Support our troops

Help an American soldier and his family

Yesterday, the Dallas Morning News reported a terrible tragedy:

Army Spc. John Austin Johnson seemed to have a gift for evading tragedy.

During two years in Iraq, the soldier from Fort Bliss, in West Texas, survived five improvised explosive device blasts and several grenade attacks.

“A lot of people go through one IED and don’t survive,” said Army Sgt. 1st Class Eugene Schmidt.

But Spc. Johnson’s luck began to turn with the last IED blast, which left him with a traumatic brain injury. Back in Texas for care at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, he was eagerly awaiting a visit by his wife and three children last weekend.

But the children never arrived.

“I went up to his room and told him there was a problem,” said Sgt. Schmidt, an Army medic who has grown close to the family over the last week. “I told him there was an accident and two of his children were deceased.

“He said, ‘Two of my children are dead?’ And we started crying.”

As word of the family’s loss spread, support from the military, businesses and strangers poured in. One anonymous donor provided five burial plots in the veterans’ section of Pinecrest Memorial Park in Alexander, Ark., where Spc. Johnson’s grandfather is buried. Another purchased markers for Logan and Ashley.

American Airlines provided seven roundtrip tickets to the funeral, set for Tuesday in Alexander, Ark., and groups such as Soldiers’ Angels, Warrior & Family Support Center and Operation Provide Comfort took care of hotel accommodations, food and travel expenses between West Texas and Dallas.

“It’s been a pleasure and an honor to help them,” Mrs. White-Brunner said.

The Johnsons have been amazed by the flood of support.

“They’re really overwhelmed with gratitude from everybody,” Sgt. Schmidt said. “They’re very humble people. Everyone’s coming together.”

Michelle Malkin pointed out that:

Donations to help the family cover expenses can be made to the John A. and Monalisa Johnson Fund at any Bank of America.

Specialist Johnson answered the call to duty; now is the time for America to step up.

Soldier taunts MoveOn.org after it bullies Cafe Press

Update — 7:05 a.m., 9/30/07: A comment from the Parsing Poet.

Michelle Malkin writes:

Earlier in the week, the LA Times reported that MoveOn.org, the infamous left-wing thugs who sponsored the “General Betray Us” ads, had unleashed its lawyers on Internet retailer Cafe Press, which allows folks to sell custom-designed t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. The anti-military smear merchants don’t take kindly to be being mocked and satirized on homemade items and knick-knacks.

Here is the logo on the items Parsing Poet was selling on Cafe Press:

Move on MoveOn.org

Cafe Press did not completely fold after MoveOn.org’s lawyers served them cease-and-desist letters demanding that the items with that logo be removed. Parsing Poet wrote Malkin this:

“Cafe Press wonderfully told them about First Amendment Rights. Cafe Press told them to shove off, but went and removed some but not all of my merchandise that had the words XXXX-XX on it. Okay. So there. Well, you have to think with a friend like the left leaning group that paid big bucks to demean a four star general, that the Democrats have conveniently created their own in-house enemy. I decided on my own to shut down my store temporarily, retool, and come up with even more pointed campaign of their hypocrisy. It will support General Petraeus’s reputation, and it will refrain from use of their name, however, they shall be dubbed, ‘the #1 contributor to the Democratic Party THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED.’ So go ahead, have a chuckle. Show the shirt on your blog…show the damned world. In fact, soon this photo will be on a MUG at my store! Tell everyone that a right leaning Democrat got shut out by XXXX-XX because they can’t even take dissent from within their ranks.”

Malkin says, “Spread the word. Parsing Poet is fighting back. Here’s his new shirt for sale (proceeds benefit military families),” so I have:

banned-parsing-poet-t-shirt.jpg

Click on the T-shirt

I took your suggestion, Michelle. I bought the mug.

To MoveOn.org:

I am about to mock you, using your “organization’s” name. If you do not like it, there is an email address in the right-hand column where your lawyers can reach me.

Tim Sumner
co-founder and webmaster
9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America

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