Cpl. Katrina Hodge, aka “Combat Barbie”, Royal Anglian Regiment, Medal of Bravery recipient for actions in Iraq has become Miss England.

Mudville Gazette has the whole story!

It’s been a long torturous road for this hero of WWII.

Airman 1st Class Arthur Carl Miller was killed in action on the island of Peleliu on September 13, 1944, two days before the invasion of the island by the 1st Marine Division.  He was filling in as a gunner on a TBM Avenger flying from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.  The mission, to bomb the japanese held Peleliu airfield, came to a disastrous end as the aircraft was hit by murderous anti-aircraft fire, exploded and crashed north of the airfield.  More details here.

Remains, identified as another crewman, Wesley Stuart, were returned to his family in California.  Mrs. Stuart refused to believe they were the remains of her son, but she vowed to take care of some other mother’s son and so the remains were interred in their family mausoleum in San Joaquin.

In 2008, Mary Ellen Roberts, sister of Wesley Stuart, had the remains disinterred and flown to Hawaii for DNA testing to resolve the long standing family issue.  Her mother’s intuition was proven correct, the boy kept so long in their keeping was not Wesley Stuart, and a search would find that he was Carl Miller of Poughkeepsie, NY.  More here.

Dennis reports:

On Saturday morning, Nov 7. 2009 a full military ceremony (Navy) was held for Radioman First Class at Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. It was a beautiful autumn day with bright sunshine and mild to crisp temperatures.

Radioman First Class Miller was a crew member (Radio and gunner) of a Grumman Avenger that was shot down in 1944. He was officially listed as MIA until several months ago when his remains were identified and his closest next of kin (his son, who was born 6 months after his father’s death) was notified. His son requested a military funeral at the family plot in Poughkeepsie. His son also asked around in search of veteran participation in what would be a modest ceremony.

Gathering of Eagles, Rolling Thunder, Patriot Guard Riders, and the American Legion all participated. RFC Miller’s remains were escorted to the cemetery by Rolling Thunder and PGR. encircling the Navy pall bearers, rifle team was a flag line of about 75 members of the groups in attendance holding American flags with a few Navy, Navy Jack, POW/MIA, and 1 Gadsden flags. Also conspicuously present was a homemade sign saying “Welcome Home Sailor” It was truly an honor to be invited to pay our respects to a true American hero. The family was very moved as were we all.

Airman Miller’s son, Arthur Miller, Jr. and family:

The sign says it all:

More of Steve’s pictures here.

Background on Airman Miller’s service written by his son.

Special thanks to PacificWrecks.Org for their background material and some photos on this story.

Also attending the service were members of The Bent Prop Project.

For more background on the Battle of Peleliu.

History Channel Video Series “Lost Evidence”

The following is a statement released by Retired Lt. Col. Allen West:

This past Thursday 13 American Soldiers were killed and another 30 wounded at a horrific mass shooting at US Army installation, Ft Hood Texas. As I watched in horror and then anger I recalled my two years of final service in the Army as a Battalion Commander at Ft Hood, 2002-2004.

My wife and two daughters were stunned at the incident having lived on the post in family housing.

A military installation, whether it is Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine, or Coast Guard, is supposed to be a safe sanctuary for our Warriors and their families. It is intended to provide a home whereby our “Band of Brothers and Sisters” can find solace and bond beyond just the foxhole but as family units.

A military installation is supposed to be a place where our Warriors train for war, to serve and protect our Nation.

On Thursday, 5 November 2009 Ft Hood became a part of the battlefield in the war against Islamic totalitarianism and state sponsored terrorism.

There may be those who feel threatened by my words and would even recommend they not be uttered. To those individuals I say step aside because now is not the time for cowardice. Our Country has become so paralyzed by political correctness that we have allowed a vile and determined enemy to breach what should be the safest place in America, an Army post.

We have become so politically correct that our media is more concerned about the stress of the shooter, Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The misplaced benevolence intending to portray him as a victim is despicable. The fact that there are some who have now created an entire new classification called; “pre-virtual vicarious Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)” is unconscionable.

This is not a “man caused disaster”. It is what it is, an Islamic jihadist attack.

We have seen this before in 2003 when a SGT Hasan of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) threw hand grenades and opened fire into his Commanding Officer’s tent in Kuwait. We have seen the foiled attempt of Albanian Muslims who sought to attack Ft Dix, NJ. Recently we saw a young convert to Islam named Carlos Bledsoe travel to Yemen, receive terrorist training, and return to gun down two US Soldiers at a Little Rock, Arkansas Army recruiting station. We thwarted another Islamic terrorist plot in North Carolina which had US Marine Corps Base, Quantico as a target.

What have we done with all these prevalent trends? Nothing.

What we see are recalcitrant leaders who are refusing to confront the issue, Islamic terrorist infiltration into America, and possibly further into our Armed Services. Instead we have a multiculturalism and diversity syndrome on steroids.

Major Hasan should have never been transferred to Ft Hood, matter of fact he should have been Chaptered from the Army. His previous statements, poor evaluation reports, and the fact that the FBI had him under investigation for jihadist website posting should have been proof positive.

However, what we have is a typical liberal approach to find a victim, not the 13 and 30 Soldiers and Civilian, but rather the poor shooter. A shooter who we are told was a great American, who loved the Army and serving his Nation and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) stating that his actions had nothing to do with religious belief.

We know that Major Hasan deliberately planned this episode; he did give away his possessions. He stood atop a table in the confined space of the Soldier Readiness Center shouting “Allahu Akhbar”, same chant as the 9-11 terrorists and those we fight against overseas in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters of operation.

No one in leadership seems willing to sound the alarm for the American people; they are therefore complicit in any future attacks. Our Congress should suspend the insidious action to vote on a preposterous and unconstitutional healthcare bill and resolve the issue of “protecting the American people”.

The recent incidents in Dearborn Michigan, Boston Massachusetts, Dallas Texas, and Chicago Illinois should bear witness to the fact that we have an Islamic terrorism issue in America. And don’t have CAIR call me and try to issue a vanilla press statement; they are an illegitimate terrorist associated organization which should be disbanded.

We have Saudi Arabia funding close to 80% of the mosques in the United States, one right here in South Florida, Pompano Beach. Are we building churches and synagogues in Saudi Arabia? Are “Kaffirs” and “Infidels” allowed travel to Mecca?

So much for peaceful coexistence.

Saudi Arabia is sponsoring radical Imams who enter into our prisons and convert young men into a virulent Wahabbist ideology….one resulting in four individuals wanting to destroy synagogues in New York with plastic explosives. Thank God the explosives were dummy. They are sponsoring textbooks which present Islamic centric revisionist history in our schools.

We must recognize that there is an urgent need to separate the theo-political radical Islamic ideology out of our American society. We must begin to demand surveillance of suspected Imams and mosques that are spreading hate and preaching the overthrow of our Constitutional Republic……that speech is not protected under First Amendment, it is sedition and if done by an American treason.

There should not be some 30 Islamic terrorist training camps in America that has nothing to do with First Amendment, Freedom of Religion. The Saudis are not our friends and any American political figure who believes such is delusional.

When tolerance becomes a one way street it certainly leads to cultural suicide. We are on that street. Liberals cannot be trusted to defend our Republic, because their sympathies obviously lie with their perceived victim, Major Nidal Malik Hasan.

I make no apologies for these words, and anyone angered by them, please, go to Ft Hood and look into the eyes of the real victims. The tragedy at Ft Hood Texas did not have to happen. Consider now the feelings of those there and on every military installation in the world. Consider the feelings of the Warriors deployed into combat zones who now are concerned that their loved ones at home are in a combat zone.

Ft Hood suffered an Islamic jihadist attack, stop the denial, and realize a simple point.

The reality of your enemy must become your own.

Steadfast and Loyal,

Lieutenant Colonel Allen B West (US Army, Ret)

For more information on the attack go here.

For more information on the Jihad Connection go here.

More on the overlooked red flags.

He says it all!

America’s Future Fund asks if they can run America’s ENTIRE Healthcare System.

And can they keep cronyism and favoritism out of it?

We think we know the answer.

Keep Government Hands Off Healthcare!

Kill The Bill!

Word on the street is that AARP will be selling its senior citizen members down the river tomorrow by endorsing the Healthcare Plan before Congress.

Don’t let the AARP aid and abet the destruction of American Healthcare just so it can profiteer from selling additional Medigap Insurance policies after your Medicare Advantage policies are taken away by government fiat.

There are at least three alternatives to AARP, dump the socialist enablers and get a responsible advocate!

60 Plus Association

American Seniors Association (ASA)

Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC)

And call AARP to tell them to expect your torn up membership card in the mail!

We have not lost in NY 23, the war is not over, we have just begun to fight and we are finding our way!

The Revolution was not won in a single day or a single campaign.

Every battle taught lessons that made the colonials better, more determined, fighters.

NY 23 will be in play again next year along with many other Congressional Districts in New York.

Let us take the lessons learned here and apply them everywhere across the state.

• Do not let nominations go unchallenged.
• Fight for principle.
• Know the issues that are important locally as well as nationally.
• Never, ever, give in.

Now go and celebrate the huge victories in Virginia and New Jersey and carry the fight to Washington this Thursday!

Then return and we shall go to work for next year.

A good after action analysis of the NY 23 election is here.  More here and here.

Doug Hoffman’s message to supporters.

A new video from the League of American Voters:

Robert Stacy McCain reports on the message of the Doug Hoffman campaign and why it is important!

Doug Hoffman’s name is only on the “D’ row, D for Doug!

Doug Hoffman gave a last campaign speech in Watertown:

Victory in 23!

The USS New York (LPD-21) arrived in New York harbor in preparation for her christening on November 7th into the United States Navy.

The Vigilant Squirrel Brigade was there to video the arrival and honors at the World Trade Center.

The ship incorporates some steel from the World Trade Center towers which were destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  This steel represents the United States’ commitment to punishing those responsible for the attacks and never forgetting the sacrifice of the almost 3,000 Americans killed that day.

After docking, reporters and the public were allowed to tour the ship.

More on the arrival here and here.

Welcome to New York!  Never Forget!

For a look at the Last USS New York go here!