NYT opinion piece from Veteran and troop advocate, Dan Clare

Hi,

Here:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/home-fires-in-balad-smoke-and-fire/

is an informative and well-written piece by Dan Clare, who works with Disabled American Veterans.

http://www.dav.org/

Dan writes about the burn pit at Joint Base Balad. If you have never heard of it, it is worth educating yourself.

I served with Dan in '07 and '08: he is the real deal: a true troop advocate. He is a citizen soldier, and he works to help the troops in both his stateside and deployed jobs.

There are dangers to war, and to some extent troops accept risk as part of their duty. However some risks can be reduced, and we owe it to troops to eliminate the risks we can.

Take care!

Chris

Tango Mike Mike

(picture: Roy P. Benevides, source: psywarrior.com )

Hi,

I want to spread the story of a man in rare and select company: Medal of Honor recipients.

He is Master Sergeant Roy P. Benevidez, Vietnam veteran:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ7968BbMnU&feature=related

Besides telling his amazing story, the 6min video also explains the origin of the call sign "Tango Mike Mike"

I received it from the commander of the Austin Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart via my friend John in Marble Falls, TX. John is an avid Jeeper, patriot, and all around great guy to hang out with. He and the San Antonio Chapter of Wheelers for the Wounded are organizing a Meal for Heroes on 20 FEB, birthday of Georg Washington, whose image adorns the Purple Heart.

You can learn more about Wheelers for the Wounded, and even pitch in if you are local to San Antonio:

http://www.wftw-sa.org/

Like Roy's story of amazing heroism, you can read other Medal of Honor citations here:

http://www.history.army.mil/moh.html

Thanks for the great knitting comments! 22, 23 / 365

I was really happy to have found the Ships Project:

http://www.theshipsproject.com/

The organization sends knitted goods, "little hugs from home" to troops deployed overseas. I have heard from many people whose lives have been touched by the mission in a positive way, including the founder.

Respondents sent in two other great connections for people who want to help:

Socks for Soldiers sends shipments of warm toasty knitted socks to troops:

http://socksforsoldiersinc.com/

For those who quilt: Quilts of Valor helps bring together those who sew, longarmers, and even those who can't sew but want to contribute to help send warm quilts to injured troops:

http://www.qovf.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=149

I still haven't found a UK organization for citizens who want to knit for troops, but people have suggested working with The Ships Project to start a UK chapter, or look for groups on the knitting forum - Ravelry:

https://www.ravelry.com/account/login

Believe me, these handmade works of love and art are really appreciated.

Here's a piture of a baby blanket that M. sent to me. It went to good use when a baby was born at the hospital in Iraq after her mother was injured by gunfire and went into early labor.

Take care and keep knitting!