|
MarineParents.com Newsletter
a Place to Connect & Share™
|
|
November 21, 2006
|
Support for you: a Place to Connect Connect & Share™
|
|
|
MarineParents.com Store Links
|
|
|
|
Dear Tracy,
If this is the first edition of the MarineParents.com
Newsletter you have received, WELCOME! If you are
a returning reader we are glad you have joined us.
We thank you for your support and hope that we can
support you.
It seems appropriate that we begin the holiday
season by giving thanks and counting our blessings.
Many of our families have loved ones deployed this
holiday season, others are struggling with combat
recovery, and still others are coping with the
emotions of holidays after the death of a loved one.
Take a moment this holiday season to reach out to
your fellow military families and help one another see
all that we have to be thankful for.
On behalf of the volunteers of MarineParents.com, I
would like to wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving
and a wonderful start to this holiday season. May
your blessings be many and your hearts be full.
National Museum Opening
|
|
The National Museum of the Marine Corps
QUANTICO, Va. — In what seemed like
Mother Nature’s nod to the Corps, the sky above the
National Museum of the Marine Corps was free of
clouds. It was unusual for a November day in
northern Virginia, as the sun heated the area just
outside Quantico to nearly 70 degrees.
Not a bad day to turn 231.
Following a year of construction, the Corps got its
own museum today during a dedication that included
President Bush, every living commandant, Marine-
turned-country-artist Josh Gracin, veterans — and of
course, a whole lot of Marines. The dedication fell on
the Corps’ 231st birthday.
|
Recommended Reading
|
|
We Were One
This book is a first-hand account of the Battle for
Fallujah, Iraq, in November of 2004. The Marines of
Third Battalion, First Marine Regiment (3/1) tell the
story of the battle that ended in thirty-five
casualties, including both wounded and dead.
As the founder of Marine Parents, remembering what
November 2004 was like for our families at home, I
was compelled to read this book. I talked with many
3/1 families on the phone during that month; I heard
their fears, and then listened again when those fears
became a reality. I heard the families tell their
stories, and now I've read the Marines telling their
story. The book is well written and the story is told
well, from the actions in battle to the emotions
afterward. I recommend reading the book not only for
a good understanding of the grit and determination of
our Marines in battle, but because these are the
Marines whose families we know and support. As the
title of the book so aptly states, these Marines are
indeed One; they are our sons, our husbands, our
brothers, our fathers.
|
OPSEC: Operational Security
|
|
Your Role in Keeping Our Marines Safe
Please Maintain Personal and Operational Security
Standards in ALL Environments!
Help keep you, your Marine and our military personnel
safe by not sharing any personal or military
information in email or in any online environment.
Online communities, including those that are "Military"
by design, do NOT have a way to assure that every
member has the same goal of safety and security for
our Marines and military personnel. Knowledge is
power; the enemy does not need to know anything
other than our Military is ready to act and defend. To
help keep you and our military safe, do not share
information except with your family and very close
friends.
|
Sailors & Marines Save Lives
|
|
Surgical company saves lives at Al Asad
AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 31, 2006) -- During the
midst of wartime, most people are more concerned
with the chaos of the bombs and guns in the
conflicts that rage rather than with the scalpel or
suture that reassemble what the former tears apart.
For the sailors and Marines with Charlie Surgical
Company at Al Asad, Iraq, the latter is their only
concern, as it is their job to resuscitate the men and
women who have met with ill fortune on the
battlefield.
"Our main mission here at Al Asad Surgical is to
provide level-two care for all patients who are
brought to us," said Navy Cmdr. Richard P. Sharpe,
Chief of Professional Services officer-in-charge,
Charlie Surgical Company, Combat Logistics Regiment
15, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward). "Level-two
care involves any seriously injured or ill patient and
their surgical management, stabilization and (medical
evacuation)."
|
Devil Dog Chow™
|
|
The cookbook has arrived, shipping has begun!
Devil Dog Chow™ is an amazing collection of
recipes and inspiration. Families and friends from
around the United States have contributed the
favorite recipes of our Marines and recruits, honoring
them in our own small way. Our love for our Marines
and recruits can be found throughout this cookbook
as it is found in our everyday lives.
The cookbook arrived this week. All pre-ordered
books are being packaged for shipping now. If you
had pre-ordered and paid for Devil Dog
Chow™, you can expect it to arrive from 1-
2 weeks depending on the shipping method you
originally selected.
The finely illustrated and professionally finished 3-ring
binder cookbook is a perfect addition to any
collection of cookbooks or Marine Corps memorabilia.
The laminated cover will assure years of use and
show beautifully in any collection.
|
Medal of Honor
|
|
Cpl. Jason L. Dunham
Quantico, VA (Nov. 10, 2006) -- A corporal who died
shielding men in his care from a bursting grenade
deserves America’s highest military decoration,
President Bush has confirmed.
Actions by Cpl. Jason
L. Dunham, who would have turned 25 today, merit
the Medal of Honor, Bush said at the National
Museum of the Marine Corps’ dedication ceremony,
which coincided with the 231st Marine Corps
anniversary.
“And on this special birthday, in the company of his
fellow Marines, I’m proud to announce that our nation
will recognize Cpl. Jason Dunham’s action with
America’s highest decoration for valor, the Medal of
Honor,” Bush said in front of approximately 15,000
people.
|
Gift of Valor
|
|
Read Cpl. Jason Dunham's Story
Michael M. Phillips, author of The Gift of Valor
and a staff reporter for the Wall Street Journal,
has done four tours in Iraq with 3/7, the Third
Battalion, Seventh Marines. The Gift of Valor
is the story of Medal of Honor recipient Jason
Dunham, a 3/7 Marine corporal from upstate New
York, who threw himself on a grenade to save fellow
Marines during a firefight in western Iraq, and of his
long journey home to die in the presence of his grief-
stricken parents.
Mr. Phillips has been involved with MarineParents.com
since his first tour of Iraq with the 3/7. Each time he
returned from Iraq, he shared hundreds of photos
with our families. He was a guest speaker during the
2006 MarineParents.com conference in Houston,
Texas and autographed copies of his books for
families in attendance.
|
Free Holiday Shipping
|
|
We've got the perfect gifts for the Marine Corps
enthusiast in your life. We have framed prints,
unique calendars, coffee mugs, T-shirts and
sweatshirts, bumber stickers, and more! You can
choose from battalion-specific merchandise or our
own unique designs.
*Free Ground Shipping on all orders of
$50 or more from the MarineParents.com Cafe Press
store from November 16 through December 20. Only
applies to orders totaling $50 or more after all other
discounts and coupons have been applied, with a
shipping destination within the United States.
**PLUS! Take $5 off your order! Use the
coupon code ATHENSWINDOW before
November 24th to
receive $5 off your purchase of $20 or more. (To
qualify for free
shipping as well, merchandise total must be $55 or
greater before discount.)
All proceeds from sale of
items go to support the MarineParents.com web site
and projects. MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3)
public charity.
Click here for gift ideas...
|
|
|
We hope this week's edition of our email
newsletter has been useful for you and your family. If
there are topics you would like us to address, or if
you have other suggestions for the newsletter,
please contact us.
Top Photo courtesy of the USMC. Marines and sailors
rush to get a patient from a UH-60 Blackhawk
helicopter into the Shock Trauma Platoon area for
immediate resuscitation at Al Asad, Iraq, Oct. 19.
Having a slogan that names them the "Cheaters of
Death," the Marines and sailors with Charlie Surgical
Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 15, 1st Marine
Logistics Group (Forward), strive to do just that
everyday, as it is their routine job to save people's
lives. Photo by: Cpl. James B. Hoke, 10/19/2006.
MarineParents.com, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public
charity. MarineParents.com, Inc. was founded in
January, 2003 in response to parents' needs to find
information and to Connect & Share™ with one
another during deployments. Our free online services
and connections have expanded to support and
educate Marine moms & dads, spouses, families and
friends and we're now offering the Annual National
Conference in St. Louis, 2007. We've helped over
30,000 Marine and recruit families during bootcamp,
training, active duty and deployments. We've shipped
thousands of care packages overseas to our Marines
in Iraq and Afghanistan and sent thousands of
prayers and letters to injured Marines. You've found
a Place to Connect & Share™.
God Bless and Semper Fidelis,
Tracy Della Vecchia, Founder
MarineParents.com, Inc.
Phone:
573-449-2003
|
|
|