We respect those who sacrifice and serve

Talking Proud Photo Gallery

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"Courage. Honor, Sacrifice. Gratitude." A special gift book is being produced by the Arlington National Cemetery Commemorative Project, Inc., in conjunction with Rich Clarkson and Associates and the National Geographic Society. To salute those of our armed forces who now rest in Arlington National Cemetery; a beautiful, oversized commemorative book is being produced for the family of each newly-interred service person who paid the ultimate sacrifice during our country's Global War On Terrorism. You can advance order the book through Amazon now. We bought ours today. (050307)

Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines. A tribute to young, valiant, courageous men who gave their lives for freedom. During its seven month deployment to Iraq in 2005, Lima Company, 3-5 Marines, 4th Marine Division, lost 23 men out of their 184, of whom 22 were Marines and one a Navy corpsman. Lima Co. is located in Columbus, Ohio. The 3-5 Marines is a Reserve battalion headquartered in Brook Park, Ohio, near Cleveland. We understand the battalion as a whole lost 37. A group of citizens has joined together to create a traveling memorial to honor these men of Lima Co. Their mission is "To allow all people to experience the love and protection of these Marines whose faithfulness never wavered. Semper Fidelis." The memorial will consist of eight painted panels set in an octagon that will present portraits of the 23. Anita Miller of Westerville, Ohio is the artist. We have presented a sketch of what the portraits will look like. She has begun work on the full size paintings of the initial panels. These are Americans at their finest. We did an article in August 2005 about Lima Co. and how its losses affected the community from which it came: "It's very important to me that everyone knows he did it for them." Those were the words of Timothy Michael Bell, Sr., the father of one of the fallen. (040207)

Elephant Mountain's hallowed ground. You are looking at pieces of a USAF B-52 long-range bomber that crashed on Elephant Mountain, Maine, January 24, 1963. Its tail section broke off while flying a high speed low altitude flight profile, a profile essential to penetrate Soviet air defenses at the time, but a profile for which this aircraft was not designed. Other B-52s experienced similar structural failures. On January 10, 1964, a Boeing test flight was flown to collect structural data on high speed low altitude flying with the B-52. The tail indeed broke off on the January 10 test flight, but the pilot brought her home after experts and the crew spent some 10 hours figuring out how best to do that. The pilot, Chuck Fisher, not only brought home the bird, but also all the recorded structural data needed to try to correct the problem. This crash scene at Elephant Mountain is hallowed ground. To see an American flag on pieces of the wreckage is at once numbing and a great source of pride. Americans understand and respect service and sacrifice. Photo credit: pumafam at b52 crash, webshots. We commend this album to you. "Pumafam" took many photos of the crash site, which has been allowed to stand as is for all these years.

Unwavering respect. A member of the Patriot Guard Riders stands at attention holding the American Flag during the burial service for Army Spc. Michael D. Rivera, March 21, 2007 at Greenwood cemetery in New York. Rivera died March 7 in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations. Photo credit: Mary Altaffer, AP

A Marine's salute. Marine Chief Warrant Officer Brian Dix salutes wounded soldiers as they arrive for the unofficial dedication of the Center for the Intrepid at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, January 29, 2007.

Corporal Jason Dunham, US Marine Corps, receives the Medal of Honor (Posthumous). Corporal (Cpl) Jason Dunham, of Scio, New York, and 4th Platoon, K Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF), jumped on a live grenade during a fight with Iraqis, saved several fellow Marines on April 14, 2004, and died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland on April 22 from the explosion that resulted. Corporal Dunham received the Medal of Honor through his family on January 11, 2007, from President Bush. See our June 2004 story about Corporal Dunham, "Marines keep me safe." Semper Fi.

This is a grateful nation. Goodbye Mr. President. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. Mrs. Ford, you are in our hearts and on our minds. You are a lady of grace and dignity. Thank you for representing us so well. Mrs. Ford is flanked by her son Steven, left, and Major General Guy Swan III, USA, following the interment ceremony for President Gerald R. Ford at his Presidential Museum on January 3, 2007, in Grand Rapids, Mich. Photo credit: David Hume Kennerly, Gerald R. Ford Library & Museum, AP

Oh Canada ... True patriot love in all thy sons command! A woman places a poppy among hundreds of others alongside a makeshift memorial to Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier following Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa, Canada, November 11, 2006. As of November 28, 2006, forty-five Canadians have died in-the-line-of-duty in Afghanistan, thirty-five in combat action, six to friendly fire, and four in accidents. Photo credit: Tom Hanson, AP-CP

Build, rebuild and fight, at the same time. This is the front cover of The Advisor, a newsletter of the Multi-National Security Transition Command in Iraq. It shows Iraqi soldiers presenting their national colors to dignitaries at a basic training graduation in Habbaniyah on September 29, 2006, with a hearty "Allah es Akbar," God is Great. We agree. Far too many in positions of governance in the US have no clue what process is being made in Iraq, have no idea about how well US and Iraqi forces are doing at training and rebuilding, all the while in the midst of fighting. Those professing to lead us bear a responsibility to know before flapping at the mouth with "gee ain't life awful" See our section on Rebuilding in Iraq. It's new, but already you can see what our men and women are achieving with their Iraqi allies. Photo credit: Major Gerald Ostland, USA (111306)