‘A Little Pink’ Always Colors My Memorial Day

The American Flag flies above the US American Victory Museum & Memorial Ship, Tampa, FL.

Through almost 40 years of reporting – there are stories and people that never leave you.

A Little Pink In A World Of Camo, a military wife’s blog, is where I discovered such a heart-captivating story titled: I Will Always Be A Marine Wife.

I just need to share some sad news with all of my blog friends.

Sad isn’t even the word to describe it, but honestly at this point I can’t find the words to describe it. Angry, empty, crushed, confused, shocked, alone, unglued, hateful, depressed, beaten down… none of these words can do justice to my feelings.

I am being forced to do something that no 23 year old woman should ever have to do. I am being forced to do something that no one should ever have to do, not at this early in life, especially. I am being forced to lay the love of my life, my saving grace, my entire world to rest. …

– Rachel Porto –

And after reporting on their family’s loss, Ariana Porto, her mother Rachel Porto and grandmothers Evelyn Jewell and Rachel Bernaby (Porto’s mother) forever became a part of my Memorial Day remembrances.

I never met him and Corporal Jonathan Porto never held his daughter Ariana.

The closest he got was kneeling down and talking to her through Rachel’s pregnant belly on the day he deployed. An iconic photo of that moment was snapped by another Marine wife. Rachel was unaware at the time, but she ended up featuring the picture at the top of her blog: A Little Pink in a World of Camo.

Porto was one of 10 men killed in his battalion, the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment from Camp Lejeune, while deployed to Afghanistan. He died in March 2010 just shy of his first wedding anniversary.

What will always stay with me is that photo of Jonathan talking to his unborn daughter and the power of Rachel and Jonathan’s relationship. Jonathan made Rachel promise “no moping” while he was gone. And as difficult as the hours, days, months and years may have been since his death, Rachel continues to keep her promise to Jonathan. And she’s continued to write earning a masters’ degree in writing.

Please on this Memorial Day, keep the promise made by President Lincoln, “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” So, take a moment to remember those who have fallen in service to our country.

My eternal appreciation to all who have allowed me to tell their stories.

 

Marine Corps 242nd Birthday Celebration

The Sgt Walter P Ryan Detachment of the Marine Corps League in Riverview Florida has a 242^nd Birthday Bash to honor the US Marine Corps on November 4, 2017.

Colonel Steve Emerson USMC Retired will be the guest speaker. Cocktails will be served beginning at 6 p.m. followed by the ceremony and dinner at 7 p.m. at American Legion Post 148, 7240 US Highway 301, Riverview, FL. 

At the conclusion of the meal the Detachment will announce the selection of their Marine of the Year and Associate of the Year. The cost is $15.00 and reservations may be made by contacting Larry Westcott at 813-817-0381.

Photo Scandal Hurts Effort To Change Marine Corps Culture

Major Misty Posey leads a 2016 class for Marine Corps leaders about integrating women into combat roles. Credit: Lance Cpl. Harley Robinson/U.S. Marine Corps

My colleague with the American Homefront Project, Jay Price,  reports on efforts to change the culture within the Marine Corps after revelations that hundreds of Marines shared lewd photos of women.

The Marines are famous for their close-knit team spirit, a cohesion that Marine leaders say the Corps’ recent photo sharing scandal has undermined.

Photographs of female Marines, some of them explicit, were passed around on social media by male Marines and veterans. Some of the women apparently did not know they were being photographed. The images were shared in a Facebook group which has more than 30,000 members.

The existence of the photos was revealed by Thomas Brennan, a North Carolina investigative journalist.

In a video posted by the Pentagon after the revelations, Marine Commandant General Robert Neller was blunt.

“We are all-in 24/7,” Neller said, “and if that commitment to your excellence interferes with your ‘me time,’ or if you can’t or are unwilling to commit to contributing 100 percent to our Corps’ war fighting ability by being a good teammate and improving cohesion and trust, then I have to ask you, ‘Do you really want to be a Marine?'”

But comments posted under online stories about the scandal make it clear that some Marines disagree, like this one in the Marine Corps Times:

“How bout giving homage to a female that takes care of her body and looks good? We can do that anymore?”

A Belated Veterans Day Message from Overseas

Courtesy USMC

I am sharing a message from one of my favorite Marines (and I know I’m not supposed to have favorites … but). He  is now in the private sector and currently overseas working with a private contractor.

Because he is not in the U.S., it makes his message even more powerful to his fellow Marines and the general public:

I wish all my fellow Veterans a great and safe Veterans Day and may you all take a few minutes to reflect on they days of past and really look at what you have and how if not for those that came before, we may not have those things today.

Every day I see Americans take the freedom they have for granted.

All I ask is for you to take a minute or two to reflect on sacrifices made by those who answer the call to serve. I’ll stand and fight with my fellow warriors so my family, friends, and our way of life will never cease to exist.

Fly those Flags everyday and paint our country in those beautiful colors.

SEMPER FI devil dogs happy belated birthday and to my brothers and sisters in other branches push on and never give up.

I too owe a belated 239th Happy Birthday to the U.S. Marine Corps.

Tampa Military Parents Group Celebrates 10 Years

T.A.M.P.A. co-founder Cyd Deathe sewing pillows for deployed troops, April 2013.

Ten years ago this week, seven parents met for coffee in Tampa. They had two things in common: they all lived in the Tampa Bay area and they all had a child serving in the Marines.

That coffee was followed by a pot-luck dinner and before she knew it, Cyd Deathe had become co-founder of the Tampa Area Marine Parents Association or T.A.M.P.A.

Despite its name, the support group is for all family members and friends serving in every branch of the military. Over its first decade, the support group has sent thousands of care packages to deployed troops and taken on dozens projects at home like supporting veterans’ families that fall through the cracks..

Their first big project was the pillow project. The idea came from Deathe’s son who requested a small pillow, about the size of a laptop computer, that he could rest his head on but was easily packed while on deployment. Thousands have been sewn and mailed to troops since.

“Our favorite story of the pillow,” Deathe said. “One Marine who went on three deployments who refused to let him mother even wash it because he didn’t want to lose that pillow.”

Members meet monthly and maintain a Facebook page as well as a website. Deathe said they plan to celebrate their 10th anniversary all year long.

The celebration kickoff is a picnic Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hillsborough County’s Veterans Memorial Park on U.S. 301. Everyone is welcome. You are asked to bring your own side-dish, the hot dogs and hamburgers are provided. But, Deathe said no one will be turned away.

In October, the Tampa support group will be represented by 50 runners in the 39th Marine Corps Marathon.

“For the first time in our ten years, we’re so excited, we were accepted as a charity partner by the Marine Corps Marathon Foundation,” Deathe said. “So, we have 50 bibs, some of them are already gone, but we still have some available.”

Even though her son is no longer serving in the Marine Corps, Deathe continued as executive director. It’s her way of serving her country as well as all those who have worn the uniform and their families.

You can listen to Cyd Deathe’s interview on WUSF Public Radio.

Marine Lima 3/25 Company Memorial Exhibit Tours Florida

The artist’s depiction of LCpl Timothy Bell, Jr, Sgt Justin Hoffman, and LCpl Nicholas Bloem from the Lima Company Memorial traveling exhibit.

Opening today, April 7, 2014, and staying for only three days in Tampa, Florida is an art exhibit that has become an iconic symbol for the men and women who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Lima Company Memorial: The Eyes of Freedom exhibit features life-size paintings depicting 23 Marines from the small Ohio Reserves unit L 3/25 who were killed in action in 2005 in Iraq.

Mike Strahle served with Lima Company and now shepherds the exhibit around the U.S. He said the exhibit has a broader reach than just his generation.

“It is a great example of a traveling exhibit for this modern war on terror. I don’t even want to limit it to just this war,” Strahle said. “We have so many men and women that come in and see our exhibit from WWII, Korea, Vietnam (wars), and it’s just as moving for them as it is for the 25 to 35-year-olds that have fought in the current war on terror.”

The Lima Company Memorial was open for three days in Clearwater before moving to the Tampa USF Campus.

The USF Student Veterans Association is hosting the traveling exhibit which is set up at the Marshall Center. Marine Reservist Patrick Sweickart hopes the exhibit will bring closure to his fellow student veterans who deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There’s a ton of student veterans whether they were active duty going to school or Reservist or National Guard for Florida that while they were going to classes got called to order, called to serve, they had to leave in the middle of the semester and do a tour,” Sweickart said.

The Lima Company Memorial – Eyes of Freedom is free and open to the public.

The hours at USF’s Marshall Center – Ballroom C – are: Monday noon-8 pm, Tuesday 8 am-8 pm, and Wednesday 8am-4 pm.

The exhibit will then move on to Melbourne for a three-day stop before returning to Ohio.

Marines Killed in Helicopter Crash Were Based in Hawaii

The Associated Press reports that military officials have released the names of six Marines killed when their helicopter crashed Thursday in Afghanistan.

The crash in the southern province of Helmand was the deadliest in Afghanistan since August, when 30 American troops died after a Chinook helicopter was apparently shot down in Wardak province in the center of the country.

All six were based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, said base spokeswoman 1st Lt. Diann Olson.

The dead were:

• Capt. Daniel Bartle, 27, of Ferndale, Wash.
• Capt. Nathan McHone, 29, of Crystal Lake, Ill.
• Master Sgt. Travis Riddick, 40, of Centerville, Iowa
• Cpl. Jesse Stites, 23, of North Beach, Md.
• Cpl. Kevin Reinhard, 25, of Colonia, N.J.
• Cpl. Joseph Logan, 22, of Willis, Texas

Bartle and McHone were the pilots of the aircraft, while Riddick was the helicopter’s crew chief. Their squadron had been sent in August to Afghanistan as part of a seven-month deployment, Olson said.

A full report is available HERE.

Christmas Carolers Serenade Marines at Camp Leatherneck

Christmas caroling is a tradition that continues even in Afghanistan. Here’s a video produced by USMC 2nd Lt. James F. Stenger and USMC Sgt. Justin J. Shemanski. If you have a family member currently serving in Afghanistan, may listening to it make you feel closer to your loved one.

The video shows an international band of Christmas carolers, including U.S. and British military personnel, as they bring holiday cheer to service members at the 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward) compound aboard Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan on December 22, 2011.

A Marine’s Christmas Song from Afghanistan

Master Sgt. Robert Allen, a native of Pawnee, Okla., serves as the aircraft rescue firefighting chief for Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 in Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. An avid musician, Allen wrote a Christmas song for his wife, Carla, as he spends the holidays away from her and their three children. Photo by U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Brian Adam Jones.

Imagine Christmas without the colors of green and red surrounded only by desert brown. Imagine Christmas without eggnog and snow angels,  instead there are MREs and sand-filled Hesco barriers.

Imagine Christmas without your wife or children – your only family – fellow Marines.

That is the world Marine Corps Master Sgt. Robert Allen sings about in this Christmas Song for his wife. Allen is currently deployed at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan.

Click on his YouTube video. Take 2:35 to watch it and then help make it go viral – a fitting gift for a Marine and his wife.

You can read more about Marine Master Sgt. Allen in an article by the American Forces Press Service HERE.

The Marine Corps’ 236th Birthday: Semper Fidelis

The USMC logo courtesy of the Marine Corps website.

The Marine Corps has many rich traditions. At the top of the list is Semper Fidelis, Latin for “Always Faithful.”

The motto was adopted in 1883 and is defined here in quotes the Marine Corps website:

“Semper Fidelis distinguishes the Marine Corps bond from any other. It goes beyond teamwork – it is a brotherhood and lasts for life.”

“It guides Marines to remain faithful to the mission at hand, to each other, to the Corps and to country, no matter what.”

The Commandant’s 2011 Marine Corps Birthday message: