Tag: Millitary
R.I.P. Army Specialist Stephen Fortunato
This should be required reading for every American. Army Specialist Stephen Fortunato was a true American hero and represented everything that is great in our country. Unfortunately, most of America, these days, is not worthy of having a real Patriot like Specialist Fortunato fight for the freedoms that they are abusing.
May this brave young soldier rest in peace.
Send this to everyone you know!
Slain Beverly soldier explained why he served
The following is a blog entry written on Aug. 30, 2008, by Army Specialist Stephen Fortunato, who was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan when the vehicle he was riding in was blown up by an improvised explosive device. This entry was forwarded to the Globe by his mother, Elizabeth “Betty” Crawford.
If I may …
I’d like to say something….Just to get it out there so it is clear.
To all the pampered and protected Americans who feel it is their duty to inform me that I am not fighting for their freedom, and that i am a pawn in Bush’s agenda of greed and oil acquisition: Noted, and [expletive deleted] You.I am not a robot. i am not blind or ignorant to the state of the world or the implications of the “war on terrorism.” i know that our leaders have made mistakes in the handling of a very sensitive situation, but do not for one second think that you can make me lose faith in what we, meaning America’s sons, daughters, fathers, and mothers in uniform are doing.
I am doing my part in fighting a very real enemy of the United States, i.e. Taliban, Al Qaida, and various other radical sects of Islam that have declared war on our way of life. Unless you believe the events of 9/11 were the result of a government conspiracy, which by the way would make you a MORON, there is no reasonable argument you can make against there being a true and dangerous threat that needs to be dealt with. i don’t care if there are corporations leaching off the war effort to make money, and i don’t care if you don’t think our freedom within America’s borders is actually at stake. i just want to kill those who would harm my family and friends. it is that simple. Even if this is just a war for profit or to assert America’s power, so what? Someone has to be on top and I want it to be us. There’s nothing wrong with wishing prosperity for your side.
I am a proud American. i believe that my country allows me to live my life more or less however i want to, and believe me, i have seen what the alternative of that looks like. i also believe that our big scary government does way more than it has to to help complete [expletive deleted]-ups get back on their feet, a stark comparison to places where leaders just line their own pockets with gold while allowing the people who gave them their power and privilage to starve. I have chosen my corner. I back my country, and am proud to defend it against aggressors. Also, if you dare accuse us of being inhumane, or overly aggressive because we have rolled into someone else’s country and blown some [expletive deleted] up and shot some people, let me remind you of just how inhumane we COULD be in defending ourselves. Let me remind you that we have a warhead that drops multiple bomblets from the stratosphere which upon impact, would turn all the sand in Iraq to glass, and reduce every living thing there to dust. Do we use it? No. Instead we use the most humane weapon ever devised: the American soldier. We send our bravest (and perhaps admitably craziest) men and women into enemy territory, into harms way, to root out those whom we are after and do our best to leave innocent lives unscathed.
…One last thing…a proposal. i know it has been stated time and time again but i just think it is worthy of reiteration. If you find yourself completely disgusted with the way America is being ran, and how we handle things on the global stage, you can leave. Isn’t that amazing? No one will stop you! If you are an anarchist, there are places you can go where there is no government to tell you anything. That’s right…you are left solely to your own devices and you can handle the men who show up at your door with AKs in any way that you see fit. Just don’t try good old American debate tactics on them because you will most likely end up bound and blind-folded, to have your head chopped off on the internet so your parents can see it. However if you insist on staying here and taking advantage of privilages such as free speach and WIC, keep the counter-productive [expletive deleted] to a minimum while the grown ups figure out how to handle this god-awful mess in the middle east.
The Largest Reenlistment Ceremony Ever Goes Unnoticed By the Main Stream Media
You can check this out on with Snopes; is all true.
I’m sure you already know about this. It was shown over and over on TV, right?
OK, so maybe it wasn’t shown over and over, but surely it was shown on TV at least one time, wasn’t it?
This was the largest re-enlistment ceremony ever held in military history. The ceremony was held on the 4th of July, 2008 at Al Faw Palace, Baghdad, Iraq . General David Petraeus officiated. This amazing story was ignored by the ‘mainstream’ media.
For those who have been in the Al Faw Palace, you’ll have a better appreciation of the number of people crammed around the rotunda supporting the re-enlisting soldiers.
American men and women volunteering to stay longer in Iraq, so that when we leave, the new democracy will have a chance of surviving, is the exact opposite of what the media wants you to think about Iraq. If only a bomb had killed 5 civilians in a marketplace – now that’s the kind of news the media is eager to tell you about.
A pizzeria in Chicago donated 2000 pizzas that were made and shipped to Baghdad, and were delivered on the 4th.
The media did report that 2000 pizzas were sent to Iraq on July 4th… The only part they left out of the report was the event for which the pizzas were sent.
I can’t help but wonder…What would the opinion of Americans be if they weren’t getting such obviously biased ‘news?’
Please pass this link on and we will do some positive work for the Main Stream Media as well as honoring these brave citizen soldiers.
God Bless America!
Nominee for Soldier of the Year: U.S. Soldier Uses Quran for Target Practice
Do you know what? Until the Muslim’s begin to show respect for other religions and life in general, I could give a rat’s ass how they feel over their so called holy book getting shot up, or even flushed down the toilet.
If it were a King James Bible the media would have yawned and praised the soldier on his stand for secular individualism.
U.S. soldier uses Quran for target practice; military apologizes
A soldier used the Quran — Islam’s holy book — for target practice, forcing the chief U.S. commander in Baghdad to issue a formal apology on Saturday.
Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Hammond, commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, flanked by leaders from Radhwaniya in the western outskirts of Baghdad, apologized for the staff sergeant who was a sniper section leader assigned to the headquarters of the 64th Armored Regiment. He also read a letter of apology by the shooter.
It was the first time the incident — which tested the relationship between U.S.-backed Sunni militiamen and the military — was made public since it was discovered May 11.
“I come before you here seeking your forgiveness,” Hammond said to tribal leaders and others at the apology ceremony. “In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers.”
Another military official kissed a Quran and presented it as “a humble gift” to the tribal leaders.
The soldier, whose name was not released, shot at a Quran on May 9, villagers said. The Quran used in the incident was discovered two days later, according to the military.
Hammond also read from the shooter’s letter: “I sincerely hope that my actions have not diminished the partnership that our two nations have developed together. … My actions were shortsighted, very reckless and irresponsible, but in my heart [the actions] were not malicious.”
A tribal leader said “the criminal act by U.S. forces” took place at a shooting range at the Radhwaniya police station. After the shooters left, an Iraqi policeman found a target marked in the middle of the bullet-riddled Quran.
Copies of the pictures of the Quran obtained by CNN show multiple bullet holes and an expletive scrawled on one of its pages.
A military investigation found the shooter guilty and relieved him of duty; he will be redeployed to the United States for reassignment away from the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, a U.S. official said.
“The actions of one soldier were nothing more than criminal behavior,” Hammond said. “I’ve come to this land to protect you, to support you — not to harm you — and the behavior of this soldier was nothing short of wrong and unacceptable.”
Officials said the soldier claimed he wasn’t aware the book was the Quran. U.S. officials rejected the claim.
Tribal leaders, dignitaries and local security officials attended the ceremony, while residents carried banners and chanted slogans, including “Yes, yes to the Quran” and “America out, out.”
Sheikh Hamadi al-Qirtani, in a speech on behalf of all tribal sheiks of Radhwaniya, called the incident “aggression against the entire Islamic world.”
The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq also condemned the shooter’s actions and the U.S. military’s belated acknowledgment of the incident.
“As the Association of Muslim Scholars condemns this heinous crime against God’s holy book, the Constitution of this nation, a source of pride and dignity,” the groups statement said, “they condemned the silence by all those who are part of the occupation’s agenda and holds the occupation and the current government fully responsible for this violation and reminds everyone that God preserves his book and he [God] is a great avenger.”