The ROK government has invited our Grandchildren to Korea for a FREE tour
July 16 – 26, 2010. Included will be tours, educational experiences,
historical exhibits and visits to Korean industry. This is part of their
60th Anniversary Commemoration Program.

The tour is filling fast so please read the attachment, pull up the
registration form and Email, Mail or Fax it back to us ASAP. Only
twenty-five(25) are authorized and the
tour is filling fast! Korea will also pay fifty (50) percent of the airfare
from any US city! An experienced US School Teacher will accompany our
children. Canada tested this last year and were VERY SATISFIED with the
program. For more information, you can call 800-722-9501 or 703-590-1295.
However, please read the attached first, it contains all of the details.
Click here to download a PDF brochure.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Warren Wiedhahn – Coordinator
KWVA Revisit Korea Program
Military Historical Tours
13198 Centerpointe Way, Ste 202
Woodbridge, VA 22193-5285

Korea Veteran -
1950

Van Nuys, CA. (June 17, 2010) – Operation Gratitude and BJ’s Wholesale announced today that they collected 108,816 letters for deployed troops during May in honor of Military Appreciation Month. The letters will be included in Operation Gratitude Care Packages to be shipped to individual U.S. Service Members in 2010. BJ’s Charitable Foundation will also donate $50,000 to the nonprofit to help defray the cost of shipping care packages.

“BJ’s Wholesale Club is extremely proud of the tremendous response from our club members, team members and Operation Gratitude, who together collected more than 100,000 letters,” said Laura Sen, President and CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club. “We are deeply pleased that so many U.S. Service Members will receive personal letters showing our sincere thanks and admiration.”
General Manager Bill Sikora of the BJ’s in Boynton Beach, FL, Operation Gratitude President and Founder Carolyn Blashek and Volunteer Anne Holland of Atlanta, Georgia add their own greetings to May’s Military Appreciation Month Letter Writing Campaign.

BJ’s challenged the communities in which it has clubs to write personal letters for deployed troops throughout May. BJ’s Members, Team Members and local community organizations collected 71,031 letters and Operation Gratitude volunteers in Southern California contributed another 37,785. Letters were dropped in the Operation Gratitude mailbox at any BJ’s Club, submitted online via BJ’s Facebook page or mailed directly to the nonprofit. BJ’s Charitable Foundation additionally pledged to donate $1 for every letter received, up to $50,000, for Operation Gratitude.

Sikora and Blashek wheel out the last collection of letters from May’s Military Appreciation Month Letter Writing Campaign

“This is the largest collection of letters we have ever received at one time! Every Care Package that we send for the rest of the year will have at least two letters from the BJ’s Letter Writing campaign,” said Carolyn Blashek, Founder and President of Operation Gratitude. “We are grateful for the support from BJ’s Wholesale Club, its local communities, their members and our volunteers. U.S. Service Members who receive our care packages tell me that they cherish personal letters and keep them close to their hearts – both in combat and when they return home. These personal letters will lift morale and put many smiles on the faces of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deployed in harm’s way.”

About Operation Gratitude
Operation Gratitude (www.OperationGratitude.com) is the 501 (c) (3) non-profit, volunteer-based organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individual U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions. Our mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member’s face and express to our Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people. Each package contains donated product valued at ~$125 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship. Since its inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude has shipped more than 550,000 packages to American Military deployed overseas.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club
BJ’s is dedicated to providing members with high-quality, brand-name food and merchandise at prices that are significantly lower than supermarkets, supercenters, department stores, drug stores and specialty retail stores. BJ’s carries the most product variety of any wholesale club with more than 7,000 items, including supermarket-sized staples, USDA Choice meats and stock-up items. BJ’s is the only wholesale club to accept all manufacturers’ coupons and for greater convenience, offers the most payment options including EBT.

Headquartered in Natick, Massachusetts, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. is a leading operator of warehouse clubs in the eastern United States. The Company currently operates 189 clubs and 105 gas stations in 15 eastern states. Learn more and shop online at BJs.com or for exclusive content visit Facebook.com/bjswholesaleclub and Twitter.com/bjswholesale.

About BJ’s Charitable Foundation
BJ’s Charitable Foundation was established with the mission to enrich every community BJ’s Wholesale Clubs serve. The Foundation supports nonprofit organizations that primarily benefit the underprivileged in the area of basic needs (hunger prevention, self sufficiency, education and health). For more information about BJ’s Charitable Foundation please visit, www.bjs.com/charity.

Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq – Birthdays are a guarantee in life; however, it is how they are celebrated that makes them memorable. More than 200 Soldiers from Task Force Marne celebrated the Army’s 235th birthday at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, June 13, with a trip through the Army’s history.
While the Army’s official birthday is June 14, the decision was made to hold the celebration a day early due to significant events happening in Iraq.
“Now you might be sitting there thinking, ‘But sir, you’re a day early, tomorrow is the Army’s Birthday,’” and you’d be right,” said Maj. Gen. Tony Cucolo, commanding general of TF Marne and 3rd Infantry Division. “I scheduled it today because tomorrow is a special day for Iraq, a day in which you all can take personal, quiet pride. Tomorrow is the first seating of the newly elected council of representatives.”
As Iraq makes history, TF Marne recognized its service to the world.
To commemorate the rich past of the United States’ oldest fighting force, Soldiers from the Task Force Marne G-6, or communications section, and the Division Special Troops Battalion color guard attached 178 campaign streamers to the Army flag, while a brief history of each conflict was given.
The streamers, earned for participation in the campaigns, were broken down into 20 groups based on the major conflict they were part of; from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to the World Wars and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
To emphasize the history behind the streamers, four Soldiers were dressed in World War I, World War II, Korean War and modern combat uniforms. These Soldiers placed the main sets of streamers from the time period they represented.
“Those streamers hung today and those uniforms represented here from World War I forward show how after a hundred-plus years of being the most free nation on Earth, as the 20th century dawned, we could not stand by and let others be slaves to tyranny or oppression,” expressed Maj. Gen. Cucolo.
“Each streamer represents hundreds if not thousands of lives lost, more Americans, just like you, who left their homes and the United States saying, ‘I will not stand by and let this happen. I am one more American since those who came forward in 1775 who will fight to make things right.’”
Following the streamer presentation, the youngest and oldest Soldiers from TF Marne cut the Army’s birthday cake. Alongside Maj. Gen Cucolo and Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse Andrews, the TF Marne command sergeant major were Chief Warrant Officer 5 Ray Noble, the senior maintenance officer for the task force, from Savannah, Ga., and Pfc. Deonne Dore, an intelligence Soldier from G-2 and a native of Miami.
The cake cutting portion of the ceremony is an important part of the ceremony because it represents experienced Soldiers passing on history to younger troops.
“We are celebrating our traditions, what makes us special and different,” Maj. Gen. Cucolo said. “We are celebrating the self-sacrifice of others over the last 235 years. All 178 battle streamers on the Army colors represent the lives lost and the willingness again to go above and beyond for others. We must pass this tradition on.”
With the formal birthday ceremony complete, all attendees were invited to take part in festivities outside that included a barbecue and live music from, Sasquatch, the TF Marne rock band.
“I would say everything has gone very well,” stated Capt. Charles Gaines-Hager, the TF Marne G-6 network operations battle captain, from Gainesville, Fla. “Throughout the event I have counted over 200 attendees. This is a great turnout.”
Soldiers showed their support and dedication to their service and were able to enjoy some of the comforts of home. The celebration also coincided with the division’s 235th day in Iraq for this deployment.
“This felt a lot like being at home,” said Spc. Paul Vendt, an intelligence analyst with the TF Marne G-2 and a native of St. Louis, Mo. “Obviously, at home everyone is not wearing the same thing or carrying a weapon, but you can still close your eyes taste the barbecue, listen to the music and it’s almost like home. It’s great for morale.”

[caption id="attachment_3731" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Live RPG removed from soldier Spc. Channing Moss was hit by a live rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan. For medics there was only one choice."][/caption]The story is about Channing Moss, who was impaled by a live RPG during a Taliban ambush while on patrol.
Army protocol says that medivac choppers are never to carry anyone with a live round in him. Even though they feared it could explode, the flight crew said damn the protocol and flew him to the nearest aid station. Again, protocol said that in such a case the patient is to be put in a sandbagged area away from the surgical unit, given a shot of morphine and left to wait (and die) until others are treated.
Again, the medical team ignored the protocol. Here’s a short video put together by the Military Times, which includes actual footage of the surgery where Dr. John Oh, a Korean immigrant who became a naturalized citizen and went to West Point, removed the live round with the help of volunteers and a member of the EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) team.
Moss has undergone six operations but is doing well at home in Gainesville, GA. CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO. I think you’ll find the video absolutely remarkable.

Robert Thompson Jr, US Army, VietNam War

Rob was a gentle passionate man. He was member of the 2nd Bn, 503rf Infantry, 173rd Airborne. He entered Nam on 1-18-67 and was killed 4-08-67 by a grenade, multiple fragmentation wounds. He died instantly. I’m greatful that he didn’t suffer but I know he was scared. You’d have to be nuts to not be. But he went on with his duty, his word, his honor.
He was the sweetest person I knew and my first love.I miss him and have for the last 50 years. I got to go on with my life but his was cut so short. He was 23. I’ll see you one of these days Rob.

Anne Marie Thompson

My cousin was KIA October 1, 2009 while leading his comrades, he was struck by an IED….
He remains forever in our hearts and will be forever our Hero among heroes.
RLTW (Rangers lead the way) on Earth and in Heaven!!!! I love and miss him dearly, his whole family does… He will be honored by Nancy Grace @ 8pm June 11th…. until we meet again Rob….
Tonya Battles

[caption id="attachment_3725" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Specialist Carolina Ruiz, a behavioral health specialist with the 85th Combat Stress Clinic, and Sgt. 1st Class Albert, the CSC’s therapy dog, pose for a photo between patients. Specialist Ruiz is one of Sgt. 1st Class Albert’s primary handlers, and often has him in the office while she is seeing patients. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Johnathon Jobson, TF Marne Public Affairs.)"][/caption]U. S. Division-North Public Affairs Office
Sgt. Johnathon Jobson, TF Marne Public Affairs

Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq – Whether personal or work related, everyone deals with stress during deployments. The 85th Combat Stress Clinic’s mission is to help Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines deal with this stress and keep their “mental edge.”
While the 85th CSC provides standard counseling services, they also have some more nonconventional therapy approaches, namely Sgt. 1st Class Albert.
Sergeant First Class Albert is not a normal noncommissioned officer; he walks on four legs and has a wet nose. Sergeant First Class Albert is a 3 year-old golden Labrador retriever, and is the 85th CSC’s therapy dog.
Together with his handlers, primarily Pfc. Carolina Ruiz and Spc. Andre Mailhot, both behavioral health specialists with the 85th CSC, Sgt. 1st Class Albert helps alleviate stress felt by servicemembers within U.S. Division – North.
“He is here for stress therapy,” said Pfc. Ruiz, a Victoria, Texas, native. “He has had a great turnout that I can see. People will come in just to see him, not even making an appointment to see a specialist.”
While Spc. Mailhot, who is a native of Running Springs, Calif., and Pfc. Ruiz are the main people who work with Sgt. 1st Class Albert, they are not the only ones. He goes out on missions with many different members of the 85th Combat Stress Clinic.
As Sgt. 1st Class Albert is in the middle of the second of his back-to-back tours in Iraq, he spends most of his time at the clinic, either roaming around the building soaking up all of the attention he can get or sitting in on therapy sessions with Pfc. Ruiz.
“He often just lies down in the office next to a patient I am working with,” Pfc. Ruiz explained. “The patients will just sit and pet him while they are talking to me.”
Sergeant First Class Albert also goes out on missions around Contingency Operating Base Speicher and to other bases within USD-N. He even has his own ear and eye protection and boots for travel by helicopter.
“We take him with us when we go out to assess units,” said Spc. Mailhot. “Sometimes a unit will request that we bring him to their location, other times we just take him with us anyway. We also regularly take him to the combat support hospital to visit with patients there.
“While we are visiting units, we will tell Sgt. 1st Class Albert to ‘make friends.’ At this command he will roam around the room and visit with everyone. With many people you can visibly see them become more at ease and less stressed.”
Even though Sgt. 1st Class Albert’s primary mission is to help alleviate stress, he is also part of a larger mission. He is part of a study being conducted by Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
“The study is being headed by the Occupational Therapy branch at Walter Reed and it focuses on the effectiveness of animal assisted therapy,” explained Staff Sgt. Darius Cox, the noncommissioned officer in charge for the 85th CSC and a Nyack, N.Y., native. “When I was here two years ago they had the first two therapy dogs here, and since then they have continued the research to decide whether or not to continue the program and possibly increase the number of therapy dogs in theater.”

, US ARMY, OPeration Iraqi Freedome

My little brother was killed in mousil iraq 5-29-09 after an explocive device struck his vehicle,he was not only my little brother but my fater figure even though he was younger i always looked up to him and was very proud of all hed accomplished,He was only 20 years old,some people dont understand how hard it is to be opver sead doing whst i concider to be the hardest job in the world.we should thank them everynight before we go to bed so that we may sleep in the land ofthe free RIP lil bro you will always be in my heart and you will be forever missed.

June 7, 2010 LOS ANGELES – Carolyn Blashek, founder of Operation Gratitude, the military support organization that sends care packages to deployed troops, is among five recipients of the Minerva Award, honoring women “who serve on the front-lines of humanity,” California’s First Lady announced on Good Morning America last week. Blashek was selected for the award along with Oprah Winfrey and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Maria Shriver will personally present the honorees with their awards on Oct. 26, 2010 at a special ceremony during the afternoon session of The Women’s Conference at the Long Beach Convention Center. Tickets for the event go on sale at 9am PST on June 23.

The other honorees are:
~Oral Lee Brown, founder of the Oral Lee Brown Foundation, which provides educational assistance and financial scholarships to school children.

~Sister Terry Dodge, executive director of Crossroads Inc., which provides transitional housing, education, career and counseling services and support to women released from prison.

~Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman Associate Supreme Court Justice, and founder of Ourcourts.org, a web-based education program designed to teach students civics and inspire them to become active participants in our democracy.

~Oprah Winfrey, founder of the Oprah Angel Network and the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

“This year’s Minerva Award honorees are women who live with a deep sense of purpose and who are passionately dedicated to serving others,” Shriver said. “These Minervas all identified problems and unmet needs in their communities and have worked tirelessly to solve them,” she said. “By honoring them, we hope to inspire others to be ‘Architects of Change’ just like them.”

“I am honored to be in the company of so many extraordinary women who have received the Minerva,” said Blashek. “I am particularly grateful for this award because it is a public acknowledgment of the many great Americans who participate in Operation Gratitude, and a thoughtful tribute to our courageous Military heroes who inspire all of us” she added.

Named for the Roman goddess Minerva who graces the California State Seal, the awards were founded by Shriver in 2004 to “honor remarkable women who, in the spirit of Minerva, changed California and the nation with their courage, wisdom and strength.”

Minerva Award winners receive $25,000 grants from the conference to further their work.

Shriver is joined again this year by Target, which is partnering with The Women’s Conference to present The Minerva Awards ceremony for the seventh consecutive year.

“Target is proud to continue its support of the Minerva Awards and celebrate the contributions of these five amazing women,” said Laysha Ward, President, Community Relations, Target. “By honoring their outstanding accomplishments and sharing their stories, we hope to instill a passion of life-long learning and empower all women to be strong and dynamic leaders.”

For the second straight year, The Women’s Conference invited the public to participate in its Minerva Award research through an online recommendation process via its Web site. This year’s honorees were selected from a pool of more than 1,000 candidates, 200 of whom originated from the online recommendation process. The pool of candidates was vetted and narrowed down by a conference research team. Shriver then selected the honorees from a list of 20 finalists.

Past Minerva Award recipients have included former First Lady Betty Ford (’05), Dr. Jane Goodall (’09), Billie Jean King (’08), Dr. Sally Ride (’06), Eunice Kennedy Shriver (’07), and Gloria Steinem (’08).
About Operation Gratitude
Operation Gratitude (www.OperationGratitude.com ) is the 501 (c) (3) non-profit, volunteer-based organization that annually sends 100,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment items and personal letters of appreciation addressed to individual U.S. Service Members deployed in hostile regions. Our mission is to lift morale, bring a smile to a service member’s face and express to all Armed Forces the appreciation and support of the American people. Each package contains donated product valued at ~$125 and costs the organization $15 to assemble and ship. Since it’s inception in 2003, Operation Gratitude has sent more than 550,000 care packages to American Military overseas.
About The Women’s Conference
The Mission of The Women’s Conference Organization is to create Architects of Change® – people from all walks of life who see a problem and seek to create the solution, be it in their home, their community, their state or our world. Led California First Lady Maria Shriver, The Women’s Conference has created a global community of Architects of Change who gather every year at the nation’s premier forum for women in Long Beach, CA. More than 30,000 women attend the two-day nonpartisan conference and many thousands more watch the event live online. Women’s Conference.org – the Home for Architects of Change – has become a thriving online community of more than one million women who visit the site to be empowered with daily editorial and video content, inspirational conversations and stories, and life-changing tips, tools and resources. For more information about The Women’s Conference, visit: http://www.womensconference.org.
About Target
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) serves guests at 1,740 stores in 49 states nationwide and at Target.com. Target is committed to providing a fun and convenient shopping experience with access to unique and highly differentiated products at affordable prices. Since 1946, the corporation has given 5 percent of its income through community grants and programs like Take Charge of Education. Today, that giving equals more than $3 million a week.

Michael D. Scholl, USMC, Operation Iraqi Freedom

Michael was killed in action on 11/14/06. He loved being a Marine and loved his family and his Marine family. He loved everyone and I don’t think he was ever cross with anyone. He left behind a wife and daughter, parents, a brother and two sisters. He joined up withi his two other brothers in heaven. God bless Michael and the USA. Thank you Jesus for blessing us with Michael. We miss him but we know he is in a better place! And we see him again!!
Donna Scholl