Memorial Day, 2015

Remembering Their Sacrifice

Today is Memorial Day, 2015. Many people forget that this is a day to remember the fallen, those who gave their last full measure of sacrifice for our Nation and for their comrades-in-arms. The following essay was written and posted by my good friend, US Navy Retired Chief Petty Officer Robert N. (Bob) Jenkins. I thought it said it all, in a MUCH better way than I ever could and so I am borrowing his essay and re-posting it here. Today, when you are tempted to “thank a vet” for Memorial Day, I hope you will remember Bob’s words here. Thank you, Shipmate Bob Jenkins.

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Pardon me for getting on a soapbox for a minute, but I want to draw a distinction between Memorial Day and other patriotic holidays. Many earnest and sincere well wishes are sent out to all members, past and present, of our nation’s armed forces on Memorial Day. Most of these wishes should be sent on Armed Forces and/or Veterans Day. Memorial Day is meant for paying homage to those who have given their life in service to our nation and the freedom we enjoy.

The origin of Memorial Day dates back to the Civil War. There are many stories from those first years’ observances that illustrate the true purpose of this important day to honor those who died in service to this nation. Civil War deaths account for nearly half of the 1.2 million American Soldiers who died in our nation’s wars. It’s no surprise that a tradition known as Decoration Day was borne out of the tragic loss following the Civil War.

According to historians, on April 1865 former slaves helped recover 257 Union Soldiers from a mass grave in a Charleston, S.C. racetrack, a site that had served as a Confederate prison. After the Soldiers were properly buried and the area fenced in, Charleston’s residents gathered, sang hymns and laid roses on the graves.

In 1866, in Columbus, Miss., a group of women decorating the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle, noticed the barren graves of Union soldiers and the women placed flowers on those graves, as well. The practice was repeated at multiple gravesites during the period.

After World War I, the observance was expanded to honor those who died in all American wars, and volunteers began placing small American flags on each grave at cemeteries across the nation.

From its origin to the evolution of Memorial Day observances today, one key premise remains. It is a moment in time that we all should stop, reflect and honor those who have given their all in service to this country.

Today, the American flags marking each grave at cemeteries across the nation represent an intangible devotion. Words can never express our gratitude for the service and sacrifice of our armed forces—and that of our Gold Star Families. We are forever indebted to them. We honor them by upholding the standards for which they fought so valiantly.

I urge everyone to remember the special significance of Memorial Day and what makes it so special and different from other patriotic holidays. What our fallen have paid, is a debt we cannot repay ourselves except in the honor and respect we show them.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13 (KJV)

Delta Airlines Handles Military Remains with Respect

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Editor’s Note: There is a lot of false information about this video circulating the Internet.  The following explanation accompanied this video and gives the true details behind it.

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My name is Brian McConnell, I work for Delta Air Lines and coordinate the Honor Guard program for the military fallen, however the information put out by most people sharing this video is incorrect. I know it has been shared with the heading “Watch what Delta does for Fallen Soldier and his K9” but that info is incorrect.

The truth is, the first fallen coming off the aircraft, covered in the U.S. Flag is a soldier missing over 63 years from the Korean War who was identified and was being returned to his family, the second and smaller box was actually additional bone fragments of a soldier who was already sent home and buried, they were to go and be interned with that soldier.

When the video was first posted we had a description on the video but as you are probably aware of internet “trolls” got on it and started some very vile comments and disrespectful comments. Some were very hurtful to our military so rather than have the families who have lost a loved one have to see them we shut off the comments,

So when it was shared “millions” of times, somebody assumed it was a current conflict soldier and his K9 companion. I have posted in many of the video comments that this is incorrect but when my comment is 8 pages down, nobody sees it.

Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey, Jr. on Chief Petty Officers

Admiral Bull Halsey
Admiral William F. “Bull” Halsey, Jr., US Navy

At the end of WWII, all the towns and cities across the country were looking for a “Hero” to celebrate America’s victory with, Los Angeles chose Admiral Halsey and had a ceremony on the steps of the LA County courthouse to honor America’s hero and at the end of it when Admiral Halsey was leaving, they had a line of sideboys.


The sideboys were active duty and retired Chief Petty Officers that
had been brought in from all over the country who had served with
Admiral Halsey at one point in their careers.


Admiral Halsey approached one of the retired Chiefs, and they winked
at each other.


Later on that evening at a reception for Admiral Halsey, one of the civilian guests at the event asked the Admiral about the wink he shared with the Chief. Admiral Halsey explained, “That man was my Chief when I was an Ensign, and no one before or after taught me as much about ships or men as he did.


You civilians don’t understand. You go down to Long Beach and you see those battleships sitting there, and you think that they float on water, don’t you?”


The guest replied, “Yes, sir, I guess I do.”


To which Admiral Halsey stated, “You are wrong. They are carried to sea on the backs of those Chief Petty Officers.”

— ADMIRAL WILLIAM F. “BULL” HALSEY, JR.

Master Chief Journalist Dennis Stanley Reinke Passes Away

I just learned tonight that retired US Navy Master Chief Journalist Dennis Stanley Reinke passed away a few months ago.  He was 71 years old. Below is Master Chief Reinke’s obituary. RIP, Shipmate.

Dennis Stanley Reinke was born Jan. 4, 1942, in Worthing, S.D., to the late William Stanley Reinke and the late Matie Stroman Reinke. He grew up in Hill City and graduated from Hill City High School in 1960. He attended the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology until he enlisted in the United States Navy in 1961.

During his 26-year career, Reinke served in assignments as a journalist at Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, Alameda Naval Station, San Francisco, Calif., was a journalism instructor at the Defense Information School, Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., served two tours in Vietnam; public affairs officer at Naval Air Station, Capodochino, Naples, Italy, and manager of the public affairs office at Naval Support Activity, Naples, Italy. He then served as detailer of the journalist and draftsmen communities in the Bureau of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C. His final assignment was in the Directorate of Freedom of Information and Security Review, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. Master Chief Reinke retired from the Navy in 1987.

Following his Navy retirement, Reinke served as an operations research specialist in the Department of Defense, offices of the Joint Staff, Directorate of Information Management. He retired from that position in 2000.

Reinke was a member of the Little White Church and regularly attended Immanuel Bible Church (IBC) in Springfield, Va., until he became home bound. He co-managed the Treasure Chest Ministry at the IBC for two years. He also was a member of the Fleet Reserve Association and Naval Order of the United States.

Reinke died Sunday, March 10, 2013, at Potomac Center, Arlington, Va. He was 71.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon, of 43 years; sister, Sharon Paschke; brother-in-law, William Paschke; nephew, Rodney (Julie) Paschke, of Jordan, Mont.; niece Karla Paschke, of Murray lowa,; two grand-nieces; and one grand-nephew.

A committal service with military honors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

A New Class

Well, this “old dog” took the first of I hope several classes today, free at my local library.

Today, I attended a class in Basic Excel. The second in this series of Basic Excel classes will be next Thursday.  After that, there are classes in Advance Excel.

Although I have used Excel for several years, I have never made extensive use of it and thought it was time I learned more about using spreadsheets. The only real practical usage I have had was about 10 years ago when I used Excel to maintain statistics on a team I managed. That spreadsheet was set up by my boss and I merely maintained the stats in it.  This time, I am learning how to CREATE the spreadsheet and perhaps use it in some every day applications.

At any rate, whoever said, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” was wrong. Although I had a brief exposure to Excel 10 years ago, most of this morning’s class introduced this “old dog” to new information.

I’m anxious to learn more and see how I can apply it to some information in my daily life.

Our Church

Our church, Fellowship Baptist Church of Longview, Texas, continues to grow.  Lots of new families have joined our church in recent months, many of them young couples with very young children.

I firmly believe that without new members with growing families, a church is destined to die.  I am so grateful that our church is attracting new young (and older) members.

I think a great deal of the attraction to our church is our young, forward-thinking pastor, Reverend Galen Herrington. Galen and his talented wife Angie and their two young children are the type of people who attract other like-minded worshipers. Angie created and maintains our church website, Fellowship Baptist Church of Longview.  Additionally, we have two terrific young couples, Jason and Kimberly Kingston who are our Youth Directors and David and Liz Londeau who are our Children’s Church Directors. That, coupled with a variety of music that includes the old gospel favorites and contemporary Christian songs provided by our Music Director, Reverend Dennis Harris, all contributes to a growing church.

Our older members are well-cared for also.  Our Pastor Emeritus, Reverend Ben Clayton, is our Pastor to Senior Adults and leads our monthly “Young At Heart” meetings, consisting of songs, a program, and a potluck lunch the second Tuesday of each month.

One of the things I especially appreciate is our church’s decision to now offer the Sacrament of Holy Communion the first Sunday of each month. It’s good to be able to plan on when Communion will be offered and to be able to depend on being able to receive this important Sacrament frequently.

Our church offers Sunday School for all ages each Sunday at 9:15 a.m. Morning worship follows at 10:30 a.m. Children’s Church is held during the second half of Sunday morning church services.   Sunday evening worship is at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday night Prayer Meeting is at 6:30 p.m.  Wednesday nights is also the time for our youth meetings, including Royal Ambassadors (RAs), Girls in Action (GAs), and two Mission Friends groups,

Looking for a dynamic, growing faith-oriented church in the Longview, Texas, area?  Give Fellowship Baptist Church, located at 1818 Spring Hill Road a try.  We think you will like what you see.  See you there Sunday.

 

The New Insurance Mandate

Yesterday, June 28, 2012, SCOTUS, the Supreme Court of the United States, upheald as constitutional, MOST of the “Affordable Health Care Act,” commonly known as “ObamaCare.”

The Court said that the President of the United States (POTUS) CANNOT mandate that US citizens MUST buy health insurance, BUT the President CAN charge a “tax” (fine, levy, choose your own synonym) upon citizens who do not purchase health insurance!

What?????

You can’t make me buy it, but you can tax/fine me if I don’t?  That sounds like double-talk to me. Am I missing something here?  Is that John Roberts’ way of having his cake and eating it, too?  John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, said, in effect, “You can’t make people do this, but if they don’t you can tax them for it.”

That just does not make sense to me.  It appears at least some of the people will skip purchasing health insurance for themselves or their families, and let the US tax them…depending on how much the tax will be.

We live in interesting times, do we not?