A real "War Horse" Named Reckless.

  This story is Incredible!

 This horse was a pack horse during the Korean war, and she carried recoilless rifles, ammunition and supplies to Marines.  Nothing too unusual about that, lots of animals got pressed into doing pack chores in many wars.

 But this horse did something more.  During the battle for a location called Outpost Vegas, this mare made 51 trips up and down the hill, on the way up she carried ammunition, and on the way down she carried wounded soldiers.

 What was so amazing?  Well, she made every one of those trips without anyone leading her.

 One can imagine a horse carrying a wounded soldier, being smacked on the rump at the top  of the hill , and heading back to the  "safety" of the rear.  But to imagine the same horse, loaded with ammunition, and trudging back to the battle where artillery is going off, without anyone leading her is unbelievable.  To know that she would make 50 of those trips is unheard of.  How many horses would even make it back to the barn once, let alone return to the soldiers in the field even a single time?

Here is a clip of her story and photos to prove where she was and what she did.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIo3ZfA9da0  

Reckless was retired at the Marine Corps Base in Camp Pendleton where a General issued the following order:  "She was never to carry any more weight on her back except her own blankets."  She died in 1968 at the age of 20.

 WOW!

 You absolutely must see this video. It is taken from a British  series where a guy called Gareth Malone takes a group of people and turns them into a choir. This time he's taken a group of military wives whose husbands are all away in Afghanistan and  turned them into a choir. Gareth looks about 16yrs old but is  actually in his mid-30s and a Choir master for the London Symphony  Orchestra, among other things.

They wrote a song based on excerpts  from letters written by the couples whilst apart and this is the beautiful result!
 http://www.youtube.com/user/militarywiveschoir?feature=watch

Many people may have forgot about his time in the U.S. Army. He is the son of an Air Force  General, and a accomplished Golden Gloves boxer,   and he graduated from Pomona College with a B.S.   degree, and then became a Rhodes Scholar from  Oxford University.

 He joined the  U.S. Army at the prompting of his father. After  graduating from Officer Candidate School he   attended and graduated from both Army Airborne and Ranger training in the very top of each class. He was selected for U. S.Army Special Forces Training but refused so that he could attend pilot training where he earned his wings, and became an accomplished U.S. Army helicopter (gun ship)  pilot, and achieved the rank of Captain.

 He   was about to be promoted to the rank of Major,   and appointed to teach at West Point when he   resigned his commission from the Army to go into  music and acting. You can tell in this video that his time in the military means a lot to him. I won’t give away who it is. You should just watch. I bet you will  be surprised!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU-A7eqadho&feature=related

Here is a video telling the story of one of our Vietnam Veterans who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass.

'Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you ?
Have you always turned the other cheek ?
To My Church have you been true?'

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
'No, Lord, I guess I ain't.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can't always be a saint.

I've had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.

But, I never took a penny,
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.

And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear.
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.

I know I don't deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears.

If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand.

There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.

'Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell.'

Author Unknown~

Very appropriate for this time leading up to Veteran's Day - see this video clip of how the honor guard deals with laughter, chatter, and other forms of disrespect at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Here is a touching tribute from a group of grade school children and their talented teachers.

Caution: this is a large "PowerPoint" download of over 5 MB.

Each RAFINO member is eligible, as a veteran, for a government-furnished headstone.  Ever wonder where they come from?  Check out this CBS News Story.

Here is a tribute to our flag on this, out nations's birthday. (Please note that the music/sound for the tribute only can be heard on Internet Explorer.  If your Browser is other than Internet Explorer, you will not hear the sounds.)

This PowerPoint Show is a wonderful message to those of us who are chronologically challenged.  Check it out (caveat - requires download of a file that is approximately 3MB).

FANTASTIC - Precision Marching and more

Unbelievable!!!

This is "RiverDance" with boots and rifles! I can't remember ever seeing a display of precision to beat this!! All the precision drill is being performed on ICE!!

Those are US made Garand M-1 rifles (WWII), and they are heavy weapons (9 POUNDS EACH).

When that one fellow goes on his own - YOU'VE NEVER SEEN A RIFLE SPUN THAT FAST!

See for yourself - click here for the video. 

And just when one thinks that everything is going straight to hell in a hand basket, something comes along like this patriot's daily retreat ceremony at his home in Cape May, NJ