enemies as they could. By the end of a two-hour gunfight that careened through the hills and over cliffs, Murphy, Axelson, and Dietz had fallen. An estimated 35 Taliban were also dead. Luttrell managed to escape the carnage – badly injured – and slowly crawl away down the side of a cliff.

Dehydrated, with a bullet wound to one leg, shrapnel embedded in both legs, three vertebrae cracked; the situation for Luttrell was grim. Rescue helicopters were sent in, but he was too weak and injured to make contact. Traveling seven miles on foot, he eventually reached a village where he was put under “lokhay warkawal,” Afghan for the protection of the villagers, who fed him and cleaned his wounds. In short order, one of the villagers made his way to a Marine outpost with a note from Luttrell, and U.S. forces launched a massive rescue operation that pulled him from enemy territory. To this day, Luttrell remains indebted to the villagers who risked their lives in his defense. As he told The Washington Post, “In the middle of everything evil, in an evil place, you can find goodness. Goodness. I’d even call it godliness.”

Luttrell was the “Lone Survivor” of the events of June 28, 2005. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions.

• Wahington Post
• Army Times
• Houston Chronicle

Okay. So I wanted you to be able to read about them without me messing it up. He is such a remarkable man, although I doubt he will say that about himself. That's one of things that makes him a Hero to me. Just one, though.

Next, we have another brave young man. Here is his story:

Army Reserve Maj. Christopher Matson

One of the most vital missions of the U.S. forces in Iraq is to train and support the Iraqi security forces so that they can defend their own country. Matson was sent to Mosul in April 2006 to work with Iraqi soldiers, most of whom were former “peshmerga,” indigenous Kurdish guerilla fighters. He was part of a specialized task force of ten U.S. soldiers, each with a unique skill set. These training groups, also known as Military Transition Teams (MiTTs), are located throughout Iraq. In Mosul alone, there were 10-15 MiTTs while Matson was there.

Matson served as the operations officer for his team. He knew he needed to develop personal relationships with the Iraqi forces, so he spent a great deal of time in informal settings talking and joking with his Iraqi counterparts. The Kurdish soldiers eventually embraced the training team: not only did they train and work together, but the Kurds came to think of the Americans as family.

Matson and his team lived in a beat-up, bombed-out building in the middle of Mosul, where they and the Iraqis lived together, ate together, and trained together. It was a dangerous setting for sure, but the Iraqis and the Americans faced the danger together. And the constant interaction fostered strong bonds between the two forces – part of a comprehensive strategy to develop and ensure greater leadership on the ground.

Ten days before Major Matson was to return to the U.S., a truck bomb exploded outside of the compound, blowing in the wall of Matson’s room and seriously injuring him. He was knocked unconscious with severe trauma injuries to his head and neck, but his Iraqi counterparts responded swiftly and took him to the nearest medical unit for treatment. Matson attributes his survival to their quick response.

Matson’s injuries were so severe he was unable to return to his unit, which led to his greatest regret: being unable to say goodbye to the Iraqis he had come to call “his brothers.” For his leadership and work in Iraq, Matson received the Bronze Star upon his return from Iraq in May 2007.

• Army Reserve release
• CNN.

Here is a link for you to find who the heroes are in your own neighborhood. This covers all 50 states. Heroes in the War on Terror: 50 States. If you happen to see them, please walk up to them, shake their hand, and thank them for our freedom and their sacrifices. God bless them and you. Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson's Website, Rosemary's Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Jeanette's Celebrity Corner, Big Dog's Weblog, Stuck On Stupid, Cao's Blog, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Conservative Cat, Conservative Thoughts, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate's Cove, Planck's Constant, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Public Eye, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Duncan Hunter on radio with Pundit Review tonight

The Pundit Review Radio program will not be heard from 7-8 pm EST tonight because of sports, but they will be on the air as soon as the game is over. This should be approxiamately 8pm. At 8pm, the guest will be Congressman Duncan Hunter, candidate for president of the United States. Don't miss this opportunity to ask him your most important questions. It will be live streaming from WRKO in Boston. (That just means you can listen through your computer. How cool is that?!)

At 9pm EST, there will be someone to present the "Someone You Should Know" segment. Make sure to stop over and maybe even give them a call of encouragement. Thank you.

PS. For those of you who are new to the site, please tune in 1/2 hour early. You will have to register (free) before you can use the live feed. It may not take you as long it took me. I'm a little clumsy. lol. Thank you.

A Hero's Welcome

Courtesy of ABC.

Pundit Review may go national. Please help us!

I was emailing Gregg Jackson, author of, Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies, about an issue that caught my eye. That is when I found out that the Pundit Review Radio Program may be going national! I am so very happy for them.

In case you do not know of them, they have a talk radio show and a website. What they do with their talk radio show is invite bloggers on to discuss their blogs, current events and to give a different point of view than we get from the Washington talking heads. That's right. We are given the opportunity to express our own minds, and it is very refresshing.

Their website is Pundit Review, and their radio program which is on Sunday evenings, 7-10pm EST, at station WRKO. They would be delighted to hear from you. The toll free number to call in is 877-469-4322. Thank you, and have a great weekend. :)

Marine Corps Res Cpl. Mark A. Camp: Someone You Should Know

This article brings pride and tears to all patriots. You have heard of many people in battle and many of them dieing. Captain Camp made it home alive, but not all of them.

In May of 2005, Marines stationed in Anbar province began a week-long hunt to root out insurgents and foreign fighters in the volatile areas around the Syrian border. Dubbed Operation Matador, those tasked with carrying out the mission encountered enemies who had dug in and were ready to fight: deadly roadside bombs, sniper attacks, and several well-planned ambushes.

One day after the operation began, then-Lance Cpl. Camp and his company were sent to New Ubaydi on a house-clearing mission. As Camp’s squad entered one of the houses, insurgents hiding in a closet and in an underground crawlspace opened fire, shooting four Marines. Camp, outside, heard the gunfight and immediately ran inside to help. Three separate times he entered and exited the building to recover his squad members and clear the house of insurgents. [Here is an article written about the ambush, and here is an article written about their Silver Stars.]

It is good to be surrounded with heroes. Lord, please watch over the ones who are still living, comfort the loved ones of the ones whom have gone home, and protect the ones that are still out in the field. Thank you.

Army Reserve Maj. Derek P. Bonaldo

Many people who are not in the Armed Forces find it difficult to understand why anyone in their right mind would choose to sign up for Iraq in the middle of a war, but Maj. Bonaldo will shed a little light on it for them.

...For Maj. Bonaldo, it was a question of duty and service: “I volunteered to go in part because I had never deployed before . . . I felt that I needed to step up . . . [and] I felt I could make a difference.” For the fledgling Iraqi police force he helped, his contributions were invaluable. [Continue reading.]

It was on May 1, 2006, that Maj. Bonaldo found himself in first fire fight. He had been training Iraqi Police officers when the fit hit the shan. (He's fine.)

He is a 14 year veteran. He did not have to go to Iraq. It was not required of him, but he has a sense of duty that is admirable. He went to train the Iraqi Police to stand on their own so our men may come home.

[...]In the U.S., even before a soldier gets to his first unit, they still have much more experience, he said. Our boot camps are much more strenuous and they get a lot more done than in the Iraqi boot camps. A lot of times, (national police recruits) are not moving at the pace that a U.S. commander is used to.

But American troops efforts are slowly paying off, Bonaldo said.

Were they making progress? Yeah, he said. But you know how the American people are. They want results quickly. Its a slow process ... too slow for most people. The guys I was working with need at least one year. [Continue reading.]

Once home, Maj. Bonaldo took off some time to be with his wife and children. Bonaldo and his unit returned to the U.S. last month as decorated veterans. God was watching over them, because all of the people with him and under him came home alive.

At least 11 were awarded Bronze Stars for acts of merit or bravery, while six of them received Army Commendation Medals with the Valor attachment. There was one hero who received a Purple Heart. "Nobody died and we did what we were supposed to do, he said."

Yes, you did, and I personally thank you. Welcome home, and congratulations!

Master Sgt. Brinda Kupiec, Someone You Should Know

This is a remarkable woman. She had quit her job to be with her husband for his last few years on earth, and now she is at a crossroads. Without him around anymore, the home feels rather empty and lonely. Being in Iraq has given focus and meaning to her life.

Deployment Provides Direction, Focus
By Sgt. Alexandra Hemmerly-Brown
13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary).

LOGISTICS SUPPORT AREA ANACONDA, Iraq, May 14, 2007 — Two years ago, a wife sat by her husband’s side, comforting him. The woman had quit her job as a school teacher several years earlier to help her ailing spouse through two bouts of cancer. And then the woman, an Army Reserve soldier lost her spouse of 35 years. [Continue reading.]

I pray she finds the comfort that only God can give, and I know she is giving much comfort to others. If only we could all be like that...

Heroes in the Global War on Terror

Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Jason Taggart and Former Kentucky National Guard Spc. Ashley Pullen each received a Bronze Star with Combat "V". CPO Taggart received his for commanding two of the first personnel security detachment teams in Iraq, and NG Spc Pullen received her's for helping stave off a large insurgent ambush on her convoy in Iraq. Read more about this and others at MNF-Iraq and USA Today. They are both amazing!

Thank you for your service and keeping us safer and free. Welcome home Spc. Ashley. Welcome home (when you get here) Chief Petty Officer Jason Taggart.

Source: Heroes in the War on Terror.