Daily Archives: July 24, 2007

Iraq, Keeping the faith, War on Terror

Marine’s Memorial in Michigan Vandalized

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Northern Michigan’s 9&10news.com (CBS TV affiliate) has the story:

“Its the idea that somebody vandalizing something that means so much to so many, I have trouble understanding,” an anguished Linda Fabian said while viewing a memorial to a fallen Marine from Mt. Pleasant, MI, that had been vandalized.

Lest they be forgotten memoria Mt Pleasant MI

When Lance Corporal Justin Ellsworth died in Iraq on November 13, 2004, Fabian got to work making sure Ellsworth and all the troops who put their lives on the line would not be forgotten. Fabian’s own son served two tours in Iraq.

Lance Corporal Justin M. Ellsworth

“It wasn’t about how big it was, it wasn’t about how extraordinary of a monument, its what it meant and what it represented,” Fabian said.

Lest they be forgotten memorial Mt Pleasant MI

Police say someone twisted what it represents. They bent a twenty-foot flagpole, draped that flag on the monument, burned a part of the flag, stole a bronze eagle, and destroyed a lot of the flowers and plants that surround it.

Lest they be forgotten memorial Mt Pleasant MI

“So many kids from around here have been to Iraq, are going to Iraq; they’re protecting the very people that are doing this to our monument,” Fabian said.

Lest they be forgotten memorial Mt Pleasant MI

The Mount Pleasent Police Department is investigating yet, “At this point it’s pretty wide open. We don’t have any suspects or major leads to go on,” a spokesman said. Police hope the community will bring them answers to who did this to their community’s monument.

Lest they be forgotten memorial Mt Pleasant MI

Fabian said the strange thing is, in all the damage that was done, the daisies here are the one thing that survived. They were Justin Ellsworth’s favorite flower. “Justin loved daisies and if you look, they only thing that really survived are Justin’s daisies,” Fabian pointed out.

Lest they be forgotten memorial Mt Pleasant MI

If you would like to donate money to help fix the memorial in Mount Pleasant, there is an account set up at Isabella Bank & Trust under the name Justin Ellsworth.

The memorial in Mount Pleasant was designed by Gregg Garvey, of Florida, as part of the Lest They Be Forgotten memorial effort. Mr. Garvey began his not for profit campaign to create, establish and help maintain hometown remembrances of our men and women who have lost their lives defending the United States of America in our war against terrorism after his own son, Army Sergeant Justin W. “Hobie” Garvey, was killed in an ambush in Iraq on July 20, 2003.

A video report by 9&10 News’ Mona Nair and photojournalist Bridgette Pacholka can be viewed here.

9/11, War on Terror

The 9/11 Generation

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“In the 1960s, history called the Baby Boomers. They didn’t answer the phone.” — Dean Barnett

There is a excellent piece in The Weekly Standard that struck home with me. I went from 7 to 16 during the 1960s and thank God everyday that I wasn’t born a day earlier or more afflicted mentally (with the lone exception of Dr. King’s inspiring life) by that decade’s “progressive” thinking. Mr. Barnett is correct; this generation is Better than the Boomers:

One of the excesses of the 1960s that present-day liberals have disowned and disavowed since 9/11 is the demonization of the American military. While every now and then an unrepentant liberal like Charlie Rangel will appear on cable news and casually accuse U.S. troops of engaging in baby-killing in Iraq, the liberal establishment generally knows better. They “support” the American military — at least in the abstract, until it does anything resembling fighting a war.

In search of a new narrative, 21st-century liberals have settled on the “soldiers are victims” meme. Democratic senators (and the occasional Republican senator who’s facing a tough reelection campaign) routinely pronounce their concern for our “children” in Iraq. One of the reasons John Kerry’s “botched joke” resonated so strongly was that it fit the liberals’ narrative. The Democratic party would have you believe that our soldiers are children or, at best, adults with few options: In short, a callous and mendacious administration has victimized the young, the gullible, and the hopeless, and stuck them in Iraq.

But this narrative is not just insulting to our fighting men and women, it is also grossly inaccurate.

Kurt Schlichter is a lieutenant colonel in the California National Guard. A veteran of the first Gulf war, he’s now stateside and commands the 1-18th Cavalry, 462-man RSTA (Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition) squadron attached to the 40th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. The last media representative he spoke with before I contacted him was a New York Times stringer who wanted Schlichter’s help in tracking down guardsmen who were “having trouble because they got mobilized.”

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