Veterans Day - Not Forgotten

[Guest guest]

Hi Rhavda,

 

> Dear Butch,

> Thank you very much for your Veterans Day email. I just forwarded it to my

> son, who is at the US Naval Academy to share with his roommates and other

> friends.

 

Welcome you are .. and I am sure they will appreciate it .. young folks

like your son are (should be) an inspiration to America's youth.

 

> We are now waiting for this Wednesday to come. The Firsties/Seniors at the

> US Naval Academy will learn which service selection that they have. (The

> US Naval Academy provides officers for both the US Marine Corps and the US

> Navy for those who are not familiar with what branches of the government

> that the Naval Academy prepares our bright, young people for.)

> My son will find out this Wednesday whether he will be US Marine Air or

> Navy Surface Warfare along with the rest of the graduating May, 2007 class.

 

I hope he gets what he wants .. but I'm sure he will perform his duties

well in any case. Young folks who make it through the rigorous training

regime at the US Naval Academy, the US Air Force Academy or West Point,

have already shown they are tough as nails and dedicated to what they

believe is a worthy calling.

 

> This is one of the major moments for these young people. I don't know when

> the other Academies tell their Seniors about their selections but I am

> assuming that it is about this time so Butch, your Veterans Day email is

> appropriate and timely. I believe that it will be good for these young

> people to think about what our heros had to say about war, peace and

> serving our country because we do not know when we will be called upon to

> do the same here. 9/11 taught us that.

 

You are 1,000% correct. Unfortunately, I believe the worst is yet to

come. But .. America will overcome!

 

> Again, Butch, thank you for your email. Happy Veterans Day to You and

> to all Veterans, parents, wives, husbands, sons, daughters, and other

> related relatives.

 

Thank you ma'am .. and I join you in your kind greetings.

 

> God Bless You All.

> Sincerely,

> Rhavda Emison

> Proud Mom of 2007 US Naval Academy Grad

 

And with justification you are proud. :-) Butch

[Guest guest]

Butch, Butch, Butch--you left out the USCGA...the United States Coast Guard

Academy in New London, CT....

 

It is a service academy and partner to USAFA, Annapolis, West Point. A lot of

people aren't aware of this, but the Coast Guard is one of five branches of the

U.S. military along with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

 

Cadets who successfully complete their four years of rigorous academic,

physical, and military training graduate with Bachelors degrees in either

Engineering (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical), Naval Architecture, Marine Science,

Government...and with an officer's commission, of course. They immediately go

into the fleet and serve for five years.

 

The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus, " Always Ready, " and that's exactly what

the Coast Guardsmen and women have to be, as their amazing performance during

Hurricane Katrina showed us. The Coast Guard is out there every minute of every

day patrolling 95,000 miles of coastline--saving lives, interdicting drugs,

intercepting illegals, performing search and rescue, conducting ice operations,

enforcing maritime law, inspecting cargoes, securing ports, protecting the

environment, and responding to hazardous chemical spills, every single day.

 

It is the only branch of the service with a primarily humanitarian mission. It

is also the only branch not under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense.

When the Dept. of Homeland Security was formed, the Coast Guard came under its

umbrella, but the Coast Guard itself has been in operation since 1790 and is the

nation's oldest maritime agency.

 

And Rhavda...Billet Day for the Academy occurs in March, when firsties find out

what their first assignment in the Fleet will be. Many of them will spend their

Spring Break week traveling to their new post to check out accomodations, find

apartments, etc. My son is a firstie.

 

It's not a bad deal. When he graduates in May my son will be an officer in the

U.S. military, he will be a Federal Law Enforcement agent, he will have a degree

in Civil Engineering, his Ivy League-caliber education was provided by the

government along with room and board and travel and even a salary while he was

in school...and all he has to do is risk his life every day for the next five

years....

 

jaime,CA

 

 

[Guest guest]

It's not a bad deal. When he graduates in May my son will be an officer in

the U.S. military, he will be a Federal Law Enforcement agent, he will have

a degree in Civil Engineering, his Ivy League-caliber education was provided

by the government along with room and board and travel and even a salary

while he was in school...and all he has to do is risk his life every day for

the next five years....

 

==========Congratulations to both you and your son! Well done! I would

recommend folks see Kevin Costner's new movie " The Guardian " -- very good

movie although I found it difficult to watch -- unnerving.

 

Susan H.

[Guest guest]

Dear Jaime,

I'm sorry I forgot to mention the USCGA. Please forgive me. I do know

about them. They do awesome work right along with our other academies. You

are right about the USCGA being a sister/brother to Annapolis and the other

academies. I also should mention here that we another academy for the US

Maritime officers at Kingspoint, NY. My brother graduated in the mid-70's

from the Texas A & M Maritime Academy in Galveston, Texas when they only

had one ship, called the Clipper and a lot of barren, open ground on

Pelican Island. Several years ago we went to a wedding in Galveston and I

told my husband that he and my son should go to the Clipper for an impromtu

tour. Boy, did I ever get egg on my face. The campus was now about 100

times larger with many ships. I finally realized that it had been over 20

plus years and that this small campus had really grown to be one of the two

leading Maritime training schools in the US. The other is at Kingspoint,

NY. These young people graduating from all of these academies are all

officers in our armed forces upon graduation and they serve our country for

at least 5 years. My brother is now retiring with 30 plus years as an

officer from the ship's engine room.

Congratulations on your Firstie! I know how proud you are of him. I

wished that you lived here in North Texas because next month we (the

parents from all five of the service academies- Army, Air Force, Navy,

Merchant Marine, and Coast Guard) honor our young men and women as they

graduate and serve our country with a Holiday/Military Formal Ball. This

year Ross Perot is our speaker. For each of the young people that attend,

we give them a gift package full of goodies for them to use. We expect over

900 people (including parents, relatives, cadets/midshipmen, and other

well-wishers) to attend. I am on the Holiday Ball Committee and it is

exciting to see the support that our community (North Texas) is extending

to these young people. Ross Perot is a 1953 graduate of the Naval Academy

so it will be interesting to hear him speak and talk about the changes he

has seen like the admission of women (which I bet he won't talk about) to

the service academies.

Do any of your Parents Groups come together and give your young people

a Holiday Ball? It would be interesting to find out. The young people

connect with each other and no matter what service they enter they all

remain friends and network together when they want something accomplished.

I do agree with you about the quality of the education that they

receive as its being that of any if not better than most of the Ivy League

Schools. And do you know, these young people know this and are proud of it.

Do you remember the first Thanksgiving or Christmas that your son came

home from the USCGA? Do you remember the pride and self-esteem that he had

while the other young people getting off of the planes looked ordinary?

These young people know that they are special escpecially when the Airport

Personnel stop them to shake their hands and say Thank You just because

these young people are in uniform. This type of reception makes you feel

good not only about our young people but also about how our everyday people

think about our military personnel. It brings to mind, part of the poem

that Butch sent to our list, It is the soldier who gives you your freedom.

Take care and have a great week! I'm glad to know that your service

selections are in March. I have learned something new about the USCGA.

Thank you for sharing.

Love,

Rhavda

 

 

 

Original Message:

-----------------

Brian Jacobs jacobs.fam

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 09:40:25 -0800

 

Re:Veterans Day - Not Forgotten

 

 

Butch, Butch, Butch--you left out the USCGA...the United States Coast Guard

Academy in New London, CT....

 

It is a service academy and partner to USAFA, Annapolis, West Point. A lot

of people aren't aware of this, but the Coast Guard is one of five branches

of the U.S. military along with the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

 

Cadets who successfully complete their four years of rigorous academic,

physical, and military training graduate with Bachelors degrees in either

Engineering (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical), Naval Architecture, Marine

Science, Government...and with an officer's commission, of course. They

immediately go into the fleet and serve for five years.

 

The Coast Guard motto is Semper Paratus, " Always Ready, " and that's exactly

what the Coast Guardsmen and women have to be, as their amazing performance

during Hurricane Katrina showed us. The Coast Guard is out there every

minute of every day patrolling 95,000 miles of coastline--saving lives,

interdicting drugs, intercepting illegals, performing search and rescue,

conducting ice operations, enforcing maritime law, inspecting cargoes,

securing ports, protecting the environment, and responding to hazardous

chemical spills, every single day.

 

It is the only branch of the service with a primarily humanitarian mission.

It is also the only branch not under the jurisdiction of the Department of

Defense. When the Dept. of Homeland Security was formed, the Coast Guard

came under its umbrella, but the Coast Guard itself has been in operation

since 1790 and is the nation's oldest maritime agency.

 

And Rhavda...Billet Day for the Academy occurs in March, when firsties find

out what their first assignment in the Fleet will be. Many of them will

spend their Spring Break week traveling to their new post to check out

accomodations, find apartments, etc. My son is a firstie.

 

It's not a bad deal. When he graduates in May my son will be an officer in

the U.S. military, he will be a Federal Law Enforcement agent, he will have

a degree in Civil Engineering, his Ivy League-caliber education was

provided by the government along with room and board and travel and even a

salary while he was in school...and all he has to do is risk his life every

day for the next five years....

 

jaime,CA

 

 

 

 

--

mail2web - Check your email from the web at

http://mail2web.com/ .

[Guest guest]

Susan, funny you should mention THE GUARDIAN...it premiered while we were in New

London for Academy Parents Weekend the last weekend in Sept. We took my son and

some other cadets to see it at a theater in Groton, so there were also lots of

sailors there from the naval base, as well. Needless to say, the movie received

quite a reception ;O)

 

Actually, my son had seen the movie the week before at a special screening at

the navy base but he was game to see it again, oddly enough <G>

 

For those who haven't seen it, it's about CG Rescue Swimmers, their training,

the dangers they face. Rescue Swimmers are enlisted personnel with particular

talent in the water who go on to endure highly arduous training and then are

ready at a moment's notice to pull people out of the sea in any and all

conditions (often REALLY BAD conditions). They work closely with the helicopter

team in effecting these missions.

 

I got to see a helicopter/rescue swimmer training operation last June in the

ocean off the coast of San Diego. It was pretty thrilling!

 

jaime,CA

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Rhavda! Whenever we're in CT for a CGA function, we try to attend some of the

sporting events. We generally see cadets from the Merchant Marine Academy in

addition to competitors from Wesleyan, Trinity, Holyoke, UConn, Mass. Maritime,

Amherst, Tufts, ConnCollege, and a host of other small (often famous) New

England colleges. The CGA itself is tiny, with around 1000 cadets. These are fun

events. The schools may be small but the athletes are fierce! LOL The CGA and

the Merchant Marine always have a special little rivalry going, but it's all

good-natured.

 

In December, we're having the All-Academies Ball here in southern California.

I'm sure it's just like yours--black tie, keynote speaker, and cadets from all

the service academies in their formal dress uniforms, accompanied by parents and

sweethearts dressed to the nines.

 

You'd think I'd get used to it, but seeing people wear the uniform of our armed

services still can bring me to tears. My grandfather died in the Army Air Corps

during WWII (before it was officially the USAF) a month before his only child,

my mother, was born. His loss had profound effects on how she ended up being

raised, and as a result, on me. My dad served in Viet Nam, first as a Marine and

then as a Green Beret. THAT had profound effects on our family, let me tell you.

My other grandfather was in the Navy signal corps in the Pacific (WWII) and he

came home a little crazy. My greatgrandfather was a doughboy in WWI, staging

from Gibraltar. All these men refused to speak of their experiences in war (with

the exception of my GGF who told me when I was 7 that war is the worst thing

humans can do to one another) but the families who waited for them at home saw

what war had done to them, how it changed them.

 

So any time I see someone in uniform I have a visceral response to the

sacrifices made by the people--and families--who went before them, and that they

themselves may be called on to make.

 

Many of my students at school are Marine and Navy brats from Camp Pendleton, and

many of them have parents (some have both parents) deployed to Iraq. Sometimes

the children have a hard time handling it. They act out in strange ways. All we

can do is attempt to reassure them and see to it that the families have the

basic necessities, because money is awfully tight for the enlisted personnel.

Operation Homefront helps ensure that their cars get repaired, they have

groceries, there will be Christmas presents. Anyone looking for a charitable

cause to support this holiday season, this is a nice one )

 

jaime,CA

 

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Jaime,

I'm glad to hear that you have been many times to the CGA. We get up

to the Naval Academy maybe once a year and it is such a treat for us to go.

I wish that my husband and I were much younger so that we could take part

in more of the activities for parents.

I am extremely happy to hear that your Southern California parents

groups are doing also holding military balls for our young people next

month. Since your group is holding one ball and our group is holding

another I would make a bet that many other areas are doing the same and

that is AWESOME for these young people.

We make up goodie bags and send them to our troops stationed abroad as

well as to the midshipmen who don't get much. We are in the middle of one

of these drives now so I am glad to hear about what your group is doing.

Isn't it wonderful the way that all service families are family to each

other and stay connected! If you ever get to North Texas you definitely

will be welcome at our home. Please remember this.

I'm glad to hear about the men in your family. It is wonderful and yet

sad to hear of their experiences. We have to pray for them. I, too, have

family members that have fought in the many wars that we have experienced

in the past 100 years and their stories are awesome. We have letters from

my husband's uncle about what was happenning in Seattle, Washington

following December 7, 1941. Just reading that history from the letter

brings those people closer to you. I don't believe that anyone ever gets

used to war.

I will mention Operation Homefront to our Parents Net and see if we

can get something going for this year even if it is a little late but maybe

next year they can get the ball rolling earlier and we can all contribute.

Take care and have a great week!

Rhavda

 

Original Message:

-----------------

Brian Jacobs jacobs.fam

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 10:54:30 -0800

 

Re: Veterans Day - Not Forgotten

 

 

Hi Rhavda! Whenever we're in CT for a CGA function, we try to attend some

of the sporting events. We generally see cadets from the Merchant Marine

Academy in addition to competitors from Wesleyan, Trinity, Holyoke, UConn,

Mass. Maritime, Amherst, Tufts, ConnCollege, and a host of other small

(often famous) New England colleges. The CGA itself is tiny, with around

1000 cadets. These are fun events. The schools may be small but the

athletes are fierce! LOL The CGA and the Merchant Marine always have a

special little rivalry going, but it's all good-natured.

 

In December, we're having the All-Academies Ball here in southern

California. I'm sure it's just like yours--black tie, keynote speaker, and

cadets from all the service academies in their formal dress uniforms,

accompanied by parents and sweethearts dressed to the nines.

 

So any time I see someone in uniform I have a visceral response to the

sacrifices made by the people--and families--who went before them, and that

they themselves may be called on to make.

 

Many of my students at school are Marine and Navy brats from Camp

Pendleton, and many of them have parents (some have both parents) deployed

to Iraq. Sometimes the children have a hard time handling it. They act out

in strange ways. All we can do is attempt to reassure them and see to it

that the families have the basic necessities, because money is awfully

tight for the enlisted personnel. Operation Homefront helps ensure that

their cars get repaired, they have groceries, there will be Christmas

presents. Anyone looking for a charitable cause to support this holiday

season, this is a nice one )

 

jaime,CA

 

 

 

 

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