Welcome to "Talking Proud," Service & Sacrifice

My name is Ed Marek, and I am the producer and editor of this web site. "Talking Proud" honors service and sacrifice. It also highlights what is good about America and Americans, the foundations upon which this nation was built, her heritage, and the reasons for America's successes. The site also publishes similar articles about Canada and Canadians. Feel free to send me a note via the "Letters" link. I hope you enjoy this site. It's got some great information and marvelous photography. Whatever you do: Talk Proud, Be proud.

By the way, I operate another web site called "Wisconsin Central," about the people, the land and the culture. You might enjoy it.

Ed Marek, editor

A brief anatomy of fighting a fire --- insights to the complexities involved

It’s not often that people like us get a blow by blow description of firefighters working against a tough fire. William Goldfeder, reporting for the October 2009 edition of Firehouse, gives us some terrific insight, using an arsonist-initiated home fire in San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood as his example. As a former military man, I am impressed by the high degree of command and control that occurred during this fire. I am also impressed by the complexities associated with fighting a fire like this. November 19, 2009. Go to story.

America lost a Marine today --- Miriam Cohen, age 101

Miriam Cohen, 101, the oldest living female Marine, died on November 11, 2009 and was laid to rest on November 17, 2009 in Cypress Hills National Cemetery in Brooklyn. She was born on December 13, 1907. She joined the Marine Corps in Brooklyn in March 1943 and would serve for 10 years through the Korean War. She returned to civil service upon her discharge. She served as a volunteer at the veterans' hospital in Brooklyn and, after she moved to Tucson in 2000, served at its vets' hospital there. She was an active member of the Women's Marine Association.

Once a Marine, always a Marine. No such thing as an "ex Marine." God Bless you Miriam Cohen, USMC. Rest in Peace Marine. Rest in Peace "My Lady."

(111809)

A Thanksgiving Presentation

This Thanksgiving presentation is offered by the Military Support Group of Connection Pointe Christian Church, Brownsburg, Indiana, a group which supports members of the United States military and their families. It is worth watching. Go to "A Thanksgiving Presentation." (111409)

US National Anthem by the Academy Choirs

No pop stars, no vocal show offs, just the Star Spangled Banner, the cadets, and the US Army Herald Trumpet Corps. (111109)

Veterans Day --- November 11, 2009

How does one thank our veterans for the gifts they have bestowed on us?

Veterans Day 2009 is November 11, 2009. This day marks the anniversary of the signing of the armistice ending WWI. It is a day where we thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice. I've thought long and hard how I might do that on this web site, a web site which highlights those who have served and sacrificed. I decided to present a photo album of those who are serving and have served in the Afghanistan War. I present them as a tribute to all our veterans. Like so often happens, over the past eight years of warfare, they have been largely ignored by many Americans, including their civilian and military leadership. They have paid an enormous price for that, but have served faithfully and with courage and honor nonetheless. October 29, 2009. Go to photo album.

"Corruption is directly linked to leadership."

Those are the words of 1st Lt. Yar Mohammed (left), an Afghan National Police station commander, spoken by him to General Stanley McChrystal, USA, the NATO and US commander in the Afghan War, on November 6, 2009. Those words apply to all societies, ours included. Did youy know half the House of Representatives is composed of millionaires? Much of the Senat as well? Thank you L-T. You're one smart dude. (111109)

America lost a heroine today --- A WWII pilot of enormous courage

Margaret Ann Hamilton Tunner, 92, died on October 13, 2009 surrounded by family in Virginia. She joined the Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) program and was the first licensed female pilot in Oklahoma. Following her military flight training, she was assigned to the 3rd Ferrying Group. During WWII, she flew the P-47 Thunderbolt, P40 Warhawk, P-39 Bell Cobra, P-51 Mustang, the P63 King Cobra, and co-piloted the B-17 and B-24 bombers from factories to their ports of embarkation. Her favorite was the P-47. In the 1990s, she was allowed to co-pilot the F-15 Eagle, at the tender age of 78. Her pilot asked her if she wanted a slow takeoff or to head out on after-burners. She chose speed and the afterburners. (111009)

The USS New York was "brought to life" on commissioning day, November 7, 2009

The Navy commissioned the USS New York at Pier 88 in Manhattan on November 7, 2009. Thousands attended. The ship has 7 ½ tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center forged into its hull. We have had a story on the air since 2003 about this ship "Never Retreat, Never Surrender," USS New York.

Photos of the moment

"Up from Ashes"

IT2 James Alcorn and New York fireman Henry Gullotti share the duty of colors for Engine 8, Ladder 2, 8th Battalion in New York City. The fire station welcomed the Sailors of USS New York (LPD 21). The Sailors had the opportunity to share sentiments with the first responders of the 9-112 attack by Islamic Enemies of the US against the United States homeland. Photo credit: MC2 Shannon Renfroe, USN (111709)

Three Proud Canadians, veterans of Vietnam, two of whom are recipients of the Purple Heart, each sporting a USMC tatoo. Presented by Sgt Grit. Thank you for your service, brothers. (100409)

GIs are great! In the midst of a tough war, our troops at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, put together a Haunted House in the base chow hall designed to boost troop morale. Some 600 military people went into the house, all decked out in costumes and makeup. Comments from them included it was nice to have something to remind them of home, it helped loosen them up a bit, and one said it was the first time he'd ever done anything like this, so it will be a memory forever. God bless them all. (110409)

"This is Dustoff 30, I have three heroes aboard."

A Dustoff medevac rescue in Afghanistan

I watched a video today of a Dustoff medevac mission to rescue three soldiers on the edge of a steep cliff in Afghanistan, with not much maneuvering room for anyone, including the Dustoff medevac helicopter. The medevac's callsign was "Dustoff 30." He carefully hovered around, sent down one crewmember to help get the injured on stretchers, and up they came and out the skipper took them. My spine tingled when I heard the pilot's transmission to home base --- it went, "This is Dustoff 30, I have three heroes aboard." The skipper and his crew weren't picking up mere soldiers --- they picked up three heroes. God what men, what great Americans.

Some video grabs.

There were three soldiers on the ledge of a steep cliff, at least one injured. Fortunately, one of the three was a combat medic. The Dustoff medevac helicopter pilot was surprised to see how they ever got to this ledge. He hovered above.

These are helicopter video grabs, tough to read. But the arrow points to an injured soldier lying down on a medevac hoist stretcher. The medic sat in the stretcher with him to care for him on the way up. I thought I heard in the garbled voice transmissions that the medic wanted to keep a close check on his buddy's pulse. If so, I imagine that was to prepare mentally for what they might have to do as soon as they got him aboard.

The pilot has completed his rescue and heads out of there --- there was some debate as to whether there was a fourth, but they decided they had all their wounded so it was "RTB," Return to Base. As an aside, there was a second helicopter above from which the video was taken. (110509)

"The Axis of Idiots"

Our country has two enemies: Those who want to destroy us from the outside and those who attempt it from within. Those of us who took an oath to defend the US Constitution did so to defend it against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

"Jimmy Carter, you are the father of the Islamic Nazi movement. Bill Clinton, you played ring around the Lewinsky while the terrorists were at war with us. John Kerry, dishonesty is your most prominent attribute. John Murtha, you’re a sad, pitiable, corrupt, and washed up old fool. You’re not a Marine, sir. Dick Durbin, you accused our Soldiers at Guantanamo of being Nazis, tenders of Soviet style gulags and as bad as the regime of Pol Pot, who murdered two million of his own people after your party abandoned Southeast Asia to the Communists. Ted Kennedy, you're a bloated, drunken, useless old fool bent on repeating the same historical blunder that turned freedom-seeking people over to homicidal, genocidal maniacs. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Carl Levine, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Russ Feingold, Pat Leahy, Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, the Hollywood Leftist morons, et al, ad nauseam, all part of the Axis of Idiots. American news media, the New York Times particularly, you are more dangerous to us than Al Qaeda is. You are America ’s 'Axis of Idiots.' Yes, I’m questioning your patriotism. Your loyalty ends with self." By Sergeant Major J.D. Pendry, Sergeant Major (Ret.), USMC. Novembner 4, 2009. Go to speech.

An "Everyday Hero" who will bring a tear to your eye

A friend sent me a set of photos showing a young man rising up out of a small crowd to save a puppy caught in the swift current of a river. There are no words, just photos. Bring your handkerchief. November 3, 2009. Go to photo album.

The challenges of extricating crash victims --- the example of the SUV

Most of us might tend to think that in a bad vehicle accident, rescue teams work to pull the trapped occupants out. That is true. But vehicle extrication of trapped occupants is really focused on dislodging whatever elements of the vehicle are presenting obstacles to pulling the occupants out. Working on these elements of the vehicle, knowing a person is injured and/or threatened inside, presents a lot of challenges. We'll use the example of the SUV to tell part of that story. November 2, 2009. Go to story.

Meet Commander H. B. Le, USN, commander, USS Lassen (DDG-82)

Commander H.B. Le, USN, the commander of the USS Lassen (DDG-82) guided-missile destroyer, will take his ship and crew to Vietnam in November 2009. His ship is presently forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan, part of the US 7th Fleet. Le is the first Vietnamese American to command a US Navy ship. He is a 1992 graduate of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. He was born in Hue, Republic of Vietnam (RVN). He and his family left the RVN in the final days of the Indochina war. The USS Barbour County (LST 1195) found them at sea and picked them up. They came to the US and became citizens. Many Vietnamese have distinguished themselves in the US military since coming to the US --- our gain, Communist Vietnam's loss. Show 'em your ship and your crew with great pride. (103009)

The troops know Obama is hanging them out to dry, and die

There is a common saying in the military that "you can't bullshit a bullshitter." There is no way Chief Executive Obama and other civilian and military defense leaders can bullshit the troops in Afghanistan. The troops are out there, they live there, they fight there, and some die and are maimed for life there. I will add that the rumor is a great enemy of a military force. Rumors travel faster than the speed of light. One day our forces hear many thousands of reinforcements are coming, the next they hear the suits are still studying the problem. The troops know they must be reinforced or they cannot do their jobs. They know they must be reinforced or the risks to them steadily increase. They know the Taliban is building to army strength. No one is fooling them. They also understand their job and its degree of difficulty, trying to protect feudal lords and their villages from the Taliban when many of the lords are in bed with the Taliban. They know they can help the people, but they themselves need help to get needed jobs done. They know they are doing jobs that ought to be done by other executive level departments, and they know people in those departments refuse to come. So they have to take on projects in order to win over the people, instead of spending their time protecting the people and destroying the enemy. When they cannot finish a project, they know the credibility of their promises declines. They hear their generals and senior officers talk of the strategy, then learn there is no agreed on strategy in Washington. They know the Taliban is their fiercest and most populous enemy, but they hear they are supposed to chase down and dismantle al Qaeda, a far different entity than the Taliban. They know the Chief Executive has reneged on his promises of March 2009 to defeat the enemy. They know their generals are impotent when held in check by Washington. The credibility of their senior officers telling them that all will be well falls on deaf ears. At some point, their senior officers will have to level with them or face a situation where they lose all credibility with troops they must direct. This is an all-volunteer force. The Chief Executive cannot treat them as political pawns. They're too smart to play that game. Instead, they take care of each other under whatever circumstances they must endure. I believe Obama's failure to act on General McChrystal's troop request is dereliction of duty, a court martial offense for a soldier, impeachable for a Chief Executive. I will also remark that we knew the public was not behind us in the Indochina War, and the troops in Afghanistan know the people are not behind them for their war either. Knowing this creates an entirely different perspective when in the zone. We the people are also failing our forces by not mobilizing behind them and demanding that the government that works for us give our forces everything they need, all the resources our nation can muster. Holding our heads in shame is not enough --- we the people have to get up off our dead asses and get everything the troops need to them as our number one priority.

The generals need to start shipping the troops over, on their own authority

It is clearly beyond Chief Executive Obama's capability to take the needed actions to reinforce our troops at war in Afghanistan. It is the obligation of our generals to take action on their own authority and move troops required by our combatant commander there. Our generals must do this because the safety of our military forces in Afghanistan is at stake --- the generals are duty bound to reinforce them. If this causes Chief Executive Obama a problem, he can fire and/or court martial the generals, but those who replace them must continue the reinforcement program. I don''t give a hot damn if Obama gets rid of all our generals and the lower ranking officers continue the reinforcement program. Hell, we have lance corporals who can give the order. (102309)

Obama, White House stupid, have confused Afghan War issues to detriment of our combatants

Our warfighters need reinforcement, no matter what

News coming out here to the bergs from Washington is that Chief Executive Obama and his White House band of numbskulls argue that no additional troops should be sent to Afghanistan unless the Karzai government shapes up. This is a stupid as it gets. They have confused two issues, one of which is very important. Our military forces fighting in combat need reinforcement. A failure to reinforce them means that they will be more and more vulnerable to a building Taliban force that is already nearly at Army strength. They must be reinforced whether the Karzai government is worth a salt or not. They would have to be reinforced even if the chief executive ordered a withdrawal. The Karzai government is a State Department problem, a political problem. The combat problem is a Defense Department problem and the chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff all the way to General McChrystal in the field and through the NATO hierarchy have said they need reinforcement. How in the hell Obama got into Harvard and managed to graduate casts great doubt on the quality of that institution. He is certainly no commander-in-chief. Obama's dereliction of duty in reinforcing our sons and daughters in combat is impeachable. (101909)

Chaplain (Captain) Emil Kapaun recommended for Medal of Honor, service in Korea

Korean War veterans have recommended Chaplain (Captain) Emil Kapaun, USA, for the Medal of Honor for service in the Korean War. Peter Geren, a former secretary of the Army, has followed up on that and also recommended him. The recommendation goes next to the secretary of defense and then, if forwarded, on to the president. Earlier this year, I did a story entitled, "God traveled with us and we knew it," which addressed how our chaplains served in that war. One of the chaplains I highlighted was Chaplain Kapaun. I commend the story to you. Their service on behalf of our military people is far more important than most of us realize. At one end of the spectrum, they serve as counselors and conduct religious services as most men and women of the cloth do. At the other end of the spectrum, they prepare our combatants to meet God. Their story is one of great courage and compassion. Their heroics are known to only a few. I should also mention that in the right column of this page I acquaint you with a book, Tear in the Desert, by Father Ron Camarada. I commend that to you. (101609)

The Deadliest Weapon in the World: A Marine and his Rifle

"When I give you the word we will cross the Line of Departure, close with those forces who choose to fight, and destroy them ... We're Marines, We took Iwo Jima, Baghdad ain't shit ... We're not a social club or fraternal organization ... We're a brotherhood of warriors --- nothing more, nothing less, pure and simple. We're in the ass-kicking business, and unfortunately, these days business is good ... To observe a Marine is inspirational, to be a Marine is exceptional."

About a year ago, I published a story entitled, "We happy few," the special brotherhood of men at war." That presented a series of photos with text done by Bill Coffey, a retired Army officer. Bill has again assembled a suite of photos taken in Afghanistan since spring 2009, all from Afghanistan's Helmand Province in the south, all photos exclusively of Marines. Again he has done a marvelous job, so again I have asked his permission to publish his work and he has agreed. Here it is. October 15, 2009. Go to Bill Coffey's gallery.

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Cash on Delivery: CIA Special Operations During the Secret War in Laos is a detailed accounting of a CIA program directed by a CIA operations officer that sent small teams of irregulars behind enemy lines in Laos to find, fix and destroy North Vietnamese Army units, capture NVA soldiers or encourage them to defect, intercept NVA radio communications, and recruit NVA soldiers to spy and report on their comrades. Click here or click on the photo to get your copy.

Father Ron Camarda was recalled to Active Duty to serve with the Marines during the Battle for Fallujah, Iraq (2004). At Bravo Surgical (Marine equivalent to a M.A.S.H. unit) he received over 1500 casualties and 81 deaths. When he returned home he found his work was not done. Walking with the widows and families left behind has been filled with great love and compassion. This is a walk with God into the war in the desert, only to find that the real war is within the human heart. The Afterward is by Colonel Mike Shupp, USMC Commanding Officer, Regimental Combat Team-1, Fallujah 2004-2005. Click here or click on the photo to get your copy.

Or go to Father Ron's site directly for a signed copy.

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Everyday Heroes New!

I spend a lot of time with this web site highlighting heroes in combat and among our first responders. Most of us often ask, "Where do these heroes come from?" The answer is they come from our families, our neighborhoods, they are our friends, people we might have bumped into once in a while, and most are not viewed as "hero-bound" during their lives until that moment arrives. The truth is we have everyday heroes throughout our country, who do heroic things on the spot and get little notice. I'd like to use these pages to highlight them. I began this on June 2, 2009. Go to "Everyday Heroes."

The American GI, our finest ambassador. New!

The American GI is our very best ambassador abroad. He-she is caring, compassionate, with heart. They'll kill enemy in a heartbeat, and one heartbeat later protect and care for innocents, and even wounded enemies. They travel the world to care for people. It's time we get a good look at them. I began this portfolio on March 25, 2009. It'll fill up fast. Go to The American GI, our finest ambassador.

A salute to our gallant allies in Afghanistan New!

Forty one countries have contributed military forces to the fight in Afghanistan, 28 from NATO, thirteen from outside NATO. There has been some controversy over who will fight and prefers not, and NATO's organization has been through some turmoil, but I am long overdue in recognizing them nonetheless. They're there and they're serving and sacrificing. I began this new section on June 18, 2009, updated August 17, 2009. Go to A Salute to our gallant allies in Afghanistan.

A salute to our gallant Afghan Ally

A photo gallery introducing you to our courageous Afghan Ally. Go to gallery.

A salute to our gallant Iraqi Ally

A photo gallery introducing you to our courageous Iraqi Ally. Go to gallery.