Kevin is sick, Military Appreciation

Very sorry about not keeping up here for a bit. On Sept. 6th, Taylor's dad got admitted to the hospital and was there for 2 weeks. He is home now, on IV antibiotics and will have some major heart surgery on Oct. 8th.

Kevin was sick all summer long and come to find out, he got an infection in his blood from going to the dentist and having a routine cleaning and then the infection attacked his heart. He was extremely sick and not doing well at all. Our little Gunny took it pretty hard. She unfortunately understands all this stuff all to well and it hit her hard. She was extremely happy to have him come home.

Kevin is doing better now and once we get over this huge obstacle that has been placed in front of us, we will get back on track.

Taylor was down for a bit, but she didn't let this stop her mission. Once her dad was out of the hospital, she had us go to a school board meeting with her where she stood in front of the board members and said she had noticed that there were tons of trophy's for sports and other things, but no mention of any of her school's alumni that have served in the Armed Forces. She wants that changed.

Taylor wants a plaque to honor those that have gone to her school, past, present and future that are serving our great country. She is also trying to secure a flag that was flown in over the capital in Washington and then once her dad recovers from his surgery and is well enough, we will go to a ball game and during half time, have a presentation of the plaque and the flag. She would like this to be a Military Appreciation Night and all those that have served be admitted free.

During our last football game, she set up a little booth and did a fund raising for the plaque and I have to say, she did quiet well. We were only there up until half time and then had to leave because her dad wasn't feeling well, so we are going to give it a try at the next game.

Just a little down and out

Well, my little Gunny is a bit down and out. My mom's birthday was yesterday and it was a hard day. Taylor really misses her Gram's and today she shed many tears over it. Doesn't help that she hasn't been feeling the best lately. Her chronic fatigue has shown it's head for a little bit now and she has been really tired and not much energy. Right now, she is getting her facial swelling as well.

School starts tomorrow and she is very excited about it. I on the other hand, dread it! It means that she won't be getting the rest her body demands and she will be under more pressure. She of course takes it all in stride and does her best and then some. Never wants to quit and give up, always pushing to do better and to try to stay with the other kids. I so admire her for that. To her, she doesn't realize she is even struggling at times because it has always been like this, so it just feels natural to her.

I am sure the next couple of weeks she is going to be exhausted, but you know, she will have that million dollar smile on her face no matter what.

Next week we go to the Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids for a check up. I always HATE having to go in, in fact, I always dread when we have to see a specialist. We never know what the latest is we are going to find out. But, I always hold onto the fact that she is HERE and that she has beaten the odds her whole life.....

Taylor's new mission

I am proud to announce Taylor has given herself a new mission, but one that will require help from all.

When I posted about Taylor meeting with Floyd, I was almost immediately contacted by Bill (the wonderful Marine who has made Taylor her great plaques). He knows a man who does archiving for the Library of Congress on our veterans. He put me in contact with his friend and through that......Taylor's new mission was born.

Taylor and I kept talking about what a great honor Floyd had given her not only in being her friend, but in talking to her about his time on Iwo Jima and giving her his book he wrote. We talked about his age and how many of our WW11 veterans are leaving us at a rapid rate and it will only be a matter of time before this great generation is gone and there will be no more first hand accounts.

So, here is Taylor's new mission.........
She wants to contact as many WW11 veterans as possible, to make sure their stories are told and then preserved. http://www.loc.gov/vets/vets-home.html Please, check this site out and if you know of any WW11 vets, do all you can do to make sure their stories are told. Taylor will do her part, and we put out the challenge to you all to do your part in this as well.

We have been in contact with the man that does the archiving in our area and we are very excited in helping Taylor out on this new mission she has decided she wants to take on.

Family and Friends Supporting Our Military

We went to a dinner last night for the families who have those serving to show support. Taylor and I went and she brought along a special guest, Cpl Floyd Holes, the Iwo Jima veteran.

When we walked in, 2 smart looking Army guys came right over to Taylor and said they had someone they wanted her to meet (she of course was in uniform!) They whisked her away and she hob knobbed with a Brig. General. She was pretty excited about that! As the ceremony started, the man in charge said he had a few people that he wanted to talk about. He introduced a handful of WW11 veterans. When he talked about Floyd (we had pulled the man aside earlier and told him about Floyd) and said he fought at Iwo Jima and was there for the flag raisings, you could hear the crowd of 120+ gasp. Floyd had such a wonderful smile as they all stood and clapped for him. Well, I would have been teary eyed anyways, but given the fact that he is one of Taylor's new friends and he was there with us.....water works time!

Next, the head speaker talked about Taylor and it was really unexpected because I don't know how they knew about her! To our backside was the head table and there were some very high ranking Army guys there and she got hugs from them. There was a state Senator there as well as a representative of the Purple Heart order who gave a very emotional speech.

THEN, the Brig. General got up and asked Floyd's wife Millie to stand (we had told them she was an Army cadet nurse) Millie looked so shocked! The General wanted to point her out specifically saying that it was women like Millie that paved the way for women today and that these women from back in the day just never got the recognition they deserve. Floyd just sat there, smiling and looking so lovingly at his wife of 60 years, he then reached up and held her hand as she was standing......ok....water works again! I am not sure if Millie has ever been recognized for what she did or not. It was such a wonderful thing to be a part of, and when we got home, Taylor said 'I am so glad we took Floyd and his wife'. I am to.......

Honoring a Civil War veteran

Today we went to a service dedicated to a local Civil War veteran, Private Daniel Rose.

He was born May 28th, 1843 and died on June 18, 1929 in an unmarked grave at our local cemetery. Today, his service was conducted by the March to the Sea Camp #135. Daniel was given a proper service, as well as a beautiful head stone.

Daniel was 'mustered' into service at Camp Tilden in White Pigeon, MI as a Private in Company A of the Eleventh Michigan Infantry on August 24, 1861 for a 3 year enlistment. He served through General Sherman's "March to the Sea" campaign. He was wounded in Murfreesboro, TN but continued to serve for his entire enlistment.

The rigors of Daniel's campaigns with the Eleventh Michigan Infantry impaired his health for the rest of his life. In spite of this, after his enlistment was over, he graduated from the Louisville Medical College and served with the rank of Major in the Volunteer Medical Service Corps during WW1.

In digging through records on Daniel's life, an incredible find was made in that someone somewhere found a bundle FULL of letters AND pictures Daniel had written to home. He wrote home as often as he could to his mother and one letter even had a picture of John Wilkes Booth in it. He wrote to his mother of going to a theatre and seeing this actor and he wanted his mother to see him. Not realizing he had met and shook hands with the man that would soon take the life of our great President Lincoln.

I believe we will be going to the college that holds all this precious history. It was so interesting. As we stood in the very old section of the cemetery, with many markers with deaths recorded around the early 1800's it dawned on us, just how many of our veterans lay unmarked? How many lay and are unnamed?

Taylor was sure to go to the Civil War enactors and thanked them for preserving our history how they do, then walked to VFW veteran's and thanked them as well. They all just beamed in telling her it was of great honor they did what they did. So amazing.

(pictures to come once I figure out the mess Kodak made of my software and pictures)

Iwo Jima Veteran, a real American Hero

Taylor got the true blessing of being able to sit down and talk to an Iwo Jima veteran, Mr. Floyd Holes.

I can't even begin to say enough wonderful things about this man and his wife, Millie, who opened up their home for us to come in and visit and shared some home made lemonade and let Taylor hear some stories of Iwo Jima.

Floyd was a communicator for the 28th Marines 5th Division and as we asked questions, he never once hesitated or faltered in just what he had or wanted to say. It was as if things happened yesterday and he was very clear. He has some very strong feelings and he shared those along with some of his personal experiences.

He was on the island for 33 hard days of fighting, he came in on the 9th wave of the attack. He got a bit quiet when he talked about coming in on the beach, and Taylor and I understood perfectly why and at that time, asked no questions.....none needed to be asked for that.

Floyd was standing right there as they raised the first flag and was still there doing his work when they came up and took it down and raised the infamous 2nd flag. He is actually standing just outside of the photo. It is felt that he is the last living Marine that was standing right there for both flag raisings. He kind of laughed when he talked about the flag raisings. He said the 1st one didn't cause much of a stir, but once the 2nd one went up, the Japanese put up a small protest as he called it. He got a bit quiet when he said, we then of course put a stop to that.

He could recall people's names without hesitation, those he stood by, those he talked to, those he was friends with, those that were lost. He spoke with true conviction on the taking of Mt. Suribachi in saying that had the Marines not taken control of that, the atomic bomb would not have gone off when it did and that the Japanese would have come in and attacked America and we would have been under Japanese rule. He talked a bit about the atomic bomb and its devastation. Floyd looked right at Taylor and told her that while the atomic bomb killed thousands and thousands, it saved probably millions.

He felt that the communicators had a very important job and a very important role in how things played out. Behind every decision that was made by a General, it was up to a communicator to make sure that the decision got sent out in code properly and to where it needed to go. He laughed about how they had to do things back then compared to now. He just shook his head when he spoke of the vast difference in how communication is now from them.

He spoke of his brothers and his mother and how hard it had to be for her. All 3 of them were off in different battles and there was no way to get word back how there is today. One brother fought at Guadalcanal, the other brother fought with McArthur and he at Iwo Jima. Floyd spoke so lovingly of his brothers and of his Marine comrades. He had a few things to say about the people they had to fight and how feelings were back then and how they are still there today.

He sat down and painstakingly wrote a book about his time at Iwo and what happened before and after, it is called The Iwo Jima Communicators and he gave Taylor a copy of it and signed it. In it, there are many many pictures. Sitting there looking through the pictures with him almost seemed surreal. Here we were sitting with one of our nations greatest, listening AND looking at our American history.

There was on moment that I think will always stand out in my head. Taylor and Floyd were sitting right next to each other and she asked him how long he was in the Marines for. He told her proudly 3 1/2 years, they were hard fighting times, but ones he would never give up. She then asked him what his rank was. Before he answered, he asked what hers was and when she said GySgt, he sat up tall and got this huge smile on his face. He then told her he was a PFC up until the day he got out, and that day he finally got his promotion. He and Taylor looked at each other and just laughed. It was something I guess that only those 2 understood, and it was a moment that was just between those 2. She leaned into him and he put his arm around her and gave her a good squeeze, both of them smiling. To see someone so young and someone so old, but they had an understanding between them and it was just a really neat and precious moment.

When he got back, he got sick and had TB, he believes from a prisoner of war. He spent a whole year in the hospital. He then taught the communication code and said still to this day, he can be somewhere and he will hear a certain sound or tone, and his fingers literally start to move as if he were doing code again.

He went back there for the 5oth anniversary and talked about how that was.

Other things were talked about and Taylor got a real history lesson, one that would never be taught nor learned in a classroom, but most of all she gained a new precious friend. We are making plans to go out for dinner.

Amazingly enough, we found out that yet another Iwo veteran lives maybe 20 minutes from us and we have been in contact with him and he is very excited about meeting Taylor. Floyd was a communicator and a few times had to be infantry and fight, but I believe that our next meeting with the other veteran will be a different type of story. But, I will tell about that after we meet.

I have pictures of Taylor and Floyd and will get them on her and in her photobucket once I can figure out what upgrading my Kodak software did. It has gone through and erased almost all of my pictures on the computer and did a funky set up thing that even the Kodak people can't really help with. So, once I can get that worked out I will get the pictures up.

More Grampy shaving.......

USMC TOYS FOR TOTS

Last weekend we went to a Toys for Tots motorcycle run and it was a blast. The weather was just right and there were many bikes out that day, showing their support for Toys for Tots. We even managed to get a picture of 'Santa' from behind so you all can see what he looks like in the summer!!!!

Taylor and Tanner went around the parking lot and inside the American Legion asking for donations to shave Grumpy. They were able to collect $219 in doing this and let me tell you, they had so much fun shaving Grumpy, or Grampy as Taylor calls him. Tanner did a checker board on the back of his head and Taylor did lines in his beard and mustache. Very funny!

Taylor got a 'smoky hat' given to her while there, we just need to work on getting it back into shape. In the picture, it is pretty funny to see it bent out of shape and she was trying to be all GUNNY in it!

We sent in the checks that Taylor has been collecting and I am proud to say that all in all, Taylor was able to raise more then $2000 to send to Hope For the Warriors and $500 to her beloved http://www.anysoldier.com/ If there is anyone out there that would like to still donate, you can do so! These two fabulous organizations will always need the money and will always need help. Supporting our troops while deployed and supporting them should they come back wounded, it is the best feeling knowing you are making a difference for them........help out if and when you can!!!!

Because of last year's success in the blanket drive for the troops, we are in the process of looking up manufactures of blankets and sheets and contacting them directly and asking for donations of sheets and blankets and pillow cases. If anyone can help in giving us a name, number or website to go to, please please help us!

B-17 Bomber

Today was an exceptional day to say the least. The the Kalamazoo Air Zoo, they had a B-17 come in. (Several years back, they also had a B-52 come in as well)

Taylor and I hopped in the van and I sped the whole way, praying for no police. We got to the tarmac just in time to see the B-17 come into view and then touch down right in front of us! Talk about a glorious site and sound...knowing we were looking at history. Come to find out, there are now only 9 of these beautiful birds flight worthy.

Taylor stood there just so excited. The bomber taxied down and then came back to where we were standing. The airport is undergoing some sort of major renovations out on their runways and from the main runway to where the plane had to come was a MAJOR swatch of dirt. We watched her slowly inch up to the dirt and then stop. We heard her engines rev up and she moved a tiny bit, but then nothing. Seems that the dirt was more then just dirt, it was soft and the plane actually started to settle down into the dirt. So, they shut down all four engines and brought out one of those plane mover thingies. They got it all hooked up and it tried to pull it out and it couldn't. Pretty soon, we saw on of the big pieces of equipment they were using out for excavating come hook on and pulled it out.

They pulled it right by Taylor and we saw her name, Yankee Lady. So shiny, so beautiful. Pretty soon the doors opened and all these men poured out of her. They unloaded some stuff from her and then opened up her bomb doors and that is when Taylor got really excited! Now mind you, this child sits and watches the Military Channel all the time, and she has a special interest in these type of flying craft, so she is telling me what is what. A couple of the guys noticed her almost trying to melt through the fence and told her to come on aro...................before they could finish the word around, Taylor was through those gate doors and headed up to the Yankee Lady's nose.

They told her that they had a special group of guys coming in to see this plane. Special group? Try several chartered buses FULL of WW11 Veterans! We stood in complete AWE as we were soon completely surrounded by real American Heroes. This was a huge reunion of The Mighty Eighth. Taylor climbed on up into that plane and I followed her. Talk about transforming you right away to a whole different time and era, it was a weird feeling. Taylor even turned around and asked me 'Do you feel it?' Now, neither her nor I know what we felt, but we both know we felt it. There were veteran's in front of her and behind us so we sort of hurried through the plane. Talk about a tight squeeze!

We got out and we just talked with the guys that flew in on the plane and we stood around and listened to the rest of the guys talk to each other. Many came up and talked with Taylor, but it was more of a 'HI how are you doing sweetie' type of thing, they just didn't realize Taylor isn't your typical girl. Pretty soon, one of the guys told her to go back up in the plane and we soon found out why. Sitting up in there was a pilot, one that flew these very planes. He took the time to show Taylor what was what and what did what. It was so fascinating. Taylor stood there soaking it all up, to much in awe to really say much. Then, a really old man came climbing up behind us and he sat down, he kind of looked around. The whole time he was looking around, his face was changing. All of the sudden, he just sobbed. I am talking a gut wrenching sob. Even writing this now, I am crying just thinking about it. He tried to talk, but the words just didn't come out. Taylor and I stood back as far as we could (which was only about another inch from where we were!) He got himself composed as best he could, and he started talking. There were obviously only a few of us there, but it was like he wasn't talking to anyone in particular. This was the first time he had been back in one of these since his last mission.

He said 'Oh God, the memories, the memories' He started to almost caress the metal of the plane, he ran his fingers over the small window opening where he was at. He stood up and looked out the dome above us. He then said something unexpected, 'I have missed this so'. This whole time he was crying, I thought he was crying over painful memories. He wasn't, he was crying because he loved what he did so much, he was so proud of what he had done and he really missed it. It was such an overwhelming powerful moment.

Well, by then, a few more people were trying to peek up from below so Taylor and I moved to the back to let those that really belonged there have their time. We were able to go more slowly through this time and Taylor was able to really check things out. All I heard from her over and over again was....'this IS COOL'.

We got outside and an old man walked up to us. He told us that on his 17th mission, as they were leaving (and I don't know where he said they were leaving from, understandably he was a bit hard to understand) they had a 'minor' mid air collision. Minor midair collision? Is there such a thing as minor? LOL He said they were able to keep going on, but the other plane fell. Again, minor?! He said it was a 'one way' mission and they knew it. Both Taylor and my eyes were just glued to him, holy cow! He said they got near Russia and they were shot down. He told us his squadron had 80% loss. He looked back up at the plane and then he just shook Taylor's hand and walked away. I wanted to run after him yelling WAIT WAIT TELL US MORE, but I figured, he told us what he had to and that was that.

We knew the plane was getting ready to go out for a fly, so Taylor called up her dad and told him he HAD to come watch this. So, Dad and Tanner said they would come. They were lucky, they made it just in time to see the Yankee Lady pull out and take off. They fired up the engines and it sat there for a good 15 minutes just running. Everyone was so quiet, just taking in this amazing machinery in front of us. I looked through the front glass (I am not Taylor, I don't know the proper names to things!) And I will be darned if there wasn't one of those WW11 veterans sitting in there! Then I looked up to the top dome and there was another, standing up and looking out! Taylor and I talked about how excited those men must have been. They were able to be in 'their element', they were home again so to speak.

There was no way they were going to get stuck this time and there was no way they were going to accept a pull out, they told us they were 'going for it'. They told everyone to stand back because dirt was going to be flying.....they reved up those engines and just shot right over the dirt!

We got to watch her take off. It is amazing when you are at this big airport and the whole time you are standing out there with a WW11 bomber, you are right next to a run way that has commercial airliners taking off and landing. These things are so powerful and so loud and so dang fast. The Yankee Lady had a sound all her own. She slowly rolled out and it looked like a turtle pace compared to the big liners. She slowly left the runway and just glided into the sky.

We sat and talked with one of the crew for a bit until we got to watch the Yankee Lady come gliding back down just as smooth and slowly as she took off. Taylor kept saying how neat it would have been to hear and see a whole bunch of them together and flying in formation. He told us that after his last mission, when he came down into where he landed, there were 100 and 100's of those planes, all being scrapped. What a complete shame.

When they taxied in, they decided to go off to another place because they did not want to go through the dreaded dirt again, they said that the plane did NOT like it. So what was really cool was, when we got to where it was, we basically had the whole plane to ourselves and Taylor was able to go up with her Dad and brother.

I have pictures on her photobucket site. What a COOL day to have! We spent darn near close to 5 hours there and wish we could have had more.

Under the weather a bit

My little Gunny is under the weather a bit. She is down and from past history, it will be a slow couple of days before she starts to rebound. If not, we have to call in the Dr. for help. She is going through the one thing that is a mystery and out of all the doctors we have seen her whole life, we can't get any type of answer for this......
Taylor will get really tired and have no energy. She then will start to get pale and her face will swell up. Especially around her eyes.

This is what is going on now. Sometimes she will get put on antibiotics for it and sometimes not. The antibiotics are a whole scary story for us. Taylor has basically been on antibiotics her whole life it seems. I am not talking a dose here and there, it is sometimes for months at a time. Or, be on one and as soon as the dosing is done, she does well for a few weeks and then the same thing is back again, so she has to be put back on. There are many of the antibiotics that simply do not work with her any longer as her system has gotten immune to them. This is actually a tad bit alarming and very scary for us. She is only 13 and already immune to several antibiotics. Antibiotics that she might need in the future for her heart condition. We have had to go up to some pretty big guns so to speak to help her out.

Her whole system at times takes such a hit and has been damaged. As a mom, I wish I had that magic wand that I could just pull over her and it could tell me exactly what is wrong and the exact thing we need to do for it. I see her so tired, I see her so incredibly white and I see her face swell and it makes me sad because I know it is going to be weeks for her to feel normal again.

On a good note though, contact has been made with BOTH of the Iwo Jima veterans and we will hopefully be getting together very soon. Maybe this will give Taylor that little extra umph she needs to start feeling better.

HONOR COURAGE AND COMMITMENT

Taylor read this story online, she smiled and said 'that is Honor, Courage and Commitment' She told me to remind her of this story when she was 'whining' about something. (I don't know what she meant, this little Gunny doesn't whine much about anything anymore!)

Cpl. re-enlists right after bomb shatters legBy John Hoellwarth - Staff writerPosted : Tuesday Jul 3, 2007 16:28:29 EDTSgt. Andy Hurt /


Marine CorpsCpl. Gareth Hawkins, 23, takes his oath of enlistment from a casuatly litter. Hawkins' leg was shattered when a roadside bomb hit his vehicle. He is a member of 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, currently conducting counter-insurgency operations in Iraq's Anbar province with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

A corporal refused to be medically evacuated before he re-enlisted in the surgical station after a massive roadside bomb hit his vehicle near Karmah, Iraq, shattering his right leg.

Lying on a stretcher with his right hand raised, Cpl. Gareth Hawkins, with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, took the oath of enlistment with the backdrop of fellow leathernecks whispering “[expletive] motivating, man…,” and “that’s crazy,” according to a June 29 Marine Corps news story.

Hawkins, in the news story, was quoted as saying he re-enlisted at that moment “cause it’s motivating. I was going to re-enlist anyway, this is what I wanted to do.”

He was conducting counter-insurgency operations the morning of June 29 with Battalion Landing Team 3/1’s Lima Company, when the bomb hit the vehicle, wounding Hawkins and two other Marines. Hawkins was ready to be flown out for medical care when he demanded to be re-enlisted by battalion staff, more than eight miles away.

“Hawkins just got hit in a major blast that could’ve killed him,” 1st Sgt. Gary Moran was quoted as saying. “And, he said, ‘First sergeant, I don’t want to fly out … I want to go to [the Combat Post] first.’

“Hawkins’ platoon commander, 1st Lt. Warren Frank, read the oath to the corporal in the packed surgical area. After the abbreviated ceremony, Hawkins was immediately carried out and evacuated.

“This Marine’s decision to re-enlist [under these circumstances] embodies our core values of honor, courage and commitment,” Sgt. Maj. Carlton Kent, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, said in a written statement. “This Marine is truly the backbone of our Corps. It’s because of Marines like Cpl. Hawkins that [the Corps’] war fighting legacy will continue well into the future.”

Hawkins is one of 12 leathernecks with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit who have re-enlisted since the unit deployed from San Diego aboard the ships of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group on April 10.

The unit’s career retention specialists are quick to add that “many more re-enlistments are pending,” so there’s no telling what the final tally will be by the time the unit returns home to Camp Pendleton, Calif., MEU spokeswoman Capt. Pamela Marshall said.

4th of July

Well, 4th of July has come and gone. We as a family had a whole meaning brought to us this year on what the 4th really means, and we reflected on just how lucky we are as Americans.

We were sort of overcome with emotion at the parade. We sat right at the beginning, and 2 huge floats came by us. I wish I had my camera but didn't. On these floats were veteran's from all eras. Up in the very front was an Iwo Jima veteran. When these floats went by, we stood immediately and started to clap out loud. We were afraid we would be standing amongst some of the same low caliber people that did not stand at the Memorial Parade and respect our veterans but sure did stand up and clap and holler for the pooper scoopers. This was a fear that was unfounded because all around us, people stood and clapped. We were standing kitty corner to where the floats were pulling out of, so when they got onto the road, we were one of the first they saw.

Many of those men made eye contact with us, and there were several that were just over come with the applause they were getting. It was very emotional. Many of them nodded and gave thumbs up to Taylor and Tanner.

Later that night, we talked a bit about how neat it was to see the Iwo Jima veteran, along with many of the older veterans, as we know we are losing many of them at a very fast rate.

We went out to eat tonight and in the middle of dinner Taylor stood up and walked around the table. She sort of headed off and I called her back. I asked her what she was doing and she said 'I saw a man with an Iwo Jima hat on and I need to go talk to him'. I asked her if it was a younger man and she said 'no mom, he is old and he is a veteran'. So, she had me go with her and we walked up to a table that had 4 very old gentlemen sitting there. I excused our intrusion, and said that I had a Gunny that believed she saw a fellow brother with an Iwo Jima cap come in earlier and she wanted to talk to him. One man raised his hand then pulled out his hat. He said 'it is me' Taylor went right over to him, shook his hand and said very loudly so EVERYONE in the surrounding tables could hear, 'Thank you sir, thank you for everything' That man smiled so huge. He then pointed around the table and told us they were all brothers! Two were in the Marines and one was in the Army. WOW! Taylor's eyes got huge and she told them this was a great honor for her to be surrounded by such great men, then went around and shook each of their hands. We then asked if they were in the parade in the town we went to and they were the very same ones we stood in awe of the day before and this was the Iwo Jima veteran we had seen!!!

There was an elderly lady sitting with them (she was never introduced so we don't know who she was) but she asked if Taylor had been in the paper on many occasions, I told her yes she had. She then leaned her head in and said to the men, 'this is the little girl we have talked about' At that, I kid you not, all 3 of them gave HER a salute and then thanked HER! She took it in stride, but man, I had tears! What a great treat it was. We didn't want to bother them any longer, so we gave another thank you and walked off. We pulled the waiter off to the side and slipped some money to him and told him it was to go towards the bill for that table, and the waiter asked what he was to tell them. We just said, 'tell them we said THANK YOU'.

Now as I write this, I wish we would have gotten some names, as it is clear they live somewhere in the area and I think of all the history these men hold with them. I think of the greatness they can tell......maybe we will have to try to do some investigating somehow and see if we can't get Taylor around them again.

Few more pictures

A few more pictures, then the rest will be on the photobucket site listed in Taylor's links.

AnySoldier trip

We just got back from Missouri for a fund raising for anysoldier.com What a weekend!!! Not enough time or space to write about everything, but it was great!

We got to meet Marty Horn and his wonderful wife Sue and beautiful daughter Sasha for the first time, we have talked with Marty several times but this was the first in meeting him. Talk about a family devoting their time to this country! They are tireless and selfless in making sure that our troops are taken care of, and taken care of good! They have put their whole lives into http://www.anysoldier.com/ to make sure that ALL of our troops know they are appreciated and not forgotten, no matter what the crap news reports.

Friday, we got to meet Lt. Col. Mitch 'Taco' Bell. VERY COOL! Tanner doesn't impress easily and he was completely smitten with Taco! Taylor couldn't wait for Saturday when she would get to see her beloved Major Pain again! It was SUPPOSED to be that she got up bright and early and there would be a police escort and a hummer waiting to take her to the airport to surprise Major Pain, then whisk those two back to the opening ceremony. As fate would have it, Major Pain's flight was delayed and he had to spend some lovely time sitting in the terminal with the cleaning lady with a huge mole, telling her whole life story to him. (is this karma? ROFL!) So, Taylor was told that the escort was off and she was crushed.

But, she was still going to the airport to pick him up, it was just messing the whole thing up........but we got it to work. We showed up to the staging point around 10 a.m. and were amazed by the amount of bikes that showed up. The bikes were pulling out at 11 for a 2 hour ride, and Major Pain's plane wasn't landing until 1 p.m. just outside of the staging point (see why things got messed up?)

Our plan was to have Taylor's picture taken with ALL of the Patriot Guard Riders that showed up at the ending point so we didn't do anything like that and we later regretted it.

The National Anthem was sung just beautifully and so heartfelt by a Navy guy, and when I say he put his heart and soul into it, I mean he really did! Beautiful! There was a bagpipe player who played Amazing Grace and then he played the Marine Corps Hymn, time for Taco and Taylor to talk. Taylor was able to present to a Wounded Warrior a certificate of appreciation, Taco got one, Taylor got one and Marty and Sue got one. Taco talked a bit about Taylor and then Taylor got up and talked about what it meant to be an American, asked everyone to support their troops because we know our troops support us! She then presented Marty a check for anysoldier.com from the donations she was able to get for them.

We then took off to get to the airport to pick up Major Pain and we got special passes to get right back into the terminal. Taylor still had to go through the metal detectors and I could see a bit of the fear coming back to her from our very unfortunate last time going through one. We made it through OK and to try to make Taylor smile, I just belted out 'Yeah, you are not Taylor the Terrorist today!' As soon as I said it, Taco gave me a very stern look and very authoritatively told me to NOT say that again! (he is a commercial airline pilot) I had never given it a thought, good Lord help us had I gotten Taylor in trouble with the TSA yet again!!!!!

We walked a bit to get down to where Major Pain was and wouldn't you know it, as we rounded the corner, he almost ran smack right into us! He grabbed ahold of Taylor and flipped her in the air like she was a sack of potatoes. Look at her little face, I think it says it all!

He changed into his HOG gear likety split and we were off for the guys to get on their bikes and ride like the wind to try to make up the lost time. The weather God's however had a different idea. They no sooner got going at a good pace when the skies opened and it rained, not just a nice steady rain, but a torrential downpour. We stopped at an overpass for their safety and all laughed about it. The rain stopped and one bike took off, the sky opened again. He had to come down a side road to get back to the other side of the underpass. The rain stopped and off took another bike, the same thing......here came the rain. It went like this until half the bikes were on the OTHER side of the road headed in the OTHER direction. The kids got a big kick out of it.

We finally got going only to be hit by another blast of rain but they toughed it out and kept going. Pretty soon the sun shined a bit and they were getting dry, except for their boots. We pulled into a gas station and one guy took off his boots and when he turned it over, it was like pouring out 2 cups of water, Taylor laughed a good one because of that.

They were able to see that a huge wall of not good weather was coming from where they needed to go, so they decided it best to go away from it and around it. What should have been about a 2 hour ride ended up being more like over 5 hours! We however got to go through some beautiful rolling mountains (Ozarks) and even saw a castle. Some of these homes didn't just have land, but it was like estates. It was breathtaking country to see. Then we came upon some areas where you could swear you heard the dueling banjos from the movie Deliverance!

By the time we got to the ending point, most of the bikes were gone. But from what we understand, they had a great time. Taylor was able to give to Major Pain his certificate of appreciation and then we were able to witness Marty and Sue present a family of a fallen soldier a check from anysoldier and treatanysoldier. Very emotional to watch. But it made us so proud to know these people and to know that they care so deeply.

With everyone being gone, we didn't get a picture with Taylor and all her Missouri PGR family, but there were a few there and some American Legion Riders we got to snap a few with! While we searched in vain for some chocolate cigars for Taylor to be able to share with her brother and hero Marines, Taco and Major Pain....we couldn't find any! How priceless would that have been?! But we were able to get a few pics with her pretending to have the real thing!!!!!

The lady in charge, Della, did an outstanding job. She worked very hard to ensure this was a great day and it was. Our troops are very lucky to have such a strong supporter as herself.

We were able to meet many new people. One man, once he saw Taylor talk came up and asked if we knew a man named Kai (from Patriot Guard). We were shocked and said yes. Come to find out, this man was from a group of riders that know of Kai and Michigan's own JimmyK and he had remembered them posting about Taylor. Shows what a small world it is! It was great meeting you Harry!

We came away not feeling like we had met people for the first time, but felt like we were with long lost family. Being around so many wonderful people, we just know that Taylor is going to be even more determined to push on with her mission.

Della, great job!! Taco, thank you for taking the time, especially with Tanner and thank you for your service to our country. Major Pain, you know how we feel about you! THANK YOU. Marty and Sue, we are so honored to be able to help you, you in turn have helped us more then you will ever know. THANK YOU!

Another parade and giving support to Lester

The Daughters of The American Revolution are still honoring Taylor! They asked her to be in yet another parade and this was a really big one, it lasted well over an hour! We are proud of Taylor's accomplishments, but also so proud of the big sister she is. Each time she has been asked to be in a parade, she has always asked to make sure that her brother Tanner can be in it with her, after all, he is her 'wing man'. He loves being in them with her.

Just before we left for Missouri, we paid a visit to Lester. If some of you will remember the story of Lester from Taylor's Day, when he came and gave her a precious memento he had saved since WW11, a shiny beautiful Marine button off of the Blues uniform.

He is having some issues and had to have surgery last week, so we paid him a surprise visit and boy did he ever light up! We gave him one of Taylor's dog tags that were made up by woodmaster, and he immediately put them on and was so proud of them!

Please keep Lester in your prayers, he has a lot of history in him that we need to know about and he is a VERY proud American Veteran.

MYSPACE

I would like for you to know that there is a poster on myspace.com that has Taylor's name and it is NOT our Taylor. It has been brought to my attention a few times, so I checked. While they have the same name and same age.......again......it is NOT our Taylor!

Wonderful heartfelt gift

Taylor got a beautiful surprise gift in the mail yesterday. One of her fellow brother Marines was just horrified by the way Terrorist Taylor was treated at the airport when she was bringing home her spent casing from MOUT at Camp Lejeune and how her casing was taken from her from the over the top TSA agents.

He had told me a bit back that he had a special casing that he had had for a couple of years and was just waiting for that right time to do something with it and once he read what happened to her, he knew what that RIGHT thing was.

Here is what he sent to me in the email describing what it is:

When Pammie and I went to DC for our Marine Birthday Celebration in 2005, we attended the Ceremony at the Iwo Memorial at Arlington Ridge. The finale' was The Rifle Salute and TAPS. That was on November 10th. On the 11th, we returned to the memorial, and without the crowds from the day before, we went up close to the huge monument. In the small grassy area in front of it, I noticed something laying in the grass, almost hidden. It was one of the brass casings from the previous day's Rifle Salute, and I can't figure out how those Marines could've missed it. But I have it and intended to do "something" with it, rather than just keep it laying on my dresser, where it still sets. What I'd like to do is make some sort of "frame" for it, noting the "history" of this casing, so it could be wall-hung. I can't think of anyone more deserving to display this than Taylor.

So, she got her wonderful gift yesterday. When she opened up the package and saw the casing, her little face just lit up! Then, once she read what the plaque said and I told her that her brother Bill was replacing what was taken so horribly from her, she actually got tears in her eyes and in the one photo where she is holding up the plaque, you can see them.

This is what the plaque says:

On the 230th Marine Corps Birthday

November 10, 2005

The Ceremony at the Iwo Jima War Memorial

at Arlington Ridge

concluded with the Rifle Salute and 'Taps'.

On Veterans Day, November 11,

An empty .308 casing from one of those M-14 Rifles

was retrieved by the base of the Monument.

That casing is now being presented to

Our Little Sister Taylor,

Semper Fidelis

What a great gift! Thanks Bill!

(update on the TSA agents, I had called and talked to their manager about what happened. He told me he would talk to those involved and get right back with me. 2 weeks passed by and nothing, so I called him back. He told me he had spoken with those involved and right away he gave me the impression that nothing was being done, as he was told by the lady that searched her that she in fact told Taylor everything she was doing. He told me that everything they did was within regulations and they were doing their job. My frustrations got the best of me and I told him that if by doing her job she meant that she took my daughter off behind a wall and wouldn't let me in with her, told my daughter to spread eagle and that was ALL she said to Taylor, then yes, the lady did one hell of a job. He also asked me again why I did not state BEFORE we went through the metal detection unit about Taylor's medical condition. I asked him WHY would I do that if there was no reason to? I did not state to them before I went in I had skin cancer, what is the point of that? The fact is, once everything happened, and I tried to explain of Taylor's condition, I was flat out told it did NOT matter and I couldn't speak. The fact is, Taylor was taken away from me and I was not allowed to be with her. The fact is, Taylor was searched and patted down and not once explained to WHY or WHAT they were doing. The fact is, Taylor heard the man telling me the FBI was being called and she got incredibly upset and they did NOT care. Had everything went how the agents told their boss it did, I would not have called and I would not be upset. I told him I totally appreciate the job they do, I want to know that my child is safe while flying, I never want another 9-11 ever again. Nothing is being done as far as he was concerned because he talked to his agents and he felt comfortable in what they told him. Then he mentioned that there is no audio recording in that area so there is no way to prove anything. Nice huh? I am now in the process of writing a LONG letter to the head of TSA)

History

In Kalamazoo, there was a wonderful Memorial Day 5 day symposium honoring our veteran's held by Lest We Forget Our Vet's. Each day was dedicated to a different era and a traveling museum with bits of history were there. A man also brought in his models of certain war scenes and they were very realistic and historically correct.

There were many who showed up for the WWll day and I guess it was quiet a day, we unfortunately were not able to make it but I wish we could have. This is a generation who we can learn so much from and yet, they are almost gone.

Sadly, for the Vietnam and Iraq wars, not many showed up. We aren't sure on why, maybe because it was during a work week? Anyways, we showed up and watched Laura DeRoo speak on behalf of the Blue Star Mothers. If some of you will remember, her son is SSgt. Gabriel DeRoo who the PGR had a mission for last summer and this is the one that we showed up on our own just to show support as Taylor read in the paper that the protesters were to be there and she told us 'We HAVE to go and show our support' and that is how we met the PGR.

Taylor and Tanner were able to meet Bob Heft, the creator of the flag as we know it today. They even got to hold onto the original flag he created many years ago and let me tell you, it is worth a LOT of money! The man that made the models also had several pieces of clothing and outfits from the different wars and he let Taylor put on a flack jacket vest and helmet from Vietnam, her little knees about buckled from the weight!

Taylor was able to stand up and talk for a few minutes as well. Always makes me so proud to see her stand in front of people and talk from her heart.

We also got a very wonderful gift in meeting LCpl Christopher B, who just got back from Iraq not to long ago. He and his mom drove all the way from Jackson so he and Taylor could meet. What a treat!

On Sunday, the PGR had a meet and greet and wouldn't you know it, the sky god's must have not been happy with a certain someone because they opened up with a fury and let it pour rain and thunder and lightening. There were a few times driving that we had to slow down because we couldn't see in front of us, so because of the weather, the turn out wasn't as good as it could have been but we had about 40 people there and several brave souls that even rode their bikes!

Taylor has been asked to be in another parade this coming weekend, she is pretty excited about being in yet another one.

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE

Memorial Day, what does it mean to most people? An extra long weekend? A day of cookouts and party? A day to watch a parade, but not get what it is about? Not in our family! I however am ashamed to say, that for many years it wasn't like that, we thought of it as a long weekend, a cookout and party, a parade, that is it, nothing else.

I am proud to say that through Taylor and because of Taylor, we understand what Memorial Day really is and what it really means. We understand we have a long weekend and cookouts and parties and parades because we are FREE to do so. We are free to do so because of the many of generations who have fought for our country and others. If there was no need for a Memorial Day, really think of how things would be for us.....

Taylor and Tanner were in the parade this year. Taylor all decked out and looking squared away, got to lead the rest of our local Heroes, what an honor! Tanner decked his bike out and showed how proud he is to be American by flying the colors.

Taylor wasn't feeling well, but she said there was no way she was going to miss being able to march to show how proud she is. It was hot out and the route was long, but Taylor kept the pace up right along all those grown men. She held her own and never faltered and never fell back. She led them with her head high the whole time. She stood side by side with her 'brothers' and raised a crisp beautiful salute when called to do so.

Not to take away from any of those men there, but there were maybe a few that didn't take it to seriously. There were a few middle agers there that didn't stand at attention, were turned around talking while the others were all showing their respect, raised the salute way after the others. Now on the other hand, there were many older men there, that stood out in that heat and did that long walk, stood tall as they could, stood silent. I am proud to say my daughter was with them. I stood there looking at all of them, seeing the pride they held within them, seeing how they moved forward when they must have been tired, and I wondered to myself.....what stories do these men have to tell? What have they done, where have they been? I think that my Gunny would love to meet these men and listen to the history they hold, I know I would.

(don't know why the pictures came out so small, I have tried to redo them and they still come out small, but they are added to her photobucket page link that is on the right)